Susan A. Cotter is a professor of optometry at the Southern California College of Optometry (SCCO) at Marshall B. Ketchum University where she teaches in the classroom and clinic, works with the residents, and conducts clinical researches. [1] Her scientific work is related to related to clinical management strategies for strabismus, amblyopia, non-strabismic binocular vision disorders, and childhood refractive error. [2]
Cotter holds an undergraduate degree from Loyola University Chicago. [1] She obtained a doctor of optometry (O.D.) degree from the Illinois College of Optometry in 1983. She completed a residency in children's vision at the Marshall B. Ketchum University's Southern California College of Optometry. In 2006, she earned a master's degree in clinical and biomedical investigations from the Keck School of Medicine. [3]
Cotter is a professor at Marshall B. Ketchum University [1] and is a vice-chair at both the Pediatric Eye Disease Investigator Group, a division of National Eye Institute, and the Convergence Insufficiency Treatment Trial. She also serves on the National Expert Panel of the American Optometric Association. She serves on the board of directors of the American Academy of Optometry. [4] Cotter is a fellow of the College of Optometrists in Vision Development and a recipient of an Ezell fellowship from the American Optometric Foundation. [3]
She has also worked on a leading positions for such NEI-funded studies as the Multi-Ethnic Pediatric Eye Disease Study (MEPEDS), the Collaborative Longitudinal Evaluation of Refractive Error (CLEERE), the Convergence Insufficiency Treatment Trial (CITT), and the CITT-Attention & Reading Trial (CITT-ART). [1]
Cotter works on the board of directors of the American Academy of Optometry, where she is a diplomate and past chair of the Binocular Vision, Perception, and Pediatric Optometry Section, and a past editorial board member for the academy's journal, "Optometry & Vision Science." [1]
She is working as a vice chair on a NEI-funded research trial, which is called Convergence Insufficiency Treatment Trial – Attention & Reading Trial, where she tries to engage optometrists around the country to study the effects and success rate of vision therapy for children with convergence insufficiency. [5]
Optometry is a specialized health care profession that involves examining the eyes and related structures for defects or abnormalities. Optometrists are health care professionals who typically provide comprehensive primary eye care.
Orthoptics is a profession allied to the eye care profession. Orthoptists are the experts in diagnosing and treating defects in eye movements and problems with how the eyes work together, called binocular vision. These can be caused by issues with the muscles around the eyes or defects in the nerves enabling the brain to communicate with the eyes. Orthoptists are responsible for the diagnosis and non-surgical management of strabismus (cross-eyed), amblyopia and eye movement disorders. The word orthoptics comes from the Greek words ὀρθός orthos, "straight" and ὀπτικός optikοs, "relating to sight" and much of the practice of orthoptists concerns disorders of binocular vision and defects of eye movement. Orthoptists are trained professionals who specialize in orthoptic treatment, such as eye patches, eye exercises, prisms or glasses. They commonly work with paediatric patients and also adult patients with neurological conditions such as stroke, brain tumours or multiple sclerosis. With specific training, in some countries orthoptists may be involved in monitoring of some forms of eye disease, such as glaucoma, cataract screening and diabetic retinopathy.
The State University of New York College of Optometry is a public school of optometry in New York City. It is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system and was established in 1971 as result of a legislative mandate of New York. It is located in midtown Manhattan in what was originally the Aeolian Building, which was built in 1912 for the Aeolian Company, a piano manufacturer. It is a center for research on vision and the only school of optometry in New York.
Vision therapy (VT), or behavioral optometry, is an umbrella term for alternative medicine treatments using eye exercises, based around the pseudoscientific claim that vision problems are the true underlying cause of learning difficulties, particularly in children. Vision therapy has not been shown to be effective using scientific studies, except for helping with convergence insufficiency. Most claims—for example that the therapy can address neurological, educational, and spatial difficulties—lack supporting evidence. Neither the American Academy of Pediatrics nor the American Academy of Ophthalmology support the use of vision therapy.
Convergence insufficiency is a sensory and neuromuscular anomaly of the binocular vision system, characterized by a reduced ability of the eyes to turn towards each other, or sustain convergence.
The Optometric Extension Program Foundation (OEPF) is an international, non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of the discipline of optometry, with recent emphasis on behavioral optometry and vision therapy.
