Welcome to Eye Formation!
I see the world as flat, sometimes, if there is not a distinct reference or change to provide guidance to it being different.
70 Years Of Life Lacking Depth Perception
This site is focused on my life experiences, both serious and humorous, living with alternating exotropia
or as I affectionately refer to my eye condition - tag-team eyes.
"What's the big deal?" one asks.
To answer that I suggest taking a glass and placing it before you.
Is it easy to see where the rim of the glass is located?
Now place another glass sideways before your eyes, and attempt to fill the glass on the table while not removing the one before your eyes."
Is that a bit of a challenge? Do you find it difficult to judge the distance to the glass, and when it may be full - if you actually are able to fill it?
This is just one example of how challenging living with a lack of depth perception on a daily basis can be.
Welcome to the grade school experience.
Kindergarten was like I lived in two different worlds. All while attending school in two different locations.
Both teachers were patient and wonderful. Only I did not know this about the first teacher.
Older siblings painted her as a mean person who had pushed a kid on crutches down the stairs. So I was terrified from day one.
Every time she even looked my way, I would burst out crying. Terrified she was going to push me down the stairs, or hurt me.
Every day, my older sister in 10th Grade - at the nearby high school - would be called to pick me up and take me home.
She even stayed in class with me, one time, from the moment I arrived in class.
Our parents and the school were trying to figure out why I constantly cried and needed to be sent home.
My sister beside me felt good. But, as soon as the teacher looked at me, floodgates opened again, and home we went.
The move that changed it all.
We moved to a new home, in a new location, and a different school, about halfway through the school year.
I am sure the new teacher received a glowing review of my charming behaviour. Okay, glowing is a bit much - a warning in bright red, perhaps.
But, what she received was a well-behaved, shy, quiet child. No tears, interest to learn, not talkative, but content, and interacting as one would expect.
In fact, I am pretty sure she wondered what went on at my other school; because none of that behaviour ever surfaced in her class. I even became a bit of a teacher's pet.