I am switching up the way I run this blog, I am going to do a synopsis of my in-office appointments, home exercises, and progress pictures monthly instead of with each appointment. I want to spend more time adding different types of content and this will free up some time!
Overall February wasn’t ideal as far as VT goes, but I tried to make the most of it! I only had 2 appointments and ended up getting sick for the first half and nursing my little 8 year old after her appendix surgery for the second half.
My progress pictures look pretty similar to the last ones, my eyes look straight, but you can tell that they just aren’t engaged on the same level. There is something missing and some vertical deviation.
February Home Exercise Highlights
Vivid Vision
I kept pushing forward and worked really hard still, although the progress doesn’t seem too noticeable. Luckily, I was able to start Vivid Vision again at the beginning of the month and it makes such a huge difference.
I was able to keep up with Vivid Vision at least 5 days a week, sometimes 6 for the whole month. Dr. Dan is adjusting the settings quite a bit and is challenging me! I have been playing Pepper Picker, Breaker, Ring Runner, Bubbles, Vergence and doing Stereo Acuity and Worth 4 Dot tests.
In most games I feel like I have stayed the same, but I have noticed a difference with the Worth 4 Dot test. Each eye sees one circle with dots in it and the goal is to combine them into one circle.
I get to try 5 or 6 times and each time it gets closer to me. I have been able to combine the circles at the closets level for several months, but I am able to see it further away now so I know I am improving.
I can see everything all lined up in the two closest positions, I can see the circles overlap, but the dots aren’t lined up for the next two, and the furthest positions are completely double. Even getting the two circles to overlap is exciting for me. Getting the dots to line up exactly is really tough.
Balance Board
I made my own balance board this month and have loved using it with my home exercises. I have used it with my gem vectograph, peripheral sticky notes, and head turns. I feel like it really helps my brain be more alert and helps me see more depth during my exercises.
The Gem is a challenge, but wearing my prism glasses and using the balance board helps me see more depth.
I can feel my brain turn on and my eyes are able to sense and almost see the added depth when I’m activating my vestibular system with balance.
Making My Own Exercises
I have been having a lot of success with some of the computer exercises I’ve been designing for myself. They are awesome, if I do say so myself. One of the major difficulties I have with all exercises is that they go from easy to hard and there is no middle ground to help ease me into being able to do the more difficult exercises.
I’ve created some activities with better bridges and they are helping so much. You can buy them in my shop if you are interested in trying them out.
Daily Life Highlights
Daily life has been very normal, except for one specific day where I had some really crazy visual symptoms.
Here is what I shared right afterwards on Instagram:
“Today I had a friend over and between us and some extras there were 7 kids running around. They all felt like they were inside my bubble, even the ones across the house. It was a very claustrophobic feeling. I just wanted to close my eyes and plug my ears.
I couldn’t focus on our conversation and lost my train of thought several times.
After she left, I decided that I just needed a break from kids so I got in the car to go to the store for a breather.
And then I realized it wasn’t the kids, it was something very unusual happening inside my brain.
I reached for an orange and pulled my arm back sharply because it was like they were too much and too close. My brain was on the defense, as if all the “stuff” might attack at any second.
Everything was everywhere and just so incredibly over stimulating. How can something you see be too loud with no noise? Visual noise? I think I’ve heard that before, but I don’t know that I’ve experienced it before.
My subconscious was in defense/attack mode, even though my conscious brain knew that the lady who turned in front of me 10 feet away was definitely not inconsiderately within my bubble.
I suddenly had the strongest urge to press my spine up against something and push really hard. Every new thing that I saw made my heart race.
I found myself chewing on my coat randomly and walking with my eyes closed.
I awkwardly stayed quiet when people offered a greeting or waved because I just wasn’t processing what they were saying.
I felt actual anger towards the balloon garlands. How dare they be so intrusive?!
And now I am safe in the car and I feel grateful. I realized that there are people who probably feel like this every single second of every day and have to just deal with it. I know it will pass for me, and that makes me pretty dang lucky.”
Looking back, I can see that I worked super hard that morning on my exercises and I was probably tired from that, but I also wasn’t well rested and hadn’t been eating that healthy for the few days prior. My brain needs healthy food and sleep to be able to manage the side effects of therapy. I can push so much harder and handle so much more when my brain is working top notch!
It was fascinating because I was acting in a way that I have watched many autistic children act. I was amazed to return home and realize that staring at the TV made all the symptoms completely go away. It made me feel so curious about it all. Do these kids have visual problems? Could vision therapy lesson their symptoms? How do people live like that? I have a new respect for people who live with that sort of visual problem all the time. Luckily, I woke up feeling pretty normal the next day.
Appointment Highlights
I wrote about the first appointment in February already over here, but my appointment last week went okay.
I was honestly a total mess when I came and about burst into tears a few times. My daughter was having some weird side effects from surgery and I was not handling it the best so I was so distracted!
We worked with balancing and yoked prism glasses and it took about 10 minute for me to calibrate, usually it only takes a minute or two. At one point I felt so overwhelmed, I thought I was going to cry…which made me laugh out loud. I’m not much of a crier, so it was a strange sensation.
I saw some amazing depth with BO on VTS4, but only got up to 9 on BI. The depth was pretty amazing!
We also worked on chalkboard circles and had a pretty cool set up. He put the gem on the whiteboard so that I could make sure both eyes were engaging and then I did the circles on either side. It worked pretty well, but it was definitely a challenge to get the circles to be even.
He sent me home with Chalkboard Circles, Red/Green Activities (the ones I made), Gem, and Vivid Vision for home exercises. I am also supposed to wear my prism glasses every other day.
And that’s a wrap. It was a good month, but I have plans to make March even better. Wish me luck!