Purpose: To develop awareness of control of centering in adverse ocular posturing.
Materials: Small stick with a letter attached.
Procedure:
Patient is instructed:
1. You are to stand in an erect postion, holding the stick in the hand corresponding to the eye you are training. Hold the stick straight ahead at arm’s length at your eye level. With your free hand, cover your other eye. If you are training the right eye, the stick is held in the right hand and your left hand is used to cover your left eye.
2. Move your target toward the right, keeping your arm rigid and allowing the movement to occur from the shoulder. You will soon reach a point where the letter will blur.
3. “Rock” the stick back and forth between clear and blurred vision on the target letter. However, you are concentrating on trying to keep the letter clear as long as possible.
4. You are expected to experience a strain and pulling sensation to the right eye. This is the point of true training.
5. “Rock” back and forth between blur-to-clear, trying to extend the arc of clear vision for at least 10 trials.
6. Now reverse the training situation, holding the stick in the left hand and covering your right eye with your right hand. Repeat the above training procedure. The movement of the target is outward to the left.
7. For training, each eye should be exercised twice, alternating right, left, right and left.
8. This procedure should be done twice daily, preferably in the morning and in the evening.
Aspects to be emphasized:
1. Hold your arm rigid as you move the target so that you maintain the maximum reading distance at all times.
2. Try to clear the target as much as possible at all times.
3. Follow your daily training schedule. Erect posture.
4. The patient must remember that for the utmost improvement of his visual problem, his own motivation is the key factor.
