Our team of eye doctors, therapists, and staff are passionate about what we do. We see the tremendous life-changing impact that Vision Therapy offers to our patients. Our goal is to help every patient have a wonderful experience and work at their best pace to graduate from Vision Therapy.
Boaz
Testimony: As we began the search for help with our son Boaz’s reading delays, we felt lost. We cannot express our gratitude fully to the staff at EyeCare Associates. Dr. Faith and Kylee exhibited so much care, compassion, and hope. They gave us the tools we didn’t know we needed to help Boaz. And with their diligent help, and a lot of perseverance and hard work through the exercises on Boaz’s part, we have seen so much improvement in his reading. His speed, fluency, comprehension, willingness to try and confidence in reading are markedly increased. His handwriting and spelling are improving. He has also developed better attentiveness and focus. While he still has progress to make, we are so proud of how far he has come! We are very grateful to have such a great resource in EyeCare Associates nearby!
Kenzie
Testimony: Academics-Kenzie has become a more fluent reader. She is now reading at grade level. She has improved her word recognition skills, especially with improved accuracy of sight words. Kenzie will initiate reading at home, but before vision therapy, she would avoid any extra reading, required or for fun. She finally said in September 2019 “I used to hate reading, but now I love it.” Emotional-Kenzie has gained confidence in her reading skills which as helped her gain confidence in other areas. She has become more independent with completing tasks.
Cara, Kenzie’s mom
Emma
Testimony: Vision Therapy made all the difference in the world for Emma. She went from struggling in school, crying while reading to excelling like we never dreamed and begging to read to us. Dr. Schneider and Kylee changed Emma’s life by their work with her. We are grateful!
Faith, Emma’s mom
Noah
Testimony: When Noah started Vision Therapy, his first 4th-grade MAPS testing levels were much below average. After progressing through VT and having a good support team in his corner his score went up at least 16 points in all categories, and he jumped from a 2nd-grade reading level to a high 3rd-grade level.
He’s struggled with school work through multiple grade levels. He was reading some things backward, having a hard time following instructions, and not understanding what he was reading.
Toward the beginning of this school year, Dr. Faith Schneider prescribed Noah with reading glasses to help with convergence insufficiency and also diagnosed him with suppression of binocular vision (one eye would succumb to stress and stop working), saccadic eye movements (rapid eye movements), and directionality (trouble understanding direction).
I’ve watched Noah struggle less and less as he’s progressed through the program with Kylee. Toward the beginning, she had shared with me that he’d express frustration and embarrassment with himself when he’d make a mistake and when she told him, “it’s OK to make mistakes in this room” she could immediately see the stress leave his body.
Noah’s received welcomed notes from his teachers at school saying they’ve noticed improvements through the year. He’s progressively been working his way through more difficult reading levels and school work has become less intimidating and his outlook on school has changed a lot. What HUGE feats to have accomplished!
Along with Kylee and Dr. Schneider, Noah’s had a lot of advocates in his corner using their voices and knowledge to help guide him and I believe that’s important. I know we’ve still got further to go, but I believe VT has lit a spark to continue growing.
Amy, Noah’s mom
Ben
Testimony: Since Benjamin covered most of the history of his concussions I covered the saga of the last year or so.
“After Benjamin’s fourth grade concussion he was more prone to headaches. Especially in the heat. The headaches progressed until April of his Sophomore year (2017) he was unable to run in track without a splitting headache. He also began to experience daily stomachaches. By December of that year (after another concussion in September) he had seen two neurologists, a neuropsychologist, a gastroenterologist and had had an endoscopy. No one could find anything wrong. We were referred to concussion therapy with a physical therapist and we followed the Buffalo protocol with minimal progress. We saw someone who specialized in concussions. We took him to a allergist where he was diagnosed with multiple allergies. By April he was on medicine for his headaches, two medicines for his stomach, two allergy medicines and allergy shots but he still experienced almost daily migraines and stomachaches.
By God’s grace, I remembered a previous conversation with Dr. Faith Schneider where she referenced her internship working with hockey players with concussions. I literally walked crying into her office asking if there was anything she could do. Dr Schneider walked around the desk, gave me a hug and told me, “We are going to help you.” And she did. Further testing revealed that Benjamin had multiple vision issues. She started him on vision therapy right away and referred us to a sports doctor she worked with. Dr. Krug performed an MRI and was able to talk to Benjamin in a way he understood about his limitations as we allowed his brain to heal.
