Optometric Vision Development & Rehabilitation Association

Event Schedule:

Back to Event Details

Please select any sessions you wish to attend

Pre-Meeting Courses

		Start Date	End Date	Start Time	End Time
Basic Clinical Proficiency in Neuro-Optometric Rehabilitation Therapy for the Management of the Visual Sequelae of Acquired Brain Injury		4/22/2025	4/23/2025	8:00 AM	3:00 PM	4/22/2025 8:00 AM - 4/23/2025 3:00 PM Presenter: Barry Tannen, Bradley Meltzer We will present the visual consequences and the clinical "nuts and bolts" of Acquired Brain Injury. We will cover high yield diagnostic tests, lens prescriptions (including tints, binasal occlusion, and prism) and neuro-optometric therapy techniques specific to this interesting patient population.
Enhancing Visual Processing: Comprehensive Assessment and Effective Treatment Strategies		4/22/2025	4/23/2025	8:00 AM	3:00 PM	4/22/2025 8:00 AM - 4/23/2025 3:00 PM Presenter: Lynn Hellerstein, Nancy Torgerson, Jared Torgerson Powerful hands-on workshop on assessing and observing visual processing skills in children and adults in diverse populations, including the gifted and 2e learners. Learn practical tools and techniques to create novel, fun, and engaging vision therapy programs, including visualization strategies.
Multisensory Matters: A Hands-On Workshop for Best Practices in the Vision Therapy Room		4/22/2025	4/23/2025	8:00 AM	3:00 PM	4/22/2025 8:00 AM - 4/23/2025 3:00 PM Presenter: Randy Schulman This course is for practitioners wishing to expand their model of vision and learn about a multisensory model of vision that includes testing for and treatment of vision utilizing a multisensory approach that includes an assessment of posture, balance, vestibular, auditory, visual, emotional, anxiety, attention, arousal and automaticity through observations and performance testing. Participants will learn best practices for successfully working with their patients, particularly in the therapy room as well as how to make recommendations for lifestyle and other approaches that will provide ongoing and supportive care for all ages and patient types.
Sports Vision - Reaching Peak Performance		4/22/2025	4/23/2025	8:00 AM	3:00 PM	4/22/2025 8:00 AM - 4/23/2025 3:00 PM Presenter: Alex Andrich Let the games begin! Sports vision training is one of the best kept secrets in all of sports. With the advancement in technology for training procedures and activities, optometrists are poised to be the leaders in the field of sports performance enhancement.
Successful Treatment of Strabismus and Amblyopia		4/22/2025	4/23/2025	8:00 AM	3:00 PM	4/22/2025 8:00 AM - 4/23/2025 3:00 PM Presenter: Leanna Dudley, Michelle Brodston A hands-on approach for the optometric evaluation of amblyopia and strabismus, with an updated treatment model, research discussion, and group activities. Techniques will be discussed for prescribing neurofunctional lenses for amblyopia to achieve the best binocular function and avoid patching.
VT 201		4/22/2025	4/23/2025	8:00 AM	3:00 PM	4/22/2025 8:00 AM - 4/23/2025 3:00 PM Presenter: Jessi Stevenson and Robert Nuriso VT 201 follows the learning objectives of COVT certification. Perfect for VT 101 grads or those wanting to enhance knowledge gained from clinical work and topics needed for certification. Taught by 2 mentors, expect knowledge-based learning to enhance your VT competency & practical skills.

Wednesday Session

		Start Date	End Date	Start Time	End Time
VDR Symposium		4/23/2025	4/23/2025	7:00 PM	9:00 PM	4/23/2025 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM

