Your visual system brings you much information about your world. When you look at something, you don't just 'see' with your eyes you inspect, discriminate, identify and interpret all as part of your visual system. Behavioural vision care is an expanded area of optometric practice.

Eyesight is the ability to see something clearly. Vision goes beyond eyesight and is the understanding of what is seen. Vision involves the ability to take incoming visual information, process that information and obtain meaning from it.

20/20 or 6/6 eyesight is measured in a standard eye examination with a Snellen eye chart and means that a child is capable of seeing clearly at a distance of twenty feet or six metres. Unfortunately, how well a child sees at twenty feet (or six metres) has little to do with how their vision functions at the reading and learning distance - approximately 30cm to 40cm from the face. In fact, the Snellen eye chart test which measures eyesight actually does more harm than good. It gives both parents and teachers a false sense of security that vision is normal. There are many other important visual skills that might not be developed even though eye sight at distance is normal.

Behavioural Optometry is an approach to vision care to develop these visual skills which provide for an efficient visual system.

Behavioural Optometric care can be used to help virtually anyone. However the following individuals will benefit:

- Children of all ages, but especially children just starting school

- Children who are having trouble with reading or learning, or who are reading "below their potential"

- Children who seem to be uncoordinated on visually demanding sports

- Children diagnosed as ADD/ADHD

- Anyone who participates in sports and wants improved performance

- Anyone who works at a computer

- Anyone who has a visually demanding job

- Anyone who suffers from burning, itchy eyes, eye strain or visual fatigue

- Anyone who has suffered a traumatic brain injury

- Stroke patients