a picture is worth a thousand words but what if you can’t see it?

 

Not all survivors will have vision deficits but those that do will certainly value the services of a Neuro-optometrist or Neuro-opthamologist. 

 

Things A NeuroVision Specialist Can Do

A neuro trained optometrist and opthamologist can fit you for prism glasses that help your eyes to focus in unison.  Otherwise the affected eye may move to the side rather than move with the unaffected eye.  Or it may look up or down.  It’s not always obvious but more like a subtle bounce or jerking motion so to the untrained eye, it won’t be an easy diagnosis.  

 

Neuro trained eye professionals know how stroke can affect vision, they know what to look for and how to test for it.  They will do color, depth perception and focus tests to determine the best treatment for you.  

 

They may prescribe prism glasses and weekly vision exercise sessions.   Don’t be alarmed if prism glasses are prescribed for you.  We promise they don’t look anything like the lenses in the office and no one but you will know you’re wearing them.  

 

They wear and look like regular eyeglasses – you can get regular frames of your own choice at the eyeglass store – and they are not Coke bottle thick like you imagine them to be. 

 

Precautions

While vision exercises seem simplistic, almost playful, they are remarkable at retraining the brain rapidly to focus the eyes properly.  

 

Unfortunately, prism glasses and vision therapy are not covered by most insurances.  The cost may be prohibitive but we promise you will LOVE the results if you commit to it and do the work.  

 

A word of caution, since you cannot diagnose the underlying vision deficits, do not YouTube vision therapy and try doing it solo.  You might cause more confusion to the brain and exasperate the problem.   (We know.  We tried.  Mea culpa)

 

How Therapies Can Overlapse and Collaborate

A left or right hemisphere stroke can affect the right or left side of your vision.  Just like limb neglect, there is also vision neglect.  

 

Occupational therapy can help with neglect and vision cuts.  (That’s a fancy description that you only see part of the world through your lens) If your brain hasn’t reconnected completely and sends proper signals to the optical nerve, you might lack sight in the right side of both eyes if you had a left hemisphere stroke.  Or you might have lack of peripheral vision.

 

It’s not uncommon to completely neglect that side of the body (shaving only half of your face) and that means you don’t see that side either.  Occupational will work with your vision therapist to get you actively looking at the neglected side, whether crossing a street, rounding a corner or cooking on a hot stove. 

 

A Final Word

Again, we cannot stress getting a pro for this.  One exercise for double vision isn’t suitable for depth perception.  If you’re playing doctor, you could be slowing your progress.  

 

Our eyes have to give dependable information so we know where to place our feet when walking, how high is the curb, which of two refrigerator doors do we open, is our affected arm hanging over a hot burner, are we reading the pill bottle correctly?

 

The body is really good at adapting so survivors might not even notice their vision deficits are that severe.  Listen to your family and friends if they notice things.  Neuro optometry/opthamology could be a life changer.