When Whitman Spires was at his lowest, unable to walk, read, or tolerate visual stimulation, his mother, Hannah, was desperate for answers. Her search led to Dr. William Padula, O.D., who uncovered how Lyme had disrupted Whitman’s visual processing system. A breakthrough followed: Neuro-Visual Postural Therapy (NVPT) and customized prism lenses helped retrain Whitman’s brain.
When our son Whitman was at his lowest, unable to walk, read, or even sit in a busy room without overwhelming nausea, we were desperate for answers. Though he was undergoing medical treatment for tick-borne infections, something deeper was at play. He was collapsing under the weight of symptoms no one could explain, and we were watching our bright, vibrant child disappear.
Enter: Dr. William Padula, O.D.
From the very first visit, Dr. Padula looked beyond the surface. He uncovered the hidden cause of Whitman's struggle, a breakdown in the brain's spatial visual processing system, and introduced tools and therapies that would give Whitman his life back. This article, written by Dr. Padula himself, explains the science and treatment behind Whitman's transformation. He shares how customized prism lenses paired with Neuro-Visual Postural Therapy (NVPT) helped our son begin to walk, play, and dream again.
If you are a parent searching for answers or someone lost in a sea of unexplained symptoms, this could be the missing link. We share it with deep gratitude and hope it helps your family, too:
By Dr. William Padula, OD
Patient: Whitman Spires
Date of Initial Evaluation: May 31, 2022.
When Whitman first came to our Institute, he arrived in a wheelchair, overwhelmed by even the simplest of environments. Although he was receiving treatment for tick-borne infections, he continued to experience severe neurological symptoms. His parents shared that he could not walk more than a few steps without collapsing. Reading made him nauseous. Places like grocery stores or classrooms triggered vomiting from visual overload.
During my initial evaluation, it became clear that Whitman’s symptoms were not rooted in the eyes 
themselves but in how his brain was processing visual information. His visual system had become disorganized, and he was unable to stabilize what he saw. This dysfunction in spatial visual processing meant that even small eye movements made the world appear to move around him, leading to intense nausea and difficulty with balance.
We performed a visual evoked potential, or VEP, which confirmed that the problem was neurological. His brain was unable to integrate vision with posture and movement, making it nearly impossible for him to stand or walk upright. His visual environment had become fragmented. Instead of seeing the whole picture, he was locked onto excessive detail, a condition known as focal binding, which made visual tasks exhausting and overwhelming.
Whitman was trying incredibly hard to use his conscious vision to function, but this only worsened his symptoms. The spatial visual process, which supports automatic visual awareness and balance, had been disrupted. As a result, his body could not organize itself against gravity, and he lacked the postural tone necessary to remain upright.
We began treatment by prescribing specialized prism lenses to realign his visual midline and support spatial visual processing. I then introduced Neuro-Visual Postural Therapy, or NVPT, a therapeutic approach designed not to force fixation but to gently reactivate the brain’s adaptive visual system in coordination with the body’s base of support.
Initially, Whitman struggled. But through facilitated movement and carefully designed visual tasks, he gradually began to respond. His posture improved, fixation became less effortful, and most importantly, his brain started to reclaim the plasticity it had lost. Over time, he regained enough coordination to stand, bear weight, and eventually walk.
This process took months and required a combination of in-office and at-home therapy, but the results were profound. Whitman began reclaiming his life, not only visually, but physically and emotionally as well.
A Future Reclaimed 
Today, Whitman walks, runs, reads within limits, and even plays on his school basketball team. He's back in the classroom with a customized program, and more importantly, back to being a kid.
The approach Dr. Padula created using Prism lenses and Neuro-Visual Postural Therapy (NVPT) changed Whitman's life. There is hope and healing, and this journey has turned tragedy into triumph for our family. Inspired by Dr. Padula's kindness, compassion, and gentle presence, Whitman now dreams of following in his footsteps. What has been a great season of suffering has become a foundation for purpose.
His case is a profound reminder that for children struggling with Lyme-related illness and neurological dysfunction, treating the infection is often not enough. Sometimes, the breakthrough comes not only through medication, but by unlocking how the brain sees and processes the world.
Dr. Padula gave Whitman back his footing, both literally and in life. We are forever grateful.
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