Boulder Vision Center, PC

Dr. Roger T. Dowis, OD, FCOVD

Buffalo Village, 1645 28th Street
Phone: 303.443.4545
Hours: M 9am - 6pm, Tu and F 8am - 6pm, W - Th 8am - 6:30pm, Sat 9am - 3pm; call for appointment


Specialty:Eye exams, infant vision evaluation, contact lenses, computer-related problems; vision therapy for reading and learning problems, ADD/dyslexia, sports vision enhancement, vision improvement programs with crossed eyes/lazy eye, nearsighted reduction and control; eyewear for all ages

Dr. Roger Dowis has changed the lives of former juvenile delinquents and professional athletes, babies and grandparents. Through vision therapy, people strengthen their eye muscles, train their eyes, improve depth perception, eliminate blurry vision, improve eye control-and then they work better, play better, look better and feel better.

For example, students with inadequate eye control lose their place when they read or skip lines or see each page as a blur. With the exercises Dr. Dowis prescribes and after working with his sophisticated vision therapy equipment, they read better and relate better to their peers and their world. A professional hockey goalie had his first career shut-out a week after beginning work with Dr. Dowis, a charter member of the American Optometric Association's sports vision section.

People who work with computers feel more productive when his exercises reduce their eye strain and fatigue. And people with good visual skills are pleased to find those get even better.

Boulder Vision Center is constantly updating examination capabilities. For example, Dr. Dowis is now providing routine infant vision examinations and if potential problems are discovered, an enhancement program may be recommended.

A nationally known speaker and author on the link between vision and juvenile delinquency and a consultant to the Colorado Division of Youth Services, he is perhaps most proud of his work with juvenile delinquents. "Think of a youth who can't read and can't learn, so he drops out of school and gets into trouble, just for something to do. It's so rewarding to work with these youths, to get them to a point where they're able to achieve in school and they don't get in trouble any more," he said.

Yet only about half of Dr. Dowis' practice is vision therapy. The rest is fitting contact lenses and glasses. Throughout his work he emphasizes preventive optometry, helping people avoid problems. That's why he urges that adults have their eyes checked every two to three years or any time their employment or their requirements for their eyes change. Children should begin eye exams at six months and school children should visit an eye doctor annually.

Dr. Dowis has served on the national board of examiners as a national director for COVD, the certifying body for optometrists specializing in vision therapy. Dr. Dowis turned to an optometrist in college when he found he could not keep up with his reading. "All of a sudden I was doing something I had never done before: I was reading for pleasure. I like to do that for other people. I like to make a difference in people's lives."

Education: BS 1965 and OD Pacific University 1966