Sunny Road Optometrist

Helping you see the wood for the trees

A forest brought into sharp focus through a pair of glasses, with optometrist Ariella Meyerowitz in the right lens

About us

Sunny Road Optometrist is focused on providing professional services, by showing personalised and dedicated care to each and every patient. Although we utilise the latest technologies, Ariella still works using a holistic approach, not relying totally on technology, but rather combining all facets to produce a thorough and complete visual examination. Ariella will deal with you personally and our caring staff will try to accommodate your individual requirements. Our aim is excellent customer service and we endeavour to improve the quality of your life in every way possible.

Tracking, Binocular Vision, and Focusing

Symptoms: double vision, headaches, strain, subconsciously working harder to keep text ordered and clear, can affect sports ability

Eye Tracking Problems

Eyes need to move rapidly, accurately, and smoothly during reading. The eyes need to be able to make very small movements between the words and is a fine motor skill. If this skill is lacking the person may move their head to compensate or use their finger as a pointer to create a reference point.

When a child looks from the board to their work on the desk, the eyes must move quickly and accurately. During reading the eyes need to move from one word to another, and from one line to another. If they aren’t able to this smoothly and accurately, they may experience losing their place while reading, skipping lines or words and replacing words during reading.

Tracking skills are considered the fine motor aspect of vision. Tracking is also important for following moving objects in sports, and for directing our eyes to move our hands towards a target. Eye-hand coordination in any activity starts with accurate eye movements.

Services

We offer the full range of optometric services including contact lenses, designer frames, low vision examinations, binocular and eye movement assessments.

01 Thorough visual system examination

02 Reading assessment

03 Near Vision

04 Dyslexia assessments

05 Glasses

06 Contact Lenses

07 Colorimetry

08 Home based reading fluency programme & School Screenings

Thorough visual system examination

Appointments are generally 1 hour long so that there is time to focus on each individual visual system. The eyes are a part of the body and nervous system so they cannot be assessed without a holistic view of the entire body. We have a special interest in helping children with their visual needs. We perform a complete binocular examination which helps assess any problems with convergence, focusing, 3D perception and eye movement problems that may affect reading.

Reading assessment

We assess eye movements with the help of a tool called a eye tracker which maps out eye movements while reading. We can then show the patients and parents the exact position of the eyes while reading a paragraph.

If you find your child is unusually clumsy, or avoids near work or you notice that one eye drifts out, make sure that you have her eyes examined. She could have visual problems.

Be aware of a possible eye problem if your child complains of headaches at the end of the day, if he holds his work too close , or if the teacher complains of red or tearing eyes. Often what seem to be behavioral problems can be exacerbated by eye problems. At times it is easier to misbehave than to need to work unnecessarily hard to complete school work.

Near Vision

Are you shortsighted?

If you are short sighted and can read without your glasses, please do. This will cause less eyestrain and may stop your eyes from deteriorating at a faster rate.

Computer workers

Make sure that your chair is at a comfortable position, allowing your computer screen to be just below eye level. Do not face a window, as this will cause unwanted glare. Buy an anti-glare shade for your screen. There must be no reflections of windows or lights onto your screen. If you feel eyestrain at the end of the day, prescription glasses might be of assistance.

Dyslexia assessments

We provide dyslexia assessments using the Stark-Griffin Dyslexia Determination Test (DDT).

This is the first standardised test for South-African English and Afrikaans standards. The test diagnoses and categorises dyslexia into 7 different types with varying severities, ranging from mild to severe. We are members of die ROOI Appel dyslexia specialists. This assessment is medical aid funded.

Members of die ROOI Appel dyslexia specialists

Glasses

Naturally we have a full range of fashion frames as well as a full service advising which frame, shape, colour and type will suit your needs exactly and will bring out your best qualities. We endeavour at all times to provide the best top quality service and to work out in detail exactly what your needs are instead of simply dispensing glasses. For example, if varifocals are called for, then that is what we will do. We will however make sure that this is absolutely necessary as often varifocals are prescribed for a patient who does not need them and who find it extremely hard to adapt. Every patient is analysed as a unique individual.

Contact Lenses

The latest contact lens technology has produced a range of soft contact lenses that allow an extremely high level of oxygen to reach the eye. We are very excited about this as well as contact lenses for astigmatism and varifocal contacts. Daily disposables are gaining significant popularity. We have an automatic contact lens re-order system that messages you on WhatsApp when it’s time for your lenses to be re-ordered.

Colorimetry

It does seem that tinted lenses may be able to help with the brain’s perception while reading. A colorimetry examination can be performed during our comprehensive visual examination in order to determine if a tint would aid the reading ability. Meares-Irlen Syndrome, Scotopic Sensitivity Syndrome or Visual Stress. These are different names for the same perceptual processing disorder. It is not an optical problem. It is a problem with the brain’s ability to process visual information. This problem can manifest itself differently for each individual. Coloured lens filters are able to filter out the offending wave lengths of light which create the stress, thus allowing the brain to be able to make the normal adjustments for various lighting conditions, glare, and brightness.

Examples of Symptoms

Slow or inefficient reading
Poor comprehension
Eye strain
Fatigue
Headaches
Difficulty with math computation
Difficulty copying
Difficulty reading music
Poor depth-perception
Low motivation
Bothered by glare, fluorescent lights, bright lights, sunlight and sometimes lights at night

Reading Problems

Misreads words
Problems tracking from line to line
Reads in dim light
Skips words or lines
Words on the page lack clarity or stability; i.e., may appear to be blurry, moving, or disappear
Reads slowly or hesitantly
Takes breaks
Loses place
Avoids reading

Writing Problems

Trouble copying
Unequal spacing
Unequal letter size
Writing up or downhill
Inconsistent spelling

Some individuals experience physical symptoms and feel tired, sleepy, dizzy, anxious, or irritable. Others experience headaches, mood changes, restlessness or have difficulty staying focused, especially with bright or fluorescent lights.

Home based reading fluency programme & School Screenings

Home based reading fluency programme

We also offer home based therapy solutions if this is required.

School Screenings

Tips

Sunglass Myths

There is no truth in the propaganda that cheap sunglasses ruin your eyes. Even a plain plastic lens cuts out some UV rays. The cheapest sunglass lens is just as good from a UV point of view as a more expensive one. The most important part of a sunglasses, is the physical shape and how much sun it blocks from your eye.

Children & Eyes

Babies can distinguish black and white at an early age, as well as being attracted to faces. Try to put a photograph of the family in your baby’s cot. Make sure to keep moving your baby to different positions in the cot, so that both eyes get equal chances to be stimulated. For this reason, do not always leave your baby lying on the same side.

Macular Degeneration

Macular degeneration can have an underlying hereditary factor. It causes the cells in the part of the eye that sees the clearest, to slowly die, decreasing central vision. The progression may be slowed down with special vitamin pills (OCUVITE) and a healthier lifestyle such as stopping smoking and eating healthy food, especially green leafy vegetables.

Cleaning

Use only a special cloth or water with a gentle soap, this will decrease lens scratching. Plastic lenses scratch extremely easily, even with the strongest of hard coats. Scratches cannot be removed. Especially avoid extreme temperatures such as saunas or car dashboards.

Contact Lens Care

Ensure that you rub your contact lenses well at night after removing them. This will dramatically increase comfort and length of comfortable wearing time the next day as well as reducing the risk of complications.