Check out this guide for tips on how to expand your service and help your patients.
READING & LEARNING A GUIDE TO GROWING YOUR PRACTICE
An education guide by RightEye
Reading is the Foundation
Strong readers tend to be more confident, more articulate, and perform better in school. After all, reading is the basis for all learning. But a child with an undiagnosed visual learning problem may not be able to keep pace with their peers in school, and may su er in other areas of development, too. Set your practice apart by o ering reading and learning services. Just getting started? Introduce simple screening tools together with at-home eye-movement training or refer out to a specialist. Already have a vision therapist on sta ? Use objective assessments to uncover more. Check out this guide for more tips on how you can expand your services—and help your patients discover the love of learning.
READING RATE
1 in 4 children has a vision problem that a ects learning 1
students reads proficiently by the end of 3rd grade 2 Only 1 in 3
COMPREHENSION
These vision issues are often misinterpreted as disinterest, sleepiness, dyslexia or ADHD
FIXATION
1. Rosen WB. The Hidden Link Between Vision and Learning 2. The Children’s Reading Foundation
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Step by Step: Adding Visual Learning Assessments to Your Practice O ering visual learning assessments doesn’t necessarily mean a huge investment up front. Here is a step-by-step approach for building a rewarding new component of your practice from the ground up.
3 O er “add-on”
revenue models for reading assessments:
GRADUATE 3
SECONDARY 2
Provide visual learning assessments ELEMENTARY 1
reading assessments for a small additional charge, similar to how you might o er digital retinal imaging during the exam.
Philosophy
Identify and treat visual learning problems
Deliver robust interventions to correct problems identified
Characteristics
• Ask patients about difficulty with reading or school • Doctor performs manual
• Consistently screen young patients using a questionnaire • O er standalone or add-on reading/learning assessments • O er automated, objective eye tracking test focused on reading • O er computer-based and/or in-office vision therapy • Prescribe prism lenses
• Conduct thorough reading or learning assessments • Strong in-office vision therapy program to correct problems identified in testing and maximize visual performance • Multiple diagnostic and training technologies available in office
functional vision tests (Pursuits, saccades,
Increase your
pediatric exam fees enough to support screening all or most kids for reading or eye-tracking problems. Add eye tracking to your pre-test workup at no additional charge. Generate revenue by re-appointing for in-depth visual learning assessments and/or providing vision therapy.
near-point convergence) or technician does automated objective eye tracking test
• Identify external referral partners
Investment
$$
$$$
$ to $$
Good technician(s) who is cross-trained to perform eye tracking or other tests
One or more developmental optometrists or vision therapists on sta
Staffing Needs
Consider changing history process or intake forms
Space Needs
None, or small footprint in pre-test area
Small footprint in pre-test area or small room for therapy
At least one large room dedicated to therapy
Call attention to the problem “Parents and other doctors assume that if a child has good vision, there isn’t a problem. School struggles may be chalked up to attention or behavior issues, or even a lack of intelligence. Optometrists who o er reading or learning assessments can provide a critical service in validating the child’s experience and educating parents and other professionals.” — Cathy Stern, OD, FCSO, FCOVD, FNORA, Canton, MA Add-on testing is well-received “I don’t think I’ve ever had a parent decline a reading assessment when I’ve o ered it in response to their concerns about school performance. Almost universally, parents want their kids to do well in school and are open to
VOICES OF EXPERIENCE
additional testing to get at the root cause of any problems.” — Graeme Ferguson, OD, Stittsville Optometry, Ottawa, Canada
Generate internal referrals “Every day in your practice, you see patients with functional vision problems that a ect their ability to read and learn—whether you know it or not. Simply by doing a better job of screening for these problems, a practice could potentially add
reading services without any outside referrals at all.” — Thomas R. Doud, OD, Hartland Eye Care, Hartland, MI
Data-driven services “If you can provide objective testing data, it gives parents confidence in the diagnosis and your proposed treatment plan. And because you are o ering unique services they can’t get anywhere else, reading assessments get patients talking about your practice.” — Adam Clarin, OD, Clarin Eye Care, Miami, FL
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Educate your community. So many people are unaware that vision is more than just acuity. Talk with local media about your reading assessments and give parents information they can share with teachers, friends, and neighbors.
