Near-Far Clear Plastic Target
Purpose: To develop control and awareness of visual spatial information processing mechanisms
Apparatus: Clear plastic bull’s eye target and occluder (provided), large print calendar
Method:
Patient is directed to:
1. Cover left eye. Hold target at arm’s length before right eye. Align bull’s-eye directly on calendar target across the room.
2. Look from bull’s-eye to the calendar seen through the bull’s-eye.
3. Now shift visual attention to the bull’s-eye.
4. Feel the movement internally in the eye as he looks back and forth from calendar to bull’s-eye. The eye itself should not move. However, watch for changes in pupil size (smaller when looking close, larger when looking far).
5. Try to clear the bull’s-eye target while looking at the calendar across the room.
6. Try to clear the calendar while looking at the bull’s-eye target.
7. Keep both targets as clear as possible simultaneously.
8. How much space is seen between the bull’s-eye and the calendar? Try to see the space he knows is there. Use sound across the room at the calendar and feeling of fingers holding the bull’s-eye to help match the space seen between the two targets.
9. Repeat for the other eye.
10. As performance improves, gradually move target closer to the eye–up to six to eight inches.
Aspects to be Emphasized:
1. Feel the internal work or movement in the eye as you shift, centering from bull;s-eye to calendar and back.
2. See how clear patient can keep both targets simultaneously. Is it more difficult when looking at either the near or the far target?
3. Develop awareness of the space between the two targets. At first they might appear to be nearly superimposed in spite of KNOWING that a wide space exists between them. Fill the space with peripheral awareness of objects, movement and sound, while trying to SEE the space, and trying to feel eye move (internally) through the space. Patient should let arm and hand tell where the bull’s-eye target is, and his ears tell him where the calendar target is by tapping the wall along side of it. Now have patient try to see what he hears and feels.
