This is a guest blog about Skeffington and Vision from Linda who attended her first College of Optometrists in Vision Development meeting (www.covd.org) earlier this year. She would like to thank Mrs. Jessica Stevenson, COVT and Mr. Robert Nurision, COVT for doing an amazing job on teaching the course and helping her better under how vision and sight differ.
Most people think vision and sight is the same. Sight is the ability to achieve 20/20 when looking at a distance or near acuity chart, or the ability to see an image using your eyes. Vision is the process of interpreting what is seen, and gathering meaning and of understanding and integrating what has been seen with the information that is also received through touch, hearing, and even taste and smell. Dr. Nancy Torgeson referred to vision as “INPUT, PUTPUT, AND OUTPUT”. While sight is having the ability to see an image with the eyes, vision is a process composed of a set of skills and abilities which allow us to have meaningful interaction with this world.
Understanding Skeffington’s circles will help you understand that a person does not need sight to have vision. The first part of the circle is antigravity, which is understood to be “Where am I?” This circle explains balance and vision, or the sense of self in space. Through exploration, locomotion, and organization of oneself within the environment, it helps us to understand where we are in space. Babies learn this concept when they began to hold their head against the gravity of space. People who are no light perception can walk straight without sight, due to this anti-gravity concept. Antigravity teaches our brains that we have a zero-reference point with an equal left and right side of the body, and this helps us to be able to walk through space without veering or falling over.
The second is centering, which is considered to be “Where is it?” This is the positioning, attention, and orientation part of vision. Babies learn this when they become mobile. People with no light perception may still have an understanding of where things are in their home due to centering, which is why they don’t always bump into door frames and other things they cannot see. Our office often sees patients who have 20/20 vision but have poor centering after a brain injury and bump into everything even when they can see it.