Benjamin has only had one migraine since beginning vision therapy and that was because he didn’t follow his prescribed exercise protocol for a basketball camp. He understands how his vision works now and how to help it, his vision difficulties have not only improved but his overall vision has improved. He’s a happier kid who could participate in Homecoming activities this year, has lifted weights all summer, and has begun training for basketball season. I thank God every day for sending us to Dr. Schneider and Kylee. I will gladly talk to anyone about how vision therapy gave us our son back!!!”
Monica, Ben’s mom
Testimony: In fourth grade I got a really bad concussion from falling off my brother’s back and hitting my head on our hardwood floor. We didn’t think I had a concussion since I didn’t get knocked out or anything so we just went on with our usual business. That week I got a full week of strikes for forgetting my homework at school or forgetting I had any homework. My teacher called my mom and asked what was wrong with me because I was never like this. I always brought my homework on time and never forgot I had any. During that week I started not being able to read the Promethean board. I started needing glasses which was caused by the concussion. I’ve also had constant headaches since that concussion. Everyday I would wake up with a headache and have to take Tylenol for it and it’s been that way since 4th grade. 8th grade year I got another concussion from football and the headaches got a whole lot worse and during Sophomore year of track after every race I ran I would be bawling looking for my mom or brother to have a shoulder to cry on because it hurt so bad. I had to take 3 Tylenol and 4 ibuprofen and cover my head with something so it was dark so I could get it to go away. I didn’t play any sports in my Junior year and so we were going around to so many doctors and specialists trying to find a reason for my constant headaches. Dr. Krug then advised us to go to vision therapy and after about 24 weeks after doing vision therapy and now I’ve actually changed my prescription which says my eyesight is getting better and I no longer have headaches every single day.
Ben
Ki
Testimony: Ki was having issues in school with reading, writing, and staying focused. She would skip words or go down a line and then back up to the line and get lost easily. She would write big and not on the line. She would easily lose her place when trying to read, which frustrated her. Her teacher suggested that maybe we try an eye doctor for possibly something with her eyes, as the teacher had vision therapy when she was younger. Vision Therapy was something I had not heard of much before. Our eye doctor put us in touch with Dr. Schneider at EyeCare Associates. We had some testing and evaluation and Ki was diagnosed with saccadic dysfunction and depth perception problems. We then started weekly therapy with the therapist Kylee. We started out skeptical with the exercises. We continue and pushed through with daily/weekly exercises and could start to see the improvement. It was about halfway through the therapy that Ki was reading and said “Mom, I like to read.” That was the best to hear! She can now read the words word for word and she can make sense of it. At the start of school the following year the reading teachers could not believe that it was the same Ki they knew before-her reading fluency and the dialect had improved so much. We have some issues to work on yet with writing big and writing on the lines but that’s a work in progress. She continues to work had through the vision homework and do the various exercises and we continue to see improvement. We are so thankful for the work that Kylee and Dr. Schneider do to help these children make improvements in their daily life. The staff at EyeCare Associates was great to work with! Thank you!
Gina, Ki’s mom
Matthew
Testimony: “Hello! My name is Matthew Miller and I believe I am a pretty normal guy!
One aspect of my life that has been quite a challenge is that after my freshman year at York College, my eye health began to deteriorate. I may never know why, but I searched for 3 years to find out the cause and a possible treatment to regain a normal state of existence. My eyes seemed healthy! Any optometrist would simply see a patient who needed glasses and had an astigmatism. But my eyes were NOT right. Simple tasks became confusing. Driving became scary, even reading gave me headaches and was overwhelming. I even began experiencing objects visually “moving” even when they were stationery. I visited many optometrists, ophthalmologists, neurologists, psycho neurologists, ear-nose-&-throat doctors, etc…to no avail. A constant state of depression, stress, and anxiety built as no one was able to help me. My eyes got worse and worse and I couldn’t do anything about it! Looking back, I have estimated an amount of $20,000 in doctors’ bills has been charged to me in a pursuit of a “cure.”
I was encouraged to talk with Dr. Schneider at Eye Care Associates right here in York. I am so glad I did! The first time I spoke with Dr. Schneider I felt cared for and that I was a priority. Over an extensive 10 month period of eye therapy, my eye health has improved and in turn, I have hope for a future of lessened pain and potential peace of mind. I remember during my first appointment with Dr. Schneider she talked about how people that seek her help are usually at their “whit’s end” and have very few medical and professional options left. Boy, after years of trying to find help and finding no assistance, talking with Dr. Schneider and working with her awesome team has changed my life. It was a year ago this month that I first contacted Dr. Schneider and now I do eye therapy at home every day to keep training my eyes to work together and to support me in my endeavors. I do ½ hr of eye therapy and follow that with 20 mins of meditation and this combination has changed my life.
