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Mary Roby 02/09/12 Finally, after two years of searching.....
We began noticing our oldest daughter, Mackenzie, struggling in preschool. She could figure out how anything worked, put together puzzles with no difficulty, tie knots and other thought provoking activities. She struggled to learn her letters and numbers by sight. The letters‘d’, ‘b’, ‘p’, ‘q’, and ‘g’ were a challenge for her to tell apart. Believing that she was intelligent, just having trouble with a few things, we enrolled her in kindergarten. Her being able to identify letters and numbers did not improve. Now, she also struggled with reading and writing both letters and numbers. She advanced to 1st grade and from the beginning, she was behind. Every night completing homework was a challenge. She didn’t want to read and no matter how much we practiced with her she could not master her letters and numbers. At the beginning of 1st grade, we began meeting with her teacher trying to understand why she was having so much difficulty with reading, writing and number identification. We took her to an eye doctor who prescribed glasses. We were hopeful that would be the answer, it wasn’t. The school completed testing with mixed results. Her intelligence tested fine, yet she struggled to read, write and recognize numbers. At the beginning of the second semester, we had her taking ½ day of kindergarten and ½ day of first grade. She was getting extra assistance in classes and was part of ‘dibels’. The school team tested Mackenzie for autism and thought she might have ‘Asperger Syndrome’. After much research and discussion with our family physician, we didn’t agree with the diagnosis. She stayed in 1st grade the next year and did well enough to advance to 2nd grade although she continued to have the same struggles. During the summer, we changed physicians. When explaining what we had been going through with Mackenzie, the new physician recommended we see the Gunderson’s to see if Mackenzie might have a vision development issue. Dr. Kim and her assistant both believed Mackenzie had a vision development problem and recommended we meet with Dr. Bauernfind. Dr. Bauernfind’s testing resulted in the identification of vision development issues and 6 months of therapy. As soon as Mackenzie began the therapy, we began to see a difference. Mackenzie even commented one time, that she used to see ‘white’ when she tried to read, now she could see the words. Mackenzie does not need to wear glasses for her vision and she has no difficulty with writing, ‘d’, ‘b’, ‘g’, ‘q’, and ‘p’. She reads well and makes A’s in spelling, reading and math. At the beginning of 2nd grade, we met with her teacher to discuss her vision development and the therapy. Her teacher had read her file and knew how much Mackenzie had struggled in school work. By our parent/teacher conference, her teacher was excited by the change she saw in Mackenzie’s abilities. No more crying because she ‘has’ to read. Now she reads and enjoys it! Thank you Dr. Bauernfind!

Bridget Gehlhausen 08/01/11 A New Outlook!
While working for Drs. Todd and Kim Gunderson, I had the opportunity to meet Dr. Bauernfiend. I learned she would be practicing as a Behavorial Optometrist out of our office. As she explained some characteristics of those she would be helping, I thought about myself. I was that child and adult who struggled to get through any test and to accomplish any task in a timely manner. I always enjoyed reading but it took me so long to read and finish a book, due to rereading some areas and reading aloud to myself. I remember times both in high school and college studying material over and over, feeling so fatigued, and thinking "had I retained any information?"

After some time, I saw the leaps that other patients of hers made with their vision therapy, and I decided it was time to fill out a questionaire. I suprisingly found myself answering yes to many of the questions so I decided to bring it to her attention. After a lengthy and thorough evaluation, it was decided that I did need to do some vision therapy with Dr. Bauernfiend. Looking back now, I am so glad that I took the time to finally ask for help and undergo the therapy. I have never enjoyed reading so much before, and now I feel more confident in the work that I put forth.

One thing I had struggled with was being able to concentrate, for example, reading a book in a crowded area. Now I can sit in an airport with people conversing next to me and hundreds walking past, and not care about anything but the characters in my book! It was a very fulfilling feeling that I have never experienced before having vision therapy! Thanks Dr. Bauernfiend!

Jamie Hunefeld 07/11/11 More than just vision
My son was diagnosed with a severe lazy eye or amblyopia at the age of five. Through his regular eye doctor, we were instructed to patch his "good eye" with efforts to strengthen the weaker eye. After a long year of fighting a 5-6 year old to keep a patch over his dominate eye, we received grim news that his vision had not improved and that there was nothing more they could do. About six months had passed and we began to notice that he was really struggling with his reading in school. Our eye doctor recommended Dr. Joan Bauernfiend who did a thorough evaluation that pin-pointed various vision disorders along with amblyopia. Through seeing Dr. Bauernfiend twice a week and home activities, our son gained more than just vision in his weak eye, he gained hope and self-confidence in his reading and learning. As a parent, I want the best for my child and Dr. Joan Bauernfiend exceeded all of my expectations and more. Seeing my son find an interest in books like he never had before, loving baseball with a passion and being able to learn more by sight is worth much more than words can ever say. Thank you, Joan!

Sharon Johnson 05/11/11 The following is reprinted with permission.
I am Nicole's tutor, although I haven't worked with her since she began receiving therapy. However, this past Tuesday she came by with her brother and we read together. I was very pleased that she self-corrected several time and that she caught and corrected several words when she left their endings off while reading (ie: cats = cat, walked = walk, etc.). I see this as a big improvement. I agree about the duel process of reading. She has a very difficult time with higher level questions and explanations, but that's something that will come with time a practice. Getting her to "like" reading again is our first priority, and with your help, I see that happening in the near future.

Respectfully,

Sharon Johnson

Julie Halter 01/27/11 Surgery vs. vision therapy
Since our daughter was about two we noticed her eye turning in. Once she turned four, a preschool screening caught that she was not able to see in 3d.
I was referred to a specialist who did an examination and said "the good news is she does not need glasses, the bad news is she needs surgery immediately". They said not only would they do surgery on her good eye, but on the one turning as well.
I sat in my car after that appointment and cried. It just seemed too extreme in this day and time to cut into childrens eyes. That night I researched her condition and was so blessed to come across Dr. Joan's website.
I called immediately, and made an appointment to see her.
Dr. Joan began to see our daughter immediately and twice a week we drove the 45 minutes to see her.
Dr. Joan was so patient with my child, it is not easy to work with a child as young as our daughter, but Dr Joan made adjustments for this.
She just recently graduated vision therapy, and at six years old is living a high quality of life.
Dr. Joan, we thank you more than you will ever know !!

Stacy Voegerl 01/27/11 therapy vs. retention of students...
My son was having a lot of issues in reading. At one point he even said "I wish I were normal". It felt like a knife in my chest. His teachers felt his maturity level was lacking and recommended that he be held back in the 2nd grade. Knowing that my son's behavior would go backwards if he were to be "retained" in school, we pushed forward and denied the recommendation. Luckily, I knew Dr. Bauernfiend and asked her for help. I'll admit, at first I wasn't sure how vision therapy could help my son. He didn't have issues with his sight... I learned that "vision" is broader than just being able to see. As the sessions went on, my son's behavior in school improved, he actually wants to read and is now doing great in his reading class. He is a more confident child. I wish our teachers and school staff would be promoting vision therapy instead of the retention of their students. Thank you, Dr. Bauernfiend!!!!!

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