Basic vision capacities such as those described previously are normally observed quite early, often by the age of six months and certainly before the age of two to three years. Developmental vision therapy refers to higher-order vision capacities that are developed after the age of two. They include visual imagery, visual recall, visualization, visual thinking, and problem-solving utilizing visual cues. Cumulatively they are used for success in academics, reasoning, receptive and expressive communication, and graphic capacities that include writing and drawing.
Children who have gaps in their vision development often have difficulty with spelling, reading comprehension, memorizing lists and tables, following multiple instructions, and solving problems with visual cues. Adults with vision development gaps have often compensated by learning through alternative means, but they still can have difficulty following driving directions, judging distances, and studying.
Developmental vision therapy is designed to help people develop higher order vision capacities, to fill in gaps in vision development where they have occurred, and to ensure utilization along with our other capacities for leaning and understanding. This is accomplished by creating developmentally appropriate conditions, for each individual, in which the only way to achieve a given objective is to explore one or more of these visual capacities.
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