ABI & Your Vision

Evaluation and management of binocular vision and post-trauma vision syndrome.

A medical doctor who specializes in physical medicine and rehabilitation, physiatrists work in rehabilitation hospitals and private clinics. Part of their role is to make therapy recommendations for patients after an acquired brain injury. As neuro-optometrists we often get referrals from Physiatrists and keep them updated on their patient's visual rehabilitation process.

A medical doctor who diagnoses and treats neurological conditions including acquired brain injury. Neurologists, like physiatrists often make therapy recommendations as well and refer patients to neuro-optometrists. We also correspond with neurologists to keep them abreast of their patient's progress in visual rehabilitation.

Provides helpful information about how a brain injury affects a person's behavior, mood and thinking skills. They may detect slowed visual processing and recommend a referral to a neuro-optometrist. We may use the information in their reports to help guide our treatment recommendations. Another note: oftentimes acquired brain injury patients cannot complete the full neuropsychology evaluation because their visual symptoms are too severe. The neuropsychologist may complete an abbreviated version and have you start visual rehabilitation, and then complete the rest of the assessment when your visual skills have improved.

A physical therapist may help with muscle weakness, pain, spasticity, and balance difficulties after an acquired brain injury.

A vestibular therapist is a physical therapist that has special training in dizziness, balance, and coordination. Because of the intimate relationship between vision and the vestibular system, we often communicate with our patient's vestibular therapist to allow for the best outcome in patients who have both visual and balance difficulties after an acquired brain injury.

Helps patients with acquired brain injury achieve skills for instrumental activities of daily living (IADLS) such as dressing, cooking meals, cleaning. In many hospital settings they also assess and treat visual difficulties. It is important to note that a neuro-optometric evaluation is still recommended even if you have seen an OT for a visual assessment. They are able to assess vision up to their scope of practice which is more limited compared to a neuro-optometrist scope of practice. We find the OTs reports to be helpful to understand where you started in your recovery and to see what activities the OTs have done to help you with your visual tasks.

This can be an occupational therapist who is working on functional cognition, or a speech and language pathologist who can help with executive function, memory, planning and communication. As neuro-optometrists, we collaborate with cognitive therapists to help improve patients' visual skills so that they can better participate in cognitive therapy.

In more severe acquired brain injuries the SLP will work on speech and communication, and in mild acquired brain injuries they mostly work on cognition which includes executive function, working memory, planning, and problem solving. Because visual aids are a component of their therapies, SLPs benefit from understanding the patient's visual difficulties and limitations.