Dr. Tod Davis of Developmental Optometry and Vision Therapy Services spoke at the August 2 FHLC dinner meeting.  Dr. Davis, who has been treating vision disorders for over 30 years, currently has offices in Fredericksburg, Gainesville and Winchester, Va.  He was a Fellow at the Gesell Institute of Child Development, Yale University, in 1980.  It was Dr. Gesell who claimed “Vision is the key to a child’s whole development.”

In his presentation entitled “Lions Club Vision Screenings for Learning-Related Vision Problems,” Dr. Davis noted that vision is our dominant sense.  More than 70 per cent of all information we receive throughout the day is through the visual system.  “The purpose of vision” Dr. Davis emphasized, “is to help us understand what we see from the world around us.”

It seems that seeing 20/20 is not the issue.  20/20 just means that the person can clearly see a certain letter on the standard eye chart (equivalent to what a person with normal vision should be able to see at 20 feet).  A recent study funded by NIH indicated that pediatricians and school vision screenings miss 40 per cent of the learning-related vision problems.  Indeed, ophthalmologists and optometrists do not often diagnose the problem.  The impact of vision problems is “life-altering.”  In Special Education classes 75 per cent of the students have vision problems; the same percentage occurs in juvenile delinquents.

Students can be smart in everything but school due to seeing double images in a text of words or having trouble tracking lines of text.  “Double vision is extremely disruptive to reading.  It often gets worse as the day wears on, or as reading extends beyond a few minutes.  Many children block the vision of one eye in order to avoid seeing double.”  Three in four children in every classroom see print double or actually see the print moving.

The good news is that once the problem is diagnosed, it can be treated.  “When a vision problem is at the root of a child’s difficulties,” says Dr. Davis, “the symptoms can be easily detected, if you know what to look for.”  The most common symptoms of learning-related vision problems experienced by students are:

• double vision
• headaches
• skips lines
• head tilt, covers eye
• avoids near work
• misaligns digits
• reading comprehension is poor
• holds books too close
• poor memory
• poor handwriting
• a short attention span
• reverses letters like b’s into d’s when reading
• takes too much time to complete homework

Few people have ever heard of vision therapy.  Basically, this refers to a type of physical therapy for the eyes and brain.  It is the non-surgical treatment for common visual problems such as lazy eye therapy as well as for crossed eyes, double vision, convergence insufficiency in which the patient sees double because the eyes cannot work together at close range, and some reading and learning disabilities.

Vision Therapy is an individualized, supervised, treatment program designed to correct visual-motor and/or perceptual-cognitive deficiencies.  Vision Therapy sessions include procedures designed to enhance the brain’s ability to control:

• eye alignment,
• eye tracking and eye teaming,
• eye focusing abilities,
• eye movements, and/or
• visual processing.

A packet of material distributed at the meeting included a 30 question predictive checklist, similar to the Vision History/Teacher Assessment form which can be found on Dr. Davis’ web site.

For more information contact Tod R. Davis, OD, PLC, Developmental Optometry and Vision Therapy Services at (703) 753-9777 or visit his web site at www.davisvisiontherapy.com

“Vision is learned – experience it”

It is hard to believe that an entire year has passed since the announcement of the Prevent Blindness Grant. It is estimated that the team spent well over 3,400 man hours bringing the program to completion. The team faced a special challenge of contacting schools and implementing the program during the same time that school nurses were focused on H1N1 vaccinations and education. This was exacerbated by the severe winter weather and the remote locations of some schools.

Since the last update, two school which had previously declined the program have contacted PBMA to formally accept and schedule their training dates. Three new school systems have been completed and two systems have been scheduled. Three final school systems have still neither accepted nor declined and a letter has been sent about limited time remaining in the program for eligibility.

These are remarkable numbers considering the enormity of the project. Virginia has 36 school systems containing 285 schools and affect 40,690 students and family members.

The amazing PBMA team includes PCC Bill Bartlett, PCC Phil Schrack, CC Don Colley, PPLOVF Carolyn Messimer, PDG John Redden, PID Wayne Davis, Lion Jim Miller, Lion Bud Chambless, Director of Special Gifts Frank Carlomagno, PBMA President Tim Gresham, PBMA VP Robin Mead, Children’s Screening Associate Alison Markow, PBMA Director of Community Programs and Public Health Melissa Perry, Director of Special Projects Martha Telford, and LCIF Coordinator DG Dennis Brining.

The Lions Clubs of Northern Virginia (District 24-A) and the Virginia Lions Eye Institute Foundation (VLEIF) will furnish over $160,000 in equipment to set up an additional low vision exam site at the Virginia Department for the Blind and Visually Impaired (DBVI) Fairfax office.

District 24-A Lions have entered into an agreement with the DBVI whereby the Lions will furnish the Fairfax regional DBVI clinic with a complete set of low vision examination equipment that will provide comprehensive low vision evaluations to visually impaired patients.

The DBVI catchment area covers approximately 2.3 million people and currently has eighteen examination sites.

The agreement was officially signed on Aug. 19, by Lion District 24-A Governor, Dennis Brining; DBVI Deputy Commissioner for Services, Robert Burton; and Virginia Lions Eye Institute President, Elden Wright.

“We are very excited to be working with an organization that shares a common vision. Today we bring our strengths together to reach a larger portion of the population with hopes to continue to expand this effort in the years to come,” stated Lions District 24-A Governor Brining. “Today is the first step of what I hope to be many.”

In addition to the furnishing of equipment, District 24-A Lions have agreed to maintain and calibrate the equipment as well as provide volunteer support to assist in the Low Vision exam site.

“The Department of the Blind and Visually Impaired is very pleased to be working with the Lions,” stated DBVI Commissioner Burton. “We look forward to a long and positive relationship that will benefit the blind and visually impaired throughout this region.”

The term of the current agreement is for three years. The purpose for this agreement is to provide DBVI low vision practitioners access to equipment as well as prescriptive aids on the premises of DBVI offices in Fairfax.

“Broad coverage low vision support has been a goal of VLEIF all along,” noted Wright. “This is a great start; it is the first of multiple centers we plan to support in Northern Virginia”.

DBVI plans to use this exam equipment to open its nineteenth exam site for patients in the Northern Virginia area.

Lions have been involved with the DBVI for many years. Today’s agreement is an extension of this long-term relationship.

Virginia Lions Eye Institute Foundation (VLEIF) operates as a separate entity with the partnership of the Inova Health System. It is governed by a Board of Directors representing the Lions Clubs of District 24-A (Northern Virginia), community ophthalmologists, and the Inova Health Systems Foundation.

VLEIF funds are used for the purchase of equipment, education, scholarships, and clinical research. Additionally, VLEI supports symposia and continuing medical education for nurses and para-professionals in the ophthalmic field. VLEIF recently instituted a scholarship award for sight handicapped individuals.

• District 24-A Lions includes 69 clubs spanning from Leesburg to Montrose VA. With over 1905 members proudly living up to Lions Clubs International motto “We Serve”, and taking on Helen Keller’s challenge to the Lions to become “knights of the blind in the crusade against darkness.”

Since 1917, Lions have worked tirelessly to aid their communities, the blind and visually impaired, as well as the hearing impaired.

• The Virginia Department for the Blind and Visually Impaired (DBVI) is committed to providing quality services to assist Virginia’s citizens who are blind, deaf blind or vision impaired in achieving their maximum level of employment, education, and personal independence. The department provides an array of specialized services to blind Virginians of all ages to assist them in attaining the skills, confidence and positive outlook that are critical to independence.