GLEN CARBON – March is Brain Injury Awareness Month, and Dr. Julie Steinhauer, OD, FCOVD, says a vision therapy program can, in most cases, help individuals regain normal functionality of their vision following a traumatic brain injury.
According to the Brain Injury Association of America (BIA), more than 5.3 million in the U.S. are living with a permanent brain injury disability. Many who suffer a brain injury are misdiagnosed or misunderstood.
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Dr. Steinhauer, the owner of Vision For Life and Success, and one of a select group of functional vision doctors in the nation, said brain injuries are classified differently as to their origin, either as a traumatic brain injury (TBI) or an acquired brain injury. Those who suffer from a TBI experience an alteration in brain function caused by an external force or trauma. Non-traumatic or acquired brain injuries can result from a stroke, tumor, surgery, or infectious disease.
A TBI can occur from a concussion stemming from a blow to the head from a sports injury, a fall, or whiplash from a car accident. It can create multiple types of vision issues such as blurriness, double vision, and problems with reading comprehension.
As detailed in her YouTube video, How Vision Therapy Helps With Traumatic Brain Injury, Dr. Steinhauer says the impacted individual may not only suffer from loss of the vision field but can become sensitive to light and may suffer from sensory overload when noise and visual activity can become overbearing at a grocery store or school activity.
“Vision issues can take weeks, months or even years to appear following a traumatic brain injury,” said Dr. Steinhauer. “An individual may be lacking symptoms then all of a sudden they notice they can’t see clearly or have problems concentrating on a business or leisure activity. If left untreated these issues can grow more severe over time.”
Dr. Steinhauer said once the impacted individual recognizes they have problems with their eyesight they should visit a visual therapy specialist.
“Practices like Vision For Life and Success take a multi-functional approach to help those with TBIs. Treatment includes syntonics or light therapy coupled with other customized modalities of the therapeutic program,” adds Dr. Steinhauer. “The goal is to reprogram how the brain processes information to help return vision to normal levels.”
“We have found this approach to vision therapy to be highly successful in treating brain injury patients for over the past two decades.”
Vision For Life And Success provides treatment nationwide, in-office for local patients and remotely for others. For information visit https://visionforlifeworks.com
ABOUT DR. JULIE STEINHAUER
Dr. Steinhauer, now in her 21st year of practice, is a developmental optometrist specializing in vision related learning problems, sports vision, and rehabilitative optometry. She is board certified in vision development as a Fellow of the College of Optometrists in Vision Development. Dr. Steinhauer is a member of the Illinois Optometric Association, American Optometric Association, College of Optometrists in Vision Development, Optometric Extension Program, the College of Syntonic Optometry, and the Neuro-Optometric Rehabilitation Association.
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