Question
My son is now 4 years old. His eyes were tested at pre-school last week and they claim he has zero depth perception. As an infant from 0 to 2 years he was raised by our Zulu nanny who piggybacked him all the time. A local optometrist in South Africa claim this may have caused his lack of depth perception. Do you agree - is this a possible cause and can it be corrected with exercise now that he has turned 4. Many thanks for any advice you may offer.
Answer
Hi Henry,
I would think idea of piggybacking causing lack of depth perception preposterous. He may be too young to test first of all. And if he really does have lack of depth perception the reason can be found. It could be a crossed or lazy eye or such a minimally misaligned eye that it would be hard to notice without a careful exam by a careful doctor. He should see a pediatric ophthalmologist or an optometrist good at pediatric eye movement exams. Practically,see if our son can do fine work,like threading a needle. The tests for depth perception are a little difficult to explain and observe for such a young age. Perhaps testing again is in order. But forget a cause like piggybacking; it would be from eye misalignment if anything.
Mitch Axelrod,OD
