About the Exam

At this exam, you and your optometrist will discuss any symptoms you or your child may be having and any test results the optometrist found that day that may indicate a vision problem. It is at this time that you may be referred to the clinic for a vision therapy evaluation.

A functional vision exam is a more in-depth evaluation into you or your child’s binocular vision system. During this exam, we will evaluate how your eyes work together, as well as how they move when reading, writing, playing sports, etc. We will also review any symptoms you or your child may be having. This evaluation takes about 45 minutes.

During this exam, we may determine that therapy is not necessary at this time and glasses will help alleviate your symptoms. Glasses ensure that one can see an image clearly, but they do not influence how we move our eyes or how visual information is processed and understood.

The eyes are part of the brain, therefore when visual information is taken in by the eyes, it is sent throughout the brain so we can interpret and understand what we are seeing. If Dr. Meinel determines during the Functional Vision Exam that there may be a processing problem in addition to a vision problem, additional testing will be needed. This testing takes about 2 hours.

Once all the testing is completed, a separate appointment is scheduled with Dr. Meinel where she will discuss with the parents or adult patient how the vision problem is affecting the individual’s life. At that time, a treatment plan individualized to the patient will be designed to ensure the best visual success.

Once a week, you or your child will meet with a trained therapist or doctor to retrain the eyes and brain to function at their optimal level.