The American Optometric Association (AOA), founded in 1898, represents approximately 37,000 doctors of optometry, optometry students and para-optometric assistants and technicians in the United States.
An eye care professional is an individual who provides a service related to the eyes or vision. It is any healthcare worker involved in eye care, from one with a small amount of post-secondary training to practitioners with a doctoral level of education.
The Illinois College of Optometry (ICO) is a private optometry college in Chicago, Illinois. Graduating approximately 160 optometrists a year, it is the largest optometry college in the United States and the oldest continually operating educational facility dedicated solely to the teaching of optometrists. The college complex incorporates more than 366,000 square feet (34,000 m2) including an on-site eye care clinic, electronically enhanced lecture center, library, computerized clinical learning equipment, cafeteria, fitness center, and living facilities.
Fixation disparity is a tendency of the eyes to drift in the direction of the heterophoria. While the heterophoria refers to a fusion-free vergence state, the fixation disparity refers to a small misalignment of the visual axes when both eyes are open in an observer with normal fusion and binocular vision. The misalignment may be vertical, horizontal or both. The misalignment is much smaller than that of strabismus. While strabismus prevents binocular vision, fixation disparity keeps binocular vision, however it may reduce a patient's level of stereopsis. A patient may or may not have fixation disparity and a patient may have a different fixation disparity at distance than near. Observers with a fixation disparity are more likely to report eye strain in demanding visual tasks; therefore, tests of fixation disparity belong to the diagnostic tools used by eye care professionals: remediation includes vision therapy, prism eye glasses, or visual ergonomics at the workplace.
The School of Optometry and Vision Science is one of the professional schools at the University of Waterloo. It is a school within the university's Faculty of Science and is the larger of the two optometry schools in Canada. The School is the only English speaking Optometry School in the country; the Francophone Université de Montréal program operates in Quebec.
Marshall B. Ketchum University is a private university focused on graduate programs in healthcare and located in Fullerton, California. MBKU expanded from the Southern California College of Optometry which was founded in 1904. The university was officially established as a multidisciplinary university with the addition of School of PA Studies in 2011 and College of Pharmacy in 2013. Along with Hope International University, the campus bookends the north and south sides of the Cal State Fullerton campus respectively.
The Herbert Wertheim School of Optometry & Vision Science at the University of California, Berkeley is an optometry school at the University of California, Berkeley. It offers a graduate-level, four-year professional program leading to the Doctor of Optometry degree (OD), and a one-year, ACOE-accredited residency program in clinical optometry specialties. It is also the home department for the multidisciplinary Vision Science Group at UC Berkeley, whose graduate students earn either MS or PhD degrees.
Stereopsis recovery, also recovery from stereoblindness, is the phenomenon of a stereoblind person gaining partial or full ability of stereo vision (stereopsis).
Accommodative infacility also known as accommodative inertia is the inability to change the accommodation of the eye with enough speed and accuracy to achieve normal function. This can result in visual fatigue, headaches, and difficulty reading. The delay in accurate accommodation also makes vision blurry for a moment when switching between distant and near objects. The duration and extent of this blurriness depends on the extent of the deficit.
Karla Zadnik is an American optometrist. She is the dean of the Ohio State University College of Optometry.
Konrad Pesudovs is an Australian optometrist and outcomes researcher in ophthalmology; recognised as the leading optometrist researcher worldwide in terms of H-Index and total citations. He is SHARP Professor of Optometry and Vision Science at the University of New South Wales (2020-). He was the Foundation Chair of Optometry and Vision Science at Flinders University from 2009 to 2017.
Henry W. Hofstetter was an American optometrist and the author of two books and 500 research papers. He is a past president of the American Optometric Association and a member of the National Optometry Hall of Fame.
Lynn F. Hellerstein is an American optometrist, speaker and author best known for her work in the field of vision therapy.
Dean Evan Hart, O.D., M.A., M.S., B.S., A.A.S., F.A.A.O. is an American scientist, clinical optometrist, professor, and the founder of Woodbury Ophthalmic Group and Woodbury Optical Studio. Dean ran for Nassau County Legislature in 2015. He was a candidate for the New York State Assembly in the 15th Assembly District of the 2016 election. Hart also ran for town office in 2017.