Great Lakes Vision Rehabilitation at Excel

04/10/2026

*When the proper testing matters*

Recently, Dr. Nichols received a call from an optometrist in Tennessee. Her friend's sister suffered a brain tumor and vision loss following surgery to remove the tumor. The doctor did not practice neuro-optometry nor have many connections in Michigan. However, she consulted a colleague in metro Detroit who regularly refers to Great Lakes Vision Rehabilitation; that optometrist recommended connecting with the doctors at our clinic.

At Great Lakes Vision Rehabilitation, we aim to help patients from all over, whether directly or indirectly. A mother of three recently lost her driving privileges due to visual field loss. As a result, she lost her independence. Another clinic performed monocular (one eye at a time) visual fields and determined the patient did not have enough visual field to drive.

This patient became devastated. Fortunately, when she visited Dr. Nichols, he ensured she received the proper testing and evaluation. For driving standards, a patient undergoes binocular (both eyes open) visual field testing. With the necessary knowledge of Michigan's driving requirements and appropriate testing, Dr. Nichols determined that the patient is allowed to drive.

Optometry is a small field, and neuro-optometry and vision rehabilitation providers are even fewer. We are grateful for the opportunity to connect with other doctors to provide helpful care.

-optometry

04/09/2026

Extra effort from the eyes = strain on your brain and visual system. With Binocular Vision Disorder (BVD) you may experience symptoms such as :

Headaches
Eye strain
Blurred or double vision
Dizziness or motion sensitivity
Trouble reading or concentrating
Fatigue (especially after visual tasks)

Some of the conditions that fall under BVD are:

Convergence Insufficiency (CI)*
Convergence Excess
Divergence Insufficiency
Divergence Excess
Fusional Vergence Dysfunction
Vertical Heterophoria

With a binocular vision disorder your eyes are not working as they should. Your brain is expecting something that your eyes just cannot easily do - and symptoms can arise.

If you would like more information or to set up an appointment for a full evaluation call our office today. 586-731-9725

04/02/2026

When babies are born, they have built-in reflexes that help them survive and develop, these are things like:

- Turning their head when touched
- Gripping tightly
- Startle responses

These are automatic (not controlled) and come from the brainstem. Vision begins developing at birth and is highly crucial for overall development as early as
8 WEEKS OLD for eye teaming.

From here through 40 to 50 weeks, the sensory systems begin to become integrated. If they do not properly integrate, then developmental delays might develop.

As reflexes integrate, they help build the foundation for:

- Eye tracking (following words across a page)
- Focusing (clear vision at different distances)
- Eye teaming (both eyes working together)
- Hand-eye coordination

What should happen over time?

As your child grows their brain develops, higher-level control takes over and these reflexes fade away (integrate). This allows for more advanced skills like balance and coordination, focus and attention, eye control and visual processing.

If primitive reflexes remain active beyond early development, they can interfere with how a child processes the world.

This may show up as:
- Difficulty focusing or tracking with the eyes
- Poor coordination or clumsiness
- Challenges with reading or handwriting
- Trouble sitting still or maintaining attention
- Sensory sensitivities or overwhelm

Retained reflexes can disrupt the connection between what a child sees and how they respond, impacting learning, behavior, and confidence. This doesn’t mean something is wrong with your child. It means there may be an underlying developmental piece making things harder than they should be for them.

Like we always say, vision is not just about seeing clearly it’s about how the eyes and brain work together.

Why Testing Matters
Vision is our STRONGEST sense and a major component. At Great Lakes Vision Rehabilitation, we go beyond basic vision screening. We evaluate primitive reflexes as part of a comprehensive functional vision assessment—because these early developmental patterns can reveal important clues about how a child’s brain and visual system are working together.

By identifying retained reflexes, we can:
- Better understand the root cause of challenges
- Guide targeted therapy and treatment
- Support stronger visual and developmental outcomes

The good news? With the right evaluation and support, these challenges can be addressed—helping children build stronger visual skills, confidence, and overall function.

