I started Morgan in Vision Therapy because at the age of 7 she was feeling as though she couldnÕt read or write. Even though she had mastered all the skills necessary to read, she couldnÕt put them all together. I also began to notice her self-esteem showing signs of deterioration.

As a teacher, I knew that there was a great possibility that she could be labeled as learning disabled and I wanted to explore all the other possibilities. I also wanted to help Morgan regain a positive self-esteem.

Upon completion of the Vision Therapy program, Morgan is reading at grade level and her writing has improved. She enjoys reading and will pick up a book on her own to read for enjoyment. Morgan has also regained her confidence and will try new words to read unfamiliar text.

Vision Therapy has been a very positive experience for Morgan. She enjoyed coming each time.
Deborah Baccino, MorganÕs parent
2/15/02

During a routine eye exam, Dr. Kageyama diagnosed Amanda with ˜convergence insufficiency.ê He recommended Vision Therapy. We agreed that she should do the therapy no later than 3rd grade.

Amanda is a good student but her homework became a struggle in 2nd grade. Her frustration levels (usually manifested at home) were very high. She was angry with her parents and wouldnÕt cooperate with the routine.

After only ten Vision Therapy sessions, Amanda is taking the initiative and completing homework with less trouble. In the last three weeks, both my husband and I have noticed that her attitude has improved. She now tells us she loves us and hugs us spontaneously. She seems happier.
Greg and Ruth Shepherd, AmandaÕs parents
3/11/02

Chris was struggling in school. His timed test scores were terrible. It took him too much time to complete his homework. He was miserable and difficult to live with.

I wanted him to enjoy school, not suffer for twelve to eighteen years. I was afraid that he would fail or give up. I was concerned about his self-esteem. I wanted him to enjoy reading. Having the same (or similar) vision problem, I know how hard it is to endure.

Now, after 70% of the way through Vision Therapy, Chris has had fabulous success. All of his grades have gone up at least one letter grade. He has started to like reading. His homework is getting finished in a timely manner. He is much happier and more helpful.

If I could, I would take Vision Therapy myself! I have already recommended Dr. Kageyama to several people. I would recommend Vision Therapy to anyone with a vision problem! Dr. Kageyama and Vision Therapy have been a miracle for Chris. God bless you and thank you!
Debra Miller, ChrisÕ parent
3/15/02

Kayla has worn glasses since she was four but still had trouble focusing. Before Vision Therapy, she had trouble reading and was at risk of being retained in the second grade. It took her hours a day all week to complete her homework.

She was diagnosed with precocious puberty, and I knew that remaining back in the second grade would not be good for her. She tried so hard to do well, and I hated to see the effort not doing her any good.

Since Vision Therapy, Kayla has jumped up many levels in reading. She is very close to the reading level she needs to graduate in two months. Her confidence has improved. It takes her much less time to complete her homework. She has improved in all of her school subjects, with the most dramatic improvement in the area of reading.
Rebecca M. Fyfe, KaylaÕs parent
4/2/02

Alisha sometimes mixed her letters and numbers by reversing them. Also, some of her words/letters were printed backwards. I initially noted that her eyes were not tracking and aiming well.

Since Vision Therapy, Alisha is reading more fluidly and has less difficulty in picking up words to pronounce.
Sam Leong, Alisha's parent

Tracey had struggled with her reading and homework through kindergarten and 1st grade, and it was getting worse in 2nd grade. When the fits started, I knew there was a real problem. She had never thrown a fit before. TraceyÕs self-esteem was going quickly. If something didnÕt change, she would never complete school or be able to attend college.