I don’t know where I would be today without Dr. Schneider and her team and frankly, I’m glad I’ll never know because it wouldn’t be that awesome of a place!
Thank you from the bottom of my heart to you Dr. Schneider and her assistant Kylee. Please understand that any type of professional or meaningful advances or successes in my near future are possible because of you! You helped me learn how to treat an issue that I had no idea how to manage or even explain! Thank you for being kind and understanding to me when frustration concerning my health got the best of me. I am grateful that you took me on as a patient and I wish I could pay you the salary you both deserve.
I encourage you to keep changing lives for the better in your professional endeavors.
To the readers of this testimony, please smile today because people in this town are growing, healing, and working together.
Peace and Blessings!
Matthew Miller
Kelby
Testimony: My name is Kelby. I started vision therapy at the beginning of my sophomore year. Before that I could barely focus to read a sentence. Once I finished the sentence, I had no idea what I had read. When I was in second grade I was put in to the special reading group because I was not “smart enough” like the other kids in my class. I thought I was dumb but I wasn’t. It was something that I couldn’t understand at the time. The muscles in my eyes were weak and they wouldn’t work together like they should.
Vision Therapy has changed my life. Now I can read and book and understand what I’m reading. When I started Vision Therapy, I had had an IEP (Individualized Education Plan) for 3 years. In February, after attending Vision Therapy for 5 months, I no longer qualified for an IEP! This is because VT had trained my eyes to be able to focus, which has improved my grades and test scores drastically. This is a huge jump in my academic success!
Many people have told me that they feel bad for me because I am 16 years old and have gone through 16 years of my life not being able to read or understand a book. I know that God allowed this struggle in my life for a purpose. When I graduate from high school my goal is to be a second grade teacher. I want to help students like me who can’t read. I want to be a voice so fewer students have to struggle like I did for so long.
Kelby
Leah
Testimony: Before Vision Therapy, I was struggling in school and sports. I mainly struggled in school with reading it was hard keeping the words and lines from blurring and running together. Throughout Vision Therapy, they helped me with different exercises to help me with reading and keeping focus. For example, I would practice reading with a flipper that had a positive side and a negative side and the frequency of the flipper would gradually increase from week to week. With sports, I couldn’t see the basket very clear in basketball and I was always either over-shooting the ball or under-shooting the ball. Vision Therapy helped me with sports by having me focus on a peg and follow it around in a complete circle while keeping my head still before I could take the peg out. I also did different activities with the pegs and the t.v. screen (that was my favorite) to help me with near and far objects as well as helping me with getting my eyes to work together and focus! I cannot thank the employees at EyeCare Associates enough for making me feel welcome from Day 1 and challenging me every week (some weeks were hard) to help me reach this goal and to have my eyes working together again! Thank you so much!
Leah
Chism
Testimony: We first noticed a problem with Chism when he could not copy from the board or a book correctly. When he would read aloud he would leave out a lot of small words such as “a”, “and”, and “the.” He would not be able to comprehend what he was reading. He also had trouble catching a ball that was thrown to him. By going to vision therapy, through various activity and exercises, they made his eyes “work” together instead of “fighting” against each other. They also showed him how to make his brain tell his eyes what to do. He is now able to copy from the board or a book with little to no mistakes, He is finally comprehending what he is reading and is able to catch a ball without any difficulty. Vision Therapy has helped Chism come from a struggling and very frustrated student to a more confident and eager to read student.
Michelle, Chism’s mom
Riley
Testimony: “Our daughter just recently graduated from the Vision Therapy program at EyeCare Associates. This program has changed her life. She was diagnosed with Convergence Insufficiency and Accomadative Insufficiency. She was having a hard time with reading at school, homework was taking 3 hours a night to get through, and she had a hard time keeping her focus. Another issue was getting her brain to process what her eyes would see. Within 12 weeks of therapy, she was back in the normal range on the majority of how her eyes worked together. Then for the remaining 12 weeks we worked on the visual perceptual things of how her brain and eyes work together.
