Understanding Vision Beyond the Eyes
You may see
clearly and still find,
reading, learning, movement
or everyday visual activities difficult.
Dr. Roxana Cziker
I hold doctoral degrees in Medical Sciences and Psychology, with research and professional experience in vision disability, functional vision, visual processing, cerebral visual impairment (CVI) and visual difficulties associated with acquired brain injury.
Vision2Brain brings this experience together to help children and adults understand how vision is affecting everyday life and identify appropriate goals for support and individualized visual skills training.
Why Work with Dr. Roxana Cziker?
2 doctorates
PhD in Medical Science
PhD in Psychology
Trained with leading experts
Dr Lea Hyvärinen and Dr Gordon Dutton, plus up-to-date training in Vision Therapy (Emergent, USA) and applied neuroscience (The Neuroscience Academy, Australia)
When Vision Becomes Challenging
Vision is more than seeing clearly.
Vision is a complex process that helps us find information, recognize what we see, and interact with our surroundings
When these processes become difficult, everyday activities may require much more effort.
Reading takes much more effort than it used to.
I struggle to find things, especially when there is a lot to look at.
Computer work is visually tiring.
Computer work is visually tiring.
These experiences can have different causes. Some may require medical or optometric investigations, while others may be explored further through a functional vision assessment that help exploring their impact on daily activities.
Request and Initial Conversation
Undersanding Vision - Learn More about Functional Vision
Visual activities become harder when I am tired.
Things sometimes look less clear or go in and out of focus.
25+ years
Functional vision - CVI - visual disability - neurovisual dififculties
Dr. Roxana Elena Cziker
PhD in Medical Sciences · PhD in Psychology
Functional vision and visual skills training
Busy places feel visually overwhelming.
Finding my way or judging where things are in space can be difficult.
Sometimes I see two images instead of one.
Research and teaching
published research, university lecturing and training of professionals across Europe
Understanding Vision
When Vision Feels Different
We often think of vision as how clearly we can see.
But vision also helps us find information, understand what we are looking at, guide movement, direct actions and interact with our surroundings.
Most of these processes normally happen without us thinking about them.
A person may have good visual acuity - in other words, see clearly - but still find it difficult to read, recognize objects, navigate through spaces, or manage visually complex environments.
When the brain systems that process and use visual information are affected, the way a person experiences and responds to what they see may change. Familiar places, faces, or everyday tasks may be harder to recognize, understand, or manage, and visual activities may require more effort.
The important question is not only what you can see, but how you use vision in everyday life.
READING
Words may be clear, but following a page takes effort.
MOVING THROUGH SPACE
Unfamiliar or budy places may feel challenging.
Functional Vision
Understanding How Vision Works
Vision is a Process, Not Just an Ability to See
Seeing Clearly Is Only One Part of Vision
The Difficulty May Not Be About Eyesight Alone.
Visual performance depends on how effectively visual information can be accessed, understood and used.
This is what I mean by functional vision.
Functional vision describes how effectivelly a person can use visual information to support meaningful everyday activities.
Functional Vision Brings Different Processes Together
Functional vision depends on several visual and related processes working together. These include how we detect visual information, direct our eyes and attention, recognise and interpret what we see, understand spatial relationships, and use vision to guide actions.
These processes do not work in isolation. They interact continuously with attention, movement, memory and the demands of the environment.
How is vision affecting your everyday life?
Explore Functional Vision Assessment
FINDING THINGS
Locating an object among many others may be difficult.
VISUAL FATIGUE
Visual activities may become harder as demands increase.
My Approach: How I Work
Every person experiences vision differently. That's why Vision2Brain follows an individualized, function-oriented approach.
My role is to:
- Guide you in understanding how your vision is working in your everyday life.
- Support you in adapting to visual changes and finding strategies that make everyday activities more managable.
- Work with you to develop and practise visual skills and strategies that support your functional vision, everyday activities and participation to the social and professional life.
1. Initial Consultation - Understand
Your concerns, relevant history, challenges, and personal goals.
Free of charge
30 minutes, in person or online via Zoom
2. Functional Vision - Explore Vision Profile
Relevant aspects of visual functioning and how vision affects daily activities.
15,000 ISK per session
or 40,000 ISK for three sessions
50-60 minutes each.
Usually 1-3 sessions, depending on your needs.
Best in person; an online option is possible if you live far away.
3. Individualized Training - Plan
Agree on appropriate strategies and training priorities.
Included in your vision profile.
5 sessions: 40,000 ISK
10 sessions: 70,000 ISK
One session with me each week, plus exercises at home.
Usually over several weeks.
4. Apply and review
Monitor changes in functional vision performance and concept support with everyday tasks.
Start with a Conversation
Every person´s visual experience is different.
The initial consultation gives you a chance to discuss what you are experiencing and whether Vision 2Brain may be right for you.
Request and Initial Consultation
Good to know
Prices are in Icelandic krónur (ISK) and include VAT where it applies. Packages are paid in advance and are valid for [6 months]. If you cannot come, please let me know at least [24 hours] before your session.
