Probably one of the most important facts for parents to know when it comes to accidents and bumps to the head, is that your child does not have to be knocked unconscious in order to have a concussion. In fact, whiplash can cause a concussion, your child does not have to hit his or her head. The same holds true for adults.

While 85% of people who suffer a concussion are able to heal without long term side effects, 15% need rehabilitative services designed to eliminate or minimize their symptoms so they can function in life.

Neuro-Optometric Vision Rehabilitation is a sub-specialty of Optometry that focuses on the variety of visual disorders that occur as a result of a concussion or multiple concussions, brain injuries, developmental delays or other neurological disorders.

Many people don’t realize that our eyes are part of the brain. When someone suffers any type of injury to the brain, whether it is a stroke, car accident or developmental delay, their vision will be adversely affected. For example, common vision symptoms after concussion include trouble concentrating when trying to read, double vision, difficulty shifting from looking at things up close (such as reading distance), and then shifting to look at things in the distance and vice versa.

There are other symptoms which most people don’t associate with vision, but can definitely be caused by vision disorders some of which include: difficulty being in crowded places such as stores and malls, problems with balance and movement, clumsiness, short attention span, as well as light sensitivity.

Vision problems that occur after a head injury can range from being very subtle to dramatic. The more subtle vision disorders can often be the most irritating because they require very specialized testing to detect, and the patient often feels as though no one believes them.

Double vision is a common occurrence after stroke or head injury and can often be more severe for those who have suffered multiple concussions. It is vital to the rehabilitation process that double vision is treated as soon as possible; otherwise the overall rehabilitation will be significantly delayed.