If you’ve ever wondered whether your child’s struggles could be more than just attention or behavior, there may be a deeper developmental piece worth exploring. If you are noticing any development concerns or milestones not being met, a vision exam beyond glasses and acuity is warranted.

We’re here to help . Give our office a call to learn more and schedule your child's appointment today.

03/25/2026

ADHD and vision problems can look surprisingly similar, especially when it comes to reading, focus and attention. If you've noticed these challenges, a comprehensive vision evaluation can help uncover if vision is playing a role.

When a child struggles to focus, gets distracted easily, or avoids reading and schoolwork, the first thought is often: “This must be ADHD.” And in many cases, ADHD is absolutely real and valid.
But here’s something many parents (and even educators) don’t always realize: some vision problems can mimic or worsen ADHD-like symptoms.

When “Attention Issues” May Be Vision-Related

If a child is having difficulty with how their eyes work together, focus, or track across a page, you might notice things like:

• Losing their place while reading
• Skipping words or entire lines
• Reversing letters or confusing similar words
• Frequent eye rubbing or squinting
• Complaints of headaches or tired eyes
• Trouble staying engaged with close-up tasks

To a parent or teacher, this can look exactly like inattention or distraction. But in reality the child may be working twice as hard just to see clearly and comfortably.

When vision is the underlying issue, no amount of effort, discipline, or even traditional interventions will fully solve the problem. That’s why an in-depth, functional vision evaluation can be such an important step. It looks beyond basic eyesight (like 20/20 vision) and evaluates how well the eyes are actually working together.

At Great Lakes Vision Rehabilitation, we work with children and families to uncover whether vision challenges may be contributing to:

✔️ Attention difficulties
✔️ Reading struggles
✔️ Learning frustrations

When we address the root cause we can help improve not just vision—but confidence, comfort, and success in the classroom.

If your child is struggling and something just doesn’t feel right, it may be worth taking a closer look.

Reach out to learn more about our comprehensive vision evaluations.

03/19/2026

Last week we had the pleasure of hosting a small, intimate, and informative evening with doctors, therapists and industry professionals to share more about what we do at Great Lakes Vision Rehabilitation and how we are helping the TBI population.

Events like this are one of our favorite ways to connect with the medical community — through these smaller, conversational, hands-on demonstrations, where we create a place for shared learning opportunities.

These conversations are important. Many patients struggling with post-brain-injury symptoms don’t realize that vision may be part of the problem, and collaboration between specialties helps those patients find answers faster.

Our guests had the opportunity to:

• Learn more about neuro-optometric rehabilitation and how vision can play a big part in recovery for the TBI patient population

• Experience some of the tools and technology we use with patients

• Ask questions about the visual challenges patients experience after brain injury

• Learn how vision rehabilitation can play a role in recovery

Thank you to everyone who joined us. We truly appreciate the opportunity to share our work and build relationships that ultimately help patients receive the care they need.

03/04/2026

We can often spend hours a day on screens — phones, tablets, computers, TVs. Over time, that exposure can lead to dry eyes, headaches, blurry vision, and even disrupted sleep. The good news? There are simple steps you can take to protect your eyes:

1) Use Night Mode / Blue Light Filters

Most phones, tablets, and computers have:
Night Shift (Apple)
Night Light (Windows)
Blue light filter settings on Android

These shift the screen to warmer tones, especially helpful in the evening to protect sleep.

2) The 20-20-20 Rule
Every 20 minutes:
Look at something 20 feet away
For at least 20 seconds

But, newer research advocates for longer breaks and suggests every 30 minute take a 5 minute break. This reduces digital eye strain and relaxes focusing muscles.

3) Lower Screen Brightness

Your screen should not be brighter than the room around you.
If your screen feels like a flashlight in your face… it’s too bright.

4) Increase Text Size

Don’t strain to read small fonts.
Larger text = less squinting = less eye fatigue.

