Download to the session PowerPoint

Prepared for MAER 4/26/2012
 Spatial
perception is understanding the
space we need to move through or
manipulate objects within
 Vision
is the deriving of meaning and
direction of action as triggered by light
 Vision
is the primary human spatial
processing sense
 So
what if?
• You can’t see?
• OR Can’t see like you used to?
 Your
visual attention may be the key!
 Sight
• Sight loss (eyeball and eyeball wiring hardware) is
rarely total
 Vision
Vision loss is never total that I know of
 We can have vision without eyesight
• As many in attendance can attest to we see through
our eyes (eyesight) with our brain (vision)
 Mobility work depends on spatial processing (vision) in
the brain not the eyes
 Thinking in pictures (Visual thinking)
 Development
• Most are born seeing, but don’t understand what
we see (vision)
• Vision is learned
 Learned by bumping into reality with our sensory
systems (with mouthing, touch, hearing
proprioception and movement)
 Learned by figuring out the patterns of reality well
enough to even anticipate
 It is the last sensory system to fully mature
 Complex environmental interactions or movement
experiences are needed
 Movement is essential to spatial perception
 And visual development
 Therefore Vestibular and Cerebellar function is important as
well
 When working well vision leads and guides, when not
it interferes (John Streff OD)
 When mature it can substitute for the sensory systems
that helped it’s development
 Vision has been said to be hands extended
• Amblyopia (lazy eye), strabismus (wandering
eye), and learning related vision problems are a
lack of full visual development not usually a loss
of anything
 Lack of development
 Truly successful cures require addressing improper
development
• Most nearsightedness, astigmatism and
farsightedness can also be viewed in a
developmental light.
 Congenital
(Never had) and acquired
(had and lost)
 Loss of eyesight is not the loss of vision
 But, vision
without eyesight is not the
same
 “Not
the same” is the key issue
 Change
is never easy for anyone at
almost any time
 What
has changed with the loss of
eyesight (hardware) is how you now will
use vision with limited or different
eyesight as a part of the visual process
(software)
 The
role of automaticity or habituation
 Even
with full visual capacity you cannot
attend to everything all the time!
 Also true for hearing, smelling and
feeling (shoes?)
 Selective attention is an important
component of successful spatial
processing
 Changes to visual attention and how we
use eyesight in visual spatial processing
is what changes and needs to be
addressed
A
visual cure is making vision function
like it used to
 Many losses of eyesight have no cure, but
vision is still present
 It is not bad or unusual to look/hope for
cures
 It is not always realistic to expect cures
for many loss of sight conditions at least
in the immediate future
 Hope
to improve visual function with
rehabilitation is more realistic and
attainable
 Getting used to changing the way you
use vision is the key
• Silverware drawer example
• Practice over time
• Effort/habituation/ease of use
 Decreasing
effort is the way to reduce
eye strain (asthenopia)
 Trying to use old software with changed
(new) hardware is stressful and tiring
 Learning to use what is left (pieces of
eyesight, visual memory and spatial
vision) with the least amount of effort is
very important
 Part of any visual rehabilitation
 Two
approaches:
• 1) Limiting visual loss due to misuse or nonuse is
important
 Ex. peripheral vision
• Circling the wagons
 Self limitation
• Lots of research on visual field (attention)
restoration!
• 2) Learning to re-write software
 There is no substitute for hardware loss in any
sensory system
 There is a lot of brain plasticity research out there that
tells us making new software to run different
hardware is possible at any age
 Doesn’t it make sense to use all of our sensory
systems to rebuild dormant software or build new
software just like our vision developed to start with
 Look
Hard Look Soft procedure
• Ease eyestrain
 Visual
imagery/memory practice
• What you remember things to look like
• Visual closure-filling in the missing pieces
• Visual anticipation
 If
you think you can or you think you can’t
you are probably right! Henry Ford “The Secret”
 Hope and faith are important
 Learning is having the correct experience
at the correct time
 Expert guidance increases the odds new
software can be developed
 Acceptance of loss and getting support
• Psychology of loss
• Support groups
• Local Rehabilitation Team
 Loss
of eyesight can cause one to feel
unlucky, frustrated, anxious and/or
depressed
 There are no cures out there for many
eyesight conditions
 But there may be many rehabilitation
treatments that are possible
 For
those with eyesight or visual loss:
• You can do something!
• It is your choice
• It is your software and attention and only you can
change it
• You are in charge of how you choose to use your
eyes and your visual process

 For
the rehabilitation team:
• You are responsible for keeping abreast of new
science, new development in your field
• You need to learn how others learn in order to
use your knowledge about your field of
expertise in a positive way
• You are responsible to use everything you know
to help your patients improve the quality of life
with eyesight or visual loss
Rehabilitation
is a process
not a destination
 Thank
you for your attention today
 Questions?