Dr. McBryar is referred

to by many pediatricians in the greater Chattanooga area

to provide an important part of the continuum of care for a child’s development and growth.

Overview

There is so much more to vision, beyond 20/20 visual acuity and these other neurological aspects pertaining to vision are critical for a child’s development. Dr. McBryar successfully treats many children referred to her from their respective pediatricians for a variety of reasons, including difficulty with reading and keeping up with the learning demands of their age group.

Dr. McBryar provides functional vision exams and treatment for various conditions, including:

Strabismus

Amblyopia

Convergence insufficiency

Diplopia

Learning disabilities

Clinical studies suggest that there are 1 in 8 children who have convergence insufficiency. It is often unclear that the issue the child suffers from is CI, as it can manifest as a variety of symptoms, including challenges with reading and concentrating or avoiding close up tasks. There is a wealth of clinical research indicating the success of correcting convergence insufficiency with vision therapy. As a Fellow of the College of Optometrists in Vision Development (COVD), Dr. McBryar has countless patients over the decades of her career who used to struggle with activities that demand vision from up close who then go through the treatment process which enables them to enjoy reading and to keep up with classroom expectations.

Our Address

1043 Executive Dr #102 Hixson, TN 37343

(423) 321-8233

hello@123.co

Working Hours

monday-Thursday

9:00 AM - 6:00 PM

Friday-Sunday

closed

Dr. Heather McBryar

Dr. McBryar runs a professional optometry practice, Southeast Vision Rehabilitation, located in Chattanooga, Tennessee. She graduated with honors from Nova Southeastern University College of Optometry and is a Diplomate of the American Board of Optometry (ABO). Dr. McBryar specializes in the fields of developmental optometry, vision therapy and low vision.

She has many achievements in her field, including that she:

Is a Fellow of the College of Optometrists in Vision Development (COVD)

Is a Candidate for Fellowship in the Neuro-Optometric Rehabilitation Association (NORA)

Has hospital privileges at Siskin Hospital for Physical Rehabilitation

Is a co-founder of the Chattanooga Area Low Vision Network

Lectures extensively on the topics of neuro-optometric rehabilitation and low vision

Runs her optometry practice, Southeast Vision Rehabilitation, which is a performance center of NIH/NEI funded Johns Hopkins research study: Comparative Studies of Low Vision Rehabilitative Outcome Measures.

Publication

Compensatory Prism for Strabismus Secondary to Stroke

Heather M. McBryar, OD
Hixon, Tennessee

Download

Pseudomyopia

Heather M. McBryar, OD
Hixon, Tennessee

Download

Appendix A Bull’s-Eye

Heather M. McBryar, OD
Hixon, Tennessee

Download

Appendix B Brock String

Heather M. McBryar, OD
Hixon, Tennessee

Download

Routine eye exams

Eye examinations include simple tests to assess general vision, as well as more comprehensive examinations for overall eye health. Depending on how extensive the testing an exam can take up to 90 minutes. Exams for the young and healthy are generally shorter in duration and should average under 30 minutes. Many experts recommend that children have a comprehensive examination before beginning grade school, followed by subsequent annual testing. Common tests include:

Visual acuity

This checks overall vision. You will be asked to read from a Snellen chart where the letters decrease in size as you progress down the chart.

Near Point of Convergence

This measures the ability your eyes have to move inwards and in sync in order to focus on a target up close. You will be asked to focus on a target while the optometrist brings the target closer to your nose.

Eye movement screening

This is done to make sure your eyes move smoothly without any discomfort. The optometrist will ask you to follow a target in all directions as it’s being moved around.

Cover test

The purpose is to check how the eyes work together as a team, known as binocularity. You will be asked to focus on a target while the optometrist will cover one eye at a time and will watch how the other eye reacts.

Stereopsis

This checks your depth perception. You will be given polaroid glasses that enable you to see a testing book in 3D and will be asked some questions about what you see.

Eye health

It is so important to check the health of your eyes for early detection of any eye conditions or diseases. Dilating eye drops will be administered and various tests are performed including using different tools which shine a light on your eyes so that the optometrist can observe inside of your eye.

Referral Section

In the broad profession of optometry, you usually see doctors who either specialize in vision therapy or in treating low vision, but rarely both combined into a single practice.