The confidence alone that she gained is just incredible. She went from being extremely shy and withdrawn to a talkative confident girl. She would only whisper when she talked and now she has the confidence to speak up. Her school work has improved and she is now at grade level on all areas. The homework went from 3 hours a night to 30 minutes. When her reading was retested at the end she had increased by 40 words per minute.
She is so proud of what she accomplished by putting in the time and work. This program equipped her for so much more than just school, it equipped her for a lifetime.”
Kylee, Riley’s mom
Caden
Testimony: “By the end of 4th grade, Caden was having trouble reading at his grade level and was still reversing his B’s and D’s. I spoke with Dr. Kadavy about this and she referred him to be evaluated for vision therapy. Dr. Schneider tested Caden and diagnosed him with Saccadic Eye Movements. She recommended vision therapy. Caden then started a 24 week program which consisted of weekly sessions with Kylee and daily homework. Soon after starting, his reading improved. By the end of his therapy, his reading level and increased from a 3.7 grade level to an 8.9 grade level. He is no longer reversing his letters and his confidence grew. He once hated to read and now enjoys it. School work is easier, too. We are so thankful to the wonderful VT team at EyeCare Associates for all you have done to improve Caden’s life!”
Darcy, Caden’s mom
Riley
Testimony: Riley used to get headaches during the school day and had a hard time completing the homework at home. Now she usually finishes her homework at school and never complains of headaches anymore. We are so thankful that this was caught early. We were worried she might gall behind in school. Now she is back on track and doing great.
Valorie, Riley’s mom
Zayden
Zayden has struggled with reading and spelling since he started school. He didn’t like going at all. Since starting vision therapy he is doing much better at his schoolwork and enjoying school more. He became more confident in is school work and his teachers noticed that within the first month of therapy. He has improved so much and we thank you Kylee. Everyone at EyeCare Associates is wonderful!
Amanda, Zayden’s mom
Rachel
Testimony: Vision Therapy has improved my daughter’s understanding of why her eye is wandering. Rachel is more aware of when it starts to happen and with therapy has been able to bring it back. Vision Therapy has worked to strengthen Rachel’s eyes. It has been very beneficial in her reading. Before she began therapy one eye would get blurry and she would have to really focus the other eye to be able to see what she was reading. Now she is aware and understands so she is able to being that other eye back in to focus both eyes.
Lizlie, Rachel’s mom
Morgan
Testimony: My daughter Morgan has really benefited from vision therapy. She started out needing bifocals to focus at school. By halfway through her therapy sessions, she didn’t need them anymore. We have had great responses from her teacher. Last year she would lose interest in class because she couldn’t focus her eyes. That is not the case this year at all.
Amber, Morgan’s mom
Cora
Testimony: “Eye therapy has really helped my daughter. She is reading better and is able to focus longer while reading. She is able to sound out words she doesn’t know to figure them out. Her handwriting has improved greatly. It’s amazing! Overall, she has gotten more interested and excited about reading at home and at school. Her reading scores have also improved and she is more confident in class. While eye therapy is a commitment and hard work, I recommend it as the benefits are worth it.”
Alexa, Cora’s mom
Tierra
Testimony: “Tierra has loved her eye therapy! She looked forward to seeing her therapist each week. At the beginning the homework was difficult for her and she didn’t have much confidence in herself. As she worked with her therapist in her sessions and worked hard on her homework at home I watched her confidence grow. She said “my eye therapy is fun and it helped me to be more confident.” After years of feeling that something was wrong with her and that she wasn’t very smart, her work in eye therapy showed her that she was indeed capable and intelligent. She now understands that her eyes weren’t working correctly before. She notices a difference in reading fluency and eye control and tracking. We are so proud of her and her hard work and so thankful that she was able to have eye therapy. I can’t wait to see how much more she enjoys school this year after completing her eye therapy!”
Michelle, Tierra’s mom
Hannah
Testimony: “In August 2015, Dr. Schneider noticed some concerns with Hannah’s vision beyond what her glasses could correct. Hannah was in the middle of kindergarten, and my wife and I thought it was important to do something to help her as she was beginning to read. We were excited to learn that Dr. Schneider had just begun vision therapy, we signed her up to begin in January 2016. Hannah has just completed her final therapy session and it is obvious that vision therapy was a great choice. Hannah’s eye sight has improved; I’ve noticed that she has been able to maintain focus while we are reading together and she is a much more confident reader. Thank you to Mrs. Phillip, Dr. Schneider, and EyeCare Associates for this wonderful program.”
Adam, Hannah’s dad