Opto-mization Optometry and Vision Therapy

02/10/2026

We just finished analyzing data from more than 3,000 patients who completed care focused on improving how the eyes and brain work together — not just updating prescriptions, but improving how the visual system actually functions.

The results are meaningful.

Children showed the largest improvements in visual tracking speed, measured with the King-Devick test. This test looks at how quickly and accurately the eyes move across a page — a skill that directly affects reading fluency, stamina, and the ability to keep place while reading. After treatment, kids’ eye movements became faster and more efficient, with changes that were highly statistically significant.

We also saw strong improvements in binocular coordination — how well the two eyes work as a team. When this system is working better, reading and screen time feel easier, attention is more sustainable, and visual fatigue is reduced.

Depth perception improved across all age groups, with especially notable gains in adults. Depth perception plays an important role in balance, spatial awareness, confidence in movement, and overall visual comfort — areas many adults and seniors struggle with quietly.

Importantly, this wasn’t just a pediatric finding. Adults and seniors also showed measurable improvements in visual tracking and binocular function. The pattern of change differed by age, but the data clearly show that the visual system remains adaptable throughout life.

These were not small or random shifts. Across measures, results were highly statistically significant (p < 0.0001), meaning the improvements are very unlikely to be due to chance.

This is real-world clinical data, and it gives us a strong foundation. The next phase of research is now being developed to examine how these functional improvements are reflected in the brain using objective neuroscience tools.

We already see patients reading more comfortably, lasting longer at work and school tasks, feeling steadier on their feet, and experiencing less visual strain. Now we’re working to better understand how the brain adapts alongside those changes.

If someone is struggling with reading, focus, headaches, dizziness, or visual fatigue — at any age — it may not just be an eyesight issue. Sometimes the visual system itself needs support and training.

11/30/2025

The OPTOMIZE Ebook is now available for FREE download. Learn how vision impacts dyslexia, concussion, migraine, dizziness, ADHD and more.

Get yours at this link https://optomize.co/ebook

11/20/2025

Know someone with a concussion or Brain Injury? This free workshop will help patients and professionals alike understand and navigate the vision problems that come with concussions.

Meet the Speaker📢

Dr. Cameron McCrodan, Optometrist, FCOVD, will be holding a free presentation for the public called "Vision & Brain Injury"👀

Dr. McCrodan is the founder of Opto-mization Optometry and Vision Therapy, where pioneering optometry meets heartfelt care. He was originally inspired to focus his career on neurovisual performance shortly after graduation. He had been observing an appointment with a 50-year-old patient who had been successfully treated for a reading/learning disability caused by an underlying eye movement and processing problem. The patient shared that he thought he didn't like to read because he was stupid, only to realize it had been a problem with his eyes all along.

He supports patients of all ages and abilities, including those with reading and learning issues, head trauma, concussions, and among other aliments. Dr. McCrodan grew up in Victoria and graduated from The School of Optometry and Vision Science at the University of Waterloo. We are very grateful to have him facilitate a presentation for our community!🫶

10/28/2025

Using the Pattern Glare Test as a Functional Vision Screening Tool

Purpose

The Pattern Glare Test is a simple, evidence-based way to screen for visual sensitivity and cortical hyperexcitability—both of which are common in patients experiencing:
• Headaches or migraines
• Dizziness or motion sensitivity
• Post-concussion or vestibular symptoms
• Reading discomfort, fatigue, or eye strain
• Difficulty focusing or concentrating

When patients react negatively to patterned visual stimuli, it suggests that their visual system is part of the problem and that further functional vision assessment is warranted.

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How to Perform the Screening
1. Open the pattern glare image (a black-and-white concentric stripe pattern) on a smartphone or tablet.
• Hold at a comfortable reading distance (around 40 cm / 16 in).
• Use normal room lighting (not overly bright or dim).
2. Ask the patient to look directly at the center of the image for 5–10 seconds.
3. Observe and ask:
• “Do you notice any movement, shimmer, distortion, or color?”
• “Does it make you feel uncomfortable, tense, or dizzy in any way?”
4. If the patient reports discomfort, nausea, dizziness, headache pressure, or visual distortion, this is considered a positive response.

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Interpreting the Results

A positive pattern glare response suggests that the patient’s visual processing—particularly in the magnocellular and parvocellular pathways—is hypersensitive or unstable.
This often correlates with binocular vision dysfunction, accommodative stress, or poor visual-vestibular integration.

These findings indicate that the brain is working too hard to stabilize what the eyes are seeing, which can trigger or amplify symptoms.

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Clinical Implications

Patients who show sensitivity on this test are often the same individuals who:
• Feel visually overwhelmed in busy environments
• Experience headaches, dizziness, or motion sickness
• Struggle with screen tolerance or reading
• Have lingering post-concussion or migraine symptoms

This visual sensitivity is not just a byproduct of their condition—it’s often a driving factor that increases neurological and vestibular load.

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How Specialized Lenses Can Help

A positive Pattern Glare Test tells us that the brain is reacting abnormally to visual input, but it also means that it can be calmed and stabilized.

