Discovering & using Amblyoplay as an adult has dramatically improved my vision & FAR exceeded my expectations.I learned to read aged 3 but it soon became apparent that I had great difficulty with any ball games as I couldn't judge distance. A school sight test revealed I had one strong long-sighted eye & a very weak short-sighted one. 1970s glasses, patches & frequent trips to the opthalmologist up to age 16 didn't really make a difference. At school, I found I could read words upside down, back to front & vertically (I now realise it was all about the shapes) but was hopeless with maths (which requires correct digit-by-digit accuracy, which wasn't possible as eye's didn't focus together). In adolescence & adulthood I suffered with visual disturbance, migraines, neck & shoulder strain - not really helped by a career in editing!Over time, my weaker right eye increasingly turned outwards, which looked weird & shattered my confidence, exacerbated by the thick convex balancing lens. The introduction of varifocal & thinner lenses was a significant improvement, but I was still hampered with judging distance & reading comfortably. The impact has got worse now the world has switched from passwords to pin numbers or codes & phone numbers. Even worse, all of these are now being presented as a string of (usually tiny) digits without any breaks, which puts me at a great disadvantage. Not to mention frustration.Completely unrelated to this, my son chose optometry as a degree. On an open day he discovered that computer programmes have been developed to help children with amblyopia. I had assumed it was a rare condition but is obviously far more common now. Not one for the shooting-based games, while looking for alternatives, I am very grateful to have discovered Amblyoplay.The programme’s exercises are based on standard (retro) games, including Tetris, Crossy Road, Flappy Bird, Catch the Birdie, Maze, Collect Shapes, Catch Monsters, Planets etc, all of which require specific eye movements. Regular Amblyoplay email articles explain how each helps and shares easily explained research. Unused to computer games I did need teenage help, as well as the tutorials, but have now honed my skills and settled on favourite games, based on challenge + enjoyment.The best part for someone non-competitive like me is that progress is entirely from your results, rather than external league tables. Amblyoplay does also provide for other family members, with stand-alone games that children & grandchildren can play alongside, to make it more fun. Daily sessions comprise 3 varied games & 2 standard eye movement exercises; a 20-minute break; then another 3 games & 2 exercises. Unexpectedly, the hour of time-out from life that these sessions bring has become immensely beneficial & important to me in terms of mental health. It’s rare to be able to be so self-absorbed with a positive activity: A real added bonus - as long as I turn the programme’s sound off! Though, some evenings it’s a rush to ensure the session is completed before midnight. If it overruns, the programme records the session as being on the following day, which can prevent sessions until the day after.Improvement relies on regular use & the programme gives very helpful motivation from feedback after each session + weekly email summaries. The first tangible feedback for me was from the Brock String where I progressed from finding it impossible to see the coloured balls (even with my glasses that contain a prism), to seeing them very easily without glasses. An admission here: I also gain motivations & huge satisfaction from the rewards of personalising the series of characters along the way. NB: If you’re desperate to gain sufficient points to finish a character; this can be helped by relatives playing the stand-alone games!After 11 months, my optician is very impressed & has now prescribed glasses that no longer exclude the weak eye, but use it.Best of all, as my binocular vision has improved so much reading is easier, I no longer drop as many things, my eye & neck strain have reduced ….. AND my right eye looks straighter in the socket rather than drifting to the side. He’s now finding out more about Amblyoplay to recommend it to other patients – so hopefully a good result for the Amblyoplay team too.THANK YOU TO THE AMBLYOPLAY TEAM FOR IMPROVING MY LIFE.
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AmblyoPlay is a vision therapy tool that kids perform by playing therapeutic games. It runs on tablets and computers and makes vision therapy engaging and fun! It addresses vision problems, such as lazy eye, crossed eyes, convergence insufficiency, double vision, and other binocular problems.
