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Abstract
In the four circle model, AM Skeffìngton proposed the idea of the anti-gravity system as one of the building blocks of vision. While the anti-gravity system is highly active in many vision therapy techniques, conditions can be arranged to ensure full engagement This paper will briefly discuss the tecto-pulvinar pathway and vestibular system and explain how they play a role in vision therapy as it relates to the anti-gravity system. Specific vision therapy procedures emphasizing the anti-gravity system will be discussed.
Keywords
anti-gravity, Bal-A-Vis-X, central-peripheral organization, Hart chart saccades, sensory integration, space fixator, tecto-pulvinar pathway, vestibular system, vision therapy
In school, I remember learning about the incredible detail and complex processes that go into making vision possible. During that time, the concepts focused on the neurophysiology of light and how the information was sent to the brain as useful pieces of life and information. The whole process was remarkable, but I seldom found clinical and real life applicability to what I was learning. I was taught an appreciation for how visual information was sent to specific areas of the brain resulting in visual processes like accommodation, vergence, saccades, pursuits, visual-spatial organization, and visual-vestibular integration. But, what if these visual processes do not function at their most optimal levels? What I wanted to know were vision therapy techniques that could help to turn on these visual pathways and lead to efficient visual processing and purposeful movements through space. I propose to integrate multiple neurological systems into vision therapy procedures to enhance the therapy. The goal of this paper is to provide a condensed explanation of the tecto-pulvinar pathway and vestibular system and integrate them into several vision therapy procedures.
There is little argument that vision is our dominant sense; its integration with other neurological systems and pathways shows that without an efficient visual system, we are at an extreme disadvantage when attempting to derive meaning from our surroundings. These neurological pathways process a wide range of visual tasks to keep our bodies in a state of clarity and equilibrium, as well as process information for all our senses.1 It is how we integrate this total system that allows for efficient, purposeful vision and movement.
Skeffington proposed his four circles model of vision and...