{"id":9663,"date":"2021-01-27T17:51:49","date_gmt":"2021-01-27T17:51:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/?page_id=9663"},"modified":"2021-08-10T21:26:56","modified_gmt":"2021-08-10T21:26:56","slug":"vision-therapy-or-orthoptic-therapy","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/vision-therapy\/guide-to-vision-therapy\/what-are-the-benefits-of-vision-therapy\/vision-therapy-or-orthoptic-therapy\/","title":{"rendered":"Vision Therapy or Orthoptic Therapy?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Vision therapy and orthoptic therapy are sometimes confused with one another.\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n

The information on this page includes everything you need to know about what makes these therapies similar, as well as how they are different.<\/i><\/p>\n

Vision therapy<\/a> is a treatment program that develops and strengthens the neural connections between the eyes and the brain, and enhances the performance of the visual skills.<\/p>\n

Vision therapy is actually an outgrowth of orthoptics, which was introduced in the late 1800\u2019s. However, while orthoptics focuses on the treatment of vision conditions related to eye coordination difficulties, vision therapy focuses on the treatment of a wider range of vision conditions.<\/p>\n

A closer look at orthoptic therapy<\/b><\/h2>\n

Orthoptics by definition, is the straightening of the eyes. It is generally used to improve binocular vision affected by an eye turn (strabismus<\/a>) or a lazy eye (amblyopia<\/a>).<\/p>\n

The main goal of orthoptic therapy is to strengthen the eye muscles and improve eye alignment. This type of therapy is limited to activities that focus on strengthening eye coordination, also known as binocular function.<\/p>\n

A closer look at vision therapy<\/b><\/h2>\n

Vision therapy is a personalized treatment program designed to improve the visual skills by strengthening the connections between the eyes and the brain.<\/p>\n

Vision therapy has been shown to effectively treat the following conditions:<\/b><\/p>\n