I'm one of the people that unfortunately has neurological long-term Covid, w/ no answers. Although my doctors & healthcare providers believed me, cared for me, & did everything they could, there were still no answers. Then, I worked w/ my PT, Natasha, who is a vision & vestibular specialist. Within 5 min of working w/ me, she saw that I had extreme ambient visual difficulties & some vestibular issues. Fortunately, Natasha has worked closely w/ neuro optometrist, Dr. Denise Smith, & immediately got me a consult. Dr. Smith validated & could tell quickly my ambient vision system was in a state of disorder. The manager, Tracie, made it so easy for me. W/in an hour, she had all the 4 appointments scheduled & laid out. She made sure I knew what each test was & it's purpose. Tracie was instrumental in helping me get some reimbursement from my health insurance. She not only provided the paperwork, but added my insurance case number to the paperwork, & educated me on how this process works. Tracie would also follow up to make sure that it went through & always made it clear she is available to help. Insurance is difficult to deal w/, but CVD wants to help. During the testing process, everyone was kind & patient, as I needed to take multiple breaks b/c my brain was not able to keep up. Upon finishing the testing, we all learned that my vision skills were in the lowest percentile, & I had a long journey ahead of me. My therapist, Annie, couldn't be more perfect, & I really mean that. She is always upbeat, positive & encouraging. She really listens, cares & advocates for me from appointments, to testing, to new strategies she learns at conferences. She adjusts activities as I need based on my symptoms on any given day. Without that 100% trust, I would not be able to make progress. Ed is always friendly to everyone that comes in, & has a smile on his face. He is always willing to accommodate & help. Sophie is inspirational, a survivor, who gives unique insight & perspective. She's compassionate, empathetic & driven. Dr. Browne is approachable, her expertise exceeds my expectations, she's patient & easy to talk to. Dr. Browne individualizes my progress evaluations to match my needs. Dr. Smith has a holistic view, she provides excellent service & recommendations based on her extensive experience. She runs a business like a well-oiled machine. I wish I had her business savvy! Dr. Smith is resourceful w/ contacts & treatments. Mitzi is always happy, playful, fun & creative in her sessions. Diego usually does my campimetry tests to assess my peripheral vision every other re-evaluation & it is always a pleasure to work with him. He is patient, personable & makes the test fun. Based on my recent progress check with Dr. Browne, my periphery is much improved. It went from small & constricted to expanded & even above average in some areas. My convergence has improved significantly, my eye movements are more controlled, my memory is better & my stamina has improved. Most people think acuity is the only thing that is important for good vision. Our vision system has 2 parts to it: 1 is the acuity, meaning how well you can see a letter chart at near/far.The 2nd part is our ambient vision is the other system in our brain that makes up 80% of our vision & impacts how our brain works to interpret & use the visual input that we're receiving. The job of our ambient vision system is so vast that it includes everything like eye teaming, peripheral vision, visual memory, visual processing & visual spatial abilities. After my evaluation with Dr. Smith and learning I had neurological issues contributing to my vision problems, I'm able to work towards better functional vision and reaching my goals. read more

Very patient and kind staff, therapists, and doctors. We have had such a great experience and have seen so much improvement in such a short time. read more

The staff and Dr. Smith were excellent. Dr. Smith was so friendly and patient with my 11 month old that she wanted to be held by her one more time before we left the office. The exam itself was painless and the doctor was thoughtful about giving my little one a good impression of her experience for future visits. I highly recommend Dr. Smith and I will definitely continue to get our eye exams here. read more

Our little one has been attending for 8 months and has been improving greatly! The therapists and dr's are wonderful and very supportive here. I highly recommend! read more

Such an amazing place! Dr. Orr and the rest of the team at The Center for Vision Development have been exceptional. They have helped a lot in helping me manage my double vision. Working with them is such a pleasure since they are all very patient and knowledgeable. What I really like about this center is that they treat you as a partner when it comes to your therapy. They take time to explain the science behind the different exercises, listen well to the patient, and adjust the exercises accordingly. I highly recommend this establishment! read more

