Most surprisingly, my view of the world changed in ways I couldn't have imagined. Ordinary objects looked extraordinary. Sink faucets popped out at me; light fixtures appeared to float in midair. Tree limbs reached out toward me or grew upward, enclosing palpable volumes of space. Snowflakes no longer appeared to be falling in one plane slightly in front of me but were falling at different depths all around me in a beautiful, three-dimensional dance. I felt myself immersed in a three-dimensional world.
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The key to 3-D vision
A visual impairment that condemns children to see in only two dimensions can go unrecognized for years and be mistaken for stigmatized disorders.
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So it was with great anticipation that I recently attended a showing of "Up," the new 3-D Disney/Pixar film. When I put on the Polaroid glasses at the theater last week, the film scenery bloomed into three dimensions. Balloons floated off the screen, and clouds receded far into the distance. Even the characters' noses seemed solid and palpable.
Combined with feelings of joy at my new view of 3-D movies were feelings of anger. Why hadn't anyone told me when I was a child that I lacked stereovision? Why had all my problems in school been blamed on my supposed lack of intelligence and not on my vision? Why hadn't my parents been told about optometric vision therapy? Why do these issues persist today?
Perhaps 3-D movies have more to offer than pure entertainment. With the growing number of 3-D films for children, more parents may spot visual deficits in their kids. Detecting these problems early and then seeking proper treatment can improve a child's vision and transform a child's life.
