Helping children has always been his goal. Routine vision exams indicate their ocular health is fine, yet learning problems at school persist. Most of these kids are quite bright, they just don't learn as well. But after a different set of tests, he is able to pinpoint problems with focusing, eye movement and perception and prescribe treatment to improve visual efficiency and processing. In children, vision problems usually surface as skipping words when reading, letter reversal and trouble comprehending words, although they may understand those same words listening to a story read aloud, Cook said.
People think vision is automatic, but it is a complex process that is learned.
And when something interrupts that process, children don't learn like they should. For example, he said, children can't retain information they read five minutes before, they are easily distracted and they avoid detailed work projects. Teachers often are the first to notice the problem, and they are often the ones who make the initial referral to optometrists. The internet has also helped promote vision therapy as concerned parents research their children's problems. Most of Cook's patients simply sought out an optometrist's advice before discovering a diagnosis.