Big thank you to Annie Jordan, Dr. Denise Smith, and the entire team at The Center for Vision Development (CVD). Annie is compassionate, knowledgeable, kind and always fully prepared for our sessions. She helps me - an adult patient - learn skills to more easily navigate the world. Dr. Smith's determination, thoughtfulness, and experience have continued to motivate me. I truly recommend CVD. read more

We have had a wonderful experience with Dr. Smith and the vision therapists (for us primarily Marcella, and she is amazing!) at CVD. From the outside there was no reason to imagine that this social, athletic, intelligent eight-year old boy had any special needs, other than his complaint that his eyes would get tired when reading for extended lengths of time and sometimes the letters would suddenly blur. At his annual vision assessment his optometrist could tell that his eyes were working overtime when focusing and she could detect some muscular fatigue. She suggested he see Dr. Smith for a thorough assessment, where we learned that he had a significant deficiency in visual processing and focusing (over-crossing). My son has been in vision therapy for over a year and although it is a big investment, he no longer has blurred vision when reading for extended lengths of time nor does he become exhausted from eye strain. His handwriting has markedly improved and he has learned to write with less tension (a more relaxed grip) which makes a huge difference at school. Dr. Smith discovered a need for certain reflex integrations and so that has been part of our program as well. And while the thought of going anywhere for an hour of therapy isn't the highlight of his week, he has walked out of every (yes, every) appointment in a good mood. * The office's response to COVID-19 has been outstanding and deserves mention. We transitioned to online therapy for weeks during the early outbreak and when we returned to the office again the safety protocols they instituted were outstanding- gloves, masks, shoe booties, temperature readings, pre-appointment online health surveys, furniture and flooring changes, diligent cleaning... and then some. Tracie and the front desk staff are impressively thorough and informed. She runs a very tight ship, which is a huge support when you are involved with a service provider for an extended period of time. I wholeheartedly recommend Dr. Smith and her team, should you or your child have a need for vision therapy. read more

Having just completed our school's first Parent/Teacher conference of the year, I felt it necessary to provide a quick update on our progress with Vision Therapy through this office. My son is like a whole new kid. "I want to go above and beyond" were words I never thought I would hear from his lips. He's performing better at school and homework is no longer the hair-pulling, patience testing, tear fest it used to be. In fact, he is now able to sit and complete most assignments with little to no supervision. A small miracle in and of itself. He continues to excel at soccer, too. But mostly, he's just a happy, self-confident boy who's slowly learning that he IS capable, he IS smart and that sometimes, learning can actually be kind of fun. ...And seeing him dance a jig when he knows he's doing well is just icing on the cake:) read more

I've had an eye turn/lazy eye all my life and was always told that if you don't catch it before you're eight, there's nothing that can be done. Well, vision therapy has taught me that's not true! I have learned to control my eye muscles better and am starting to actually use that eye. I still have work to do, but I'm more confident than I've been in a while. If you're an adult who thinks it's too late, it's not! Go see Dr. Smith. read more

Dr. Smith and co. have been a lifesaver for me. I saw 7 vision specialists who could not find a fix for me through glasses or surgery. Then I learned about the Vision Development Center who focus on therapy and rehabilitation. Now l have hope that I will be able to recover my vision and return to the professional world. Already making progress! Also, Tracy in the front office is the best paperwork wrangler I have ever had the good fortune to work with- just plain THE BEST. read more

My son has been assessed here and has received treatment. The staff is friendly and care about their patients. Highly recommend.