5) Adjust Lighting Around You

Avoid:
Overhead fluorescent lights
Harsh 5000K–6500K “daylight” bulbs in the evening

Choose:
Warm LED bulbs (2700K–3000K)
Soft ambient lighting

6) Limit Screens 1–2 Hours Before Bed

Blue light can suppress melatonin.
Reducing evening exposure supports better sleep cycles.

7) Consider Quality Blue-Light Filtering Lenses (If Recommended)

For people with:
Light sensitivity
Brain injury
Migraines
Visual fatigue

Specialized filters may help — but they should be personalized, not one-size-fits-all.

If you’re experiencing persistent visual fatigue, light sensitivity, or headaches, it may be more than just “too much screen time.”

We’re here to help and just a phone call away. 586-731-9725.

02/17/2026

Testimonial Tuesday is our favorite day of the week! Real patients. Real progress. We’re so grateful when patients take the time to share their journey with us. 💙

02/14/2026

02/11/2026

At Great Lakes Vision Rehabilitation, we believe patients deserve options and flexibility when it comes to care — and that includes how you pay.

That’s why we’re excited to now offer Cherry financing as a payment option!

Cherry allows you to:

✔️ Break payments into 4 interest-free payments or pay monthly with qualifying 0% APR options

✔️ Finance 1, 2, 3, 6, 9, 12, 24, 36, or 48-month options

✔️ Apply in seconds

✔️ NO hard credit check

This is just another way we’re working to make care more accessible and patient-centered. If you have questions about what financing looks like for you visit this link to see more information. https://www.excelvisiontherapy.com/payment-plans

02/04/2026

Many adults live for years with visual processing challenges without having a name for what they’re experiencing. These shown here in our graphic are some of the symptoms they may be experiencing.

Others tell us, “I can see fine, but something just feels off.” These symptoms aren’t about blurry eyesight — they’re about how the brain processes visual information.

Recognizing these signs is often the first step toward getting the right care. At Great Lakes Vision Rehabilitation, we specialize in helping patients identify and treat visual processing dysfunction through comprehensive neuro-optometric evaluations and rehabilitation. With the right support, adults who have been silently coping for years often experience meaningful improvements in daily function and quality of life.

If any of these symptoms sound familiar, learning more is a great place to start. Our website is filled with helpful information and our patient care coordinator is available by phone to answer any questions you have and discuss setting you or a loved one up with an appointment. Visit us at www.excelvisiontherapy.com or call us at 586-731-9725.

01/28/2026

Last weekend, Dr. Nichols and Dr. Gietzen attended the Michigan Vision Therapy Study Group in Grand Rapids. The weekend was filled with valuable information. Dr. Nichols discussed tracking difficulties after traumatic brain injury and the research behind it. He also showed objective data from our clinic and positive patient results from vision therapy and rehabilitation.

Call today if you have experienced reading or tracking difficulties after a or

01/28/2026

At Great Lakes Vision Rehabilitation, we use specialized technology called the VISUS Tracking Unit to objectively measure how a patient’s eyes track while reading. This allows us to see things that are often missed during a standard eye exam—such as skipped words, line jumps, regressions, inconsistent pacing, or poor integration between the eyes and the brain. These tracking patterns can make reading slow, exhausting, or frustrating for patients, even when their eyesight appears “clear”. The test is completely painless, non-invasive, and simply involves reading while the device monitors eye movements.

GLVR is one of the few clinics in the state offering this type of functional tracking assessment. The results give our doctors and therapists insight into how the visual system is performing during real-world tasks, especially for patients recovering from concussion, brain injury, stroke, or those who have long-standing visual processing difficulties. With this information, we can customize rehabilitation programs that strengthen tracking, improve reading endurance, and ultimately help patients get back to the activities that matter most.

For more information about our services, please visit www.excelvisiontherapy.com or call us at 586-731-9725.