Odd Visual Perception

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I have Aspergers and have always been a creative visual type, and I have a very high IQ. But two years ago, I suddenly started to percieve images, such as words and pictures in three dimensions, like I am wearing 3D glasses. It was very sudden, where I sort of noticed it a couple times but I thought it was just a typical optical illusion where contrasting colors stick out. But then I saw it everywhere.

It is sometimes stronger than othere times. Sometimes it is really obvious, sometimes not. Some images I see it in stronger than others. Sometimes I try to pin down what exact criteria are required and I thought it was brightly colored contrasting colors, because they do it more than anything else(especially advertisements), but lots of times even black and white photos do it. It seems more like the individual image is the most important.

I have gotten used to it now, though sometimes when its real strong its kindof neat. But within the past few weeks something else randomly started. I have started to see movement in pictures and objects. Especially with patterns or complexity. I will look at a picture of trees for example, and it will look like the leaves are flowing and shifting. Sometimes I will look at an object and it will look like it is getting farther away or closer, or moving in relation to other things. But when I find the edge of the object and focus on it, the perceptions stops.

I don't know if these things have to do with aspergers or not, but they obviously are psychological in nature (its not my eyes). I am not crazy. I've never had hallucinations of voices or things that weren't there (I'm not sure if the perceptions I have count as hallucinations or not). I am actually relatively normal, and most people would be very surprised if I told them I was autistic--I am a bit "eccentric" but have good social skills (My brothers call me Kramer). I guess what makes me the most different is my thought processes, not very linear. I recently started taking adderol and stratera, and its really annoying how linear my thoughts have become. But I still percieve images the same way.

Does anyone know anything about this, or had wierd perceptions like these?

Ive always seen things that way.. words are especially bad they seem to move ever so slightly as I read but I never really thought much about it.

No idea the cause but at least for me its never caused any problems.

I don't know anything about this, but I think what you've just been going through is realtively cool! I'd love to be able to perceive images the way you do, what with the whole 3-D glasses effect thing. However, I'm not sure I'd like that nasuea 3-D glasses thing, and the high-contrast can get annoying, I imagine.

Actually now that I think about it I used to sit in geometry class with a blank piece of graph paper and watch the lines "shift" in and out of 3d (its hard to describe) and see what patterns they would make when I would get bored.

maybe it does have something to do with aspergers. I see things like this(and a m often distracted from very important things because of it). I do remember two years ago when i was in an amysement park on a class trip... i saw a green flower in a tree and no one else noticed it.. it was two different shades of green but it only stuck out to me.... the fower had a beautyful design and it is a shame people overlook it. we would need to ask some more people without as how they see things like this first... but it might

oh welcome to WP

Well it doesn't give me nausea, but I know what you are talking about, when I watch 3d movies it gives me a headache. But the perception is usually not as strong as 3d glasses give.

This sounds like Scotopic Sensitivity Syndrome, Irlen lenses can correct the problem and reduce dizziness etc. I have been contemplating getting glasses for soem time now. Computer screens are too glaring, when reading a book words move and the white page seems to glow. Look up the syndrome on the web or Irlen lenses.

This, or something like it, has come up before as I enquired here on the incidence of "visual stress" which proved very common. (I'm an optometrist, and have AS)

A variety of visual effects were reported, and it has been suggested that visual stability/comfort in some people can be improved by the use of the right tinted overlays/spectacles

http://www.essex.ac.uk/psychology/overlays/

Might provide a good non-commercial introduction to the subject.

I Just looked into it and I don't think Scotopic Sensitivity Syndrome is what it is. It has not hindered me, and actually makes pictures look more interesting. I have no problem reading. Words may shift, but only if I don't actually focus on them as I do when reading. Generally, when I focus on something, the point of focus doesn't move, but the area around it does.

But the weirdest thing is that the whole thing started only a few weeks ago. I am 20 and have never had this before. I don't know if its related to my 3d perception of images, but hose started suddenly as well when I was 18. But neither has caused me problems, so its not something i want to fix. In fact, its pretty neat!

Do you wear glasses?

I've had that 3D things-shifting kind of thing since I was maybe 15 or so, but always thought that it was because of my really bad eyesight (nearsighted, -9 diopters in my left eye, -7.5 right).

Yes. Well, I actually wear only contacts, having lost my glasses a couple years ago. But I've worn glasses since I was 13 and it didn't start then. Maybe it is because of differential eyesight in each eye.

Is the prescription difference big between left and right eyes for you?

Also I noticed a kind of color difference when I close my right eye, or when I close my left eye. For instance, things seem to look a bit more reddish or brownish when I look with just my right eye, compared to just my left eye. Didn't know if that might have something to do with it too, like my brain was processing images from each of my eyes differently. Or maybe there is something biologically different between my eyes like different rod/cone stuff??

"But neither has caused me problems, so its not something i want to fix. In fact, its pretty neat!"

Excellent, than! Go with the flow...

A variant on synesthesia?
Or if you can work out the particular factors that cause it... a whole new "magic picture" technology?

the prescription is the same, though I just remembered at the optometrist, there was a very slight difference, but not enough to warrant different lenses. I don't think thats the cause though because if it were, there would be more people who experience it and I've never met one.

I know what you mean about different colors in each eye. I've heard other people observe that as well.

Another type of synesthesia? Well the thought did cross my mind, and I read some on the internet about it earlier today. Very fascinating. My perception isn't like the ones described, but perhaps one could call it that. But at the same time, my perceptions aren't confused because the perceptions I have are all visual, they don't cross different senses. But within visual sense, I guess my perception is confused.

Lol! I'm not alone. I used to do this too. Wireframe pictures of cubes would suddenly "invert", as if they had been rotated about precisely 180 degrees on a plane perpendicular to the page. It was as if the flipping of the image would somehow define it's structure in my mind better.

I've actually just drawn the same image on a piece of paper in front of me, and got the same effect. This time I found I had to think about it quite hard though. Weird.

The other thing I used to love doing was staring at a chessboard, which would seemingly contract and expand as I stared, as well as a sort of "greying out" effect where the contrast would change randomly.

I get this kind of thing too. I also get the objects seeiming to zoom in or out ... it's kind of fun, but weird at the same time.