If you want to honestly know how vision therapy can be life-altering, please read my story. I was in a near-fatal rollover motor vehicle accident in February of 2000, where I was life-flighted from the accident scene to the trauma hospital in Austin. The injuries I sustained from that crash were tremendous. One of the many injuries I suffered from was a traumatic brain injury (TBI), which affected my vision in ways I never know were possible. I spent about a month in the trauma center, and after several surgeries, I was transferred to St. David's Rehabilitation Hospital, where I "lived" for four months. My injuries were so severe I had to relearn how to do everything all over again except to breath. Everything included learning how to see normal again, as well. During my stint in the rehab hospital, I performed physical, occupational, speech, and cognitive therapies six hours a day, every day, for four months. I worked diligently to get better, but there were days when my vision would hold me back. I had debilitating doubled and blurred vision, and I no longer had depth perception. To make things worse, I would lose sight in my left eye when I started to tire. Many days when my double and blurred vision was so extreme, and it would cause me to vomit, which made it very hard to do all my therapies. There were times when I would wear a patch over my left eye, which would help, but not always. As I progressed and moved closer to being released to go home, I learned to deal with my complicated vision. Talk about a challenge! I used to say; I was like Cinderella - I would turn into a pumpkin every night between 9p and 930p because I would "lose" my sight. My eyes were exhausted at the end of every day, which caused the extreme doubled and blurred vision I experienced in the rehab hospital to occur. The only thing I could do not to vomit was to close my eyes for the rest of the evening. My visual deficits made it difficult to do much of anything. It was hard to go on a date with my former husband or have friends over because I had to close my eyes, starting around 9p every single night. Then one day, back in 2004, a very close friend of mine who happens to be a physical therapist called me. She told me she had just attended a lecture on vision therapy by Dr. Denise Smith. She said Dr. Smith specialized in vision therapy and was new to the area, so I could probably make an appointment with her easily. I quickly collected Dr. Smith's contact information and called to schedule an appointment with her immediately. Boom, I was scheduled to see her a few days later. I am Dr. Smith's third patient! Both my former husband and my friend went to my eye appointment with me. Dr. Smith did a comprehensive examination. My eyes and I were utterly exhausted afterward - I turned into a pumpkin very early that day! Haha! My vision therapy began with Sara the next week and went on for almost a year before Dr. Smith could give me a prescription. My brain had to be retrained to see normal again. I can still remember when Dr. Smith said - "well, are you ready to not turn into a pumpkin any longer? It's time to evaluate you for your prescription?" I looked at her and said - "Are you kidding me! I'm beyond ready for my glass slippers!" I was thrilled to death! I had worked so hard for that moment! Because my lenses have prisms in them, they took longer than usual to make. I remember bugging the heck out of Tracy by calling every other day, asking if my glasses had arrived. Poor Tracy! Tracy finally called and said my glasses when in, and for me to go to the office to get fitted. I called my former husband to tell him I was picking up my "glass slippers," and he was taking me on a date that night! And then I zoomed over to Dr. Smith's office, she adjusted my glasses, I hugged her tightly, and I was off. My former husband took me on a date that night to Cool River. It was close to our house just in case the glasses failed me, but they did not! We stayed out until past midnight - I had to stay out past midnight to know for sure my Cinderella days were over!! I left a voicemail on Dr. Smith's answering machine five stikes after midnight telling her I didn't turn into a pumpkin because my glass slippers were the perfect fit!! I thanked her profusely repeatedly! It's funny, but I still have that first pair of glasses. I turned them into my readers, and I wear them every day. I will never rid of them. How could I - they were my original glass slippers! Nineteen years ago, several EMS personnel and one physician saved my life. From there, many nurses, physical, occupational, speech, and cognitive therapists helped improve the quality of my life. But Fifteen years Dr. Smith, Sara, and Tracy gave me the rest of my life back - my vision!! Thank you, Dr. Smith, Sara, and Tracy, for being who you are for doing the work you do! You have and will continue to give so many people back the rest of their lives!! I am eternally grateful! Gigi V. read more

Dr. Smith and the entire team at CVD are beyond amazing and so talented at what they do. All of the vision therapists have helped my son tremendously during his vision therapy sessions. They have also helped me to understand what my son is going through with amblyopia. We just had our very first reevaluation with Dr. Smith and we found out that he has made great progress and we've only been going for about 2 1/2 months. I am beyond grateful for finding out about his condition and getting in with the best professionals in the field. It's a shame we weren't recommended this treatment from the pediatric ophthalmologist we went to before coming to CVD. But luckily we were told about these treatments from a friend who also had great success with Dr. Smith and her team! read more

