Supplemental VT Exercises

Supplemental Vision Therapy

This is my response to Susanna’s question: How did you do VT on your own without an optometrist?  (which Lynda asked that I start in a new thread).

Instead of recounting my entire experience, I thought I could outline what I’ve been able to do without formal vision therapy and let this be a discussion thread where people can add supplemental or unorthodox means they have discovered in their transition from seeing in 2-D to 3-D.  I also want to say that I wish I could afford vision therapy, and imagine it would make this process much faster and easier for me, but unfortunately being an indebted student with no income, I don’t have much of a choice. 

Outlook

Fortunately, with contacts, I had 20/20 vision in each eye to begin with (I just looked through one at a time), so I was able to assume that my eyes were both functioning fine, I just had to learn to use them differently.  I also was able to speak with a vision therapist in Houston (before moving) who diagnosed me and told me I would be a prime candidate for VT.  My attitude has been that the world is my laboratory (or VT office), and that if I choose to, I can treat the process of perceiving about anything in it as an exercise in itself. 

Preconditions

I am positive that I was benefited by having grown up playing tennis and basketball.  I worked extremely hard at these and somehow maintained the attitude that if I worked hard enough I would succeed.  Of course, I had no idea what was actually making acquiring these skills so difficult.  I also think that learning to play guitar and growing up with video games has made learning to see easier for me. 

Exercises

            First, I think I’ve probably done most of the more common VT exercises that you are familiar with.  I made myself a Brock string, did pencil push-ups and tracking exercises, I bought a pair of anaglyph glasses, and have experimented with eye-patching.  Of course, I always wonder what I might be missing out on that would make this easier. 

            Then there is everything else I have more or less made-up as I go along.  I hope that others can add to this list as well:

-          A plane- One of the first things I worked on was seeing two sides of a piece of paper held to my nose at the same time.  Then I did the same with my hand.

-          Mirroring- I try to imagine depth in the mirror.  This is a mathematically satisfying exercise since I know that the distance to myself in the mirror is twice that of myself to the mirror.  For some reason this helps me.  At first, I also used the mirror as a way of learning to become aware of the muscles moving my eyes, and how certain movements felt.  T

-          Windows and doorways-these are great because you know when you look through them that everything is farther away on a z-axis. 

-          Drawing- I’ve been working through Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain which has been really helpful.  It’s a great source for feedback since before my drawings lacked depth.

-          Yoga

-          Basketball and tennis- I imagine that any sport that you enjoy helps.

-          Playing with a ball- I like to lie on my back and throw it in the air straight above my face.  I also suspended a ball from my ceiling and did eye tracking exercises with it. 

-          Video games with eye patching (especially first person shooters)

-          Fusion of lights in low light settings

-          Magic eye stereograms- I still don’t see these all the time.  But then again, a lot of my friends and family don’t either.

-          Eating- I think many people have commented on how they begin to pay much closer attention to what and how they’re eating.  One of my earliest joys was watching the spoon in my hand go in and out of my Dairy Queen frosty. 

-          Other odd things- I’ve done a lot of socially awkward things which involve acting like a kid (which produce the feeling and thrill of discovery).  If I see something that catches my eyes, I stop and enjoy it until I’m satisfied.  Sometimes I’ll kick fences or pick up rocks and throw them.  I even climbed a tree one day just for the hell of it.  These kind of physical interactions provide great immediate feedback as to the location of objects and the amount of space surrounding them. 

-          Imagination- I know this plays a role.  For an interesting take on spatial memory and imagination I suggest “Moonwalking with Einstein”.   

-          Nintendo 3ds- a lot of fun, plus the ability to take 3d pictures for viewing later is a great way of capturing those moments when I am really enjoying binocular vision

-          Sunlight- being outdoors and all types of movement help.

-          Prayer and faith

-          Relaxation- anything that calms me down.  Even a drink or two will often help.

-          Understanding the visual system- I’ve done a lot of reading to better understand the physical and cognitive aspects of the visual system.

Acceptance

This is probably the hardest part for me.  It’s hard to believe what I’ve been missing out on my whole life.  It’s hard to trust in a new way of seeing when I know that my old way got me where I am.  It’s hard to put in the time and effort with all of my extra-VT demands.  Sometimes I have a hard time accepting how beautiful the world can be, and sometimes I have a hard time accepting how ugly it can be.  Sometimes my brain wants to accept and use the images from both retinas, and sometimes it takes a lot more effort.  Sometimes the feeling of being immersed in the world can be thrilling and sometimes it can be frightening.  One quote that has stuck with me through all of this is: Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn’t go away.- Philip K. Dick.  So here I am, working to accept the reality that I can see in 3-D and trying to make it stick to the point that I no longer have to think about it.