My services are not covered by Sjúkratryggingar Íslands. Some union health funds (sjúkrasjóðir stéttarfélaga) may refund part of the cost, so it is worth asking yours.
1. I look at vision as an integrated system
My background in medical sciences, psychology, and optometry helps me consider how visual information is detected, processed, and used together with attention, movement, and other functions during everyday activities.
What makes my approach different
Professional expereince, scientific knowledge and an individual understanding of how vision affects everyday life.
2. My work is grounded in research
My approach draws on my doctoral research, more than 25 years of professional experience, and continuing education in functional vision, CVI, visual processing, and brain-related visual difficulties.
3. Experience across the lifespan
I have worked with young children, school-age children, adolescents and adults, from developmental and cerebral visual difficulties to changes in visual functioning following acquired brain injury.
4. Everyday life is the reference point
Assessment and training are connected to the activities that matter to each person — at home, at school, at work and in the community.
5. Experience beyond individual sessions
My professional background includes research, university teaching, professional training and the development of services for people with visual impairment, CVI and complex visual needs in different countries.
6. Individual, collaborative and at your pace
There is no standard programme. Support is adapted to your functional vision profile, priorities and circumstances, with time to understand what we are doing and why.
Who I Support
Individual Needs. Different Visual Experiences.
Visual difficulties affect everyone differently. Two people with the same diagnosis may face very different daily challenges.
Vision2Brain focuses on each person's functional vision profile, including strengths, challenges, and everyday goals.
Need more time to find visual information?
Become tired during visual activities?
Functional vision support may be relevant for children with cerebral visual impairment (CVI), visual impairment, neurodevelopmental conditions, congenital or acquired neurological problems, vision-related learning difficulties, or complex developmental needs.
The focus is not only on what the child can see — but on how they use vision during playing, learning, movement and everyday life.
Reading takes more time and visual effort.
Budy environments feel overwhelming.
These experiences may occur following an acquired brain injury, such as traumatic brain injury (TBI) or stroke, as well as other neurological conditions. New or worsening blurred vision, double vision or other sudden visual changes should first be medically assessed. Once appropriate medical evaluation has been completed, their impact on everyday visual functioning can also be explored as part of a Functional Vision Assessment.
Not sure?
You Don't Need to Know What Is Causing the Difficulty before contacting Vision2Brain.
That is part of the reason for starting with an individual consultation.
Tell me what you are experiencing. We begin from there.
Things somtimes look blurry and unclear.
Request an Initial Consultation
Find challenging with budy worksheet or books?
Lose their place when reading?
Have difficulty coordinating vision and movement
Computer or screen work becomes tiring.
Navigating unfamiliar places is more difficult.
I seometimes see two images instead of one.
Find unfamiliar environments challenging?
Finding things takes longer.
Visual performance decreases with fatigue.
Functional Vision Assessment
Understanding How Vision Affects Everyday Activities
A functional vision assessment looks beyond:
"How clearly can you see?"
To ask:
"How do you use vision in everyday activities?"
Eye examinations provide essential information about eye health and vision. Functional vision assessment has a different, complementary focus: how visual difficulties appear during meaningful tasks and across environments.
Two people may challenge the same activity for different reasons. Functional observations help identify patterns and priorities, but they do not, by themselves, establish a neurological or ophthalmological diagnosis.
It considers not only what a person can see, but also how visual information is acquired, understood and used during everyday activities.
Understanding your individual vision profile helps us identify meaningful priorities for support.
I start with Your Experience
Your experience, needs and everyday goals help guide what we explore during the assessment.
What activities are difficult or require more effort than before?
What do you experience when you try to do activities that require your vision?
Are there particular situations in which difficulties are more noticeable?
What would you most like to be able to improve or do more easily?
Your Functional Vision Profile
The Functional Vision Profile is a functional interpretation of assessment findings. It does not establish or replace medical, ophthalmological, neurological or regulated optometric diagnosis or examination.
Rather than presenting isolated test results, the profile integrates relevant findings to describe how your vision functions and how identified difficulties may affect everyday activities.
Visual Strenghts and Difficulties
A summary of the areas of visual functioning that appear to be working effectively and those in which difficulties have been observed.
Functional Patterns
How different findings may relate to one another and how visual performance may vary across different activities and situations.
Factors Influencing Performance
Conditions that may make visual activities easier or more demanding, such as fatigue, task demands, visual complexity or characteristics of the environment.
Impact on Everyday Life
How the observed difficulties may influence activities and participation at home, at school, at work or in other relevant environments.
Individual Priorities
The findings that are most relevant to your concerns, everyday needs and personal goals.
Recommendations and Next Steps
Based on the overall profile, recommendations may include practical strategies, priorities for individualised visual skills training, environmental adaptations or further professional evaluation when appropriate.
How Is Vision Affecting Your Everyday Life — And What May Help?
Discover Individualized Visual Skills Training
Individualized Visual Skills Training
Individualised Visual Skills Training
From Understanding of How Vision Works to Everyday Action
Assessment helps identify priorities. Training and practical strategies are then adapted to the person´s abilities, needs and everyday goals.