Through a specialized lens prescription—often involving precise changes in prism, focus, or lens alignment—we can:
• Reduce cortical visual overstimulation
• Rebalance binocular input
• Decrease visual-vestibular conflict
• Relieve headaches, dizziness, and visual fatigue
• Improve comfort, concentration, and overall performance

These optical adjustments create a more stable and efficient visual experience, allowing the brain to process visual information smoothly rather than defensively.
In many cases, patients notice immediate relief—describing that the world feels steadier, clearer, or “more relaxed.”

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Next Steps

If a patient reports discomfort during the Pattern Glare Test:
1. Document their response (type and severity of discomfort).
2. Refer them for a functional vision assessment to evaluate eye teaming, tracking, depth perception, and visual-vestibular coordination.
3. Note that specialized lens design can often reduce the sensitivity revealed by this test, helping patients progress faster in their rehabilitation and daily life.

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Summary

The Pattern Glare Test is a quick, no-cost screen that helps physiotherapists and other rehab professionals identify when vision is contributing to dizziness, headaches, post-concussion symptoms, or performance issues.
If the pattern bothers the patient, that tells us their visual system is involved—and with the right optical prescription, we can often reduce that sensitivity, relieve symptoms, and restore smoother visual-vestibular performance.

10/24/2025

A concussion doesn’t just affect memory or balance, it can change how the eyes and brain communicate.

Follow us as we break down the visual side of concussion recovery that often goes unnoticed.

After impact, the neural circuits that guide eye movement, depth perception, and visual focus can become desynchronized. This disrupts how the brain stabilizes vision and spatial awareness, leading to lingering dizziness, light sensitivity, or motion discomfort. Studies in neuro-visual rehabilitation show that restoring these pathways is key to full recovery, not just waiting for symptoms to fade.

Check your recovery with our comprehensive eye exam that assesses tracking, teaming, and focus to ensure the brain and eyes are fully back in sync.

09/30/2025

Does your child struggle to stay focused when reading? Skip words? Lose their place? Re-read the same line?

These can be signs of a binocular vision issue, how well the eyes work together to keep things clear and stable.

It’s not always double vision.

When the eyes struggle to align, the brain has to work overtime to fuse the images. That hidden effort can make reading harder, slower, and more frustrating, even for smart, capable kids.

A comprehensive eye exam, including specialized binocular vision testing, can uncover what standard screenings miss.

09/30/2025

Does your child avoid tasks their peers find easy like finishing classwork, keeping handwriting neat, or joining in at sports?

Follow us for more insights on how vision goes beyond “20/20.” The brain and eyes must work together, and when visual skills like tracking, coordination, or focus are weak, the effects ripple outward. Research shows deficits in these areas can reduce reading fluency, slow written work, and lower confidence in activities.

These are measurable neurovisual issues, not laziness or lack of effort, and they are often missed in screenings.

👉 Book a comprehensive eye exam for your child. Identifying and treating visual skill deficits early helps them thrive in the classroom, on the field, and beyond.

09/29/2025

Ever notice your child working so hard, but the grades or progress just don’t reflect the effort? It’s heartbreaking and often misunderstood.

Before labels, check their vision. Our comprehensive eye exam includes testing for eye tracking, focusing, and coordination - skills that are critical for reading and learning. When they’re weak, kids may look distracted, reverse letters, or struggle to stay on task. When vision issues are overlooked, children may be mislabeled with ADHD or dyslexia, which can affect both academic performance and self-confidence.

Vision therapy can retrain these skills, helping kids learn more comfortably and confidently.

09/28/2025

Quiet in class doesn’t always mean unsure.
For some kids, vision challenges make participation feel risky.

When the eyes struggle to track or keep words stable, even simple answers can feel like traps. The fear of making a mistake they didn’t mean to make chips away at confidence not just academics.

It’s not always shyness. It’s hesitation driven by visual effort.

Understanding how visual function affects confidence can change how we support kids, in and out of the classroom.

Follow us to learn more about the vision-confidence connection.

09/27/2025

Relying on school vision screenings? They’re a great first step but they miss a lot.

Vision is more than just clarity. Skills like eye tracking, focusing, and coordination are critical for reading and learning and aren’t tested in quick screenings.

Standard screenings catch big eyesight issues. But they don’t check the brain-eye connection that drives attention and classroom performance.

Book a comprehensive eye exam. It’s the next step to help your child thrive in school and beyond.

09/26/2025

Does your child struggle to copy notes from the board - squinting, taking forever, or losing their place?

It might not be attention. It might be vision.

Copying requires rapid switching between far and near, over and over again.
That takes strong eye movement control and focus flexibility — not just clear eyesight.

When the visual system can’t keep up, kids may skip words, lose their place, or fall behind, even if they’re smart and motivated.

A comprehensive eye exam checks clarity and visual skills like tracking, coordination, and focus shifts.

Follow us for more ways vision impacts learning.

09/23/2025

Does homework hour feel like a daily battle?

Follow along as we unpack why a comprehensive eye exam could be the missing piece.

What many parents don’t realize is that homework struggles aren’t always about effort or motivation. Kids with inefficient eye tracking, poor focus flexibility, or weak visual stamina often look like they’re “avoiding work", when in reality, their visual system is working overtime. These hidden challenges can cause fatigue after just a few minutes, skipped steps, or the urge to stall and distract. That’s why so many bright kids push back at homework, not because they can’t do it, but because their eyes and brain aren’t working smoothly together.

When vision skills are supported, learning feels easier and evenings at the homework table become calmer.