Behavioural Optometry is a specialisation within Optometry that focuses attention on the quality of visual skills rather than just the ability to seeâ€. It investigates how the brain, eyes and body work together as a team and although we are born with a pair of eyes, the process of understanding what we see is a learned skill. Watch our video briefing Vision develops throughout life to become the dominant information gathering and processing system of the body and Behavioural Optometry explores how efficiently we have developed the necessary visual skills and whether they are resilient enough to cope with intense near work demands of both the classroom and office. To understand the importance of Behavioural Optometry it is necessary to understand the difference between sight and vision. Optometrists define sight as the ability of the eyes to identify detail (20/20 or 6/6 vision). Vision, however, describes a more dynamic and interactive process, essentially a whole INFORMATION PROCESSING SYSTEM, which includes the brain.
