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Son’s 3D Vision Problems
Dawn wrote:
Dr Langis Michaud's response:
Dear Dawn
3D vision is developing from 6 months of age up to 8 -10 years old. Each eye sees independently up to the age of 6 months, and after that, IF both images are similar in clarity and size, the brain begins to integrate them as a whole and make connections between the two hemispheres of our brain to this to happen.
In the case of your son, this never happened at 6 months of age because the right eye was lazy and never provided a sufficiently clear and sharp image to be considered as similar to the other eye’s image by the brain. You started vision therapy with appropriate visual correction (in glasses) and patching. The right eye had developed very well to the point that it can see now 20/25…. which is more than sufficient to contribute to the 3D vision.
In one word, I would be patient and let Mother Nature to do what she has to do. The period for the optimal development of the vision is not ended and your son can still progress up to the age of ten. However, we have to make sure that the evolution began and follows a natural course. On your side, make sure that your son is doing quality work with his eyes periodically. This means to read, to draw, to look at small details, to play video games (yes!,,, not for hours per day but reasonably). These activities will stimulate the eyes to work together.
Second step is to continue to see your optometrist at least every 6 months to measure the evolution of the 3D vision. At a given point (age 5-6), some visual exercises (orthoptics) can be prescribed by your optometrist as needed. If your optometrist is not very familiar with this type of training, he will certainly refer you to a colleague that can handle such cases.
In my book, behavioural optometry is not an answer to your concerns. If we talk about the same behavioural optometry that I know, its concept are not supported by scientific evidence and some approaches are highly controversial. Vision therapy or orthoptics is recognized, nowadays, as a scientific method to restore binocular vision. This is what we are teaching at Université de Montréal.
You are in the right pathway and as a mother, you already did what you had to do. Just go on with the same attitude and pay attention to your child’s progression.
Hoping that this will help you,
Dr Langis Michaud, optométriste, M.Sc. FAAO (Dipl).
Professeur Agrégé
École d’optométrie de l’U de Montréal.
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