I thought I’d share something with you!
Not alot of people know about this condition with your eyes. Called nystagmus I have it basically it’s involuntary movement of the eyeball, but there are other well symptoms I guess you’d call them. I was born with it so I have had it all my life and I’m 15 now. If anyone has questions about it I won’t be offended and I don’t mind at all!
When I was born doctors were very stupid I think only 1 in 1,000 people or something like that has it and here in Ireland it’s not very common at all. So doctors thought my eyes moving meant something alot worse then it did! I was shipped from hospital to hospital where one doctor told my family I had cancer! (they were tempted to sue the doctor!) but gladly they went to more hospitals where they were told it is not cancer at all it’s just nystagmus!
Yeah I said just nystagmus so if you have a child who may have it or if you know someone who has it I wouldn’t worry it’s not the end of the world! I used to think it was I used to be so upset by it and I wished everyday that it would go away and I could just be “normal” but nystagmus isn’t who you are it’s just one of the things that makes you different. It doesn’t stop people from doing things they want to in life driving may be a problem for some but with my nystagmus I do think I will be able to drive with alot of work and practice though seeing road signs is a bit of a problem I think I can work around that when I’m older.
The only times when my nystagmus bothers me really is at school school isn’t hard for me my brain functions just the same as anyone else’s it’s just seeing the damn board is the worst thing ever and also when the teacher is talking my eyes tend to get bored and just go for a dart around my eye socket! Basically nystagmus is when you have playful eyes!
Teachers do think I’m not paying attention when I’m fully listening my eyes may be looking out the window but I am listening then other times I’m really not listening because well school is boring! My eyes shake more when I look to the side and when I’m tired upset stressed or just trying to focus on something that I can’t see for too long I get a really bad headache if i try too hard to focus on something!
If the person with nystagmus has the option at school to get a laptop to magnify things down to the screen (called the opti verso) I would NOT advise you to get it..I have it at school and it’s just gathering dust because it genuinely doesn’t help it’s not just my need to not stick out it’s that it doesn’t help me see that board.
Because the laptop screen is fairly far away for a person with nystagmus and no matter how close the picture on the screen is on the screen I am still going to have to put my face very close to the screen to see it. If you are looking for help at school for a child the best option is just getting the teacher to print off a copy of the notes for the child so he/she can write them down into their book from this copy they’re still writing it down so it’s sinking in and they’re not sticking out like a sour thumb or straining themselves trying to see when they’re not going to be able to!
I have no problem with reading or going on my phone or stuff like that I just tend to hold it very close to my face which doesn’t annoy me at all!
I tend to fall alot too like just trip over air! I don’t know if I’m just a clumsy person or if it’s due to the fact that I take a minute to focus on things including the ground so my leg just gives up on me! This is annoying but could just be me!
Anyway this is all just my point of view with it everyone’s different though!
If anyone has any questions no matter how stupid they may seem I have no problem with answering them! So yeah that’s my little sort of fact about me hehe :P
