Acquired brain injury: damage to the brain acquired after birth that can affect
cognitive, physical, emotional, social or independent functioning
Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD): An eye disease that results in a loss of central, "straight-ahead" vision. AMD is the leading cause of vision loss in older Americans.
Amblyopia (lazy eye): involves lowered acuity (visual clarity) and/or poor eye muscle control in one eye; often results is a loss of depth perception
Cataracts: A clouding of the lens. People with cataracts see through a haze. In a usually safe and successful surgery, the cloudy lens can be replaced with a plastic lens.
Convergence insufficiency: a common eye teaming/binocular vision disorder where the eye don't work easily together for near-distance activities, such as reading or computer viewing; a person can have 20/20 vision and still have convergence insufficiency
Diabetes/Diabetic Retinopathy: A chronic disease related to high blood sugar that may lead to vision loss.
Eye Alignment: ability of both eyes to gaze in the same direction; a deviation in alignment typically results in strabismus, or a crossed/turned eye
Eye Teaming: ability of both eyes to "point" at the same object at the same time Eye Tracking: ability of both eyes to smoothly and simultaneously follow words on a page or moving objects
Depth perception: the ability to see in 3-D; involves the eyes and brain working together to perceive spatial relationships, such as distances between objects
Developmental (behavioral) optometry or functional vision care: the branch of optometry focusing on the practice of vision therapy; involves the evaluation of vision skills and visual perceptual performance, as well as how the environment, nutrition and behavioral factors affect visual performance
Double vision (diplopia): a medical condition of vision where a person focuses on a single object but it appears double
Dyslexia: difficulty reading by persons with "normal" vision and intelligence/processing abilities; there are three types of dyslexia (PDF)
Focusing: ability of the eyes to maintain clear vision while look quickly from near to distance or distance to near
Glaucoma: An eye disease, related to high pressure inside the eye, that damages the optic nerve and leads to vision loss. Glaucoma affects peripheral, or side, vision.
Low Vision: A visual impairment, not corrected by standard eyeglasses, contact lenses, medication, or surgery, that interferes with the ability to perform everyday activities.
Ophthalmologist: A medical doctor who diagnoses and treats all diseases and disorders of the eye, and can prescribe glasses and contact lenses.
Optician: A trained professional who grinds, fits, and dispenses glasses by prescription from an optometrist or ophthalmologist.
Optometrist: A primary eye care provider who prescribes glasses and contact lenses, and diagnoses and treats certain conditions and diseases of the eye.
Orientation and Mobility Specialist: A person who trains people with low vision to move about safely in the home and travel by themselves.
Primitive reflexes: reflexes necessary for infants to have during birth and for the first few weeks after that have not yet develop into more complicated reflexes
Specialist in Low Vision: An ophthalmologist or optometrist who specializes in the evaluation of low vision. This person can prescribe visual devices and teach people how to use them.
Sports vision (Definition by the American Optometric Association at www.aoa.org)
Strabismus (crossed eye): an eye that turns up, down, left or right
Syntonics (light therapy or photo therapy) (Definition by the College of Syntonic Optometry at www.syntonicphototherapy.com)
Vision Rehabilitation Instructor: A person who trains people with low vision to use optical and non-optical devices, adaptive techniques, and community resources.
Visual acuity: the ability to see clearly at a given distance
Visual and Adaptive Devices: Prescription and nonprescription devices that help people with vision impairments enhance their vision function. Some examples include magnifiers, telescopic devices, monocular or bioptic devices, large print books, check-writing guides, and white canes.
Visual closure: the ability to recognize familiar figures that have been partially obscured, distorted or deleted from sight
Visual discrimination: the ability to see the similarities and differences in forms, shapes, objects, letters, words, etc.
Visual memory: the ability to remember what has been seen, without relying on subvocalization, tactile, or auditory feedback; the act of forming a mental visual image of something seen before or previously visualized
Visual motor integration: the ability to match visual and motor skills in the brain, such as copying a series of pictures or forms
Visual processing: ability of the brain to make sense of information taken in through the eyes
Vision skills: the combination of "good" eye teaming, tracking and focusing and visual perception
Visual space orientation: the eyes and brain working together to perceive relative positions of objects in their visual field
Vision therapist: a specially trained profession who implements vision therapy procedures
Vision therapy: an individualized program of visual procedures used to retrain the brain and eyes to work efficiently together
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