Dr. McBryar is referred

to by many family physicians in the greater Chattanooga area

to provide an important part of the continuum of care.

Overview

As the primary healthcare provider and first point of contact, by referring to Dr. McBryar, you can ensure that your patients meet all of the needs required to optimize their vision. People of all ages and backgrounds can benefit from Dr. McBryar’s services as she provides neurological eye care, extending far beyond visual acuity, in order to improve the patient’s quality of life.

Dr. McBryar is referred to by many MD’s for functional vision exams, including:

Strabismus
Amblyopia
Convergence insufficiency
Diplopia
Learning disabilities
TBI
Vision loss
Impaired visual field
Dr. McBryar cartoon
For example, a person struggling with convergence insufficiency may suffer from headaches or difficulty in classroom performance and may not know that this is due to an aspect of their neurological visual system which is malfunctioning. There is a wealth of clinical research indicating the success of correcting convergence insufficiency with vision therapy.

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
bust01-8

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
Pseudomyopia
Heather M. McBryar, OD
Hixon, Tennessee
Appendix A Bull’s-Eye
Heather M. McBryar, OD
Hixon, Tennessee
Appendix B Brock String
Heather M. McBryar, OD
Hixon, Tennessee

Lorem Ipsum

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:
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.

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.

Blog

Atkinson Hyperlegible Font
Carmela Jane
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Named after Braille Institute founder, J. Robert Atkinson, Atkinson Hyperlegible font is great for low vision readers.  In contrast to traditional typography design, it emphasizes letterform distinction in order to increase character recognition, thus improving readability.  Anyone with low vision is welcome to use it for free!

What is low vision?

It is a loss of vision that cannot be treated with medical or surgical treatments or with conventional eyeglasses or contact lenses. Low vision is a condition that makes doing everyday tasks difficult. People with low vision must learn to adapt to their condition and can be helped with a variety of low vision devices and tools.

What makes Atkinson hyperlegible font so unique

There are times when it may be difficult for people with low vision to distinguish letters and numbers while reading. The Atkinson Hyperlegible font offers a variety of design techniques to differentiate commonly misinterpreted letters and numbers.
  • Recognizable footprints: Character boundaries are clearly defined, making understanding possible across the visual-ability spectrum
  • Differentiated letterforms: Letter pairs are differentiated from one another to dramatically increase legibility
  • Unambiguous characters: Designed to improve readability and distinguishability
  • Exaggerated forms: Letter shapes are exaggerated to improve clarity
  • Opened counterspace: Some of the open areas on certain letters are enlarged to provide more distinction
  • Angled spurs and differentiated tails: enhance recognition and define distinct style
  • Circular details: Links to the history of Braille Institute and braille dots

Characteristics of Atkinson hyperlegible font

  • Four fonts, including two weights (regular, bold, italics, italics bold)
  • 1,340 total glyphs across all fonts, 335 per font
  • Accent characters supporting 27 languages
  • For designers and anyone interested in making written materials easier to read across the entire visual-ability spectrum
  • Improve legibility and readability for low vision readers

Downloading and installing it

Click here to download the Atkinson hyperlegible font for free Instructions for installing the font Download the .zip file linked above. Extract the file to reveal additional folders inside. Find the Open Type Format (.otf) files for the four Atkinson Hyperlegible fonts (regular, italic, bold, bold italic) inside the “Print Fonts” folder. *Note that only the Open Type files are needed to install the font on a computer. There are five additional font formats in the “Web Fonts” folder for use on the web. On Windows 10: Double-click the font file, then click the “Install” button in the font preview window that opens. The font will be installed. Alternatively, right-click on the file and choose “Install” from the pop-up menu that appears. On Mac: Double-click the font file in the Finder, then click “Install Font” in the font preview window that opens. After your Mac validates the font and opens the Font Book app, the font is installed and available for use.

Schedule a low vision evaluation at [mbv name="practice-name"]

At [mbv name="practice-name"] we offer advanced low vision optometric eyecare. Our low vision optometrist spends time with each patient to understand their visual capabilities and what goals they have for improving their vision. After a full evaluation our low vision optometrist will help guide the patient through the various options available such as handheld and wearable devices that provide additional magnification, color contrast, and field of view. Furthermore our low vision optometrist will guide the patient on the resources available through different organizations and tools that can help them in their activities of daily living. Call our office at [mbv name="token-practice-phone"] to schedule a low vision evaluation. 
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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
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Visual Symptoms of Learning Related Vision 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. 
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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. 
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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. 
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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.
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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.
  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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. 
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Contact Us To Amplify Your EyeCare

Amplify EyeCare Chattanooga Logo

Working Hours

Monday - Tuesday
7:30AM - 5:15PM

Wednesday - Thursday
8:00AM - 5:15PM

Friday - Sunday
Closed

Location
1043 Executive Drive Suite #101 Hixson, TN 37343
Fax
(423) 710 3966
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