STAY UPDATED ON FUTURE WORKSHOPS -- Free education for parents, professionals and those recovering from a brain injury.
FREE WORKSHOP:
Vision Rehabilitation in Brain Injuries
Join here for reminders on future dates:
WHAT YOU'LL LEARN
In this lively, hands-on workshop, you'll learn how to assess, test for and distinguish visual conditions that are often triggered by brain trauma.
You'll learn basic tests that reveal vision problems, and the opportunity to ask questions, and to understand the role of visual rehabilitation in restoring patients to their best possible level of performance.
The workshop is free.
BACKGROUND
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Traumatic injury to the brain often produces dramatic changes in vision and perception.
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Double vision, loss of visual fields, distorted perception of surroundings are just a few of the commonly reported symptoms.
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Many head trauma victims say that persistent visual disturbances they experience after their injury are a primary obstacle to their recovery and return to active life.
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Visual rehabilitation has proven to be a useful adjunct to physical and other therapies for TBI patients.
VISUAL INSTABILITY EXPLAINED
What if your eyes did this when you read?
What if the text looked like this?
Unfortunately most people aren't aware of this information.
We've all been led to believe that if you can see 20/20, then your vision is fine.
But it's simply untrue.
There are many more vision problems to evaluate.
We will discuss them in the workshop.
The vision problems discussed in the online workshop can affect just about all areas of learning and development...
School, sports, reading, writing, math, social skill, attention, behavior, you name it.
How?
Why?
Because we learn most of what we know through the eyes.
Of the five senses, vision is the dominant.
Every lobe of the brain has "real estate" dedicated to processing what the eyes record.
There is more space in the brain dedicated to sight, than there is all the other senses combined...
The amount of information we see is immense.
So much so, that when people try to think, they have to close their eyes.
Many people can't deal with the vast amount of information through the eyes at once.
The amount of visual data entering the brain can sometimes distract the other senses.
Many people close their eyes to listen to music, to smell a rose, to think of a memory, to think of what they have to say etc.
Have you ever seen a person cover their mouth, nose, or ears in order to appreciate the sunset?
Sure, sounds (auditory input) can distract too, but not nearly as much as sight (visual input).
Many people say they are "auditory learners." I have to think this would be a very very rare phenomenon.
There is not a person on this planet who's brain processes more auditory information than visual information.
Except if the brain is injured in a very specific way.
Most people who have persistent symptoms from a concussion or a TBI have specific visual disorders.
How do we identify them?
What can we do about it?
That's what we'll cover in this workshop...
The good news is that most of these vision problems are trainable. We have to use our eyes. And apart from the things you probably can't fix (the structure of the eye), vision is a skill that can be learned.
SHOULD I ATTEND?
If you know anyone who has the following symptoms and you think they need help, then YES!
PHYSICAL SYMPTOMS:
😥 Persistent headaches
😥 Photosensitivity/light sensitivity
😥 Brain fog
😥 Dizziness
😥 Nausea
😥 Car sick/motion sick
😥 Balance problems
😥Unstable gait
😥 Poor depth perception and awareness or space
😥 Overwhelmed/anxious in crowded places with lots of movement
😥 Difficulty watching tv/video with fast pace motion/visual changes
READING PROBLEMS:
😥 Must use finger or marker to hold place while reading
😥 Reading causes sleepiness, headaches or even nausea.
😥 Poor reading comprehension
😥 Likes to listen to stories but doesn't like reading
😥 Falls asleep or gets tired when reading
😥 Slow, choppy reading (not seeing the whole word at once)
😥 Skips words or lines while reading
😥 Often overlooks or mis-reads short words
ATTENTION AND BEHAVIOR:
😥 Not performing to potential at work or at home despite effort
😥 Has to close eyes to think or process information
😥 Has to learn new things by sound rather than sight (listens to audiobooks but won't read)
😥 Attention span shortens when doing intense close up work
WORKSHOP HOST: DR. PETER CHARRON
Peter Charron, OD, FCOVD is a private practice Optometrist in Bellingham, Washington who wants you and your therapists to have the best information at your fingertips.
Dr. Peter Charron was born and raised in Portland, Maine. He moved to Bellingham in 2010 after practicing optometry for 2 years in Rhode Island. He graduated from the University of Delaware with a major in Neuroscience, then earned his Doctorate of Optometry from the Southern College of Optometry in Memphis, TN in 2008. He has wanted to be an Optometrist ever since he was introduced to vision therapy in college.
In 2014, he earned a Board Certification with the College of Vision Development which requires passing written and oral exams, and over 100 hours of additional coursework in vision therapy related material. He is the only provider in Whatcom & Skagit County to hold this credential.
Dr. Charron is the owner of Charron Vision Therapy in Bellingham, WA.