Thursday Education

		Start Date	End Date	Start Time	End Time
Evaluation and Management of Visual Motion Sensitivity Following Stroke and Traumatic Brain Injury		4/24/2025	4/24/2025	8:00 AM	9:40 AM	4/24/2025 8:00 AM - 9:40 AM Presenter: Curtis Baxstrom MA, OD, FAAO, FOVDR, FNORA This presentation will look at the etiology of visual motion sensitivity following stroke/traumatic brain injury. Emphasis will be on the documentation and management of the patient over time. Treatments can include lenses, prism, selective occlusion, tints/filters and vision therapy/rehabilitation
Myopia - Etiology, Characteristics, and Modern Integrated Evidence Based Treatment		4/24/2025	4/24/2025	8:00 AM	9:40 AM	4/24/2025 8:00 AM - 9:40 AM Presenter: Jeffrey Cooper The etiology of myopia is based upon errors of emmetropization, etc. The emmetropic eye undergoes normal physiological growth without the development of a refractive error. New treatments using peripheral defocus; atropine eye drops, and colored light will be discussed.
Esotropia		4/24/2025	4/24/2025	10:40 AM	11:30 AM	4/24/2025 10:40 AM - 11:30 AM Presenter: Brenda Montecalvo This course will teach the learner how to evaluate patients with esotropia and design appropriate treatment plans. New developments with virtual programs to improve outcomes for patients with esotropia will be presented, combining the old with the new to improve results.
Maze’s Maze Protocol		4/24/2025	4/24/2025	10:40 AM	11:30 AM	4/24/2025 10:40 AM - 11:30 AM Presenter: David Maze Mazes are a fun activity that can be integrated into any vision therapy program. This course will discuss benefits of using mazes in therapy and adaptations. A therapist can integrate laterality, directionality, spatial awareness, oculomotor skills, stress point learning, and memory into maze games.
“You Get Me!” Communicating Visual Challenges and Potential Via The Visual Processing Assessment		4/24/2025	4/24/2025	1:30 PM	3:10 PM	4/24/2025 1:30 PM - 3:10 PM Presenter: Nancy Torgerson “You get me!” With your team’s keen observations, listening skills, case history and visual processing assessment, identify and arrange conditions to creatively communicate a person’s strengths, challenges, and potential available through optometric VT. An interactive seminar for your whole team.
Case Studies in Successful Vision Therapy Practice Management		4/24/2025	4/24/2025	1:30 PM	3:10 PM	4/24/2025 1:30 PM - 3:10 PM Presenter: Ben Winters, Tyler Ives Dr. Winters and Tyler Ives, a financial consultant for Fortune 500 companies and Harvard Business school guest lecturer, will share case studies from their practice management consulting experience with VT clinics, covering successful strategies in marketing, HR, and financial management.
Just Relax"- A Functional Workshop on Accommodation at All Levels (ADDITIONAL FEE APPLIES)		4/24/2025	4/24/2025	1:30 PM	4:00 PM	4/24/2025 1:30 PM - 4:00 PM Presenter: Julie Petteruto and Kavita Malhotra PLEASE NOTE: This is an additional fee course. Attendees may purchase during registration or in The Store (2025 Annual Meeting - Optometric Vision Development & Rehabilitation Association). SPACE IS LIMITED. Understand accommodation through real space and lenses in a hands-on workshop including priming procedures. Experience lenses, their application to accommodation procedures and integration with vergence, Executive Function and cognitive load.
Long COVID in the Optometrist's Office		4/24/2025	4/24/2025	3:30 PM	4:20 PM	4/24/2025 3:30 PM - 4:20 PM Presenter: Maria Richman Long COVID has been demonstrated to impact all aspects of visual function. This course will discuss the research and treatment options for these patients including clinical examples.
Vision Therapy and the TBI Patient: Where to Begin, How to Navigate, Which Activities to Choose		4/24/2025	4/24/2025	3:30 PM	4:20 PM	4/24/2025 3:30 PM - 4:20 PM Presenter: Robert Nurisio, COVT Visual Input and Efficiency can be an often-overlooked aspect of traumatic brain injury recovery. Many post-TBI patients experience visual challenges which significantly impact their daily lives, but these issues are not always recognized or addressed in standard rehabilitation. In this course, we will discuss how targeted vision therapy can help improve visual function, enhance recovery, and boost overall well-being. This includes techniques and modifications based on the needs of each patient, real-time adaptations as we evaluate patient feedback and symptoms, as well as where to start and how to pace a patient who has just entered your Vision Therapy program.

