What NVPI Does: Testing, Treatment, and Results
When a student comes to NVPI, nothing is based on guesswork. The first visit is a one-hour assessment with Dr. Graebe to determine whether the child is a good candidate for the program. From there, advanced testing maps exactly where each visual skill stands.
Everything We Do Is Data-Driven
The testing measures things that most eye exams never touch: how accurately the eyes jump from point to point, how smoothly they track a moving target, how well they hold steady on a fixed point, whether they work together as a team at near distance, and what happens to comprehension and reading speed when these skills are under demand.
One of the core assessments uses advanced eye-tracking technology to map exactly how a child's eyes move. The test measures three types of eye movements:
- Pursuits: Can the eyes smoothly follow a moving object? This is what happens when tracking a teacher's hand across a whiteboard or following a line of text.
- Saccades: Can the eyes make accurate jumps between two points? This is what happens at the end of every line of reading, jumping to the beginning of the next line without losing your place.
- Fixations: Can the eyes hold steady on a single point? This is what happens when looking at a word long enough to decode it.
Think of it this way: imagine a pencil attached to each eye, drawing everywhere the eye looks. With smooth, controlled eye movements, the drawing looks like a clean donut: circular, even, controlled. With underdeveloped eye movements, it looks like a plate of spaghetti: scattered, overshooting, jerky.
The test also tracks both eyes during reading. It measures how many times the child loses their place, how far apart the two eyes drift, and what happens to comprehension and speed when the eyes are not coordinated.
These are not estimates. They are direct measurements from the same instrument, taken on the same patient, before and after treatment.
Every patient who goes through NVPI's testing gets a 6 to 8 page report. Dr. Graebe recommends that parents share this report with their child's teachers. It tells you specifically what the child is working on, where their strengths and weaknesses are, and what kind of progress to expect. If a student in your class is going through the program, ask the parents if they would be willing to share the report with you.
Real Results for Kids, Adults, and the Experts Who Refer Them
PATIENT STORIES • PROFESSIONAL REFERRALS
Meet a student who jumped two full reading grade levels, an adult who finally overcame a lifetime of anxiety, and the neuroscientist who trusts Dr. Graebe with her own clients.
"My son jumped two full reading grade levels — and finally believes he can do the work."
Miles' Story — A 3rd Grader's Breakthrough in Reading & Confidence
"What I thought was social anxiety was actually a vision problem. Now new places and new people don't faze me."
Jo's Story — Overcoming Motion Sickness, Anxiety & Depth Perception Issues
"As a neuroscientist, I'm 100% confident referring my clients to Dr. Graebe — I watch their vision and confidence transform."
Dr. Brynn Dombroski, Ph.D., M.Ed., BCBA, LBA
Neuroscientist & Referring Clinician
"My son jumped two full reading grade levels — and finally believes he can do the work."
Miles' Story
A 3rd Grader's Breakthrough in Reading & Confidence
"What I thought was social anxiety was actually a vision problem. Now new places and new people don't faze me."
Jo's Story
Overcoming Motion Sickness, Anxiety & Depth Perception Issues
"As a neuroscientist, I'm 100% confident referring my clients to Dr. Graebe — I watch their vision and confidence transform."
Dr. Brynn Dombroski, Ph.D., M.Ed., BCBA, LBA
Neuroscientist & Referring Clinician
The Missing Link in Learning
What every teacher should know about visual skills and how they affect learning in the classroom.
Wondering if Your Student Could Benefit?
Schedule a consultation with Dr. Graebe to find out if the program is the right fit.
What Neuro-Visual Performance Training Looks Like
NVPI's program is called Neuro-Visual Performance Training. It is not just "eye exercises." It is an integrated program that combines vision therapy, perceptual training, multisensory integration, and specialized techniques into a coordinated treatment plan, all designed to build lasting neural pathways.
- One in-office session per week, one-on-one with a therapist.
- About 20 minutes of home activities per day between sessions, using equipment and directions provided by the clinic.
- Activities change every week, progressively building skill.
- The average program is 30 weeks.
What works for this specific patient? What activities get their brain to engage and start building the pathway? Every patient responds differently. There are many paths up the mountain, and they all lead to the top.
Scores get better. Tracking gets smoother. Comprehension goes up. Reading speed increases. This is where the data confirms what the patient is starting to feel.
