Strabismus Solutions – Practical strategies to help manage and correct strabismus and amblyopia, from the patient's perspective.

Click here to read about last week's appointment. How did the Last Week Go? This week I experience more stereopsis than ever as I spent way more time on the road. I gained confidence and finally felt comfortable driving at night. I went to a fun live event with the life coach that I love listening to, Jody Moore. I drove by myself and wasn't able to leave until the afternoon which meant that I was driving into Salt Lake at dark, during evening traffic and a rain storm. The first half of the drive was amazing though. The clouds were gorgeous and so distracting! I was seeing with stereopsis and I was so distracted by their amazingness that I finally pulled over, gave myself 10 minutes to watch and be in awe and then got back on the road with a promise to keep my focus on driving. I NEVER drive at night. The whole reason I even started this vision journey was because I couldn't drive at night. So when we combined night with rain and traffic I was pretty terrified. I was seriously starting to panic and considered just pulling off and sleeping in my car instead of going all the way to my sister's house. Then something beautiful happened. I decided that I could drive at night. I decided that I was an amazing driver with awesome vision. I decided that rainy roads were only bad if I decided to panic. I turned on some fun music and decided to have fun on my drive. I decided to see the beauty in the rain. With all of these new thoughts, everything changed. I could suddenly see just fine. I made it there with no problems and felt so happy and confident. It is just further proof that vision therapy is a physical and mental and emotional battle. I can do all the exercises and homework, but I also have to believe that it is working and trust it and allow my brain to see in a new way. How did the Appointment Go? Right Eye ViewLeft Eye ViewMy eye turn when focusing on near objects, AKA my phone screen. Sometimes I feel like I'm being deceptive when I share my weekly progress pictures. When I focus at near the eye turn isn't bad at all, even when my right eye is focusing. This means that every time I take a straight-on selfie my eyes look straight. But in real life when I'm having conversations, there is a very strong eye turn still. I can still straighten them on command, but it takes too much concentration to do it all the time. Right Eye ViewBoth EyesLeft Eye ViewMy eye turn when focusing on distant objects, AKA the fence post out back. Virtual Reality Just the normal Optics Trainer fun here. Nothing new to report. I'm sure he messed with my prescription, per usual. I noticed that it was MUCH harder to do tappy birds than normal. Usually, I can get to level 6 or 7 pretty easily and I wasn't even able to get to level 2. He kept making adjustments and asking me lots of questions so I'm sure a lot of science was happening there. Marsden Ball I was introduced to a new exercise to do with my home exercises. There is a ball on a string and I swing it towards and away from me. I start with my arms straight out to the sides and then try to bring them in and catch the ball exactly on my palms. I'm supposed to keep both eyes engaged the whole time...which isn't a good look for me. I am really hoping that one day I'll be able to do all of this without looking really scared. LOL It is really challenging to keep both eyes focused on the ball the whole time so that is my work for this week. Keeping those eyes engaged on a moving target. Binovi Touch Board Today we just spend a few minutes and I did the touchboard with my left eye, then my right, and then both together. It is getting easier to hit the buttons right on, the shift seems to be lessening. VTS4- Computer Orthoptics Today we started with the stereopsis ring and I tried looking at it while standing on a balance board. As long as the "shake" feature is turned on, I am able to easily see the depth on the screen. Dr. Dan turned off the shake multiple times and I would try to hold the ring at the same depth, but I wasn't able to. The depth is just so much easier to see when the ring is moving. It is something we are working on and I have no doubt that I will get it! We tried to do "pursuits" on the TV today and I failed. There was a butterfly moving around the screen that I could see with one eye, then the other eye could see a box and I was trying to line them up together. I could see them both at the same time, but I couldn't get the images to overlap so it was really hard. I'm glad we tried, but Dr. Dan said it was too central and it would be better to wait until I'm ready for that. Brock String We just spent a few quick minutes on the Brock string so he could demonstrate some ways to improve. He covered and uncovered my right, weaker eye and asked me to try to see the difference. Was there more space? Was the bead more defined? Could I see the difference between using one vs two eyes? I will keep working on it this week! Homework Marsden Ball Games- Swing the ball and try to catch it with arms outstretched, first with an open palm, then with a fist. Make sure to keep both eyes engaged the whole time as it goes in and out.Polamirror- Spend 2 minutes with polarized glasses, looking in the mirror and increasing distance.3D Anaglyphs- Watch 3-5 minutes of 3D anaglyph movies on YouTube and work on getting the depth. Try scooting back away from the TV further.Brock String- Do all the things and make it better. Cover and uncover eyes and try to see the difference.Virtual Reality- Spend 10 minutes on Optics Trainer, use other apps to see the SPACE!Read with both eyes engaged- Only 5 minutes each day! No going overboard and killing my brain allowed!

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