She has been in Vision Therapy for 5 months. She can now do her reading without throwing a fit. She still has to try a little harder than others to make up for lost time, but at least now she can do the reading. I wish weÕd done Vision Therapy sooner.
Twila Salvador, TraceyÕs parent
10/20/00

John seemed to tire easily from reading. He took a long time to do his class work when it was written work. After four months of Vision Therapy, he is completing his work quicker. Now, John enjoys reading to himself since therapy and does recreational reading daily.
John and Jean Gize, JohnÕs parents

Before Vision Therapy, we noticed MichaelÕs eyes worked independently of each other [poor binocular coordination]. Since Vision Therapy, he reads spontaneously and his coordination is improved.
Michael A. Mastre's parents

Michael was having difficulty reading, and the more he read, the worse he got. He also had problems comprehending simple questions after reading something. Shortly after beginning vision therapy, he was eager to pick up a book and try to read it. Now MichaelÕs reading is consistently improving. His ability to keep his place while reading is better and his comprehension is greater.
Shelli Krunic, MichaelÕs parent

Another doctor referred Laura for Vision Therapy and said it would be helpful for her lazy eye. After the first three visits for Vision Therapy, she noticed that she could read better. After about 2 months, she noticed that when she covered her good eye, she could see better with her other eye. There was no more blurred or double vision.
Perky Giulie, LauraÕs parent

Jeffrey was having some difficulty with concentration and focus in reading. After hearing about Vision Therapy, his teacher recommended he be tested, and he indeed was a good candidate for therapy.

WeÕve been working with Jeffrey and Vision Therapy for about 6 months and his ability to focus on reading has greatly improved. HeÕs also not experiencing the headaches that he frequently complained about before therapy. There was also a great improvement on the statewide STAR testing scores from 2nd grade to 3rd grade. His ability to concentrate and comprehend has improved.
Susan Peters, JeffreyÕs parent
8/30/00

In my senior year of high school, my English grades were very low. I hated reading because I didnÕt understand anything I read. I was concerned about college. I felt really insecure about English and my level of reading and comprehending.

IÕve been in Vision Therapy for about two months now, 2-3 times a week. I have seen dramatic changes in my reading. I read a 350 page book in less than a week! It would have taken me months to read that before.

Vision Therapy is great. I only wish IÕd gotten it sooner.
Trisha Diiorio, young adult patient
9/25/01

Before Vision Therapy, Emily was slow in reading, although she was an excellent student in other respects. Abby had blurred vision. I didnÕt want my girls to become discouraged about their abilities or about school. We are avid readers and wanted the girls to enjoy it too.

Now, Emily is a Vision Therapy graduate and is reading independently and much more confidently. Abby is just having a few visits. Dr. Kageyama is great with the kids and they both really enjoy the therapy!
Jan Conroy, Emily and AbbyÕs parent
10/30/01

Before Vision Therapy, William was very frustrated when he did homework, especially reading. After five minutes, he would rub his eyes and throw the book down. He was told his vision was 20/20, no problems. That didnÕt make sense. We feared he would hate school and reading. Also, his behavior was affected, making us wonder about ADD. Then we heard about Vision Therapy.

Twenty-eight sessions later (over a period of 8 to 9 months), William now loves to read. He doesnÕt love homework, but he is able to do so much better. His attitude has changed dramatically.
Jenny Gregg, WilliamÕs parent
11/8/01

Michael had a problem with eye tracking and focus. He was not doing well in school and had problems with sports. Unfortunately, we thought he was just lazy and slow. Michael went for Vision Therapy for three months and very quickly improved in school. There are no more problems regarding sports either. Michael showed flashes of smartness and brightness before he had therapy. Now, after Vision Therapy, his real self comes through all the time.
Liz Cheim, MichaelÕs parent
12/28/01

Prior to Vision Therapy, Matt had double and triple vision [diplopia], and poor eye tracking. He felt frustrated and angry about school. WeÕre only half way through the Vision Therapy and my son has noticed dramatic changes. He no longer struggles with reading music. The double and triple vision while reading music is gone! Now, he is able to notice when his vision becomes double and can pull out of it.
Mercedes Jordan, MattÕs parent
11/20/01

Before Vision Therapy, there was a large gap between JamesÕ academic potential and his actual performance. Even though he is an intelligent boy, he was struggling with reading and writing. We were afraid that James would fall further and further behind in reading. We were also concerned about his self-esteem, even though he is a very bright boy.

