Dr. Stanley A. Appelbaum has changed the lives of former juvenile
delinquents and professional athletes, babies and grandparents. Through
vision therapy, people strengthen their eye muscles, train their eyes,
improve depth perception, eliminate blurry vision, improve eye control - and
then they work better, play better, look better and feel better.
For example, students with inadequate eye control lose their place when they read or skip lines or see each page as a blur. With the exercises Dr. Appelbaum prescribes and after working with his sophisticated vision therapy equipment, they read better and relate better to their peers and their world. People who work with computers feel more productive when his exercises reduce their eye strain and fatigue. And people with good visual skills are pleased to find those get even better.
The Bethesda (Maryland) Vision Fitness Center is constantly updating examination capabilities. For example, Dr. Appelbaum is now providing routine infant vision examinations and if potential problems are discovered, an enhancement program may be recommended. The link between vision and juvenile delinquency has been shown through research studies to be very strong. Think of kids & young adults who can't read and can't learn, so they drop out of school and get into trouble, just for something to do. "It is so rewarding to work with these youths, to get them to a point where they are able to achieve in school and they don't continue to get into trouble."
Yet only about half of Dr. Appelbaum's practice is vision therapy. The rest is fitting contact lenses, glasses and treating eye disease. Throughout his work he emphasizes preventive optometry, helping people avoid problems. That's why he urges that adults have their eyes checked every two years or any time their employment or their requirements for their eyes, change. Children should begin eye exams at six months and school children should visit an eye doctor annually.
Dr. Appelbaum has served on the Maryland Board of Examiners in Optometry and as a National Director for COVD, the certifying body for optometrists specializing in vision therapy. In addition, Dr. Appelbaum is a member of The Board of Directors of Sensory Integration International, the certifying body for Occupational Therapists specializing in Sensory Integration Therapy. Dr. Appelbaum turned to an optometrist in college when he found he could not keep up with his reading. "All of a sudden I was doing something I had never done before: I was reading for pleasure. I like to do that for other people: I like to make a difference in people's lives. "