Today is Benjamin Franklin’s birthday! He is now 318 years old but, he’s not really alive. In the colonial era, 1784, Ben was getting tired of switching his glass whenever he looked up or down. He suffered from presbyopia, a condition that happens to most people as they get older when their eyes lose the ability to see things up close. Essentially, he was farsighted. Through struggle, he created the bifocals. He split two different lenses apart and glued them together to create a double lens! The top half of his glasses were normal, while the bottom of his glasses helped him see things up clo ..read more

The annular solar eclipse will cross North, Central and South America on Saturday, October 14, 2023. The annular eclipse will begin in the United States, traveling from the coast of Oregon to the Texas Gulf Coast. For Marylanders staying in the area, weather permitting, we will see a partial solar eclipse! The partial solar eclipse will begin Oct. 14 about one minute past noon, when the moon will touch the sun’s edge. At approximately 1:19 p.m., the eclipse will be at its peak, and the moon will obscure a chunk of the sun’s face, similar in appearance to a tilted Venn diagram. By 2:38 p.m., t ..read more

Tuesday, Sept. 12th is National Video Games Day! Anyone who has seen my plastic Super Mario Bros. diorama at my desk can guess I’m a retro-gamer from back in the original Nintendo era, so I decided to do a blog post to talk about gaming. "Some people say video games rot your brain, but I think they work different muscles that maybe you don't normally use." - Ezra Koenig Most parents I know (both millennial parents my age, up to and including my own parents) consider video games something of a necessary evil. At best, games are a way to mollify screaming children, or keep teenagers off the str ..read more

Please help us welcome Dr. Lester Efianayi, to Vision Conceptual Development Center! Dr. Efianayi graduated from the University of Connecticut with a Bachelor of Science in Biology. He continued his education at the Illinois College of Optometry (ICO), where he received his Doctorate of Optometry. While attending ICO, he was an inaugural member of ICO's Black Student Union. He was also a member of the National Optometric Student Association and Gold Key International Honor Society. He was recognized and honored with several awards for leadership and service to the community. As a student, Dr ..read more

Starting new chapters means the closing of the last. Today, we bid a bittersweet farewell to our beloved Vision Therapist, Sona Vaghela. For the past year, Sona has been an essential member of our team, dedicating herself to guiding numerous individuals on their path to better vision. And now, with excitement, we share that Sona is embarking on a new journey; a Doctorate in Optometry! This fall, she will return to Memphis and attend the Southern College of Optometry, on scholarship!! While she will no longer be with us in-person, Sona will continue online with our Home Vision Therapy (HVT) che ..read more

I had the pleasure of attending a webinar given by the American Optometric Association last night about myopia management. Did you know that the rapid increase of myopia is a GLOBAL EPIDEMIC?! The first question you may be asking yourself is…what is myopia? You may know myopia as being nearsighted or having difficulty seeing clearly far away. But it’s important to remember that it is a chronic and progressive disease. You may have heard that there is an alarming rise in myopia since the invention of handheld screens-smartphones and tablets. It’s true, and it’s estimated that approximately 50 ..read more

Why was last year so awesome? Washington Parent’s Magazine named us “Best Eye Doctors” for the 2nd year in a row!! Dr. Mehrnaz Green (blue hat) gave talks at both the Neuro-Optometric Rehabilitation Association and American Optometric Association. Swithin David (top hat) finally filled out the paperwork to become a Certified Vision Therapist. Sona Vaghela (small antlers, earmuffs) was accepted into the Southern College of Optometry on a scholarship. Truc Le (red hat, glasses) started college on full scholarship as an Honors Student. Marquita Johnson (red scarf) joined as the newest member of ..read more

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The Answer: The One with all the Questions While seeking a unique and enriching clinical experience for my gap year, I made a phone call to the VCDC during my last semester at Rhodes College all the way from Memphis, TN. VCDC was the perfect fit for me. Getting to know people on a weekly basis and helping them navigate how they see and interact with the world has only furthered my interest in behavioral science, while also enhancing my background as a pre-optometry neuroscience major. Starting as a vision therapy trainee, I worked on obtaining certifications and applying to optometry school ..read more

Hello! It’s-a me, Ben. This is how I normally dress and definitely isn’t a Halloween costume. I’ve been a Vision Therapist at VCDC since 2013. Here’s a little bit about me, using my preferred format for communication; internet memes. I grew up in St. Louis, Missouri, but I’ve lived in Washington, DC since college. I went to American University and got my B.A. in Psychology with a minor in Applied Physics. I’m Jewish. I’ve got an older brother and a younger brother. 2 human nieces, and 1 dog-niece. Aside from being a vision therapist, I also work on marketing, events, and analytics for VCDC ..read more