Farmington, CT

Can Vision Therapy Help in the Treatment of ADHD?

Feb 1, 2025

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Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a condition that affects many kids and adults around the world. It’s known for symptoms like trouble concentrating, hyperactivity, and impulsiveness. While medications and behavioral therapies are the most common treatments, there’s growing interest in alternative methods, like vision therapy. If you’re considering vision therapy to treat ADHD, keep reading to learn more about the benefits and how we can help with our vision therapy services in Farmington.  

The connection between vision and ADHD 

When we think about ADHD, vision problems might not be the first thing that comes to mind. However, many people with ADHD struggle with how their brain processes visual information. This can mean having trouble tracking moving objects, coordinating both eyes to focus on a single point, or maintaining visual attention on tasks like reading. These visual inefficiencies can make it challenging to perform day-to-day activities, resulting in frustration and fatigue.   

For students, visual processing issues can make academic tasks especially challenging. Reading can become difficult if the eyes don’t smoothly track across the page, resulting in skipped lines or repeatedly reading the same sentence. This can greatly affect comprehension and retention and impact the learning process.  

How vision therapy can help with ADHD 

Vision therapy is a personalized program designed to improve how the eyes and brain work together. While vision therapy doesn’t directly treat ADHD, it can help manage some of the symptoms by: 

  • Enhancing focus and attention: By strengthening visual skills, vision therapy can help make reading and other visual tasks less of a struggle, allowing for better concentration and focus. 
  • Reducing visual discomfort: Our therapy helps with eye strain and fatigue, which can exacerbate ADHD symptoms. As a result, learning can be more comfortable and effective. 
  • Boosting confidence: Children and adults often experience a boost in self-esteem when visual tasks become easier. This increase in self-confidence can have positive effects on academic performance and behavior in general. 

How SIGHT can help  

Our eye doctors can identify visual problems related to ADHD during a comprehensive eye exam. During this exam, we’ll take a close look at your visual acuity, eye movement, focusing ability, and other important visual skills. We can also perform a functional eye exam to check how well your brain processes visual information and how it impacts your cognitive skills. If needed, our vision therapist might do some additional testing to detect specific visual issues and create a personalized treatment plan to suit your needs. 

If you’re in Farmington, CT, or the surrounding areas, and are interested in exploring how vision therapy might benefit you or your child with ADHD, please contact us today.