Friday Education

		Start Date	End Date	Start Time	End Time
Model of Interdisciplinary Care Between PRI, Optometry and Dentistry		4/25/2025	4/25/2025	8:00 AM	9:40 AM	4/25/2025 8:00 AM - 9:40 AM Presenter: Danielle Rutner, Aleena Kanner A holistic interdisciplinary model of care is essential in treating the whole of the patient. This lecture will review how to develop an interdisciplinary care model between PRI, optometry and dentistry. It will review the role of each discipline within the disciplinary team with case examples.
Vision Therapy for Patients with Strabismus: Treatment, Results, and Defining Success		4/25/2025	4/25/2025	8:00 AM	9:40 AM	4/25/2025 8:00 AM - 9:40 AM Presenter: David Cook Of 74 patients with strabismus receiving vision therapy, 82% demonstrated both improvements in stereopsis and cosmetically aligned eyes. We will review the protocols, clinical pearls for treatment, results, and what those results tell us about defining success in treating patients with strabismus.
Just Look Retinoscopy - Looking Beyond Refraction (ADDITIONAL FEE APPLIES		4/25/2025	4/25/2025	10:40 AM	12:20 PM	4/25/2025 10:40 AM - 12:20 PM Presenter: Dr. Glen Steele PLEASE NOTE: This is an additional fee course. Attendees may purchase during registration or in The Store (2025 Annual Meeting - Optometric Vision Development & Rehabilitation Association). SPACE IS LIMITED. Just Look Retinoscopy is described as a procedure for observing the ability, reliability, stability, and sustainability of a patient's engagement in a task presented. This course will guide one when observing the patient's patterns for engaging in a task and goes far beyond simple looking.
Optometric Phototherapy and Neurorehabilitation		4/25/2025	4/25/2025	10:40 AM	12:20 PM	4/25/2025 10:40 AM - 12:20 PM Presenter: Larry Wallace The use of specific frequencies of light applied through the eyes is used therapeutically to rebalance the autonomic nervous system. Mechanisms of how light frequencies affect the brain and specific visual skills such binocularity, accommodation, visual fields, ocular motor function.
Understanding the 8th sense of Interoception and How it can effect progress in your therapy room		4/25/2025	4/25/2025	10:40 AM	12:20 PM	4/25/2025 10:40 AM - 12:20 PM Presenter: Jessi Stevenson Interoception allows a patient to regulate their body and emotions through collecting information on how body parts including the eyes feel at any time. By understanding this important sense, you can help patients achieve higher levels of vergence, accommodation, self-regulation and compliance.
Rev-up Your Reading- Exploring Charts		4/25/2025	4/25/2025	2:00 PM	3:40 PM	4/25/2025 2:00 PM - 3:40 PM Presenter: Jules Petteruto Using charts is a daily occurrence in VT. What modifications can be made to integrate chart reading? How can the skills developed be applied to everyday life? How can you get better patient buy-in? This interactive workshop will supercharge your chart reading.
VISION, DECISION, ACTION: ELEVATING SPORTS PERFORMANCE THROUGH VISUAL COGNITIVE TRAINING		4/25/2025	4/25/2025	2:00 PM	3:40 PM	4/25/2025 2:00 PM - 3:40 PM Presenter: Paul Brewer, Jarrod Davies 300The global sports industry represents a market valued at $600 billion. While athletes, parents, and coaches invest time in honing athletic abilities, the significance of vision in performance remains overlooked. Sports vision is regarded as the next frontier in optimizing performance.

Saturday Education

		Start Date	End Date	Start Time	End Time
Amblyopia - Thinking Outside the Patch		4/26/2025	4/26/2025	8:00 AM	8:50 AM	4/26/2025 8:00 AM - 8:50 AM Presenter: Tanya Bloom The goals of this course are to define and review amblyopia, review effects of amblyopia on vision, discuss relevant optometric testing and provide updates on amblyopia treatment considerations, including eyeglass prescribing, contact lenses, vision therapy and optometric phototherapy.
The 4th Circle Speech and Language		4/26/2025	4/26/2025	8:00 AM	8:50 AM	4/26/2025 8:00 AM - 8:50 AM Presenter: David Maze I share my experience learning aspects of Skeffington’s model of vision and attempt to contextualize it. This course will touch on parallels between auditory processing, methods of communication with testing and therapy,as well as research on the relationship between auditory/speech with vision.
Under the Surface: Vision and Mental Health		4/26/2025	4/26/2025	9:10 AM	10:00 AM	4/26/2025 9:10 AM - 10:00 AM Presenter: Joanna Carter To demonstrate how vision and mental health problems are often intertwined. Patients may be symptomatic for years because their visual systems are overlooked. Cases will be presented showing the use of lenses and selective occlusion to change overall function. Video testimonials included.
Visual Rehabilitation for Patients with Low Vision		4/26/2025	4/26/2025	9:10 AM	10:00 AM	4/26/2025 9:10 AM - 10:00 AM Presenter: Megan Lott This course will aid attendees in understanding low vision, magnification, peripheral vision loss, and virtual options available to patients. We will also discuss the role the Vision Therapist plays in the lives of these patients.
Oral Research		4/26/2025	4/26/2025	10:15 AM	11:30 AM	4/26/2025 10:15 AM - 11:30 AM Join three COVD Fellows as they share their own experiences from clinically based research projects.
My Approach To...		4/26/2025	4/26/2025	10:20 AM	12:00 PM	4/26/2025 10:20 AM - 12:00 PM Presenter: TBD What is My Approach To? A rapid fire lecture format that will give 4 COVD Fellows the opportunity to share interesting cases and engage with colleagues from around the world. Each presentation will be approximately 20 minutes in length, leaving an additional 5 minutes for questions and audience collaboration.

or Advanced Search or Outside US

Quick Links

Contact Us

OVDRA

215 W. Garfield Rd, Ste 260
Aurora, OH 44202
Phone: 330.995.0718
info@covd.org

Connect

Our Mission

Improving lives by advancing excellence in developmental and rehabilitative neuro-optometric vision care through education and board certification.

Association Management Software Powered by YourMembership :: Legal