Appointment 21 – See the Space

Click here to read about last week’s appointment.

How did the Last Week Go?

The last week has been great. With only four different exercises for homework I was more consistent and put more into each one. I feel like I can delve a little deeper instead of spreading myself thin.

I am still struggling with the Brock String and seem to have regressed. Crossing my eyes in free space is a struggle! I used to have an easier time, but I feel like there’s been a block there the last few weeks. It will pass, just like all of the other moments of regression that I’ve experienced in this process.

I made a little tool to use with my Gem Vectograph and it is working really well. I just took a pipe cleaner and put a few beads on it. Then I curled it over to make a small loop. When I tap the cards I can see that my finger goes through the ring, but when I am using something besides my finger, I feel like I’m able to see the depth and visualize the space a little more easily.

I start with the wand touching the ring and then I slowly move it towards me and back again. Then I increase or decrease the base out (I think) demand so that the ring appears closer and try it again. I am able to see the wand behind of, even with, and in front of the ring and it is really helping my brain.

Because I need about four arms to do this I have been taping it onto the window to help, but I can’t put my wand behind the window…unless I want to freeze to death, so it doesn’t work for base in (when the ring appears to go back).

I figured out an expert tip! Just tape it to the counter and get some squats in at the same time. Photo credit: Eloise (7) who took 1 million pictures with my phone while I wasn’t paying attention during my therapy session.

I’m still not there with seeing the space. How do I look for something that isn’t there? Luckily, I’ve seen the space in real life a few times and am experiencing it more and more within virtual reality. It is coming, my brain just needs a lot of coaxing.

How did the Appointment Go?

The appointment was great. We made more progress, I got new ideas and I don’t feel horribly sick…yet. Things are good!

I realized that my eye alignment totally changes based on where I am looking. The closer an object, the easier it is for me to align my eyes when I look at it. For the first set of pictures I am looking directly at my phone. The outside pictures are me looking with a relaxed gaze with each eye. The middle is me trying to focus both eyes. The good news is that focusing with both eyes and a relaxed gaze with my left eye look almost identical! So awesome!

In the second group of pictures I am focusing on a swing in my backyard. I wish I had taken a second picture of my “right eye view” because in this one you can see that my right eye isn’t fully engaged, both eyes are more centered in the middle picture. Oh well, it still shows that the alignment at near is getting much better!

Binovi Touch Board

Today I did the touch board while standing on half of what looked like a yoga ball. I could not keep myself steady whatsoever. I am slowly improving. The hardest part is trying to push the buttons exactly on the first try. Because my eyes shift, the buttons are not always where I perceive they will be. I can really “look” hard and it helps. Looking hard doesn’t mean straining, it’s more of an intentional look instead of passive looking.

Today my scores with my right eye were 62,72, and 73 in one minute. With my left eye I did 75 and 85! I think that was a new high score.

Chain Vectograph

Dr. Dan, Matt the Vision Therapist, and I all worked together on this one. One held the cards, the other held a pen with a crazy looking monster on the end and I summoned my focusing/relaxing/periphery/stereopsis powers and tried to “see.”

I am working to visualize the space between and it is helping. I was able to have quite a bit of success when the ring were going back. Sometimes I have more success when I’m alone because they always talk to me in the office and I can’t talk and see at the same time. haha

Flash Light Push-Ups

Usually, people do pencil push-ups in vision therapy, but today I did it with a flash light…or at least attempted to do it. I couldn’t really tell if I was getting it so Dr. Dan gave me red/green glasses and I pretty much saw double the whole time and really struggled to mesh the red and green light into one.

So I guess I’ll keep working on it throughout the next week.

VTS4

Today we tried something new and put a full size post-it on the screen of the TV while the huge ring was on the screen. It really made a big difference and I saw much more depth and space than I normally do. I was even able to see the ring in front of or behind the screen without the shake feature on.

Dr. Dan is pushing me to see the ring with my central vision and the sticky note double with my peripheral. This proves to be very challenging for me, but I will get it eventually!

I love VTS4! I don’t know what kind of technology it uses, but I feel like I can see things WAY better when we are using that program. It helps prepare me for the real world.

On the way home I think I was experiencing some stereopsis! The road just looked so different. Like it went on forever and ever with all the telephone poles and trees down the sides it was like this huge expansive tunnel. But it wasn’t a tunnel because it felt like I was seeing the entire world all at once! Is that what roads normally look like?!? 

Homework

1. Flash Light Push Ups- Wear red/green glasses and bring a flashlight closer and further while trying to focus both eyes on it. He wrote “try to bring the light in and out and feel the change.” I don’t remember what that means so I may be sending him a quick email for clarification on that one.
2. Brock String- Open Periphery and try to see double with the beads before and after the one I’m concentrating on. Use red/blue glasses to help give feedback. Cover and uncover each eye and notice the shift. 
3. Gem Vectogram- Tape it to the window and work on visualizing it in front of or behind the window. Hold a target between me and the window and use that as a reference point to visualize it more easily.
4. Virtual Reality- See the SPACE!