Stereopsis - Is this only me?

[HoodieAnt]

I don't know what's the right word for this but it's hard to "feel space"???
I have a strange sense of balance, space is just like... it's like a lot of little transparent ants running in front of my eyes. (???)
It's hard to tell what it's like, it's pretty difficult to draw a straight line or to see slight differences in symmetry. I was able to lost on a simple, straight street!
But I can easily turn 2D cartoon things around in my head.

Also.. I'm mixed-handed, so I use both my right and left hands. I write and draw with my right hand, but I throw and catch with both. I don't know if that matters.

Do you think autism or ADHD can do things like that?
Ever since I was little I'm not good at anything that requires any kind of symmetry...

Thank you if anyone replies ^^'

 

[the_tortoise]

I have Autism and ADHD.

I’m mixed-handed also but I have strengths in visual-spatial processing rather than difficulties.

There is a sensory processing thing called proprioception which is important for us knowing where the various parts of our bodies are in space - I wonder if it is relevant to what you mean by “hard to ‘feel space’”?

 

[GadAbout]

I suppose that could be a feature of autism or ADHD, but it's not a core, defining feature, so it could also be due to brain injury, eyesight issues, or something else. Hard to tell.

 

[HoodieAnt]

It's more like my brain "tries to dim" spatial things to 2D. But yeah, I don't know why I wrote this. I was just wondering if anyone else had something similar.
I know where I am in space, but no matter how strong my glasses are, I still can't see the spatial things well.
Let's say the field of vision is like a screen. And it's a bit like the "pixels" on the "screen" are blinking. One pixel gets a little darker and the other pixel a bit lighter. And it's like everything is always moving, because of this 'pixel blinking'.

Symmetry is another thing. My dominant eye is the left, I'm mixed-handed, and my dominant foot is the right. And I guess I don't have dominant brain side. That's probably why nothing works as it should. ^^'

 

[GadAbout]

If this bothers you a lot or interferes with your functioning, I think the place to start is with a neurologist. Especially since you say you've had it since very young.

Cross-midline actions is a function of brain activity that is sometimes assessed after traumatic brain injury and so on. Maybe it's also assessed in autism, I really don't know.

There's a possibility you could improve in this realm with the right kind of occupational therapy and prescribed home exercises. Why don't you ask about that?

 

[Au Naturel]

Do you think autism or ADHD can do things like that?
Ever since I was little I'm not good at anything that requires any kind of symmetry...

Thank you if anyone replies ^^'

I don't know. Everyone is different.

I do know autism can mess with proprioception. That is the sense of where a body part is that you cannot see. It can mess with agility, manual dexterity, and eye-hand coordination. A lot of Aspie's report being extremely clumsy in sports and that activities like football, baseball or basketball are beyond them. This leads to tremendous amounts of bullying and low self valuation.

I have a difficult time judging close distance because one eye is much stronger than the other. The visual cortex for my right eye is badly underdeveloped - amblyopia. Didn't catch it until it was too late to fix it with a patch. At greater distances, binocular distance doesn't matter.

There is a recent computer program "RevitalVision" than can help adults with it.

 

[SusanLR]

I'm wondering if this could be what is called "visual snow?"
I had that most of the time until about age 18. Went to neurologist and eye doctors
that didn't know what I was talking about.
Now it is a documented visual problem and can be read about on various sites.
Very rare condition. Thought to be caused by overactive visual areas of the brain.

 

[SDRSpark]

I might be way off the mark here, but what you're saying reminds me of something in my own experience. It's very hard to describe. I say it "looks like radio static" - which only makes sense if you have a tendency towards synesthesia.

I remember being a child, asking my dad what it was that I was seeing, assuming everyone saw the same thing I did, because I thought it was a literal physical thing that could, of course, be observed by others. He had no idea what I was talking about.

Years later (in my early 20s actually) I inadvertently stumbled across the answer: Visual Snow (this article says white or black dots but I swear mine is full spectrum. Which I guess could count as white.)

Edit: I see Susan beat me to it! That's a great video, never seen that one before. That's the best demonstration of it that I've ever seen.

I don't know that it's that rare. I think most people probably don't realize it's out of the ordinary, much like I was in my 20s before I learned that not everyone sees the world this way. It's probably never diagnosed unless it's a new symptom, or interferes with life.

 

[HoodieAnt]

Wow, thank you, I think this answers my question.