Optometric Vision Therapy for Strabismus in Atlanta
What Your Strabismus Program Looks Like
Most people arrive with two questions: will this work for me, and what am I actually signing up for?
Free phone consultation
Call (770) 419-0400 and ask for our patient care consultant. Tell us what you’re noticing: an eye that drifts when you’re tired, double vision that comes and goes, a child who tilts their head or covers one eye to read. We’ll tell you whether an evaluation is likely to be worth your time.
1. Initial Evaluation
Vision therapy for strabismus isn’t right for everyone, and we won’t know until we look carefully. Your evaluation takes one to two hours and includes dozens of tests of how your two eyes work together — not just how clearly each one sees.
Before you come in, download and complete the case history form. It asks how your vision affects reading, work, school, sports, coordination, and driving. We use your answers to decide which tests matter most for you, so your time is spent on your situation rather than a standard checklist.
What to bring:
- Your completed case history form
- Current glasses, contacts, reading glasses, or tinted lenses
- Any prior reports — past eye exams, IEPs, neuropsychological evaluations, surgical records if you’ve had strabismus surgery before
- Comfortable clothing; some tests involve movement
What you leave with:
Our doctors will walk you through what they found, using demonstrations and plain language rather than clinical shorthand, and tell you directly whether you’re a candidate for therapy. If you’re not, we’ll say so and point you toward what would help instead.
2. Therapy Plan
If you’re a candidate, we build a plan around your specific findings and your goals — reading without losing your place, driving at night without anxiety, or simply not thinking about what your eye is doing during a conversation.
Most patients begin therapy within one to two weeks of their evaluation.
3. Weekly Doctor-lead Sessions
You’ll come in once a week for a session lasting under an hour.
Every session is conducted personally by Dr. David Cook or Dr. Patel. Not a technician, not an assistant working from a checklist. At most practices offering vision therapy, the doctor performs the evaluation and then hands the weekly work to support staff. Here, the person who diagnosed your eye turn is the person sitting across from you every week, adjusting the program in real time based on what they see you doing.
Sessions build in difficulty as your control improves: what feels demanding in week three is usually routine by week ten.
OFFICE HOURS
Monday – Friday 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Saturday: closed – Sunday: closed
OUR LOCATION
1395 South Marietta Pkwy SE, Building 400, Suite 107 – [email protected]
office phone – (770) 419-0400
4. Practice 15 to 20 minutes a day
Home practice is where most of the progress happens. We prescribe 15 to 20 minutes a day, most days, using activities you’ve already practiced in the office so you’re never guessing at whether you’re doing them right.
This is the part that determines outcomes more than anything else. Patients who do the home work steadily tend to finish sooner and hold their results better than those who rely on the weekly session alone. If 15 minutes a day isn’t realistic for your household right now, tell us at the evaluation — it’s better to plan around it than to start and stall.
5. Monthly Progress Checks
Once a month we re-measure. You’ll see the same tests from your evaluation repeated, so progress is something you can look at rather than something you have to take our word for. We adjust the plan based on what those measurements show — including telling you when you’re done.
How long the whole program takes
Most patients notice the first changes somewhere between six and twelve weeks: less strain at the end of the day, fewer episodes of doubling, an eye that holds alignment longer before it drifts. Fuller results generally develop over six to twelve months. Age, the type of eye turn, and previous surgery all affect the timeline, which is why we won’t
quote you a session count before the evaluation.
Who we treat
We work with adults and school-age children, ages five and up. Vision therapy asks for cooperation and sustained attention, which is why we generally don’t begin in-office therapy before age five.
For younger children we may recommend home activities instead — but only when the child has already been examined by a pediatric ophthalmologist and the parents are committed to doing the work at home.
Dr. Cook’s published patients ranged from five to fifty-five years old. If you’ve been told you’re too old for your eyes to change, that’s worth a second opinion.
Traveling to us for treatment?
Patients come to Marietta from across Georgia, the Southeast, and internationally. We’re about 45 to 60 minutes north of Hartsfield-Jackson, and our consultant can build a condensed schedule that fits your travel window rather than spreading the same work across months of weekly visits.
If you’re coming from out of the area, our Plan Your Visit guide covers travel, records submission, partner lodging near the clinic, and what to expect from a compressed schedule.
Just check out our reviews
Frequently Asked Questions
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Who qualifies for vision therapy for crossed eyes?
Adults and children ages five and up. Vision therapy asks for cooperation and sustained attention, so we generally don’t begin in-office therapy earlier than that — for younger children we may recommend home activities, provided they’ve already been examined by a pediatric ophthalmologist.
We also see patients whose eyes have drifted again after strabismus surgery. Dr. Cook’s published patients ranged from five to fifty-five years old, so if you’ve been told you’re too old for your eyes to change, it’s worth a second opinion
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Do I need a referral, and how do I get started?
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Who will I actually work with each week?
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What’s the time commitment, and how long will it take?
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Is vision therapy covered by insurance?
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Will I still need surgery?
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Can I do this if I don’t live near Atlanta?
Check Out Our Resources
Dr. Cook’s Publications:
- Authored books VISUAL FITNESS and WHEN YOUR CHILD STRUGGLES.
- Published articles in top optometric journals.
- His article “Eyesight, infinity and the human heart” was voted “Best Non-Technical Article” by the Association of Optometric Editors.
When Your Child Struggles
Visual Fitness