The skills become autopilot. This is the critical phase because it is what makes the results last. The brain is not just performing the skills with effort; it has embedded them into subconscious pathways. Like riding a bike, once it is there, it is there.
- The average patient shows a 3.5-year jump in skill levels across the 30-week program.
- Over 90% of patients do not need to return for additional treatment because the program addresses the root cause and builds the pathways to the point of automaticity.
- Results are lasting because neuroplastic changes are structural. The brain does not "forget" a pathway that has been fully established, the same way you do not forget how to ride a bike, even if you have not been on one in 20 years.
Our Valued Patients
See why patients trust NVPI's data-driven testing and 30-week Neuro-Visual Performance Training program to deliver real, lasting results.
What a Difference a Year Makes
This story is adapted from a video testimonial given during Dr. Graebe's presentation to teachers. Dana, Miles's mom, is a teacher herself.
When her son Miles started struggling in school, Dana assumed it was dyslexia. The signs were there: he struggled with reading, did not enjoy it, and his handwriting was difficult to read. Other teachers noticed too, suggesting he should be checked for dyslexia. But as an educator, Dana knew the reality: schools do not have a clear pathway to address dyslexia.
Their local optometrist connected the dots. He sent them to NVPI. The commitment was significant: a long drive, 30 weeks of treatment, school days missed, a real financial investment. Miles did the homework every single day. As Dana put it: "You can't work out once a week and expect results. You've got to do the daily work."
The results were measurable. On the iReading diagnostic that Kentucky public schools use, Miles jumped 65 points between the fall and Christmas, a gain of two grade levels in one semester. By spring, his total reading growth was 375%. At end-of-year awards, he went from receiving a single "completion of 3rd grade" certificate the year before to earning seven awards: benchmarks met, reading milestones hit, goals surpassed.
"I can do schoolwork better, and I don't stress out as much. I used to stress out a lot because I didn't know how to do the stuff. Now I know how to do it, and it's just changed so much." - Miles
For Teachers Reading This
The school system identified Miles's symptoms. His teachers saw the struggles. But there was no school-based pathway to address the root cause. The local eye doctor connected the family to NVPI, and the program did what classroom interventions could not. It fixed the underlying visual processing skills so that Miles's intelligence could finally show up in his work.
If you have noticed a student showing the signs described on these pages, encourage the parents to get a functional vision evaluation, not just a standard eye exam. Many students who struggle with reading, attention, and focus may have an undetected vision problem that classroom interventions alone cannot fix.
Share the quality of life survey (available on our resources page) with parents as a low-pressure first step. It helps families see whether their child might benefit from a functional vision evaluation without any commitment.
If a student is in the program, share what you are seeing in the classroom. What is improving? What is still hard? Teacher feedback directly informs how the program is adjusted week to week.
We're on the Same Team
Dr. Graebe puts it directly: "At the end of the day, we all want the same thing. We want this child to be successful." Teachers, therapists, and NVPI work best when they are sharing information.
- If a student is in the program, share what you are seeing in the classroom. What is improving? What is still hard? Teacher feedback directly informs how the program is adjusted.
- If you have noticed a student showing the signs described on these pages, encourage the parents to get a functional vision evaluation, not just a standard eye exam.
- Share the quality of life survey (available on our resources page) with parents as a low-pressure first step.
- A detailed assessment report that can be shared with the school, so you know exactly what the child's visual skills look like and what is being worked on.
- An open line of communication. Dr. Graebe and the therapy team welcome questions and feedback from educators.
- Presentations to school faculties. Dr. Graebe regularly speaks at schools to help teachers understand the vision-learning connection. If your school would benefit from this, reach out to schedule one.
The results are precise enough to share with teachers, pediatricians, and other providers so everyone is working from the same information. The 6 to 8 page report covers what the child is working on, where their strengths and weaknesses are, and what kind of progress to expect over the course of treatment.
Dr. Graebe regularly speaks at schools to help teachers understand the vision-learning connection. If your school would benefit from a presentation about how visual skills affect learning, reach out to schedule one. These talks help faculties recognize the signs early and understand how to support students who are going through the program.
Next Steps for Teachers
Whether you are looking for screening tools, want to schedule a consultation, or want to learn more about how visual skills affect your students, we are here to help.
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