The Family Vision Development Center is celebrating 15 great years in business and we have our amazing client base to thank for that. We appreciate that you have put your trust in us for so long and we are dedicated to providing the best, most expansive vision services long into the future.
Through the years, we have developed strong relationships with our patients, often treating multiple generations within families. We thought it would be fitting to let you get to know Dr. Dave Martin on a more personal level, so you can better appreciate his background and experience that led to his fulfilling career serving his community.
Education and Work Experience
Dr. Martin completed his undergraduate studies at Northern Michigan University and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology in 1992. He then pursued a career in Nuclear Medicine from Ferris State University. After quite some time in that profession, he decided to pursue optometry and graduated from the Illinois College of Optometry in 2005.
What led to his decision to change professional fields? According to Dr. Martin, “I had a completely different career before pursuing optometry school. While I enjoyed nuclear medicine, I did not see myself retiring from that profession. I wanted to do something more and help patients in a different capacity.
I worked in commercial optometry as well as a private optometry practice and noticed there were many patients that did not seem to be having visual success or relief of their visual symptoms that they wanted me to address during the exam. It was affecting their success in school and their careers. After pursuing additional post-doctorate education in developmental and functional vision, I found what I was looking for and it really spoke to me.”
Dr. Martin’s Deeply Personal Connection to Vision Therapy
Specializing in Vision Therapy services was an intentional path that Dr. Martin explored because of his own visual issues growing up. His story is intriguing and a prime example of how you can find success by building on your own life experiences:
“I started my path down the road of vision therapy because of my own personal struggles. When I was in school, I did not like to read at all, I would lose my place, skip words and lines, had horrible handwriting, I was always the last one done with my tests, I would fall asleep after five minutes of reading and would never remember what I read until I re-read it over and over. I couldn’t remember information from the printed word but was very good at retaining information that was presented orally so I could listen to the information. I started getting visual headaches in college when the workload became very heavy compared to high school.
I struggled with these challenges assuming I was not as intelligent as my fellow students, and it severely affected my self-esteem. I made many accommodations to my school habits to find ways to be able to handle the information I needed to be successful in my studies, one of which was to get up at 4 AM to study until my 8 AM exams. I had no idea it was because my vision system was exhausted later in the evening and that was why I couldn’t function. In the morning my eyes were rested, and I could handle the visual information I needed to, for a short time.
Once my convergence insufficiency was discovered, accidentally by the way during a school lab exercise, I went through a vision therapy program in my 30’s. It completely changed my life, and school and reading became a much simpler and more manageable task. It opened my eyes (no pun intended) to the endless possibilities that I normally would not have considered because of my perceived challenges. At this point I decided to dedicate my career to helping others like me become more successful in school, career, and life.”
This personal connection to Vision Therapy treatment is the reason for his passion and dedication to this service. It also greatly contributes to the overall success he has with his patients of all ages as he is completely committed to improving their quality of life in any way he can.
Forming the Family Vision Development Center to Make a Difference in Patients’ Lives
Dr. Martin saw that there was a lack of available care for many visual issues and knew there was a need for his services. As he describes, “I started the Family Vision Development Center in 2010 to begin to provide the missing pieces to those patients with functional and developmental visual deficits. I feel there are so many patients that are having ongoing functional visual challenges that are not being addressed or are being diagnosed with issues they may or may not have due to the tremendous overlap of visual symptoms that can masquerade as other conditions.
These issues can be a concern at any age. These types of functional vision issues can affect reading in school, comprehension, test taking skills, comfortable computer use, eye focusing, and eye fatigue. They can create headaches, double vision, balance and coordination issues, as well as many other issues. We also perform a lot of Neuro-Optometric Vision Rehabilitation to help patients with binocular vision issues from concussions, strokes, and other brain injuries. After experiencing the changes these patients were having and how it improved their lives in school, sports, careers, and their overall well-being, I knew this was my calling.”
Serving the Community and Beyond
According to Dr. Martin, “The best part of owning the Family Vision Development Center is being able to have the freedom to practice using all the knowledge I have learned over the years, from all the great education and mentors that have come before me.” Indeed, owning this practice is a joy for Dr. Martin and he recognizes what a privilege it is. He is able to work with fantastic colleagues, and he has an incredible staff that makes going to the office every day very enjoyable. And he finds working with all of his delightful patients to be extremely rewarding and satisfying.
Giving back to the community is important, and Dr. Martin contributes in many ways. For example, the Family Vision Development Center is involved with different organizations in the community, including various Occupational Therapy offices, and supports events that help these organizations expand the services they provide to their communities. Additionally, he provides educational opportunities to college students, both locally and online, about Developmental and Functional Optometry. To further support those in need, he has provided charitable support to Loaves and Fishes, local schools, and various veterans’ organizations.
Growing the Family Vision Development Center to Provide Expanded Care
Dr. Martin considers himself to be a family man and enjoys spending time with his wife and daughter, traveling, going on the occasional fishing trip, and of course, and supporting the Cubs. But he also has plans for his practice. As he shares, “My goal for the coming years is to continue to provide support to this underserved patient population, with these challenging visual issues, to help them grow and be successful. We also aim to expand our services and continue to grow the practice.”
We want you to be a part of our continued success! Contact our office to schedule your appointment for essential vision exams, effective vision therapy treatment, post-concussive injury treatment or to peruse our expansive line of designer frames. Reach out to the Family Vision Development Center team at 630-862-2020 now!
Family Vision Development Center is a full-service vision center offering innovative vision therapy services, sports vision therapy services, post-concussive vision rehabilitation, comprehensive vision exams for eyeglasses and contact lenses, management of ocular diseases including glaucoma, diabetes, macular degeneration and cataracts, and a state-of-the-art optical center offering the latest designs in eyewear.