[Homonymous hemianopsia and its rehabilitation]

The majority of patients with homonymous visual field disorders after postchiasmatic brain damage suffer from reading disabilities (known as hemianopic dyslexia) because the residual visual field is too small for complete comprehension of words and sentences. Furthermore, they typically show a reduction of searching movements in the affected hemifield. As a rule, an adequate adaptation of their reading and searching strategies to the field disorder does not take place spontaneously. Therefore, these patients need early and efficient systematic treatment. Using a new electronic device, both the impairments in reading and in visual exploration can be treated successfully within a relatively short period of time. Most of the patients successfully employ the strategies learned during training in their everyday lives. Thus, the proposed treatment may be considered an effective means of reducing the degree of their visual disability.