Welcome. As an optometrist I aim to make my new BeWell blog all about the two “i’s” (pun intended!): interactive and interesting. 

Interactive: I invite and look forward to your participation, questions, comments, wisdom, and debate. Let’s make this a conversation.

Interesting: My specialty goes way beyond looking at the eyes as an organ. I’m passionate about visual performance in the areas of sports vision training, vision and learning, stroke and head injury vision rehabilitation, and binocular vision (how the eyes work together as a team). Wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald of the Arizona Cardinals, for example, has been in the media attributing much of his success to the vision training he received from his grandfather, Dr. Robert Johnson, a developmental optometrist. For your inner athlete, I’ll let you in on many of the sports vision tips and drills I use with pro and amateur athletes to improve their game. In the area of vision and learning, there will be so many topics to cover -- from the visual skills necessary to succeed in the classroom or be a safer driver to brain fitness and stroke and head injury recovery.

As way of background, here’s what I’ve been up to recently:

• I am developing software that will address training for learning related vision skills, sports vision, driving safety, brain fitness, and safety of military personnel.
• I have written and recorded two music CD’s for a company called Flipping for Phonics. The system uses a phonics teaching tool, instructional DVD, storybooks, and the CD’s of the stories put to music. The storybooks have been designed to reinforce some of the visual skills needed for reading.
• As a spokesperson for Transitions Optical, I am also running a study with over fifty PGA Touring Pros on a golf-specific concept lens that increases contrast, decreases glare, and adjusts to varying lighting conditions. These lenses wouldn’t have to be removed during the game, so players could benefit from protecting the eyes from harmful UV rays all the time. Initial responses are very positive.

All of the above starts with Healthy Sight, so of course those general topics will be addressed as well.

Don’t forget: August is Vision and Learning Month. As our children go back to school, I urge you to get their eyes checked if you have not done so already. I’ve witnessed complete turnarounds in school performance when a child’s previously undiagnosed vision problem has been addressed.

In closing I would like to say that I am very excited and looking forward to our blog time together.  So…stay tuned and BeWell!