Neuro-Optometric Rehabilitation

Vision is fundamentally a function of the brain. The way we process depth, direction, speed, and color contrast all comes down to how the brain interprets the information the eyes provide.

Can a Brain Injury or Concussion Affect Your Vision?

A brain injury can be caused by even a mild hit to the head. Traumatic brain injury, or TBI, is a disruption of the normal function of the brain, often caused by a blow, a bump, or jolt to the head. These types of brain injuries, and the changes that occur, are often undetected in an MRI or a CT scan. A concussion may seem trivial, but it’s actually a brain injury, even if it doesn’t cause a loss of consciousness.

A brain injury can interfere with visual pathways, as it can cause a disruption in communication between the brain and the eyes, bringing on any number of visual dysfunctions. Studies show that
90% of TBI patients experience some sort of visual dysfunction, including blurred vision, visual field defects, and breathing problems. These and other symptoms can be long-term and life-altering.

An optometrist or vision therapist trained in neuro-optometric rehabilitation can effectively treat and rehabilitate the vision-related problems in those who have or are suffering from visual deficits and dysfunction resulting from brain injury or disease.

Headed by Dr. Moshe Roth and Dr. Steffani Tiomno Viveros, the Family Eye Care provides advanced neuro-optometric rehabilitation from our clinic in Old Bridge, New Jersey. We work with patients to help them improve visual function, alleviate symptoms, and regain their quality of life. We provide neuro-optometric rehabilitation to patients from Old Bridge, East Brunswick, Woodbridge, and Edison.

What is Neuro-Optometric Rehabilitation?

The brain is surprisingly elastic, meaning it can rewire and retrain itself after injury. Neuro-optometry—often lumped in with vision therapy—is a specialized field of optometry which works to actively retrain and reprogram the visual processing we rely on to properly interact and interpret the world around us. Neuro-optometric rehabilitation uses a highly-customized combination of visual exercises, specialized lenses, and targeted visual stimuli—often including of digital aids—to retrain the patient’s brain to process visual input properly.

Dr. Moshe Roth and Dr. Steffani Tiomno Viveros
will determine the right course of treatment and can prevent potential long-term damage to help you get back to being the person you were before your injury.

How Neuro-Optometric Rehabilitation Can Help

While some concussion symptoms may improve on their own, symptoms affecting the visual system can linger for months or even years, causing long-term problems that require the intervention of a neuro-optometrist.

Neuro-optometric rehabilitation is a personalized, science-based regimen of eye exercises and activities based on your brain’s ability to adapt and change — called neuroplasticity. It works by rewiring and improving the connection between your eyes and brain.

Depending on your specific symptoms and needs, our neuro-optometrist will develop a customized neuro-optometric program of at-home and in-office exercises that will help alleviate your concussion-related visual symptoms.

Our practice serves patients from Old Bridge, East Brunswick, Woodbridge, and Edison, New Jersey and surrounding communities.