Online referral form

Download & fax referral form to: (423) 710 3966

Text Message

Call

Blog

Learning-Related Vision Problems

Carmela Jane

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[embed]https://youtu.be/cqGk79S4xu8[/embed] Up to 80% of the information that is presented to children in the classroom is actually visual. It's safe to say that vision can have an enormous impact on children's academic performance. If children show up at school every day without some of the tools they need to succeed, no matter how smart or capable we may think they are, they will have trouble performing at their grade or age level equivalents. Consequently, that child may work 10 times harder than another child because they lack the tools that they need to succeed.

Visual skills that may affect child's academic performance

Visual skills that may affect a child's academic performance include having difficulty with visual acquisition, i.e., having difficulty acquiring visual information, getting it into the eyes, and back into the brain. These could include eye tracking, using eyes together as a team which is called binocular vision, or problems with the accommodative and focusing muscles. Children may also have difficulty processing visual information once the information reaches the brain. For example there could be a problem with the child's ability to convert short-term memories to long-term ones. If your child struggles with any of these skills, it's important to rule in or out an underlying vision problem that could negatively affect academic performance. Take our vision skills assessment to see if your child has symptoms that may indicate an underlying vision problem.

Signs of a learning-related vision problem

Your child may exhibit a number of signs and symptoms that indicate they have a vision problem that is affecting their learning ability. A proper assessment and treatment, if necessary, can be carried out quickly to ensure that a minor issue does not turn into a major one. There are a number of them, including:

Eye irritation
Having to squint to see the blackboard in class
Blurry vision
Difficulty reading for long periods of time
Poor reading comprehension
Difficulty focusing
Frequent headaches
Head tilting
Fatigue
Dizziness or balance issues

Carmela Jane

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[embed]https://youtu.be/V026q0p7zHw[/embed] These are vision problems that directly interfere with learning. Physical symptoms of learning-related vision problems include headaches, eye strain, and double vision, however, the visual symptoms are more subtle and less often noticed.

Visual symptoms

You may need an eye doctor that specializes in developmental or functional vision to properly diagnose a learning-related vision issue, but there are some signs that you can watch for, even if they have had an eye exam and have been told their eyesight is perfect

When a child is holding the book really close to their face
When reading, the child frequently moves their head instead of just moving their eyes
When a child has to keep a finger under the words or a ruler or a bookmark to help them keep place
A child whose reading pace is slower, whose fluency may be below what is expected for their grade or age
A child who has very poor reading comprehension
A child who has poor handwriting and has trouble copying from the board, for example they may be able to copy something from their desk to the paper in front of them but not to go back and forth from the board.
When a child has difficulty sustaining attention on tasks requiring visual attention, it is possible that a vision problem is the underlying cause.
A child who is having difficulty focusing can become frustrated, which leads to fidgeting and irritability. These symptoms can both be caused by other disorders, such as ADHD, so if your child exhibits either, you should take them for a functional vision exam so the cause of the problem can be identified before any type of treatment is provided.
It is also possible that a child, who is having difficulty focusing on what they are reading, will reverse letters (this can be caused by an underlying vision issue or dyslexia)
A child may skip lines or skip words when reading

Learning related vision problems are extremely common

Therefore, if your child is experiencing any of these symptoms or if you're a teacher and see these symptoms in your students, we highly recommend that they have a developmental eye examination to determine if they are actually suffering from a vision related learning problem, which can be treated effectively by vision therapy. Call our office at [mbv name="token-practice-phone"] to schedule an eye exam with Dr. McBryar today.

Vision and Neuroplasticity

Carmela Jane

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[embed]https://youtu.be/wQ4OYJxha-0[/embed] Neuroplasticity is essentially the brain's ability to develop and to adapt to learn new things. While we know the brain is capable of doing these things, we don't necessarily think of vision as something that develops. Although we think of vision as just another sense like hearing or smelling, vision, in fact, is an extremely complex process that goes through an extensive development process. It used to be believed that neuroplasticity ends at eight years old, which would mean that the brain is able to develop properly only up until that point and afterward the visual system is too late to develop. It has been proven incorrect because we know that the brain is capable of learning new skills and adapting to new challenges beyond eight years of age, and that also applies to visual pathways. Vision therapy is a process of learning that takes advantage of the neuroplasticity of the brain to improve learned functions that impact our vision. It enhances the various skills associated with vision, which means strengthening the entire spectrum of aspects related to visual demands we must meet in our everyday lives.

