The Wall Street Journal reports that Hollywood studios and TV manufacturers are banking on 3-D to be the next big thing in entertainment. But for people with certain eye problems, the idea of a 3-D movie isn’t much fun at all.

Between three million and nine million people in the U.S. have vision problems that would prevent them from watching 3-D movies and TV shows, even though they can see two-dimensional images, according to the American Optometric Association.

Normally, each eye views the world from a slightly different perspective, and when the brain puts the two images together, the person gets a sense of three dimensions. Movies using 3-D technology mimic this effect on a two-dimensional screen by using glasses to put one image in one eye and another, somewhat different, image in the other eye. But people who can’t coordinate their eyes well or focus appropriately can be unable to see the 3-D effects at all, said Dominick Maino, professor of pediatrics and binocular vision at the Illinois College of Optometry.

Even people with good vision could experience discomfort while watching because of the way 3-D technology works, said Lisa Park, a clinical assistant professor with the Department of Ophthamology at NYU’s Langone Medical Center. “You’re trying to force the eyes to look at two images and trying to trick the brain into thinking that the images are actually three-dimensional” — a situation that is bound to cause strain in some people, she said.

People with mild vision problems may feel discomfort or nausea and “will just close an eye through the whole movie” because of it, or they may experience dizziness or headaches but not associate them with their vision, Dr. Maino said.

Shannon Wyatt, a certified athletic trainer in Oak Park, Ill., said she felt nauseated after watching “Avatar” but chalked it up to low blood sugar until talking with Dr. Maino. “I saw the movie ‘Up,’ and I don’t think that bothered me a whole lot,” she said. “‘A Christmas Carol’ bothered me, but ‘Avatar’ was the worst.” She has since been undergoing therapy for what is known as a convergence disorder, in which the eyes are not able to turn toward each other adequately.

The American Optometric Association recommends that people see an eye doctor and be evaluated for binocular-vision dysfunction if they experience headaches, nausea or dizziness after watching 3-D programming.

Dr. Park said many people who are uncomfortable watching 3-D movies should avoid watching them, especially for long periods of time.

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According to the American Optometric Association, 60 percent of students identified as “problem learners” may actually have undetected vision problems. One of those problems could be something called convergence insufficiency.

“They said, ‘Oh he does have this convergence insufficiency in his eyes,’ and I thought, ‘Oh that’s a big name for something, what is it?” recalled mother Patty Walcott.

Walcott was surprised to learn that despite having 20/20 vision, her son, Clark, has C.I.

Convergence insufficiency is an eye movement disorder where the eyes don’t turn inward when focusing on a nearby object. For example, when you read or look at something up close you may not realize it, but your eyes should naturally turn inward. People with c-i have have to work harder to do this…

“I was getting a lot of headaches,” said Clark.

Headaches are one symptom, while others include difficulty concentrating, squinting or closing one eye, blurred vision, double vision and difficulty reading. For students, that can translate into a short attention span, fatigue and a tough time maintaining good grades.

Clark’s parents didn’t make a connection right away. They didn’t think his complaints matched what you would think to be an eye condition.

It’s estimated that anywhere from 5-12 percent of U.S. children may have the condition. But there may be many more that go undiagnosed because it can only be found with special eye-focusing tests. C.I. usually isn’t caught with standard eye chart tests.

Eye condition may seem like a learning problem-ABC7 Chicago

Pediatric optometrist with vision therapy training and specialized equipment can  correct this condition.

by Susan R. Barry, Ph.D.

Dr Susan Barry, Professor of Neurobiology

As another school year is brought to a close, we need to ask again why so many children struggle in their classes. Sometimes the answer is right in the front of our face.

When I was in second grade, I did miserably on a standardized achievement test. The school principal told my parents that I was, “a dim bulb,” and I was placed in a class with other “problem” children. But the principal was unaware of the connection between vision and reading. I was cross-eyed and, in the previous five years, my eyes had been surgically rearranged in their sockets three times. I had 20/20 eyesight with each eye, but even after the operations, my two eyes still did not point to the same place at the same time. In fact, when trying to read, I saw letters with my right eye that were to the left of those I saw with my left eye. No wonder I had trouble pinpointing the letters on the page and did not like to read.

Poor eye coordination affects more than the four percent of children who are cross-eyed or walleyed. An additional five percent of children (about one per classroom) have a condition called “convergence insufficiency.” Although their eyes look straight and they may coordinate them well for far viewing, they do not use them well when they look near. When they try to read, the letters appear blurry or doubled. Since a young child may not know that this is abnormal, he may not report what he sees to his teachers or parents. Sadly, this condition is not picked up by the standard school eye exam which tests only how well one eye sees at a distance of twenty feet. As a result, the child may be diagnosed with a learning disability, or if he misbehaves in frustration, with ADHD.

Even if a child’s vision disorder is diagnosed, it can be surprisingly difficult to obtain the proper treatment. According to a recent National Eye Institute study, the best treatment for convergence insufficiency is optometric vision therapy. Yet, ophthalmologists and pediatricians are not generally trained in vision therapy and don’t always refer the patients to the developmental/behavioral optometrists who are. Medical insurance companies may not cover the treatments making the vision therapy difficult to afford.

If we really want to help our children to learn, then we need to provide them with a thorough binocular vision exam before or at the time they enter kindergarten. Such testing could provide huge savings as children struggling with reading in school may then get the early intervention they need. Detecting vision problems early and seeking the right treatment can change a child’s vision and transform a child’s life.

Note: I wrote about this issue in a recent Op-Ed published in the Los Angeles Times and in my book, Fixing My Gaze.  Another good website to learn about the connection between vision and reading is here.

From Psychology Today

New York Times recently wrote an article about a child who was misdiagnosed with Autism/ADHD, when in fact she had a Convergence Insufficiency. This disorder is one of the easiest binocular disorders to treat with Vision Therapy.

As an infant, Raea Gragg was withdrawn and could not make eye contact. By preschool she needed to smell and squeeze every object she saw.

“She touched faces and would bring everything to mouth,” said her mother, Kara Gragg, of Lafayette, Calif. “She would go up to people, sniff them and touch their cheeks.”

Specialists conducted a battery of tests. The possible diagnoses mounted: autism spectrum disorder, neurofibromatosis, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety disorder.

A behavioral pediatrician prescribed three drugs for attention deficit and depression. The only constant was that Raea, now 9, did anything she could to avoid reading and writing.

Though she had already had two eye exams, finding her vision was 20/20, this year a school reading specialist suggested another. And this time the optometrist did what no one else had: he put his finger on Raea’s nose and moved it in and out. Her eyes jumped all over the place.

Within minutes he had the diagnosis: convergence insufficiency, in which the patient sees double because the eyes cannot work together at close range.

Experts estimate that 5 percent of school-age children have convergence insufficiency. They can suffer headaches, dizziness and nausea, which can lead to irritability, low self-esteem and inability to concentrate.

Read more at NY TImes