Screentime is a popular topic that many optometrists are asked about, including Dr. Ryan and Dr. Lindsey. Dr. Sara Bush is here to answer frequently asked questions about how blue light effects refractive error, attention and learning skills, and ocular health. We welcome her on this month’s Dynamic Duo Podcast! Things you will learn in this episode:  While children get older, specifically school age, it can be difficult to limit screen time. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends using a Family Plan to accommodate, control, and regulate to each individual family.  While the perce ..read more

After multiple unsuccessful surgeries, Sue Barry was told she would never be able to see 3D. Fortunately, she stumbled upon developmental optometrists who were able to correct her strabismus. She speaks today about the struggles and accomplishments of her journey that she has also wrote in her book Fixing My Gaze.  Things you will learn in this episode: Sue Barry was diagnosed with strabismus, more commonly called “cross-eyed”. Her surgeries fixed the cosmetic problems, however she still could only see one eye at a time.  Sue’s eyes had contradicting views of space and sent a confusi ..read more

Cameron McCrodan gave a Ted Talk about the unknown or often overlooked parts of the visual system. Having over 36,000 views on Youtube, his speech has caught the eye of many adults, parents, students, and professionals, including Dr. Stull and Dr. Edwards. We welcome him on this month’s podcast! Things you will learn in this episode: Unlike a disease, it is difficult to show people what is happening or understand what the patient can see. This is why it can be overlooked or not treated if the doctor or patient are uneducated on this topic.  To a certain extent, people aren’t just “stuck ..read more

After Dr. Edwards and Dr. Stull came across Cathy Stern’s blog post, they invited her to speak about her stand on patching. Cathy talks about her experience with it, the negative effects, and other alternatives to patching.  Things you will learn in this episode:  Patching is mostly prescribed with patients diagnosed with amblyopia (lazy eye) in hopes to fine tune the vision in the poor eye. It is also commonly prescribed to patients who have a brain injury such as concussion, stroke, or accident to eliminate the double vision.  Patching eliminates peripheral information on that side and ..read more

Today we speak to Nick Davenport who has lead the way in merging sports psychology with muscle and strength training. Having been unfamiliar territory before, he took a risk and has created Mindbody One and partnered with Fitligths.  Things you will learn in this episode: Nick’s equipment is focused around working memory and decision making while integrating the physical aspect. By combining both, he is “bridging the gap between stationary cognitive and active physical”.  Mindbody One merges multiple different cognitive skills. His products bring in a “one stop shop for all your cognitiv ..read more

Joining us from Brookfield, WI, Brandon Begotka speaks about the importance and developmental steps in infant vision development. Things you will learn in this episode: Although infants can only see a foot in front of them, their vision is critical to their development and survival. Their limited vision is beneficial and not overstimulating.. Family history, exposure to toxins, premature birth, complications with the birth, and alcoholism may play a negative role in the visual development. Crawling plays a large part in the developmental role and has many benefits. Skills like space a ..read more

We welcome Dr. Graham Erickson and his knowledge on sports vision training. He covers the basics and benefits athletes can gain from joining a sports vision training program. Things you will learn in this episode: Sports vision training is used to optimize the visual system to increase performance within the sport. Just like the body, you continue to strengthen and push to deliver positive results. The basis for any sports vision exercises stem from visual acuity, contrast sensitivity, and depth perception. From there, many other skills can be layered on. Although every sport can benefit, b ..read more

With his extensive knowledge in optometry, Dr. Peter Shaw has created Shaw lens. His lens focus on binocular vision or how both eyes work together. His Things you will learn in this episode: Although one eye may not be functioning, the lenses are designed to encourage the eyes to work together. Similarly to selective hearing, our brain is able to “shut one side off” if the eyes are seeing double. Without correction, the brain gets comfortable to the suppression and now individuals believe this is normal. A small difference between two eyes can be heightened by the wrong curvature or model ..read more

We had the pleasure of interviewing Ben Marien from NeuroTracker on this episode! Ben is the Director of Business Development for the Athletic and Performance Markets for CogniSens Inc. Special guest Ben Marien introduces Neurotracker, a software designed to improve tracking and mental performance. He answers frequently asked questions and gives an insight to the technology behind the program. Things you will learn in this episode: After twenty years of being researched and developed, Neurotracker has been around and effective for ten years. Whether it is in a gym, clinical, or home setting ..read more

Kathy Borchardt joined us today to share her extensive knowledge in neuropsychology. She shares her story from an educational and personal viewpoint while also covering the basics and common misconceptions within her field. Things you will learn in this episode: Neuropsychologist test the impact of the “physical brain and how that is affecting their functioning”. Kathy is recommended by therapists or physicians who believe there may be a cognitive processing disorder such as ADHD, autism spectrum, or learning disability that is negatively impacting the child educationally or socially. A typ ..read more