Since starting Vision Therapy, his reading has improved. He is not skipping words and sentences, and has become a more fluid reader. Now that we have corrected some of his mechanical vision problems, we expect the reading and writing to continue to improve.
Gayle Lamar, JamesÕ parent
2/13/02

Emily experienced great difficulty in reading, math, concentration, comprehension and following instructions. We were concerned about her falling behind in school. Her self-esteem was taking a beating and we were all very frustrated.

Emily had 30 sessions of Vision Therapy with Dr. Kageyama. It was like a miracle. She started reading better, understanding more, and concentrating longer. It was as though a fog had lifted. Overall, she seemed less confused and more focused. We are all very relieved!
Ed and Linda Murrer, EmilyÕs parents
10/23/01

Kelsey was screened at school at the end of 4th grade and failed miserably. She has always struggled with school and with reading in particular. Homework took an incredible amount of time and she had developed lots of negative feelings and behavior toward school. I worried about how Kelsey would do as the work got harder.

Kelsey spent 16 weeks in Vision Therapy, and about 4 weeks into it, I realized she wasnÕt spilling things at dinner and her eye-hand coordination was better. About 3 months after she finished Vision Therapy, suddenly her grades improved and she actually read the first Harry Potter book.

I had a very bright child who really struggled with school. Now I have a child who likes school and can be successful there.
Lisa Vischer, KelseyÕs parent
3/22/02

I would like to express my thanks for helping my daughter Lauren with her Vision Therapy. When Lauren began Vision Therapy, we anticipated that the correction of her double vision would greatly help her ability to read, and it has. What we did not anticipate was the extent to which vision correction would help many other aspects of her life.

Instead of dreading to read, she now enjoys it. Her homework takes about half as long as it used to. Her ability to put her thoughts to paper has dramatically improved, as has her attitude toward school. We used to consider her quite disorganized, now she is the child in class to whom the others turn for information. Best of all, she is a much happier girl than she used to be, perhaps because she is not as stressed by her school and homework.

I realize the tone of this letter sounds overly enthusiastic, but we really could not be more pleased. Thank you, Dr. Kageyama and staff for making our Vision Therapy experience a pleasant, as well as successful one.
Maxine Granadino, LaurenÕs parent
2/26/99

From kindergarten on, Evan showed signs of stress upon departing for school (crying, kicking the back of the car seats, irrationality). This behavior also occurred whenever we worked on homework together. Over time, we pulled him back a year thinking he was not quite ready for the demands of school. This helped, but not as much as we had expected. He was still shrinking away from school-related activities and certain sport activities (throwing/catching balls and handling small objects etc.).

We had numerous teacher conferences over these early years about these signs of stress. None of EvanÕs teachers had any insight into the things we saw. They continually said that he was doing fine and saw no signs of trouble/stress. I knew this couldnÕt be right. I worried about my sonÕs future in school. The light bulb came on for me one day when I was visiting an eye care center and I happened upon the binder full of stories about children and vision problems. I followed up with an information session and vision assessment with Dr. Kageyama. We found that while Evan has 20-20 vision, he had disabling problems with eye focusing.

Evan showed signs of improvement one month after beginning 3-times a week Vision Therapy sessions. By the end of training and two months after training stopped, Evan finishes his homework lickety-split, no complaints, picks up his favorite books to read (in bed, in the car, on the morning before school), and has improved in spelling and comprehension to a great degree. Additionally, his ability catching and throwing balls and small objects improved greatly. Most importantly, he is much more comfortable in an academic environment now. His interest and performance more closely match his level of intelligence.

During the course of EvanÕs therapy, I read quite a bit about these particular types of vision problems. I am a believer in the existence of these basic problems and that Vision Therapy is worth the time and expense. When relevant and possible, I bring these particular types of vision problems up to friends and family. Educators in the public schools seem very reluctant to give any credence to these issues and the validity of Vision Therapy. How very unfortunate and sad.
Bill Tanaka and Toni Fischer, EvanÕs parents
5/3/02

Prior to Vision Therapy, Kimberly L.M. had complained of symptoms like headaches, eyestrain, and blurred vision. Previous eye exams had shown her to have perfect "20/20ê vision, but her parents felt that something was wrong. Although she was very bright and hard working, Kimberly had difficulty with long reading assignments and tests. A Stanford Achievement Test in April '98 showed her to test in the 60-75% range.

