Nintendo 3DS and Minecraft 3D

[moosemama]

I'm sure everyone already knows this, but thought I'd share our experience with you all, just in case.

Ds1 had a 3DS for his 11th birthday last week. He also had some special 3D glasses so he could use the 3D version of Minecraft.

One of the first things he did was put on the glasses and complain that they didn't work - he could still see the red lines out of alignment to the picture and no 3D effect.

I was a bit narked, thinking I'd been ripped off, as the seller insisted they were the right glasses for 3D Minecraft. So, I put them on myself. Generally I can't see 3D images very well, but I saw it fine, in fact it was really clear and effective. Next ds2 and then my Mum tried and the 3D effect worked for all of us.

Later that day he had a go on his new 3DS and said he preferred the 3D effect on about 2 - 2.3 instead of full effect (which I think is 3).

Since he got it he has been complaining of going dizzy and having a 'buzzy head'. Stupidly, I didn't make the connection until this morning that he's only been telling me this since he got the 3DS. (Being me I had instead been fretting about possible migraines and even worse. )

When he had a full eye check a couple of years ago they said his vision itself is fine, but he appeared to have problems relating to his binocular vision. At their suggestion, we investigated taking him to Aston University Vision Sciences to get it properly checked out, even got the application form and had a chat with them, but he was going through dx for his ASD at the time and having endless appointments. So we decided not to go ahead at that point.

I did discuss what the optician had said with ds2's consultant at the eye clinic and she said their orthoptists should be able to help him and if not they would refer on and I could ask the GP to refer him. We decided this might be the gentler way to approach things, as Aston involves some lengthy (a few hours at a time over a couple of days) assessments and tests and being a teaching clinic, having students involved and if they do the tests, having their assessments double checked etc.

Since then the optometry thing has reached the top of his to-do-list a couple of times, but always when he needed downtime from appointments and interventions. I had planned to do some of the computer exercises that Indigo recommended to me with him, but we never got around to it.

I now feel terrible - I should done something about this sooner - but it just never seemed to be the right time and something else always seemed to be higher priority.

Now, having looked up the 3DS this morning, it seems American Optometrists have said that if your child struggles to see 3D images and/or have problems using the 3DS it is usually a clear sign of binocular vision problems and they need to be seen by a development optometrist.

Anyway, despite being thoroughly ashamed of myself for not getting him seen sooner and feeling like the worst Mum in the world, I thought I'd share this with you all, in case it helps someone else to pick up problems with their dc's eyesight.

[paranoid2]

Thanks Moose. I?m in the same boat with DT2 who is also ASD and 11. I have been meaning to get him seen by a BO for ages but with other appointments and OT work, combined with school I haven?t got around to it.

I?m even worse because Dt2 is longsighted and has worn glasses since he was 2. He was seen by an orthoptist between the age of 2 and 10. I remember DT2 struggling to see 3D animals when she tested him but nothing was ever done about it. At the time I knew nothing much about binocular vision and I assumed at the time that there was not anything unusual about this in a 3 year old.
its only when his OT mentioned last year about going to see a BO that I connected this with his earlier vision issue.
It?s hard to do everything though. Although its easier for them to focus when they get older, there are more commitments re homework and its difficult to find the time to fit it all in. DT2 is quite tired when he gets home from school as he has weak processing speed and I think it?s a massve effort for him to get through the day especially as he has started secondary this year . Doing homework plus exercises is just something I haven?t been able to put him through yet although I am planning what I?m going to do in the summer months

[moosemama]

Thank you paranoid. It helps to know it's not just me that struggles to fit it all in.

Like your ds, ds1 has slow processing and between that at all the ASD related masking and coping he has to do at school, he really needs to just veg when he gets home.

I have both BO and dentist to organise for him, but between my physio, ds2's OT and pilates (for his hypermobility) and everything else there's never enough time in the day. Doesn't stop me feeling guilty and inadequate though.

We used to do a lot over the summer, but have been finding he increasingly needs a complete break then to get over the school year.

I'm dreading next year when he starts Secondary.

[bigbluebus]

One of DSs friends has problems with his eyesight (don't know the actual condition) and has always worn very thick glasses. He can't see movies/games in 3D at all - and just accepts that as part of his condition. He has had a lot of input from services over the years, so I'm sure if somethig could have been done about it, it would have been picked up by now. He doesn't let it bother him - he just watches the cheaper 2D versions of films at the cinema.

[insanityscratching]

Total hijack here but can I ask where you got Minecaft for 3ds please? Dd is obsessed with it and it would be great to have it on her ds as she has it on the laptop at home.

[moosemama]

It's not Minecraft for 3DS. Ds1 has just explained to me that it's within the Minecraft game itself - options, video settings, 3D Anaglyph.

He said other than the standard computer game, any Apple or Android device can use the Minecraft pocket edition, so smartphones, ipods or tablets.

Apparently the only DS version is an illegal one.

[insanityscratching]

Ah right thank you,I am so behind the times you see. Looks like I'll have to share my phone in the car then.

[paranoid2]

Moose I spent all of last year worrying about secondary but dt2 has coped very well, way better than I thought. If you had said he would know his timetable within a few weeks and organise his books and get them right each night I would never have believed it. At primary half the time he wouldn't know what homework he had but even with so many subjects he always seems to know what he has to do. He still has his issues but overall it's been a positive experience so hopefully the same will happen to your ds

[moosemama]

Me too insanity - I had to ask ds1 to explain it to me.

Paranoid, I think he'll be ok during the day at secondary. He has an LEA funded place at independent ms that has lots of experience of pupils with ASD and an excellent record.

Unfortunately it means an hour's travelling time there and back, on top of a longer school day and he's already exhausted at the end of the day, despite living across the road from his primary school. We had no choice - none of the secondary provision in our area would even begin to meet his needs - but we very nearly didn't go for it because of the amount of travel and longer days it will involve.

He is pleased he got into the secondary, but falling apart at the thought of leaving his primary and not going to the same school as his best friend. We are having tears on the way home every day as a result and his anxiety levels are through the roof.