An Individual Uses VISION as a FIRST RESPONDER
All rights reserved - Glen T. Steele, OD FOVDR FAAO and OPSIS Education Foundation 2026
An Individual Uses Vision as a First Responder
At the beginning of my talk at the KISS meeting a couple of years ago, I slammed my hand on the table and shouted Listen Up! As I watched each of those in attendance, to a person all LOOKED up to me to determine what was coming next. Not a single person turned their ear to “LISTEN” without first engaging through the process of looking.
A loud sound does not initiate only listening. In fact, vision becomes the initial response to determine the origin of the sound. Vision becomes engaged as soon as the sound is made to give direction and identification. Once an individual begins listening, they are already in the process of looking – the action to determine Where and What. Once location is determined, the What is next initiated through the action of LOOKING. Thus, vision is a first responder.
Listening is not eliminated; it simply that vision must be used to determine Where and What. A barely audible sound might involve closer listening than with a loud sound, however vision still becomes immediately engaged as the locator and identifier. There are many options used in response yet through vision is initiated as a first response to a disruption. It may be a response as simple as intentionally looking toward a sound versus intently attending in the direction of the sound. When any disruption occurs, the Gesell Cycles of Development engage and are led through the processes of vision. One DISRUPTS their current engagement to SORT THINGS OUT, INWARDIZES and then EXPANDS as they look toward the sound, and FITS TOGETHER the sound with their understanding.
This is shown so beautifully a section of Gesell’s cinematography at 4 months when a one inch cube is placed before the infant.1 Gesell shows that vision is already established and intently LOOKING before the hands can move to grasp and engage. The baby looks from hand to cube and back as if saying, “I want that but I don’t know how to get it yet.” Thus the visual process is becoming established well before intention and accuracy in reaching with hand. Vision is a first responder throughout life. When disruptions occur, a first reaction is to LOOK whether the origin is sound, touch, smell or even taste.
What is the responsibility of a first responder?
First, triage – sort out the immediate needs and priorities and direct necessary actions to address the situation. When there is any stimulus to the system, vision is a first responder that directs actions toward engagement. Such action(s) can be from gathering more information to engagement to avoidance altogether.
Throughout development, as one learns to LOOK more effectively, necessary responses will emerge so that we may better direct engagement. As we develop stronger scaffolding, we are better able to respond in action(s). We do not look because things are clear. We look to make things clear.2 We LOOK to assess WHEN, WHERE, and HOW to respond in determining our response to an action, object or person.
But this includes more than clarity of letters. When we “see clearer,” we are able to make better decisions. In many instances, we may be able to “see clear” but not be able to know where/how/when to respond. We must learn how to “LOOK” to see our options more “clearly” and be better able to guide our responses and engagement. If we don’t learn HOW to LOOK, vision has little to no value.
This is a concept that we talk all around but do not really address. Begin to use these words to describe the response to disruption. Vision begins to engage and through this process, the individual determines next steps or triage. Do I look, listen, sniff, feel, taste, etc. The child utilizes the visual process simultaneously as they probe more deeply into the situation. A first responder will triage - where are we, what do we need to do, where do we need to go, and how do we best manage this situation in a controlled manner led through the action and attention of vision!
The Individual Leads Through Looking
An individual’s thoughts control actions led through Vision, that is, where you look. If that connection is good, then we should be able to measure thought processes, what person is thinking, with Just Look Retinoscopy. We should really rescript our understanding of what goes into someone looking to engage. It is much more than a refraction or binocular issue. It involves intentionally directing attention to an action, object, or person by the individual. So we LOOK to determine not only what we are seeing but what we are hearing, feeling, smelling, and even tasting.
Moving Through Space
What stimulates directed movement in an infant and young child? A child who does not look, does not have the ability to look, or has not developed looking to the point of reaching beyond self is not stimulated by things outside of immediate surroundings. They are comfortable engaging with things inside their Circle of Understanding (concept to come in next post) but uncomfortable or unaware of things outside their Circle. It is important that our management plan includes stimulation of curiosity outside of their Circle of Understanding. When we do this, the processes of vision begin to take the lead in actions toward engagement to whet and satisfy their appetite and curiosity for items and objects outside their Circle of Understanding. When this is not considered in the management plan, the child may limit their actions outside the Circle and all processes of development will be “constrained.”
Thus, as vision engages in response to a stimulus, it must be considered as a first responder in intentional action and engagement.
References
Gesell, Infant Development, Greenwood Press, 1952
Steinman, Pizlo, Forofonova, Epelboim; Gaze is accurate in order to see clearly, not because targets can be seen clearly” Spatial Vision, 2002