About ViiBR™ Learning Systems

ViiBR... It is pronounced ve ber, and it is an acronym for Vision integrated in Brain & Reading. Behavioral Optometrists, Educators, Occupational Therapists, Speech Language Pathologists, and other professionals working with reading skills are always looking for new therapy activities to bring into the office, and indeed ViiBR™ can be described as a great set of activities for integrating visual skills and reading, but ViiBR™ can also be described as, "a paperless office for the therapy room," "a home-based therapy programming and monitoring system," or, "a great tool to foster collaboration between professionals."

Behavioral optometrist Alan Pearson has always had special interest in the role of vision in reading. He received his OD from Pacific University in 1992 and then finished his MEd, Visual Function in Learning in 1993, also from Pacific University. In 2005, Dr. Pearson finished a PhD in psychology from the Saybrook Graduate School and Research Institute. His dissertation was titled, Transdisciplinary Public Knowledge for Collaborative Teamwork in the Education of Children with Disabilities. Prior to studying optometry, Dr. Pearson was active with early computers, electronics and computer programming. As he watched the advances in technology and the Internet over the years, Dr. Pearson kept envisioning ways in which these tools could be supportive of vision therapy. An idea that kept recurring was that in vision therapy we use visual targets in most activities, so for the child with reading skills issues, why not have access to a whole database of symbols, letters, numbers, and words of all sizes and shapes to easily deliver to the vision therapy activity in a systematic progressive manner. In this way, a child can be working on educational goals while simultaneously developing visual skills. Dr. Pearson visualized how such a system might foster better collaboration between education and optometry.

In the past year, this vision has finally begun to take shape. Dr. Pearson has partnered with Elena Gaynes, MEd, educator, dance instructor, artist, website designer, programmer, and emerging vision therapist. Together, Dr. Pearson and Ms. Gaynes have formed ViiBR, LLC and created the initial version of the ViiBR™ system first introduced to behavioral optometry at the International Congress of Behavioral Optometry, April 2010 in Ontario California. Both Dr. Pearson and Ms. Gaynes have creative spirits that bubble over with ideas that can be implemented into the ViiBR™ system. They also are keenly interested in listening to what users of the system experience, and helping to integrate creative contributions from doctors and therapists. Like many websites, ViiBR™ is designed to grow and evolve, becoming more valuable and comprehensive over time.

At the core, ViiBR™ is an online database system that delivers "Learning Packets" to creative software. A "learning packet" consists of content, settings, and a defined challenge. The creative software could easily be a webpage, a downloaded program, a program on an X-Box™, Wii™, or other game console, or even an "app" on a cell phone or ipod™. The creative software, then delivers a "results packet" back to the database to record progress. A teacher can specify the content, suggested activity and settings, and then review whether the activities or games are actually completed, how often, and with what scores.

Recognizing the importance of "offline" non-computerized therapy activities, Dr. Pearson has made sure to allow for the possibilities of using ViiBR™ as a tracking tool for all the traditional therapy procedures that work so well. In these cases, the "Learning Packet" may be to grab a Brock string and go through a series of increasingly difficult challenges. The patient may receive guidance via the Internet and record the results of their explorations. Doctors and therapists can input their own set of favorite activities, challenges, and progressive series for therapy techniques they prescribe most. Thus, ViiBR™ can emerge into a paperless office system for programming therapy and recording results.

Making sure home therapy gets done has always been a challenge. To be successful the doctor and therapist must play the role of coach. Want to know many times an activity was actually done? Or which days or total time was spent on therapy activities? Or, how about short notes on how the patient was feeling or performed at the moment they were involved in the activity? When patients are using ViiBR™ at home, the "results packets" sent back to the database provides the doctor or therapist with the data needed to be an effective coach for best progress.

ViiBR™ also has international potential. Alphabets and words for any language can be entered into the database and then delivered to the activities.

To learn more about how to you can use ViiBR™ at your Clinic or Institution contact Dr. Pearson and Elena. We are interested in helping you implement an effective ViiBR™ system in your practice.