In 2011 I suffered a severe traumatic brain injury that left me with less than a 10% chance of survival. After 12 days in a coma, I woke up, but was unable to eat, walk, or talk, and I saw double. Through my rehabilitation, I had to relearn all of these faculties, and I am so thankful for Dr. Denise Smith for showing me the intimate relationship between the eye and the brain, and for assisting me to steer my recovery to implement several different methods that encourage brain plasticity in a synergistic fashion. The word "doctor" comes from the Latin word "doktor" which means to teach, and Dr. Smith is an excellent doctor (and an excellent doktor)! read more

Dr. Smith was very rude to me when I came to my appointment. She treated me very disrespectfully and I had to wait 45 minutes just to be seen, never bothering to acknowledge me in the waiting room. There's no way I feel comfortable sending my children to see her for their visual needs. We will be taking our business elsewhere. Dr. Smith struck me as a stuck up snob and not the kind of behavioral optometrist who cares about her patients and staff. read more

Updated. I give them 10 stars!! My first few visits with Dr. Smith confirmed what I have repeatedly insisted upon after my stroke..."There's something wrong with my eyes." She got it right when about 9 doctors before her insisted nothing was wrong. I have eyeglasses that allow me to walk with my balance almost back to normal and I continue with eye therapy. More updates as things progress. read more

Julie is amazing with Haylee. She is so skilled as a vision therapist and knows exactly how to motivate her to do her best. Tracie was very helpful with filling out insurance claim info. Thanks for changing lives everyday Dr. Smith and the CVD team. read more

I'm a full believer in Vision Therapy. However, I haven't seen the results I was hoping for in my son (we've been there about a year). I also find this office to have some office policies which feel like robbery. Although, they have you sign a piece of paper saying you understand, they get parents at a very vulnerable state and take advantage of it. If your child is sick or you go on vacation you still pay your weekly amount and if your child is sick and you have to cancel in less than 24 hours (illness doesn't always give you 24 hour notice) you pay an additional 50 dollars (the appointment is 180). They have limited time slots, so make up appointments are incredibly difficult, no weekend appointments, no early morning appointments, yet they have this very strict rule! I could deal with this policy if they had more office time available for the working families. If you have to work or have other children, you have to enter this knowing you will very likely loose money at the end of it all. As parents we are desperate to help our children. If at the end I see results close to what I was hoping for I will post another review to speak to that . Dr. Smith is very sweet. Not so impressed with the office manager, she can be a bit abrupt and judgmental at times. All of the therapist are nice, you have very little interaction with them, and you want to talk to them about your child, that will be an extra fee. Again my biggest complaint is the price. They also don't help with insurance claims... Your on your own for that. Just enter this knowing its incredibly expensive and you may not get what you were hoping for. read more

We had an amazing experience with Dr. Smith and her team. Our son had a significant concussion, and after visiting several Drs. including child neurologists, we eventually had the opportunity to meet with Dr. Smith. She was amazingly thorough, and was able to uncover several deficits affecting our son's vision, as well as, his brain's ability to process what he was seeing. He had even significantly lost his peripheral vision. After many months of therapy, he was able to regain all of his peripheral vision and his brain's vision processing skills which in turn, improved his reading and academic skills, as well as, his ability to participate in sports related activities requiring fast visual processing skills. We can't thank them enough! They truly changed our son's life. It was the best money we have ever spent to help our son. Thank you Dr Smith and team!! read more

Our daughter has been going to vision therapy for 4 months. She loves going to therapy and we are very proud of her progress. The staff is friendly and welcoming. read more

We just had our first therapy appointment and I was blown away by their service. From the office manager, to the therapist and everything in between, our first experience has was excellent and even more importantly my son enjoyed it! read more

