Aging Eyes, Aging Vision: What Changes and What It Means for Your Practice
As we age, the visual system changes in ways that can affect reading, driving, mobility, balance, comfort, and overall quality of life. In this lecture, Dr. Cathy Stern explores how aging impacts the eyes and the broader visual system, with a focus on the clinical signs that matter in everyday practice. She discusses common age-related changes, how visual processing and eye teaming can influence function, and why a comprehensive approach to evaluation and care is essential.

Drawing on her background in behavioral, developmental, and neuro-optometric care, Dr. Stern highlights practical strategies that can help practitioners better identify visual issues in older adults and support their independence. This lecture will be of particular interest to your practice because it offers timely, clinically relevant insights that can strengthen patient care, expand understanding of age-related visual challenges, and support more effective treatment planning.

Bio

Cathy Stern, OD, FOVDR, FCSO, FNORA

Dr. Cathy Stern, OD, FOVDR, FCSO, FNORA is a behavioral, developmental and neuro optometrist near Boston in the USA. Her practice is devoted solely to vision therapy, syntonic phototherapy, myopia control and neuro-optometric rehabilitation.

She is a former board member of the Optometric Extension Program Foundation (OEPF), research director and trustee of the College of Syntonic Optometry (CSO), and a member of the Neuro Optometric Rehabilitation Association (NORA) Fellowship Committee. Previously she was faculty for the CSO Basic Course, the COVD Brain Injury course and physician mentor for MIT ReDx (Rethinking Engineering Design Execution for Digital Health). She is currently the consultant optometrist at Pappas Rehabilitation Hospital for Children. She teaches optometrists worldwide and is passionate about vision therapy, vision rehabilitation, optometric phototherapy, sports vision and the use of assistive technology. Dr. Stern believes the eyes and vision are key players in prevention, enhancement, and rehabilitation for lifelong success.

Dr Stern is also the 2024 recipient of the OEPF Skeffington Alexander Award