The breakdown of the visual system

Dr. McBryar often breaks down the visual system into the hardware of the visual system and the software of the visual system. The hardware is more like the eye itself. The longer your eyeball grows, the more likely you are to have to wear glasses for nearsightedness in order to see clearly. Another example is ocular disease, if someone has a disease such as macular degeneration or glaucoma, the hardware of our vision is broken. The software of the visual system is more of the neurological pathways that connect the eyes to the brain, directing the eyes and processing the visual information. Even if you are able to see clearly through your glasses, if your eyes and brain don't work well together, you can have significant difficulties in both an academic and a workplace setting.

Vision therapy and neuroplasticity

The reason why vision therapy works is that we are able to reprogram the neurological software in order to either help the visual system develop properly in the first place, or get it back to functioning at its highest level. Much like bicycle riding, once the visual-cognitive process is learnt, the neurological pathways will work more efficiently without having to think about how the eyes and brain work together to perform tasks. Call our Chattanooga functional optometry office today at [mbv name="token-practice-phone"] to schedule an appointment.

Vision Therapy Awareness

Carmela Jane

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[embed]https://youtu.be/qH8Uy60gT00[/embed] In her years of practicing, Dr. McBryar has heard many times the questions “what is vision therapy?”, “how can vision therapy help people?”, and “who does vision therapy help”. It is challenging for functional optometrists and neuro optometrists to raise awareness of what they do, who vision therapy can help, and when people should reach out to schedule a functional eye exam.

Why are patient testimonials important?

When it comes to education and raising awareness, patient testimonials are the most useful. If the patient is a child, the parent may write a testimonial about how they improved academically, for example sharing how their child is now reading on grade level. It could also be helpful if the patient was an adult, and they could describe how they are able to manage their workday without headaches and double vision. In the same way, a patient who has suffered a traumatic brain injury can write a testimonial describing how they are now able to function better after neuro optometric rehabilitation. The testimonials of patients play a huge role in helping eye doctors educate the public about what they do. Dr. Heather McBryar from Amplify EyeCare Chattanooga has several books full of written testimonials from patients, which other parents and patients can read and then decide if vision therapy is right for them.

What kinds of symptoms indicate the need for vision therapy?

There are many symptoms that indicate the need for further evaluation with a functional vision exam. Take this symptom assessment for a more in depth assessment of you or your child's symptoms https://amplifyeyecarechatt.com/about-us-practice-page/our-specialty/vision-therapy-specialty/vision-and-learning-quiz/ Some common symptoms that may indicate the need for vision therapy include:

Children who suffer headaches after a school day, but not on the weekend
When reading, words seem to float off the page
Getting exhausted after reading or doing activities that require prolonged concentration (in school, at work)
Losing the place frequently when reading
Reading something and not being able to recall it
Having difficulty keeping up with schoolwork or work
Difficulty with balance especially after a stroke or traumatic brain injury
Double vision or blurry vision

Schedule a functional vision exam with Dr. McBryar at Amplify EyeCare Chattanooga

We welcome you to schedule an appointment at our office for a thorough functional vision evaluation. Dr. McBryar is a fellow of the College of Optometrists in Vision Development and has extensive experience working with children, special needs, and post concussion/TBI/Stroke patients. Call our office at [mbv name="token-practice-phone"] to schedule a functional eye exam.

Worth Four Dot

Carmela Jane

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[embed]https://youtu.be/JbHt38OLtUY[/embed] The worth four dot test is a great tool to help the clinician understand what the patient sees with each eye. This test is useful for detecting double vision or suppression, in which the brain ignores visual signals from one eye.

For what purpose is it used?

This test provides our eye doctor with information about how your brain processes the visual information it receives. Is your brain able to pay attention to both eyes at the same time? Or is it suppressing or selectively filtering out the information that's coming from one of the eyes? In this case, it allows your doctor to determine if you are neglecting the left or right eye. Or are you alternating back and forth between the eyes that are being ignored? Or do you exhibit a double vision response at times? Another benefit of this test is that it gives our eye doctor information about how deeply embedded a suppression may be or what distances you may be experiencing double vision at. This is very helpful when they are working with you in the vision therapy room to customize procedures to help make you better.

What is suppression of one eye?

It occurs when one eye is given preference over the other by the brain by ignoring the visual signal from one eye and paying attention only to the other. The purpose of this is to prevent double or blurry vision. The brain does this when the eyes are not working together properly, but vision therapy can help train our brains to learn how to work correctly with both eyes.

What are the possible outcomes of a worth four dot test?

