NOAH AOC

Hi, everyone. I'd like to thank everyone whos has resonded to my previous question. It's so good to get feedback. I have another question. What is it like when your children watch TV?? My has always sat really close to the set since I could remember, but now that we have a widescreen, he still wants to sit up close. I think hes just accustomed to this now. I know that he can see it from the couch however maybe not as good because he still prefers to sit up close. I always get people who are new to visting us suprised to see how close he sits and always say that that's not good. My Doctor told me its not harmful at all since tv's dont send out radiation like they used to back when we were all warned when we were little about sitting so close. So anyhow, I was just wondering how the tv situation is with everyone else.

Hi,
My son is 4.5 y/o and he sits close too. I was also told that there is no harm to it anymore and we don't move him. It kind of annoys me when my parents try to shift him, they just can't understand he won't go blind sitting that close. He also used the computer and puts his face really close too. The worst problem we have found is he gets a really sore neck because of his head tilt.
Take care,
Kady.

I think that telling a visually impaired person not to sit too close to the tv because it's bad for their eyes is like telling a hearing impaired person not to use a hearing aid or turn up the volume because loud noises are bad for their ears! They do what they need to in order to see or hear better. Our daughter's eye dr. said that it is not bad for her eyes.

Hi

My name is Kristin and I am 19, with albinism. I always sat very close to the TV when i was little and I still do. It is not harmful or anything, its jsut nice to be able to see all the details on the screen, and sitting close up helps me do so. We also have a large screen tv at my house and i still sit pretty close to it- it just helps to see everything thats goin on better. I also sit very close to my computer screen.

My son sits close to the tv as well. We have to remind him from time to time to sit to one side, so that the rest of us can see (from the couch). I oftentimes will sit on the floor with him though, since he's up close by himself. One of his good friends has gotten use to this as well, and will sit up close with him too (even though he doesn't need to).

Anyway, it isn't dangerous, and as mentioned before, we should encourage kids with low vision to do whatever they need to to see better - that includes getting close to books, tvs and computer screens. ..

when i was little i used to sit on a little chair they put to the right of the tv screen so i wasn't in anyones way. now my glasses are a lot better and i can see the tv from outside of the room! now i try to sit on the couch when i watch tv, i can see most things except any words that are small. i luv watching SpongeBOb!!! lol

COmputers... I still sit pretty close to the comp tho.

**jennee**

Hello,

I am albino and I think I may know why your son sits close to the T.V. eventhough you have a large screen.

One thing is that our vision, even when corrected, isn't sensative to details and sharp edges. Second people with albinism have poor center vision, according to my eye doctor. Basically the center 20 degrees of the visual field is the sharpest vision that is used for reading things such as license plates, seeing the details of some one's face, ect. Your son may also have uncontrolled eye movements lik me. If he sits close it allows him to see in focus without having to tire his eyes, so it is not the size of the immage but the clairity between edges or lines in an image, second it is easier for him probably to move his head slightly to see different parts of an image rather than move his eyes around the screen like a better sighted person would do. Also, since his eyes probably move like mine, it is maybe easier for him to keep the T.V. in his entire field of view so he can concentrate and not be distracted by collateral images such as the cabinet of the T.V. or the entertainment center. I believe this may be right, but each person is different. I also sit close to the T.V. and I have a 35 inch set.

Jaime

Originally posted by kadyeighty:
Hi,
My son is 4.5 y/o and he sits close too. I was also told that there is no harm to it anymore and we don't move him. It kind of annoys me when my parents try to shift him, they just can't understand he won't go blind sitting that close. He also used the computer and puts his face really close too. The worst problem we have found is he gets a really sore neck because of his head tilt.
Take care,
Kady.

WOw Jaime, you just explained a lot! we have a 48 inch tv and my son always sits right in the front. I had always suggested that he move back to the couch, but he never wants to.
Thanks

We bought our daughter a 9 inch tv and hooked it up to the 27 inch set with wires from Radio Shack. On her 9 inch set, I've lowered the brightness, as I noticed her squinting at the regular setting. She gets very close. I imagine that being 6-12 inches from a 9 inch set is easier to see the whole screen at once than being very close to a large set. Also, she does not block the view of the rest of the family. The 9 inch set also has a VCR and plugs into the car, a bonus, as we take long road trips to visit family!

Hi,

Our two sons have albinism and we are currently TV shopping.

Currently we have a 27"TV and of course, they both sit side by side right in front on the floor. The TV is raised about 18" off the floor so they are perfectly lined up with the centre of it.

Like previously mentioned, people are still programmed to say to "sit back or you'll hurt your eyes"..that started out when coloured TV's used to throw off radiation when they were first
invented...not so now.

We were thinking about getting a large(50" plus) TV in high definition(if we won the lottery, that is, lol)until the staff at our country's only school for the blind/visually impaired(WRoss McDonald)in Canada told us a large screen just means that they would have MORE area for their eyes to scan over. The most important feature is high definition...it is as clear as it gets so they will have the best chance possible to see detail(no, it won't be crystal clear, as we would see, but as clear as you can get). Now we are thinking smaller screen(maybe 30-40 inches)and high def for sure.

The WRoss staff also said when I mentioned that I wanted the school to buy a larger computer monitor, that the same goes here...just makes for more area for their eyes to scan over. Right now the monitors are about 13-15 inches and both boys kneel on the desk with their noses to the monitor to use the school computer!! It was suggested that most important was about a 15 "monitor with a chair that adjusts for them to bring their faces right in front/centre of the monitor. The chair would be adjusted as they both grow and be "their chair".

Hope this helps. I at first, thought we'd go widecreen and about 60 "but now, in hindsight...