苏珊贝莉的新书与视觉有关

Mon, 07/20/2009 – 15:23 — billg

Neurobiologist Susan Barry finally found her 3-D vision at age 48 – with the help of vision therapy.

She’s just published a new book about her journey – 3 surgeries as a child fixed her cross eye – but not her vision – experts told her “that’s just the way it is” – adults can’t change their vision.

苏珊贝莉曾向位于北安普敦（Northampton, MA）的眼科视觉发展视光师咨询，即特蕾莎露杰萝医生（Dr. Theresa Ruggiero）。

若有兴趣，可阅读以下刊登在洛杉矶时报（6月22日，2009）的内容，  Or, listen to Susan’s story in an NPR Radio interview (click here).  VIDEO

建立3D视觉的关键

仅拥有平面视觉——这视觉缺陷或许多年来没有被正视，且被误为其它遭污名化的障碍。

写自于苏珊贝莉

June 22, 2009 I was 20 years old and a college student before I learned that I did not see the world like everyone else. I had been cross-eyed as a baby, but three childhood surgeries made my eyes look straight. Because my eyes looked normal, I assumed I saw normally too. But, in fact, I was stereoblind — unable to see in three dimensions.

这即是我无法感知物体间的深度，那些立体的物品像是一层层叠加着，让我在杂乱的环境中感到紧张和困惑。当我还是个孩子时，我不明白为何朋友会对View-Master （3D幻灯片观赏器）如此兴奋。原来，迪斯尼人物或超人在我眼前不突出（立体），我只看到平面的图像。

随着年龄增长，尤其是望向远处时，我的眼球总是会抖动。这使我很难在驾驶途中看清路标，丧失方向，也很容易迷路。

由于我的视觉，在校表现受到最大的影响。 我在阅读学习方面遇到了困难，一般的考试成绩也很差。学校把成绩差归咎于智力，而非我的视觉，所以我被分到放牛班。

That was in the early 1960s, but the situation hasn’t greatly improved today. Children are still not routinely tested for binocular vision deficits because the standard school vision exam (reading the eye chart with one eye at a time) doesn’t screen for defects in eye coordination or stereovision. As a result, many children with vision problems may be labeled learning disabled, or if they misbehave in frustration, diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Despite my visual shortcomings, when my husband and I took our children to Disney World 16 years ago, I insisted that we see the 3-D movies. As my kids watched gigantic insects fly off the screen toward us, they screamed and retreated to the safety of my lap. They were thrilled, and so was I. Although the bugs did not pop off the screen at me, I knew that my children’s view of the world was much more stable and depth-filled than mine, and that they were less likely to encounter the problems that I had faced in school.

Then, at age 48, I consulted a developmental optometrist who prescribed a program of optometric vision therapy, which taught me how to coordinate my eyes and see in stereo. With my new stereovision, I learned to play tennis and could drive with confidence and without fatigue.

最令我感到惊讶的是，我所看到的世界以无法想象的方式，改变了。普通的东西看起来不再普通了。水龙头从水槽“弹”出来； 灯具似乎漂浮在半空中；树枝伸向我，或向上生长；明显感觉到自己被空间包围着。 我面前的雪花不再是从上往下落的平面图，而是从不同地方落下，仿佛在三维空间跳着舞。 我像是沉浸在这立体世界。

因此，我极度期待迪士尼/皮克斯的新 3D 电影《Up》，上周就去看了。我在电影院戴上3D眼镜，那些画面立体地呈现在我眼前。气球从屏幕里飘了出来、云彩往远处褪去， 连角色的鼻子也显得真实可触。

看完了那部电影后的我感到非常喜悦，但同时也很愤怒。为什么没人在小时候说我缺乏立体视觉? 为什么我在校的所有问题归咎于智力，而不是视觉？为什么没人告诉我的父母有关眼科视觉神经治疗？为什么这些议题依然存在?

3D 电影也许不仅提供纯粹的娱乐。适合儿童观看的 3D 电影越来越多，父母发现孩子拥有视觉缺陷的机率也随之提高。 及早发现问题和寻求合适的治疗，孩子的视觉得以改善，也将改变他的人生。

苏珊·R·贝莉 (Susan R. Barry) 是霍利奥克山学院生物科学系的神经生物学教授，撰有《斜视康复之路》一书。

Source:  LA Times, June 22, 2009