When Dr. Rick Graebe FCOVD examines a child who is facing challenges in school, he often hopes for a surprising result: poor performance on the exam. While this might sound counterintuitive, it’s a key indicator for Dr. Graebe, a specialist in pediatric eye care and developmental optometry based in Versailles and Somerset, Kentucky.
“I actually tell parents that I hope their child doesn’t perform well on the exam,” Dr. Graebe explains. “If they do poorly, we know we can help. If they perform well, they may not need our services.”
Going Beyond the Eye Chart
Dr. Graebe’s exams go far beyond the standard eye chart test that most of us are familiar with. While the eye chart can assess central vision — determining whether someone is near-sighted or far-sighted — it doesn’t address the more complex elements of the visual system. In particular, it doesn’t evaluate the peripheral vision pathways, which play a crucial role in reading, learning, and overall performance in school.
“Most eye exams only measure one part of the visual system — the parvo pathway, which helps us see details. But vision is so much more than just central clarity,” Dr. Graebe says. “The mango or ambient vision system, which involves peripheral vision, is key for balance, spatial awareness, and the ability to process visual information quickly.”
More than 20% of the information your eyes gather goes directly to the midbrain, which controls balance and spatial awareness. When children struggle in school with symptoms like headaches, visual fatigue, or difficulty concentrating, it’s often because their peripheral vision system is underdeveloped or underperforming.
Uncovering the Real Issue
Too often, children who come to Dr. Graebe’s office have been mislabeled as having conditions like ADHD, dyslexia, or poor reading skills when the root cause is a lack of development in their peripheral vision system. These visual processing issues can lead to poor school performance, frustration, and even behavioral problems.
During an exam, Dr. Graebe uses engaging, child-friendly tools like computerized graphics of colorful animals to assess both central and peripheral vision. One example involves asking a child what they see in an image of a penguin with waving arms and colored balls. Some children will only notice the penguin’s bow tie, which suggests they have strong central vision but weak peripheral vision.
“When parents see this, they immediately understand why their child is struggling,” Dr. Graebe explains. “And that’s when the healing begins.”
How Vision Therapy Transforms Lives
Children who exhibit these issues are excellent candidates for Vision Therapy. This innovative treatment, offered at the Neuro-Visual Performance Institute, is a type of physical therapy for the eyes, brain, and body. The therapy involves a series of fun, interactive activities that help improve the child’s visual processing abilities.
Vision Therapy typically spans 20 to 30 weeks and includes exercises that are more akin to physical therapy than what you might expect from an optometrist’s office. Children work on puzzles, play games, and use balance balls — all designed to strengthen the visual system.
“That’s why I’m pleased when children perform poorly on the exam,” says Dr. Graebe. “It means we’ve identified an issue we can fix. And watching these kids’ academic performance improve as their vision improves is the most rewarding part of my job.”
Children often see improvements quickly, leading to better focus, fewer headaches, and even significant progress in reading and learning.
Schedule Your Child’s Exam Today
If your child is struggling in school and traditional methods haven’t provided answers, it might be time to look at their vision in a new way. At Neuro-Visual Performance Institute, we specialize in Vision Therapy to help children overcome visual processing issues and succeed academically.
We serve patients across Central and Southern Kentucky, with locations in Versailles, just outside of Lexington, and Somerset. To schedule an appointment with Dr. Rick Graebe FCOVD, call us at 859-879-0089 today.
Credit:
This blog is based on information from Dr. Rick Graebe as compiled and written by John Lynch.