Vision therapy is a specialized, doctor-supervised treatment program that addresses eye coordination and visual processing problems that glasses and contacts can’t fix. Research shows 75% success rates for conditions like convergence insufficiency, amblyopia (lazy eye), and strabismus (eye turns).
Our optometrists assess patients at any LMC location, with specialized vision therapy programs available through our affiliated clinic, Individual Eyes in Richmond Hill.
Vision therapy can be effective for conditions that aren’t treatable with glasses or contact lenses.
What it is: A muscle condition where the eyes don’t align with each other—one eye may turn inward, outward, upward, or downward.
Types:
Esotropia (eye turns inward)
Exotropia (eye turns outward)
Hypertropia (eye turns upward)
Hypotropia (eye turns downward)
Why it develops: The muscles controlling eye movement aren’t coordinating properly, often due to neurological factors.
Symptoms:
Visible eye turn (constant or intermittent)
Double vision
Poor depth perception
Difficulty with eye contact
Closing or covering one eye
Treatment approach: Vision therapy can treat many forms of strabismus, particularly intermittent strabismus and smaller angle eye turns. Severe cases may require surgery, but vision therapy is often recommended post-surgery to maintain alignment and develop binocular vision.
Myth: “My child will outgrow it.” Fact: Strabismus doesn’t resolve on its own and worsens without treatment.
What it is: Reduced vision in one eye because the brain favors the stronger eye, causing the weaker eye’s vision to deteriorate.
Causes:
Strabismus (eye turn/misalignment)
Significant prescription difference between eyes
Obstruction in one eye during childhood development (cataracts, ptosis)
Traditional treatment: Eye patching to force the weaker eye to work.
Vision therapy advantage: Research shows that combining shorter patching periods with vision therapy activities produces similar visual improvements to traditional methods while reducing overall treatment time.
Warning signs in children:
Squinting or closing one eye
Head tilting
Poor depth perception
Bumping into objects on one side
Important: Amblyopia is the leading cause of vision loss in children under 40. Early detection through comprehensive eye exams is critical.
What it is: Difficulty turning the eyes inward together when focusing on close objects like books, phones, or computers.
Symptoms:
Words blur or move on the page
Headaches during or after reading
Eyes feel tired or strained
Double vision
Losing your place while reading
Poor reading comprehension despite adequate reading ability
Avoiding close work
Statistics: Affects 5-13% of children and adults—that’s 1 in 8 school-aged students, potentially 4 children in every classroom.
Research evidence: The Convergence Insufficiency Treatment Trial (CITT), funded by the National Eye Institute, found that office-based vision therapy with home reinforcement achieved 75% success rates—far superior to pencil push-ups or computer exercises alone.
Why it matters: Convergence insufficiency is often misdiagnosed as ADHD, dyslexia, or learning disabilities because children struggle to focus and complete reading tasks.
Eyesight is the ability to see clearly—measured by reading letters on an eye chart (20/20 vision).
Vision is how your eyes and brain work together to interpret and understand what you see.
A child can have perfect 20/20 eyesight but still struggle with:
Reading comprehension
Staying focused on homework
Catching balls or sports performance
Depth perception
Eye strain and headaches
This is because vision involves much more than clarity—it requires coordination, processing, and integration between both eyes and the brain.
Vision therapy is highly individualized, involving different activities and exercises that help retrain learned behaviours and improve vision.
While vision therapy is very helpful in correcting vision problems for kids, adults can also benefit from it. If your vision was never corrected as a child, you might be an adult with treatable vision issues.
It’s not too late to achieve better vision. Your optometrist can recommend an approach to help you get the vision you’ve always wanted, even if you’ve been struggling with vision problems your whole life.
The length of treatment needed to correct vision issues varies according to each individual patient. Our LMC Optometrist will assess if your child can benefit from a vision therapy program which is available at Individual Eyes, our affiliated clinic in Richmond Hill that specializes in vision therapy.
Yes, for specific conditions with strong research evidence—particularly convergence insufficiency, accommodative dysfunction, strabismus, and amblyopia.
The Convergence Insufficiency Treatment Trial (CITT), funded by the National Eye Institute, demonstrated 75% success rates for office-based vision therapy with home reinforcement. Multiple peer-reviewed studies confirm its effectiveness when properly administered by trained professionals.
Vision therapy is not effective for learning disabilities like dyslexia (which is a language processing disorder, not a vision problem), ADHD, or developmental delays. However, it can make learning tasks more comfortable if vision problems coexist with these conditions.