She was found to have a visual-motor dysfunction and went through a program of Vision Therapy from October '98-February '99. Her symptoms were eliminated and she reported that she was able to read for prolonged periods of time without effort or eyestrain. She was re-tested with the Stanford Achievement Test in March '99, where she tested in the 90-98% range.
Report written by Dr. Kageyama on Kimberly L.M., young patient

I am a school board member in the Campbell Union School District (Santa Clara County). I also serve as the Governmental Relations Chair to Senator Byron Sher, as well as Treasurer to our Santa Clara County School Boards Association.

I am the mother of two sons who have had various visual processing problems and who have benefited immensely from Vision Therapy. I would like to share with you my perspective on the value of comprehensive eye exams and Vision Therapy as both a parent and as a board member.

My ten year old son, Scott, had always struggled with reading. He was enrolled in three different reading intervention programs at our local school, none of which provided sustained improvements. Participation in a child study team at his school did not reveal any causal reasons for the lack of correlation between his academic potential and his academic performance (his IQ level was high and his performance level was average). After school and during the summer, he participated in two different lengthy one-to-one private tutoring programs. Although we saw some improvement, again there was very little sustained improvement.

In third grade, Scott was tested for our gifted program, as are all third graders in our district, and he tested into the 98th percentile - and yet he could not read without a great deal of effort, he read far below grade level and was becoming increasingly frustrated about his inability to master a process that is fundamental to so many other areas of learning and achievement.

Fortunately, we had read some information regarding the importance of visual information processing skills as they relate to academic achievement and subsequently a developmental vision exam found that Scott had difficulties in eye movements, focusing, convergence, and visual information processing ,as well as double vision - although his eye health and acuity levels were normal [20/20 distance vision]. There was never any indication throughout the child study team process, the on-site reading intervention programs, or the private tutoring programs that anything was wrong with ScottÕs vision.

Scott completed 40 half-hour sessions of Vision Therapy and now wears prism glasses to correct for the double vision, and, not surprisingly, his SAT/9 scores reflect the benefit Vision Therapy has had for him: from 2nd to 4th grade his reading level improved from the 30th to the 85th percentile, his math level jumped from the 60th to the 93rd, and his language from the 60th to the 81st. This year I am sure Scott's scores will reflect even greater gains and he has set a personal goal to read one million words of recreational reading during the course of the school year. I am confident he will meet that goal.

It is ironic that the year Scott showed the greatest performance growth was the year that the school did not provide any sort of intervention. His performance growth occurred during the time that he was provided with Vision Therapy. Therefore, I am asking that the reader consider the following:

• the eye exams that are currently provided within the school system are incomplete and they provide students, parents and teachers a false sense of security regarding a child's ability to visually process information;
• our teachers are not trained nor are they aware of the multiple indicators that might suggest that a visual processing problem exists;
• I believe that the State of California is not making the more effective use of intervention programs funding because an inaccurate assumption is made regarding a student's ability to visually process information. My son is an example of this. As a parent, I wish I could take back those hours of frustration. As a board member, I wish we could have used those reading intervention programs on a student who had the visual ability to benefit from them. Before we invest any resources in any remediation or intervention program we need to ensure, from the very start, that the student has the visual ability to process the information being presented. It is estimated that 20% of all school age children could benefit from some type of Vision Therapy and probably 70% of those in need of remediation and interventions could;
• Vision Therapy is cost effective - our educational system realizes a return on that one-time investment for the entire time that the student remains in our system. Once a vision problem is corrected, it remains corrected. Vision Therapy is targeted and specific, and its impact on academic performance can easily be evaluated. Few other programs can offer such a valuable, immediate and direct link.

To read more Vision Therapy success stories, visit the national catalog at visiontherapystories.org.

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