There Is No Standard Programme
No single activity or training plan is suitable for everyone. The approach depends on the individual functional vision profile, the available evidence and the person’s response.
Making Reading More Managable
Supporting Attention During Visual Tasks
Goals are selected according to the individual's needs and functional vision profile.
The goal is not simply to perform an exercise better.
The Goal Is to Use Vision More Effectively in Everyday Life.
Progress is reviewed in relation to your individual goals and everyday visual functioning. The focus is on meaningful changes, such as performing visual activities with greater ease, using helpful strategies more effectively or participating more confidently.
Progress varies from person to person and improvement cannot be guaranteed.
Request an Initial Consultation
Finding Visual Information More Efficiently
What would you like to make easier?
Using Vision More Effectively with Movement
Handling Visually Busy Environments
Managing Visual Demands & Fatigue
Hello, I’m Roxana.
I began my career in 1996 as a teacher for blind children in Cluj-Napoca. Those children taught me that vision is far more than the eyes – and that the brain can learn new ways to see.
That experience shaped my life's work: two doctorates, one in Medical Sciences and one in Psychology, studying how brain injury affects vision, and almost 20 years supporting children with low vision, cerebral visual impairment, and multiple disabilities in Romania. Since 2015, I have lived in Iceland, where I helped build services for children and adults with cerebral visual impairment based on my PhD research, before founding Vision2Brain in 2019.
My vision is simple: everyone whose sight has been changed by a brain condition deserves someone who can clearly explain its impact, and design an individual, practical plan to support them in getting more of their life and wellbeing back.
Education
- PhD in Medical Sciences – Iuliu Hațieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Cluj-Napoca
- PhD in Psychology – Babeș-Bolyai University
- MSc in Management, Counselling and Psycho-pedagogical Assistance in Inclusive Institutions – Babeș-Bolyai University
- Bachelor's degree in Psychopedagogy and Disability – Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca
- Post-university studies in optometry – Polytechnic University of Bucharest, Romania
- Vision Therapy – Emergent, USA (2025–2026)
Licenses and authorizations
Iceland: Teaching authorization (2019) – allowing me to work as an educational adviser for children with learning difficulties
Romania: Licensed psychopedagogue – Romanian College of Psychologists
Romania: Recognized as an optometrist
Trined with
- Dr Lea Hyvärinen (functional vision) and Dr Gordon Dutton (cerebral visual impairment)
- Vision Therapy training – Emergent, USA (2025–2026)
- Applied neuroscience for coaches – The Neuroscience Academy, Australia (2022, one-year programme)
- Also: Sensis International Institute (now Royal Dutch Visio), the Netherlands; Colour Vision Therapy, the Netherlands (2023)
Research, teaching and publications
Research and publicationsDoctoral research in Romania and at the University Hospital of Angers, France, with peer-reviewed articles, books and manuals on cerebral visual impairment and functional vision.
Building services
Founder of a day center for assessment and vision training of children with visual impairment and associated disabilities, former School Principal, promoter in the development of services for children with cerebral visual impairment in Romania, and co-developer of CVI services in Icelabd. More than 15 European projects in visual impairment, rehabilitation and inclusion
Teaching and training
Senior Lecturer at Babeș-Bolyai University, trainer of professionals across Europe, and speaker at international ICEVI conferences.
BEFORE WE BEGIN
Your questions,
clearly answered.
My work is non-medical and function-based. It combines research-informed visual training with practical guidance for daily life, building on the brain's ability to learn and adapt. It draws on my doctoral research and more than 25 years of experience in functional vision, earned in Romania, France and Iceland.
I observe how your vision works in everyday activities, explain it clearly, and design visual training with you. I do not diagnose eye disease, prescribe glasses or medication, or offer medical treatment.
Your child does not need an existing diagnosis for you to contact me. My expertise includes assessment and diagnosis of cerebral visual impairment (CVI). We begin by discussing the difficulties you notice at home or school, together with any previous findings, to decide on the most appropriate assessment and support.
A personalised plan focused on your goals and visual functioning. I will explain the proposed activities, pace and practical arrangements with you before we begin. The plan may include guided sessions and agreed activities at home.
Each person’s situation is different. We set realistic goals, review your experience and progress, and adjust the plan. Outcomes and timelines vary; no particular result can be guaranteed.
Email me to arrange a first conversation. We will discuss suitability, session arrangements, availability and fees before you commit. You are welcome to write in English, Icelandic or Romanian.
Tell me what feels difficult.
We’ll find a first step.
You do not need to have all the answers. A short message about your main concern is enough to begin.
vision2brain@gmail.com
Reykjavík, Iceland
English · Íslenska · Română
Please avoid sending medical records or sensitive health details in your first email.
Professional scope in Iceland. Dr. refers to Roxana’s academic doctoral degrees. Vision2Brain provides functional, non-medical training. Roxana’s Romanian qualifications as a psychopedagogue and optometrist are not currently recognised in Iceland; she does not practise here as a medical doctor, optometrist or psychologist. She holds Icelandic teaching authorisation (2019). Clients with eye or neurological conditions should remain under the care of licensed professionals.
