AN experienced optometrist is expanding his services to help people understand how vision impacts learning and sporting performance.
Stuart Henderson and his wife Maria have owned Newcastle-based G.T. Harvey and Partners since 1991 and recently launched The Vision Performance Hub, based in Hexham.
The Vision Performance Hub provides a service to explore whether a child's or adult’s vision is preventing them from fulfilling their full reading potential or sportspeople achieving their goals.
Stuart is one of only two UK optometrists to have a Senaptec Station, which allows for the analysis of the sportsperson’s visual system and supports their training to improve visual weaknesses.
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Stuart, who was the first UK optometrist to become a member of the International Sports Vision Association, hopes to engage with local schools plus sportspeople, clubs and coaches.
He said: “The foundation of what we’re providing through The Vision Performance Hub was developed at our Newcastle practice over many years. However, we wanted to expand this specialised service to provide clients with a much more comprehensive and in-depth analysis of their vision, in both the learning and the sporting fields.
“Improvements can be significant and have made a real difference to many of our clients, both adults and especially children, including one client whom I first saw when she was doing her GCSEs and was struggling with words running together when she was reading. We found that a coloured overlay and subsequently tinted lenses made a huge improvement to her reading ability and she is now a consultant at the RVI. She still uses her tinted lenses for close work and credits them for helping her to achieve her dream.
“The importing of a specialised Senaptec Station from the United States allows us to provide sportsmen and women with a comprehensive analysis of their visual system, which is of paramount importance to their sporting performance.
“In sport, the eyes are as important as any other part of the body when it comes to optimum performance. The ability to track with the eyes, react quickly to visual information, as well as accurately judge depth and speed and utilise spatial awareness, are all essential for sportsmen and women to fulfil their full sporting potential.”
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