A routine eye exam primarily evaluates eye health and determines whether you need glasses. A functional vision evaluation examines how your eyes work together, how they focus, how they track, and how your brain processes visual information — skills that affect reading, learning, work, sports, and driving.
Functional Vision Evaluations in East Orlando
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Visual Health & Learning Center
A developmental vision evaluation typically takes about 1½ hours because we evaluate many different visual skills rather than simply measuring eyesight.
Common symptoms include losing your place while reading, headaches after computer work, double vision, eyestrain, dizziness, motion sensitivity, difficulty focusing, and visual fatigue that worsens throughout the day.
Yes. We evaluate both children and adults with functional vision problems. Adults are often evaluated for double vision, concussion, stroke, brain injury, persistent headaches, visual fatigue, difficulty reading, and computer-related vision problems.
If your evaluation does not identify a functional vision problem, your eye doctor will explain the results and recommend the most appropriate next step, which may include referral to another healthcare provider.
No. Sometimes glasses are recommended. Sometimes prism therapy helps. Sometimes vision therapy is appropriate. Sometimes another referral is the best next step. Every recommendation begins with understanding how your visual system is functioning.
Please bring any glasses you currently wear, completed patient forms, referral information if applicable, and previous eye care records that may be helpful.
Yes. We commonly evaluate children with reading and learning difficulties, eye tracking disorders, lazy eye, and eye turns. We also evaluate adults experiencing concussion-related vision problems, stroke-related vision changes, double vision, and neurological vision disorders.
You may have already had a routine eye exam and been told your eyes are healthy. Yet reading still feels difficult. You may experience headaches, double vision, dizziness, or struggle to focus during everyday activities.
A functional vision evaluation helps us understand why.
Rather than measuring only how clearly you see, our eye doctors evaluate how your eyes work together, how they focus, how they move, and how your brain processes visual information. These visual skills affect reading, learning, work, sports, driving, and many other daily activities.
Functional Vision Is About More Than Seeing Clearly
To use your vision comfortably throughout the day, your eyes must be able to:
Your two eyes must coordinate as a team to produce a single, clear image. When they don't work together efficiently, it can cause eyestrain, double vision, or difficulty maintaining focus during reading and other close tasks.
Eye tracking refers to how smoothly and accurately your eyes move across a line of text. Poor tracking can cause you to lose your place, skip words or lines, or re-read the same line repeatedly, making reading slow and tiring.
Your eyes must be able to sustain clear focus up close for extended periods and shift focus quickly between near and far distances. When this skill is reduced, reading may become blurry, and tasks like switching between a whiteboard and a desk become difficult.
Depth perception relies on both eyes working together to gauge how far away objects are. Poor depth perception can affect sports, driving, walking on stairs, and other everyday activities that require accurate spatial awareness.
Visual processing is how your brain interprets and makes sense of what your eyes see. When processing is slow or inefficient, tasks like reading comprehension, copying from a board, or recognizing words can become significantly harder than they should be.
When one or more of these skills isn't working properly, everyday activities can become much more difficult than they should be. Reading may become tiring, computer work may cause headaches, and tasks that once felt simple may require much more effort.
Everyday Symptoms Can Point to a Functional Vision Problem
YMany patients come to our office because they know something isn't quite right, even though previous eye exams haven't found an explanation. You or your child may notice:
Headaches
During reading or computer work.
Double Vision
Seeing two images when there should be one.
Dizziness
Or motion sensitivity during daily activities.
Reading Fatigue
Losing your place, skipping words or lines.
Eyestrain
Eye discomfort that worsens through the day.
Poor Depth Perception
Trouble judging distances accurately.
Difficulty Focusing
Blurry vision when shifting between near and far.
Computer Strain
Difficulty working at a screen for extended periods.
These symptoms don't always mean you have a functional vision problem, but they do deserve a closer look. A functional vision evaluation helps us determine whether the way your eyes work together may be contributing to these challenges.
We Evaluate How Your Visual System Functions
A functional vision evaluation examines much more than eyesight.
Depending on your symptoms, we may evaluate:
- Eye tracking
- Eye teaming
- Focusing
- Binocular vision
- Depth perception
- Visual processing
- Eye movements
- Visual efficiency
Together, these findings show how your visual system works in daily life. They also help us see if a vision problem affects your comfort or performance.
Functional Vision Evaluations Help Children and Adults
Functional vision problems can affect patients of every age.
Children
- Reading difficulties
- Learning-related vision problems
- Eye tracking disorders
- Eye turns
- Lazy eye
- Headaches during schoolwork
- Difficulty maintaining attention while reading
Adults
- Double vision
- Concussion
- Stroke
- Traumatic brain injury
- Persistent headaches
- Visual fatigue
- Difficulty reading
- Computer-related vision problems
- Dizziness or motion sensitivity
Understanding the Cause Comes Before Treatment
The goal of a functional vision evaluation is not to decide if you need vision therapy. It is to determine why you are experiencing symptoms. Once we understand how your child’s visual system is working, we will explain our findings. Then we will recommend the best next step.
Depending on your child’s exam results, we may recommend glasses, prisms, or vision therapy. We may also suggest other treatments or refer you to another provider. Every recommendation begins with understanding the cause of the problem, not assuming the solution.
We Explain Everything We Find
After the evaluation, your eye doctor will review the results with you. They will explain how your visual system works. They will also answer any questions you have. We will talk about whether a functional vision problem is causing your symptoms. We will review treatment options that may help. We will explain what to expect next. Our goal is to help you fully understand your evaluation before making any treatment decisions.