Treatment duration varies based on:
Condition severity
Patient age
Compliance with home exercises
Presence of multiple vision problems
Typical timeline:
Convergence insufficiency: 12-16 weeks
Strabismus: 16-24 weeks
Amblyopia: 12-20 weeks (combined with patching)
Accommodative dysfunction: 8-12 weeks
Commitment required:
Weekly 60-minute office visits
15-30 minutes daily home exercises (5 days/week)
Patients who consistently complete home exercises progress faster and achieve better outcomes.
Coverage varies significantly by insurance plan.
OHIP: Does not cover vision therapy (not covered under provincial health insurance)
“Eye exercises” (like pencil push-ups) are simple activities you can do at home without professional supervision. Research shows they have limited effectiveness—only 33% success rate for convergence insufficiency.
Vision therapy is a comprehensive, doctor-supervised program that:
Includes in-office sessions with trained therapists
Uses specialized equipment, lenses, and technology
Progressively challenges the visual system
Addresses multiple aspects of vision simultaneously
Is customized to each patient’s specific needs
Includes prescribed home reinforcement exercises
Adults absolutely can benefit! While many vision problems develop in childhood, they often go undiagnosed into adulthood.
Not necessarily. Ophthalmologists are medical doctors specializing in eye diseases and surgery, while developmental optometrists specialize in functional vision and binocular vision disorders.
No, vision therapy treatment is provided exclusively at our affiliated clinic, Individual Eyes in Richmond Hill, which specializes in comprehensive vision therapy programs. However, the initial vision assessment to determine if you or your child would benefit from vision therapy can be completed at any of our 8 LMC Optometry locations across Ontario.
Our optometrist at LMC can diagnose and manage conditions like glaucoma, cataracts, macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, and digital eye strain.
It’s recommended to have an eye exam in an eye clinic at least once every two years, or annually if you have existing eye conditions or risk factors.
For minor vision issues like 20/40 acuity, contacts are usually an effective choice for correction. Different lenses are available at LMC Optometry for different refractive errors.
Annual eye exams are completely covered by OHIP for children (19 and under) and seniors (65 and older). However, adults aged 20-64 must pay for routine eye exams themselves or use private insurance, as these exams are not covered by OHIP.
You can book an appointment online through the LMC Optometry website or by calling the specific location nearest to you.
You’ll find our Barrie location in the Barrie Primary Care Campus on Bayview Drive.
You’ll find our Bayview location in the CNIB building.
Please note, the Bayview clinic does not carry eyeglass frames.
We have moved from King Street to Martha Street where we are on the second floor of the Bolton Professional Building.
You’ll find our Brampton location in SmartCentres Bramport on Bovaird Drive East.
Visit our Ottawa location in Cedarview Square off Tartan Drive.
Please note, the Ottawa clinic does not carry eyeglass frames.
We are located in the McDonald’s plaza on the corner of Bathurst and Tower Hill.
Closed on Saturdays of long weekends.
You’ll find our Scarborough location in the Ellesmere medical building.
Please note, the Scarborough clinic does not carry eyeglass frames.
LMC Thornhill Optometric Centre is located in the Tim Horton’s plaza, just off Steeles Avenue West.
You’ll find our Barrie location in the Barrie Primary Care Campus on Bayview Drive.
You’ll find our Bayview location in the CNIB building.
Please note, the Bayview clinic does not carry eyeglass frames.
We have moved from King Street to Martha Street where we are on the second floor of the Bolton Professional Building.
You’ll find our Brampton location in SmartCentres Bramport on Bovaird Drive East.
Visit our Ottawa location in Cedarview Square off Tartan Drive.
Please note, the Ottawa clinic does not carry eyeglass frames.
We are located in the McDonald’s plaza on the corner of Bathurst and Tower Hill.
Closed on Saturdays of long weekends.
You’ll find our Scarborough location in the Ellesmere medical building.
Please note, the Scarborough clinic does not carry eyeglass frames.
LMC Thornhill Optometric Centre is located in the Tim Horton’s plaza, just off Steeles Avenue West.
“Service is always fast. Staff are friendly. Dr. Blackstein has taken excellent care of me since I began seeing him.”
Lori Cutler – Vaughn
“The Optometrist explained everything to us and did a very thorough exam. She was very helpful and patient, and answered all of our questions.”
Deborah Cormack – Barrie
“Staff was happy and friendly. It was a pleasure to see, think I will return in a year for another check up.”
Michael Kondring – Barrie
“Dr M Sher was really good.”
Jim Gray – Vaughn
“Very good customer service.”
Johnny Geniole – Barrie
Barrie
Bayview
Bolton
Brampton
Ottawa
Richmond Hill
Scarborough
Thornhill