Tips for getting the word out READY… SET… GO!
Appeal to kids and families with a child-friendly office; consider after-school or weekend hours.
Gauge the need in your patient population by asking 5 questions during every pediatric encounter for a few weeks: Child • Do you like reading? • Do you ever have double vision? • Do you skip lines or lose your place when reading? Parents • Does homework take too long? • Is school performance less than you’d expect? Build relationships with teachers, learning center sta , occupational therapists, or speech and language pathologists. You only need a few of these in your network to start generating referrals. Show appreciation for referrals by sending results back to the referring provider. Full color, easy-to-read reports are a great marketing tool that build trust.
The user experience matters! In evaluating new technology, consider ease-of-use for kids.
righteye.com/reading
Practice Profile Thomas R. Doud, OD Hartland Eye Care & Visual Learning Center, Hartland, Mich.
EYE High Rate of Functional Vision Problems Seen at Mobile Clinic Steph Kirschbaum, OD, spends a few days each year providing free eye exams and glasses for elementary school students in Sacramento, CA. In a recent pilot program, 15 of the students also had a RightEye Reading test to evaluate their eye tracking. The majority of the students had tracking issues, including two with severe problems. Dr. Kirschbaum was able to prescribe prism lenses to help a 5th grade girl with terribly lagging pursuits and poor reading comprehension. “After seeing the eye-tracking results, a lightbulb went o for the principal,” said the program coordinator. Children whose acuity was fine still had vision problems that slowed down their reading speed and comprehension. “The principal immediately recognized how much potential there was to improve children’s learning by addressing functional vision.”
The Challenge: Solo practitioner was intrigued to discover that many children have vision-related learning problems despite 20/20 acuity. He began exploring how to identify these problems and o er treatments to help his young patients perform better in school and in life.
The Solution: O er screening questionnaires and eye tracking tests that lead to more in-depth visual learning assessments and, if needed, vision therapy. After years of building up this service, Dr. Doud now dedicates nearly one-third of the office footprint to learning assessments and vision therapy activities. How He Did It: • Step 1: Started with a screening questionnaire and an automated eye tracking test so he could demonstrate the problems to parents and support his treatment plan. • Step 2: Gradually developed an in-depth visual learning workup that takes approximately 1 hour. It includes a battery of diagnostic tests and a 30-point questionnaire where patients grade functional vision problems on a scale from “never” to “always.” This is followed by a 1-hour consultation with the doctor on the treatment plan. • Step 3: After adding vision therapy and many inexpensive testing and training resources, he recently acquired a touch-screen saccadic device and virtual reality training equipment. Bottom line: The visual learning center is now a profit center in the practice, and Dr. Doud derives great professional satisfaction from it. “As an optometrist, o ering visual learning services has been very rewarding. I get to change people’s lives in a way that you just don’t see in routine vision care,” he says.
Additional Resources:
EYE TRACKING 101 • College of Optometrists in Vision Development (COVD) www.covd.org • The Vision & Learning Project, Vision Help Group www.visionhelp.org • The Hidden Link Between Vision and Learning www.wendybethrosen.com • Neuro-Optometric Rehabilitation Association (NORA) www.noravisionrehab.org • Reading EyeQ www.righteye.com/reading-eyeq Visual Skills for Reading • visual acuity • fixation • eye teaming • stable tracking • accurate saccades
• accommodation • binocular fusion • near-point convergence • field of vision • form perception
righteye.com/reading
Email: righteye@righteye.com
Call: 301.9797.970
Success Center: success.righteye.com
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