On this page, some of our parents kindly share their stories of how vision therapy made a difference in their child's life.
Dr. Gabrielle cares not only about the whole patient – going beyond vision and eyes – she cares about the whole family.
I continue to be touched and amazed by the quality time she spends with our family on each visit.
L.M., Bellevue
Kudos and praise to Dr. Gabrielle and her able staff!
When we first started vision therapy, my bright but fidgety Fifth Grader struggled to get through homework every night. There are a hundred reasons to leave the desk -- from bathroom and snack breaks to checking on pets to seeing whether the handheld video game was recharged yet. The worksheets sat while my child roamed. We both knew the work was not too hard, or too much, but I had few ideas about how to motivate its timely completion.
By the time another parent mentioned vision therapy, I was willing to try almost anything to get past the nightly struggle to get the homework finished. Dr. Gabrielle was warm, empathic, and informed. She tested my child and found a sigificant problem with focused reading ability. There was work to be done.
More than a year later, we are almost finished with the therapy sessions. My now-sixth-grade child sits through up to two hours of homework a night, shifting papers into the backpack, one after another, as they get done! I am now the one interrupting to ask about snacks or bathroom breaks! And my child -- now pulling all As and Bs -- no longer feels overwheled by work that literally was too much to take in.
Grateful Kirkland mom
I had an eye exam with Dr. Gabrielle at Eastside Family Vision Care and the services I received were more than what I had before in an eye exam at any other place. I used to go to those places where you'd pay a fee and out you went with just a prescription in your hand. In this case Dr. Gabrielle wasn't just there to collect my money and give me a prescription, she was there to treat my needs and do way more than just an eye exam. She listened to what I had issues with, she observed what I was going through, and she was there as a friend to consult. She truly cares for her patients one at a time and at her own pace. I never felt rushed or felt it was an "in and out" service at all. I would highly recommend this clinic to someone to deserves the best service in the Eastside. Thank You Dr. Gabrielle for not just being a Dr. but someone who also can listen to their patients and their needs.
J.A., Renton
I recently took my little 8 month old to see Dr. Gabrielle for his first 6 month old eye exam. Dr. Gabrielle was so kind to give my son an eye exam at no cost. Some parents don't know this but it is very important to get your child in as early as 6 months to get their eyes checked, the earlier the better. The service she gave to my child was amazing. She was so patient and kind, especially with kids you have to be. She did a series of tests with my son to make sure his eyes were working properly. I felt she took a lot of good time with my son, which surprised me because she didn't just treat my son as an infant with a quick service but as a regular patient. When you meet Dr. Gabrielle you don't just feel your meeting a doctor but someone who is there for you.
Mother of 6 month old boy
I recently had an eye exam with Dr. Gabrielle. I received the most comprehensive exam I've ever had. In a world where many doctors rush you in and out and hardly establish eye contact this was a refreshing change. I had been unhappy with my previous prescription and was always taking my glasses off. When I explained this problem with Dr. Gabrielle she gave me extra time to walk around with a pair of trial lenses so that I could experience what the lenses would feel like. She also explained why I was dissatisfied before because of my eye-teaming challenges. My previous lenses were clear but pulled to much on my eyes. I highly recommend Dr. Gabrielle for a pleasant and comprehensive exam. You won't be disappointed!
D.T.B.
This is a note of congratulations, thanks and recommendation to Eastside Family Vision Care.
Our son Drew, for over a year now has had tremendous experience with Eastside Family Vision. The process and therapy we have gone through with EFVC has helped Drew significantly improve his learning capabilities in school and given him confidence he did not previously have. All of this translated into more confidence and better achievement in school as well as other areas of his life. If you are reading this and you, your family or anyone you know is considering vision therapy, my wife Jan and I would highly recommend Dr. Gabrielle, Kelli and the staff at EFVC.
Solutions to a child’s (or anyone’s) learning challenges can be a complex maze to try and figure out. Whether it be an easily identified mainstream challenge, or a more sophisticated and subtle combination of different challenges, learning challenges and disabilities can be very difficult to identify solutions for. And so, for a long time, we were searching for solutions to the learning challenges our Drew is having. While we had partial and intermittent success in trying other things, vision therapy turned out to be a long term, permanent solution we could rely on in advancing through Drew’s learning challenges. We tried different vision therapy clinics until we came across Eastside Family Vision Care, and once we met and experienced Dr. Gabrielle, Kelli and the staff there, we never went anywhere else.
It’s rare to find a Doctor and staff in any discipline with both the preferred ‘bedside manner’ as well as technical expertise that EFVC has. And all this coupled with a focus and priority on keeping the patient's best interest in mind.
Thanks again to Dr. Gabrielle, Kelli and staff for their support and personalized attention and success with helping Drew.
Regards,
Tim and Jan N
Bothell, WA.
Dr. Gabrielle,
We want to sincerely thank you for all your time and energy and the tremendous amount of help that you’ve given Hope.
On many occasions you did more than vision therapy, although that in itself was amazing. You’ve sowed patience, effort, joy and fun into Hope and myself.
We are truly grateful. Hope has come so far with your time and therapy.
Thank you!
Sonny
Dear Dr. Gabrielle,
I wanted to write to say thank you, thank you!
My daughter Ashley is a new person after completing 11 months of vision therapy with you. She has gone from "below grade level" on her report cards to "at grade level" and "above grade level".
She scored above average on the WASL test for math, has been removed from all her extra pullout classes, no longer has an IEP at school and is finally making good grades on classroom assignments. Ashley enjoys reading every night and can read for a long period of time instead of being tired and shutting down after only 5 minutes of reading prior to vision therapy.
Please feel free to share my story (and Ashley's) with any of your patients and let them know there is hope!!
It was brought to my attention in Kindergarten that something wasn't quite "right" with Ashley and she was struggling with reading and writing and learning the basics. Her teacher felt that she could be dyslexic. I knew my daughter was extremely smart so this was very frustrating for me to see how she struggled with learning.
I had her vision checked with a pediatric eye doctor and was told all was fine. I then had a battery of psychological testing done on Ashley and the psychologist said "she has ADHD, you need to medicate her." I wasn't prepared to do that so we got extra help for her. She completed the Headsprout computer program in first grade, we tried Kumon Math and Reading, she did the Hooked on Phonics program, and then we hired a tutor who came to our house two times a week for three years. We were making NO progress! I was at my wits end and desperate so I told her doctor that I would try the ADHD medicine. It didn't work at all.
One day, I was talking to a friend of mine whose son had very similar problems as Ashley and she told me that it was discovered her son had significant visual perception problems that had not been caught in a regular eye exam.
She highly recommended Dr. Neena Gabrielle so I thought I would give her a try. A very thorough exam by Dr. Gabrielle revealed all kinds of problems!! Ashley needed glasses (bifocals even) and had severe problems with tracking, focusing and letter/number reversals.
I was so excited to hear this!!! I finally had an answer to all the problems; now I needed the fix! Vision therapy was the answer. Ashley attended weekly vision therapy appointments and did her "homework" the other 6 days. All of Ashley's hard work paid off and the six month check already showed remarkable improvement.
Now, one year later, Ashley is a "regular" student who no longer struggles with reading and keeping focused in school.
Sincerely,
Kim M.