When Dr. McBryar uses the worth four dot test she will have the patient look at the worth for dot flashlight. The flashlight has four dots, one red, two green and one white. Then she will ask you to wear these red and green glasses, with the red lense covering your right eye. Dr. McBryar will be able to learn more about how your vision is working, how deep your suppression is embedded and at what distances you are experiencing double vision. Two red dots: If you were to look with the right eye and the left eye was suppressed, what you would see would be the two red lights. Three green dots: If your right eye is suppressed or ignored, you will see three green dots and the fourth will not be visible. Five dots: If you have double vision, then you would see five dots, two red dots from your right eye and three green dots from your left eye. Four dots: If there is proper fusion between both eyes, then you should see four dots.

What is Lazy Eye?

Carmela Jane

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[embed]https://youtu.be/kp8ISwks1WU[/embed] Lazy eye or what's clinically referred to as amblyopia is a condition where the vision isn't correctable to 20/20 on the eye chart like it normally would be. It is often found in one or both eyes, but in rare cases it can be found in both eyes and neither eye can be corrected to 20/20.

What are the main causes of a lazy eye?

There are three main causes of a lazy eye.

The most common cause is when an eye drifts inward or outward, this is called strabismic amblyopia. This results in the lazy eye, as the brain is unable to fully utilize both eyes at the same time.
One of the most common causes of amblyopia is called refractive amblyopia which means that one eye has a substantially different visual ability than the other, for example when one eye has a very large amount of refractive error, but the other eye has little to none.
Another cause of lazy eye is called deprivation amblyopia. This form of amblyopia can also result from congenital cataracts, bell's palsy, or other conditions that prevent light from reaching the retina.

What are the risk factors for a lazy eye in children?

Some children are more prone to develop a lazy eye. The risk factors include:

Family history
Premature birth or an infant who is born with a low weight
Developmental delay

How can a lazy eye be treated?

Patching used to be the standard treatment for lazy eyes. So if there was a situation in which the brain wasn't paying attention to the right eye, an eye doctor would patch the better seeing eye which would be the left eye and force the brain to use the weaker lazy eye. Today the gold standard approach to treating amblyopia is called monocular fixation in binocular field (MFBF). This is where the stronger eye is occluded (blocked) in combination with vision therapy that is done to train the brain to use both eyes together. During vision therapy eye doctor and therapist is essentially creating stepping stones from where the patient currently is only using one eye at a time to bridge to where the patient is now able to achieve binocular vision or the ability to use both eyes together as a team. Patching along with vision therapy training of effectively using both eyes together proves to be the most effective method of treating a lazy eye. Call our office at [mbv name="token-practice-phone"] to schedule a functional eye exam.

How to Teach Visual Learners

Carmela Jane

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[embed]https://youtu.be/4xNaNJBD_bc[/embed] It is estimated that up to 65% of the population can be categorized as visual learners. Many visual learning methods exist that can be used in classrooms that can make learning both possible and enjoyable. The use of these methods increases students' chances of learning well and performing at their best.

How could teachers help their students visually learn and perform better in the classroom?

Use of illustrated materials - One of the most obvious and helpful things for visual learners is highly illustrated materials. This could be things that are on computers or computer software. These could be heavily illustrated books and other two-dimensional materials. Also, engaging videos can help to present information to the child both visually and audibly.
Visualization - Visual learners should also be encouraged to actively visualize so they can imagine in their minds what it is that they're reading. The best way to encourage visualizing is through artistic expression, which means, if they are solving a math problem, they can use whatever information they want. Numbers versus objects.
Journals - in which students are allowed to record the pictures, thoughts, and feelings that come to mind as they learn can provide students with a reference book that helps them tap into what they’re learning and more, how they are processing what they take in.
Manipulatives - Manipulatives can also be used specifically for math. As an alternative to writing numbers and carrying the one, they are using manipulatives to make sense of the 1 or 10 units. Visual learners can also benefit from color-coded highlighters and markers, which make it easy for them to recognize different elements of a problem based on color. A child can also use an abacus for math; the colored, moving beads of the abacus are perfect for visual learners. An abacus is extremely beneficial to these learners' developmental math education. Actually, manipulatives of any kind are extremely beneficial to visual learners.
Use of models - The ability to use models or other constructs in subjects such as science or social studies is extremely helpful for visual learners, as it reinforces their visual process with touch as well.
Engaging videos - Students can learn about a wide variety of topics, from colors to biology to astronomy, by watching engaging videos of the right age. The relaxed environment provided by videos allows students to absorb a good deal of information in what can feel like a day at the movies, though that is not always the case.
Internet - Almost every topic is now accessible to students around the globe thanks to the Internet. Students who learn visually are empowered to understand the most basic and most complex topics through Google and other search engines.