Behavioural Optometric Vision Assessment

Behavioural Optometry is a specialisation within Optometry that analyses visual performance in greater depth, focusing attention on the QUALITY AND RESILIENCE of visual skills, rather than simply the ability to “see” small detail clearly. A more holistic assessment explores how the brain, eyes and body work together, as an integrated team, to help us perform the many varied activities that we undertake each day.

Behavioural Optometric Vision Assessment

Duration approximately 60 minutes

This assessment explores the more mechanical aspects of visual attention ,such as ‘homing in’  with the focusing mechanisms, aligning the eyes accurately in space and the efficiency with which the two eyes work as a team. Information acquired is related to the quality of information received in through the visual system.

Efficiency of focus is linked to clear vision, good understanding of where objects are in space, the effort involved in sustaining and redirecting attention, the accuracy with which eyes guide hands and body through space, visual perception of size, distance and space, as well as overall physical confidence in space.

Efficiency of eye alignment is linked to comfortable single vision, good eye contact, resilience of eye teaming, accurate perception of relative spatial arrangement, of objects, depth perception, and effective eye movements through space.

Emphasis is upon the quality of execution of visual skills and the effort required to exert and sustain them over time and under conditions of visual stress, such as occur when workload is high and it is necessary to concentrate for longer periods on smaller detail, with increasing information uptake demand.

Visual activity must be accomplished with the maximum efficiency and accuracy, but minimum effort, so that high level energy is not ‘poached’ from primary task requirements, such as information absorption and processing.

This assessment pertains particularly to uptake of information through the visual system and can answer questions such as the following:

• Is visual information likely to be accurately perceived?
• Is a person likely to efficiently absorb the information they are reading?
• Is a person likely to retain the information? Are they likely to sustain quality of performance over time?
• Is a person likely to sustain visual attention over time?
• Is a person likely to efficiently direct visual attention across space?
• Is a person likely to  easily locate objects within the visual field?
• Can the eyes guide the hands efficiently for writing or drawing?
• Are there strategies to help in the work place or classroom? Where should they be sitting in the class?
• Is there a visual reason for the headaches?
• Why do they bring the book so close?
• Why can they not spell irregular words?
• Why is reading so inconsistent?
• Why are they so distractible?
• Why do they appear oblivious to surrounding when they do concentrate?