How Dynamic Vision Training helps students see and read better.

Phase I:
On-site Vision Screening

The first step is deciding who will participate in the initial vision screening. Your school chooses the criteria for selecting students. For example, an elementary school could choose to screen all students with standardized reading scores below a certain level. A high school might decide to screen all incoming freshmen on a routine basis.

At the same time, Gemstone installs the necessary software and links the school's computer to Gemstone's server via the Internet.

After the students are selected, the screening begins. This phase identifies visual processing problems -- beyond the need for optical correction.

Vision screening includes:

Student History Form: Each student completes a brief questionnaire to identify any subjective symptoms and their severity. The information is transmitted to Gemstone's server for analysis.
Modified Clinical Technique plus (MCT+): At the school, Gemstone doctors measure visual acuity, refractive error and eye muscle balance for visual targets near and far. They also assess near focusing range, accommodative facility, near point of convergence and vergence ranges, and inspect the eyes for general health. The doctors transmit the results of the MCT+ directly to the Gemstone server for analysis.
Developmental Eye Movement test (DEM): The DEM is a nationally standardized test that aids in assessing reading-related eye movements. It's a paper-and-pencil test that's easy to administer. Results are recorded on a Gemstone interactive Web page, and transmitted to the Gemstone server.
Visagraph recording: Gemstone doctors administer the Taylor Visagraph test, which is designed to assess students' eye movements while reading. Saccadic and reset patterns are compared to standards based on reading level. Visagraph results are transmitted to Gemstone electronically, and added to student data files.

Throughout Phase I, Gemstone trains teachers and aides to administer the tests for detecting Visual Inefficiency Syndrome (VIS). This allows schools to perform the tests when they want to, and to do them on a routine basis.

Phase II:
Professional Assessment and Referral

All students' screening results are analyzed by Gemstone doctors by means of a special computer program that uses criteria established by optometric experts. The analysis generates a "disposition report" for each student.

Based on the results, students who may require glasses or contacts, or have other ocular health needs, are referred to eye specialists in the community for more detailed, thorough eye examinations. When this happens, their parents are notified and are responsible for making appointments and following through with doctor recommendations.

Students who demonstrate symptoms of Visual Inefficiency Syndrome (VIS) are recommended for Dynamic Vision Training^© (DVT^©). The parents of these students receive a letter (through the school), letting them know when the training will begin. The letter shares the basic findings from their child's screening which warrant their participation in DVT^©.

Phase III:
Dynamic Vision Therapy Program

At the beginning of Phase III, each student is given a score that indicates their priority level for training. The score is determined by the severity of the student's visual conditions. If a school is unable to provide Dynamic Vision Therapy for all the students who need it, this gives the school a way to treat those most in need.

Next, the training starts. Gemstone's Dynamic Vision Therapy is a game-like interactive computer program that:

exercises the eyes' focusing muscles
forces the eyes to team together to see particular images
exercises the sensorimotor pathways that are necessary for good reading eye movements, or "tracking"

A computer linked to the Internet is needed to operate the program.

Here's how it works:

The school assigns students to a location, class or teacher where training will occur.
A teacher or aide (trained by Gemstone) introduces the student to the training program and the tools needed (colored glasses and flipper lenses). The instructor guides the student through the first few sessions.
Daily sessions on the computer continue for 30 - 60 sessions, each lasting about 20 minutes a day. After each session, the student receives immediate feedback from the Gemstone server, which collects and analyzes student progress online.
After 30 sessions of training, Gemstone doctors screen each student again for Visual Inefficiency Syndrome (VIS). This data is compared to the starting data to determine if the student is ready to be released from the program. If not, the student is referred for additional DVT^© at school.
If further training is needed, the student is scheduled for an additional 30 sessions. At the end of six weeks, the student is evaluated again for VIS. If the student still hasn't achieved release level -- or an acceptable reduction of visual symptoms -- they are referred to a vision specialist in the community for further professional attention.

Final Evaluation

At the end of vision training, each student is screened again using the Student History Form, the DEM test from Phase I, the Visagraph test from Phase II, and specific optometric tests for focusing and eye screening. This allows Gemstone to evaluate the effectiveness of the program.

Gemstone also compares reading scores from standardized tests taken before and after the students participate in the Dynamic Vision Training^©. Final reports for each student are given to the school.