mirror overlap
Mirror Overlap is an activity that is easy to imagine and so simple in its themes that many people overlook the potential insights patients may gain as a result of having spent time with it. It was at a presentation put on by Robert A. Kraskin, OD (Bob) that was part of a series of weekends done by members of the Institute of Behavioral Optometry (IBO), a study group in the Washington DC area that brought Mirror Overlap alive. These presentations were called “mind-sharing” weekends with Bob’s being scheduled in response to him sharing several times in the study group meetings that indeed most patients manifesting strabismus and/or amblyopia would find the curriculum of VT he published in his 36-chapter publication, “VT in Action” too developmentally challenging. Bob would say, “I teach them the trick of straightening their eye and then we jump right into VT as published in ‘VT in Action’.” So, we all asked, “Please show us the trick!” The new insights into Mirror Overlap helped transform this from a ho-hum activity, into a powerful activity enabling those who chose the developmental path of using themselves asymmetrically, down a new path to help them discover their own symmetrical control of themselves. Mirror Overlap relates to several other activities both horizontally and vertically in the Opsis Protocol.
Below are three sample mirrors which could be used to conduct the activity. For safety purposes it is best to NOT use a glass mirror. These will be sent home giving the patient the opportunity to explore the activity in various environments.
The optimal location for initiating this activity is the corner of a room, one wall of which is blank, and the other wall has a white board or a chalkboard. The idea for the blank wall is to minimize background visual noise. Most people who have chosen an asymmetric way of using their visual process have done so in order to continue using the binocular flow, but with one channel being used for the central detail flow. The blank background will typically be the background for you the therapist or for the home helper. You will be the target to be looked at with the eye/channel that needs more encouragement to be used consciously for central detail. Both having a blank wall behind you and having a real person as the target to look at helps the patient know where to look and what they should be seeing.
The mirror is placed in front of the fellow eye at a 45 degree angle as seen from above. That allows the patient, through
The basic configuration with the patient looking directly at the therapist with her left eye and looking through the mirror with her right eye. See picture to the right to see the Kris Adams demonstrating the technique.
Move the mirror first to explore. See below:
This shows what happens as the patient explores changing the angle of the mirror by pivoting at the nose. The image seen of the targets on the marker board will move as the mirror is moved.
Here I’m in the “Let-go” or “power off” position, or my baseline. I would make note of where I see the marks or symbols on the board, as seen in the mirror, relative to where I see the therapist in front of my left eye. Then I shift to the position seen to the right to see how I am changing what I see.
This setup allows the left eye/channel to have you the therapist as the target.
Here the movement of the images, one relative to another, are generated by the person voluntarily converging and then letting go. The mirror is NOT moved here.
This facilitates awareness of moving the channels one relative to the other by seeing the consequences of those movements. This is THE KRASKIN TRICK!!
In the “converged” or “power on” position. Here the object seen in the mirror would shift to the right of the prior position relative to where they see you in space. The more they converge the further to the right that image should swing. In addition, there is size change that might be seen by some. Let us know what you see!