Community | Thinking Zebras

Community Outreach

Special Advisory Board

As a Member of the Special Education Advisory Council, I have the privilege to work alongside parents, local leaders, university partners, advocates, students, and educators. It is an initiative by NYC Department Of Education to improve educational programs and services offered to children with special needs & their families.

Evidence Based Practice

As a school-based occupational therapist, I frequently work with students who have learning disabilities, and families often inquire about the effectiveness of vision therapy for their child's challenges. This service can be quite costly and typically demands significant time commitments for eye exercises. To help parents navigate this issue and raise awareness, I presented current research on vision therapy at Columbia University, proposing a collaboration between occupational therapists and vision specialists to better support struggling learners.

Research indicates that dyslexia is a language-based disorder. While vision problems can interfere with the learning process, they are not the root cause of dyslexia or other learning disabilities. Scientific evidence does not support the notion that vision therapy is an effective treatment for children with learning disabilities. However, some studies highlight two specific vision deficits—accommodative facility and convergence insufficiency—that are commonly observed in these children. Addressing these issues through vision therapy provided by an ophthalmologist can indeed benefit those affected.