I have been seeing Dr. Smith for multiple years now. She is by far the best optometrist I have seen. Her dedication to her patients is unmatched. I would definitely recommend her to anyone with any sort of vision problems. Each appointment I've had has been very thorough and I have always left satisfied. The therapy changed my life in many ways. When I first went in I had never seen 3D in my life. After a few months of therapy, I was able to see 3D, and my vision is now the best it has ever been. read more

Dr. Smith have been a great and awesome doctor when we moved to Austin last year my son had issues with his eyes which affected his academics. He's had a couple of surgeries we where tired of it and started looking for other options such as therapy. Thankfully his pre- school director referred us. Since he started I have seen and noticed big changes in his eyes. He is not having frustrations as much in school like before things have gotten much better. He haven't meant all his goal yet but getting there. Thanks Dr. Smith read more

AVTC has been wonderful for my 6 yr old daughter. We have seen so much improvement in her scope of vision since becoming a patient this past May. A complete testament to the quality of care given by Dr. Smith and her ENTIRE staff! Scheduling isn't always convenient (neither is traffic‍), but I can say my scheduling needs are always considered. There are only so many hours in a working day! read more

My 10 year old daughter Madison has been going to The Center for Vision Therapy for one year now. We've seen incredible improvements during that time - in her tracking, eye focus and ability to determine if a shape which has been flipped or rotated is the same as the original. These improvements have been great, but the most amazing result is that my daughter has become a reader and LOVES to read. We first bought her to The Center for VT because it would take her 30 minutes to read a page with large print, and during that time she would constantly loose her place, skip words and replace words with other words. And she was so fatigued at the end of reading a page that reading became this dreaded activity for both of us. It was painful for both of us and that is an understatement. Although we've been really happy with all of the improvements she's made, I never imagined she would actually come to enjoy reading. Every time I filled out a progress evaluation I would skip right over the checkbox for "your child enjoys reading", thinking I would never be checking that one off. But all of a sudden, about two weeks ago, she bought home a 400 page book with small print from school, and she's been reading 50 pages a day!! I can't even complain that she's 15 minutes past her bedtime because she's been reading for an hour and wants to finish one more chapter. She actually told me I had to read the book because "it will change my life"! And she's excited to read the whole series. Seeing the joy she has come to feel from reading, and the sense of accomplishment and pride that she feels now that she's become a reader, makes every penny we've spent worth it. We are so grateful for The Center for Vision Therapy for turning our daughter into a reader! read more

Dr. Smith, Patrick, and the team, have provided our daughter extraordinary care for over 7years. Beginning with her initial, very thorough evaluation, through intense therapy, and finally yearly monitoring Dr. Smith is/has been both very educated and professional in her treatment approach yet also caring and personable. Our daughter has received, and continues to receive, the very best vision care. read more

My son suffers from Lyme Disease and co-infections that have greatly impacted his vision with many issues including convergence insufficiency, lazy eye, peripheral vision issues and also has sensory processing disorder. We had great success with CVD in helping him recovery what had been damaged. He especially found immediate results with the Light Therapy. it was dramatic after the first quick and easy session that his peripheral vision improved. The following few more Light Therapies restored his peripheral vision to normal. My son was 7 at the time and I'll never forget when he said "Hey it's kind of cool I can see my hand holding the pencil now." Because he was born with these conditions we had no idea how bad it was until we went to CVD and had the therapies. I highly recommend them especially the light therapy! read more

Horrible .. skims money out of you . I called to ask whether they are in network and my insurance would cover them. the lady took my phone number address etc and then gives me available time for appointment and tells me that call your insurance to find out what is covered. so I call my insurance and then they said these guys are out of network , I leave a vm that they are out of network so I wont go. next thing I receive is bill for $300 no show.. Out there to skim money from people . I would NOT recommend them read more

Dr. Smith and all the staff at the Center for Vision Development are knowledgeable, friendly, and professional. I highly recommend her to anyone who needs a complete eye exam as well as anyone who needs vision therapy. read more