Vision Therapy for Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD)

It’s estimated that 10 to 15% of school-age children presently have Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). What is not widely known is that vision therapy can  improve many of the skills that allow a person to pay attention.

The situation also exists where children and adults have been misdiagnosed as  having ADD or ADHD when in actuality, they are suffering from a vision problem that could possibly be corrected with vision therapy. See our Shared Symptoms List

Dr. Beasley talks about vision therapy and ADD-ADHD

There are various reasons for this misdiagnosis. For example, children who have learning-related visual problems cannot sustain their close work at school. They may be misdiagnosed as having ADD because children with ADD also can’t sustain attention on their work. Same behaviors, different diagnosis. Unfortunately, medications that are often prescribed for treatment of ADD or ADHD, can in fact, mask the true problem.  A trained behavioral optometrist can evaluate a patient to determine if a vision therapy treatment plan can help.

Vision is more than just clarity.  It is a complex combination of learned skills that include tracking, fixation, focus change, binocular fusion and visualization. When all these skills are well developed, children and adults can read and write without the typical careless errors, they can sustain their attention, and they rely less on fidgeting to stay alert.

If you have a loved one that suffers from ADD or you suspect that they do, please consider vision therapy for ADD as a viable treatment.  Have a complete vision exam performed by a qualified doctor like Dr. Beasley to determine the correct treatment plan.