Dr. Gallaway and his team played a big role in my recovery, so I do think that they should be a trusted source locally. However, I wanted to capture my feedback as I didn't have a great experience, and only stayed because vision therapy options are so limited in the area.
I came in after my concussion injury after a recommendation from a PT, as I was hitting a wall with vestibular work. Dr. Gallaway from my first time meeting him displayed his incredible knowledge, passion, and skill and really made me believe that recovery was possible during a time when my hope was very small. Unfortunately, I didn't get to have my case handled by him and was given to his daughter (who will eventually run the practice once he retires soon).
I found their approach to be quite puzzling but I was committed to getting better. They put you in a small room with 3-5 other people (usually children) and rotate you musical chairs style to different therapists. You do different activities with each therapist. However, because of this style, the continuity of care is disrupted. It wasn't unusual for me to have to remind I was "here for a concussion" every week to one therapist, or remind another of what happened the week prior, because of this format. They juggled patients so most had no context to your issue at all. Plus, having so much movement, people, bright lights, and talking felt like the opposite kind of environment someone freshly concussed should endure. (I also expected 1-on-1 care for the cost, and was sad to see it was so split.)
In the spirit of being invested in my care, I reported issues or findings often that felt odd or strange, but Dr. Beckett (his daughter) often acted annoyed and did not like my participation. I was very routinely dismissed, and when I struggled with tasks, was made to feel like it was my fault by the therapists. ("You need to relax!" despite not even being tense...) The dynamic was upsetting, and I cried a few times from the frustration of being unheard and made to feel that I was the reason why it was hard (not that I was injured.)
One day, after the team forgot (again) to update my home program so I could do the homework they asked me to do that week, and an exercise causing me to get sudden facial nerve pain yet the therapist minimizing it and asking me to jump back in and do more work despite it worsening, I decided I had enough and escalated my concerns with care to Dr. Gallaway personally.
Understandably, he took the side of his daughter, but wrongly (and rudely) said that I had issues with "resilience" which was why I was struggling, instead of hearing that I was deeply concerned with his daughters' bedside manner, the quality of care I was getting, and that my concerns were being dismissed. (Not to mention that even if "resilience" issues were true, which I suspect really meant "too emotional", emotional dysregulation is extremely common after head injuries so this should not only be expected, but something they already know how to handle since they tout their expertise with head injuries.)
We worked on finding a compromise where my case was taken over by Dr. Gallaway and I got to stick to one therapist that I got to choose. Under this more consistent approach with someone who treated me nicer, I made more progress, faster. Sadly, my concerns were still being dismissed often and I was told to "ignore" issues that I knew weren't normal. (And being told it's because I'm looking for problems.)
Eventually, Dr. Gallaway said there was "no more he could do for me" despite still having many symptoms. He offered to continue doing treatment but I didn't have confidence he had a plan of what to do differently, after remarking my skills "were where they should be", and that any lingering issues was likely vestibular (despite showing marked improvement in PT), which made me seek out a second opinion.
I share this because I went to another well respected Vision Therapist in Pennsylvania who actually found handfuls of issues that had been missed, some that border on misdiagnosis, and that perfectly explain the concerns and issues I had been raising throughout my care with this team.
I think for children, they are great, and probably all that you need. However I don't recommend them for adults, or concussions/TBIs unless you can't travel far like I did in the beginning. Overall, they seem underprepared, in training and setup, to meet the needs of people with head injuries like me.
This is a *very* talented team who is willing to accommodate and be flexible, but really could use some training, especially on bedside manner and trauma-informed care. It's clear to me that Dr. Gallaway cares about his patients, but he, like all of us, has gaps. I hope the team does consider this training and feedback. read more