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The Importance of Regular Eye Exams to Your Child’s Learning
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The Importance of Regular Eye Exams to Your Child’s Learning

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With the school year well underway and the holidays approaching, the last thing you probably want to think about is trying to fit an eye exam into your busy schedule. However, if in the chaos of back-to-school shopping and activities you forgot to get your child’s eyes checked, it’s essential that you do so now.

The majority of people are very visual learners; in fact, approximately 80% of learning is done with the eyes. This means that children who have vision problems are at a great disadvantage and, ultimately, their learning will suffer if the problems aren’t addressed.

Why School Eye Screenings Aren’t Enough

While it’s true that most schools do vision screenings at the beginning of the school year and many pediatricians will do an eye screening during an annual well check, it’s important not to rely on these types of vision screenings. Despite what some parents may think, screenings are not the same in scope as a visual examination you would receive from an optometrist or NeuroVisual Specialist. In fact, screenings performed by clinics and schools only catch a small percentage of vision issues – just 25% according to the American Optometric Association. Since many children with vision problems don’t even realize they have poor vision, parents and teachers generally can’t rely on the children to make them aware of the situation.

Why a NeuroVisual Examination Is Essential

While a routine eye exam performed by a regular eye doctor is very useful in testing your child’s visual acuity and identifying specific eye diseases, a NeuroVisual Examination is much more comprehensive. This type of evaluation checks for shadowed or double vision and assesses how well your child’s eyes work together as a team.

This type of testing is extremely important, as many children struggle with reading and other learning difficulties as a result of their eyes being out of sync with each other. This type of issue, known as Binocular Vision Dysfunction (BVD), is due to a misalignment of the eyes (most often very subtle), which is something most optometrists cannot find with routine testing. If you have a child who’s failing to thrive in school, it’s possible he or she may have this condition. As such, it’s critical to have your child evaluated by a NeuroVisual Specialist.

Schedule an Appointment at Vision Specialists of Michigan

If you need to schedule an eye exam for your child, make sure you take the time to do so now. If you have further concerns and feel a more extensive examination is necessary, your best bet is to contact Vision Specialists of Michigan. Give us a call at (248) 258-9000 to learn more about Binocular Vision Dysfunction and the micro-prism lenses we use to correct the eye misalignments that cause the condition.

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  • American Academy Optometry
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Dr. Sandy DiPonio earned her optometry degree from Illinois College of Optometry in 1996. She is a highly skilled and experienced eye care professional dedicated to giving her patients of all ages excellent and compassionate care. She has a wide variety of experience in binocular vision, pediatric and adult eye care, ocular disease and contact lens fitting. She strives to provide each of her patients the best quality of life they can achieve with their vision through knowledge and education of treatment options.

Dr. DiPonio is a member of the American Optometric Society and Michigan Optometric Society.

Dr. Sally Hoey has been practicing optometry since graduating from Michigan College of Optometry in 2001. During her time in optometry school, she developed an interest in binocular vision, culminating in a senior thesis involving binocular vision.

Prior to joining Vision Specialists of Michigan, Dr. Hoey specialized in the diagnosis and treatment of vision-related learning problems as well as other binocular vision disorders. Her other areas of interest include specialty contact lens fittings and treating dry eye. Dr. Hoey strives to provide her patients with clear, comfortable vision while meeting their individual needs at the same time.

Dr. Hoey had the opportunity to provide eye care on an optometric mission trip to Guyana, South America and vision screenings at a local medical clinic. She is a member of the American Optometric Association, Michigan Optometric Association, Metropolitan Detroit Optometric Society and the College of Optometrists in Vision Development.

Dr. Jennifer Place graduated with honors from Michigan College of Optometry in 2001.

Before joining Vision Specialists of Michigan, she specialized in treating pediatric and adult patients with binocular vision disorders and vision-related learning problems, as well as fitting specialty contact lenses and managing various types of ocular disease. She enjoys working with patients with unique visual needs, and she takes great pride in providing all patients with highly customized care.

Dr. Place has volunteered for Opening Eyes, a program that provides eye exams to the athletes of the Michigan Special Olympics, and she participated in an international mission to St. Lucia to provide eye care to those in need. Dr. Place is a member of the Detroit Optometric Society, the Michigan Optometric Association, the American Optometric Association, the College of Vision Development, and the Optometric Extension Program Foundation.

Dr. Mary Jo Ference has been practicing optometry since 1990 upon graduating from Ferris State University- Michigan College of Optometry, and is certified in Low Vision Rehabilitation. She has worked at Sinai-Grace Hospital systems for over 20 years before joining Vision Specialists of Michigan in 2013 to work with binocular vision disorders. Her clinical areas of expertise include visual rehabilitation of pediatric and adult patients who have suffered from brain trauma, injury or disease. She has taught both optometry and ophthalmology residents at Sinai Grace Hospital. Dr. Ference has sat on numerous boards, including Sinai Grace Hospital, Berry Out-Patient Surgical Center, and Seedlings Braille Books for the Blind. She is actively involved in area school districts to provide education, training and access for students, teachers, OT’s and PT’s to eye care service rehabilitation information. Dr. Ference has lectured extensively nationally and internationally.

Dr. Debby Feinberg began practicing Optometry in Oakland County in 1983, upon graduating from Illinois College of Optometry. She joined her father, Dr. Paul C. Feinberg, at Mall Optical Center, which was located in Summit Place Mall.

Since 1995 Dr. Feinberg has been developing the field of NeuroVisual Medicine which is the optometric subspecialty that identifies and treats neurological / medical symptoms that originate directly or indirectly in the visual system.

Dr. Feinberg has been performing pioneering work with Binocular Vision Dysfunction (BVD), a condition where a vision misalignment (frequently subtle) creates difficulties with the two eyes working together to create a single 3-dimensional image, and difficulties with the two eyes following that image as it moves.

The symptoms caused by BVD are not usually associated with problems with the visual system, and include headache, dizziness, anxiety and panic, persistent post-concussive symptoms, gait instability and balance problems, frequent falls, neck pain, motion sickness, nausea, and reading and learning problems.

In 2004. Dr. Feinberg established Vision Specialists of Birmingham, specifically designing the practice to accommodate the needs of the NeuroVisual Medicine patient.

In 2011, the office moved to its current location in Bloomfield Hills and updated its name to Vision Specialists of Michigan.