What Patients Are Saying

I was (and remain) shocked by how these glasses have already changed my life and I'm only a couple of weeks into wearing them. I will be a lifelong Learn to See Vision Clinic patient.

Life Changing Experience! After many years of increasing anxiety while driving, I decided it was time to do something as it was affecting my ability to perform daily and necessary tasks. I completed a survey to see if my symptoms might be related to a misalignment of my eyes. Within hours of completing the survey, I was contacted by Dr. Alsterlund who immediately set up a phone consult to discuss my results. He decided that I was a likely candidate for this dysfunction and I am so glad I reached out. This is a specialty of Dr. Alsterlund. I am so grateful. After a thorough and comprehensive eye exam ( including a regular eye exam), he did diagnose me with a misalignment and prescribed special prism lenses that would aid in my eye's ability to focus. I am currently 5 weeks in with my new glasses and am ecstatic. I can see, really see!

I met with Dr. Alsterlund through a referral from an online eye survey called " Could it be my eyes." After a very easy and pleasant exam with him, I was in fact diagnosed with a minor eye misalignment. Something everyone else had missed! Ive had my glasses for a week now, and I am blown away! I have no anxiety, I dont panic when im driving, Im not dizzy, Im happy and calm again! If you are looking for a true "Comprehensive," "Thorough" eye exam.. go to Dr. Alsterlund! I've lived 20 min. from the Mayo Clinic Rochester all my life, but I will glady make the trip to Minneapolis to see him again! I highly recommend him, it just might change your life! I am Learning to see again!

Before I began vision therapy, I skipped words when I was reading and I never enjoyed it. My grades at school were always low! Now that I have done vision therapy, I don’t skip words as much as I used to. My grades have improved very much. Best of all, I don’t hate reading anymore.

My goal was to become a better reader and focus on words better. I did it! Dr. Les taught me to be confident in myself and do a good job and put my mind to it and that I could do it! It was fun working with Dr. Les. He is funny and nice. He always believed in me.

Katie was referred to the Learn to See Vision Clinic by her pediatrician.

Vision therapy has made it a lot easier to read. I read faster, I understand what I am reading now and I hardly ever get headaches. Best of all, I feel more confident and I’m not afraid to try different things. I can do my schoolwork by myself and don’t need someone to read things to me anymore. Dr. Les was fun to work with. He is patient and doesn’t get upset if you don’t understand something. He takes the time to work with you until you understand, even if you’re crabby.

Grady’s family found us through our website, learntosee.org.
 

Over the nine months that I did eye therapy I learned a lot. I also accomplished a lot. Some of the things that Dr. Les did with me were weird and fun, but some were hard. I accomplished most of what I wanted to, which was pretty much to have an easier time with reading. I really think that I couldn’t have improved as much as I did without him. He is very good at what he does and I think he’s nice.

Before vision therapy, reading made me tired and I didn't want to finish my school work. Doing homework made me stressed out. Since I finished vision therapy, I can catch a ball better than I ever have. I can even read 7th grade books now! I even think Vision Therapy helped me learn how to ride my bike.

Isaac’s parents added…Thanks again for everything. Vision Therapy was a HUGE sacrifice for us in time and money, but I can say without a doubt that it was worth it. He's a different kid--his whole attitude has changed.

Isaac’s family found out about the Learn to See Vision Clinic at one of our workshops to their home school coop.

Before I had vision therapy I would try to get my work done but I would get distracted by anything that came into the corner of my eye (and to top that off I was kind of a mischief maker). My parents and my teacher got frustrated because I wasn’t getting my work done like I was supposed to. When I started vision therapy I was able to not get distracted by things, I was able to read without my sight getting blurred, and I got more work done. The vision activities taught me how to control my vision so I could do things that I thought I couldn’t do.

My husband and I had been trying to address Michael’s ADHD symptoms in a number of ways for years, including behavior modification, medication, and nutritional supplements and were frustrated. While each approach seemed to work with some aspects of what we thought was ADHD, we really weren’t seeing marked or sustained improvement in Mike’s behavior. His teachers were frustrated, and at times, we were as well.

We began vision therapy in the hopes that Mike might make more lasting progress. The change in his behavior, confidence, abilities, and self image are incredible. Family members have commented that this doesn’t seem to be the same boy! His gym teacher spontaneously offered that he is having a fantastic year, and that things that bothered him before – his inability to perform certain tasks, or his inability to follow the action in a fast paced physical activity – were not a problem for him this year. Even his religious ed instructor has commented that he is so much more focused.

The day to day reality is this:
•    He can read clearly, and for a long time, without headache or eyestrain.
•    He can throw, catch, and hit baseballs and basketballs as well as other average 12 year old boys.
•    He is far more coordinated; less spilling, running into things, tripping for no reason, etc.
•    His handwriting is legible (when it wants to be! Remember, as a pre-teen, he does sometimes choose to be sloppy!).
•    His ability to verbalize abstractions has greatly improved.
•    He is less likely to say "I can’t" when encountering a new activity.
•    He voluntarily did an extra credit essay, totally surprising his 6th grade teacher.
•    His room is still not as orderly as I would like, but when I call him out on that, he is able to a) see what I mean, and b) bring it to order. This is a huge turnaround.

I had wondered how Mike might react to the therapy sessions themselves. Dr. Les’ approach of demonstrating a calm, relaxed manner with Mike, while at the same time maintaining focus and pushing at just the right intensity for progress, worked well. He related well with Michael, putting him at ease with humor, music, and activities geared to his interests. It was clear that Dr. Les listened to him and adapted his interactions so Mike felt comfortable, secure and always eager to go to therapy. As a result, Mike was eager to please you. Dr. Les explained the exercises to me so we were able to replicate them at home. My son learned that perseverance can pay off, and that consistently working at a problem can result in success. Thank you.