Static in Vision

[Ohj1n37]

I hope this is appropriate. I was just wondering if anyone else with some form of autism has this issue. I see a reddish, orange, yellow, and green static in my vision all the time. Like television static. It gets really bad when I am in the dark or are looking at a blank wall. I have had this as long as I can remember and the eye doctor says there is nothing wrong with my eyes. It's probably something I need to ask my general practitioner. I was wondering if it could be an autism thing.

 

[Rigatoni]

I've experienced something very similar, which I've had for as long as I can remember. Although instead of being colored, I see a slight overlay of static that is black and white. Most of the time I don't even notice it, except if I'm looking at a solid color, at the sky or when it's dark.

I think it's mostly normal - probably just caused by how the eye developed. I don't have any signs of Autism that I know of. I also looked up at the sun a couple times when I was younger, which could have contributed to it.

Some people can actually have different color tints in both eyes, see static or have other visual anomalies, which all could just be related to the eye's development early on. I don't think it's related to Autism, but that's just my opinion.

 

[Sam91]

Is what your describing similar to when you have looked at something light or suddenly go into a dim room? Is it there briefly or all the time? Does it happen after staring at a screen? I get what you describe in those circumstances, I put it down to a visual memory of some part of the eye -> brain network.

When I close my eyes I get shadowy hues of colour too.

Also, do you have migraines? My gran used to say she saw lights before a migraine. Could it be related to migraines?

(I may or may not have autism. My cousin and daughter have autism diagnosies. I have sensory issues and socially a bit different. Infact, I have many traits and my college friends definitely think so. On balance, it's more likely that I do.)

 

[Ohj1n37]

Is what your describing similar to when you have looked at something light or suddenly go into a dim room?

Yes it is similar to this. The weird thing though is that it will not go away. It is always there. Even if I have been in a very dark room for many hours it is always there. It could be something somehow related.

 

[Sam91]

I'll try to remember to pay attention to it tomorrow night. It's halfpast midnight here and I'm going to sleep now. Have been laying in the dark looking at my phone so can't test what I see tonight. I think I've noticed what your referring to before.

Do you think it is sensory overload? Sometimes after a noisy day, even in silence, I can still hear a lot of white noise for a few hours after.

 

[GodLovesCats]

I know about many ASD symptoms and none of them are vision problems. It would not expect this one to be related in any way.

 

[Sam91]

I know about many ASD symptoms and none of them are vision problems. It would not expect this one to be related in any way.

Autism & Vision - College of Optometrists in Vision Development (COVD)

Visual Sensitivity and Autism

Color and Autism

(I also came across a forum where someone with autism was asking the same question as the OP.)

I wouldn't be too quick to rule out the link. My daughter has less commonly known traits not listed on symptom lists but are linked to autism and mentioned in scientific literature.

 

[Ohj1n37]

Do you think it is sensory overload?

I am not sure if it is sensory overload, something everyone sees, but doesn't notice, or some other problem.

Sometimes after a noisy day, even in silence, I can still hear a lot of white noise for a few hours after.

This reminds me of when I was hearing something in our dining room that was bothering me. After searching I found it was good sized moth flapping its wings while dying. My ears are fairly sensitive, but I am unsure if have experienced what you have shared.

The above is an example of associative memory. People with autism are said to have near effortless associative memory it can be nice and annoying. When something triggers it I go off on tangents because I feel almost obligated to share what I am remembering.

Autism & Vision - College of Optometrists in Vision Development (COVD)

Visual Sensitivity and Autism

Color and Autism

(I also came across a forum where someone with autism was asking the same question as the OP.)

I wouldn't be too quick to rule out the link. My daughter has less commonly known traits not listed on symptom lists but are linked to autism and mentioned in scientific literature.

I'll have to look at those links when I have time.

 

[GodLovesCats]

Anyone who says it takes no effort to remember stuff is either lying or exaggerating. What is so annoying is Iorge a lot I want to remember and think about things I want to forget, such as awful mistakes I made a long time ago.

 

[Ohj1n37]

Anyone who says it takes no effort to remember stuff is either lying or exaggerating.

People with autism are said to have near effortless associative memory it can be nice and annoying.

I got this from an article written by Temple Grandin.

What is so annoying is Iorge a lot I want to remember and think about things I want to forget, such as awful mistakes I made a long time ago.

When something triggers it I go off on tangents because I feel almost obligated to share what I am remembering.

This is exactly what I meant that it can be nice and annoying. I can pretty much never run out of things to talk about, but I will pull things up that I do not want to remember. My dad tells me it sounds like it causes more problems than it solves.

My short term memory on a previous IQ test was 74; 70 is considered borderline. This is frustrating because much of school is nothing, but memorization. All academic tests evaluate is memory. All my associative memory seems to be good at is doing nothing more than pull up random stuff when I do not necessarily need it.

Google associative memory; it may prove to be an interesting read.

Yes, overall my memory is really bad.

 

[Coleton Bryce Ritmanich]

I hope this is appropriate. I was just wondering if anyone else with some form of autism has this issue. I see a reddish, orange, yellow, and green static in my vision all the time. Like television static. It gets really bad when I am in the dark or are looking at a blank wall. I have had this as long as I can remember and the eye doctor says there is nothing wrong with my eyes. It's probably something I need to ask my general practitioner. I was wondering if it could be an autism thing.

Is that kind of like different colored dots of light that randomly appear in different sizes and colors? If so I have that too. Ever since I was a kid. I am an Aspie.

 

[Elixir]

I hope this is appropriate. I was just wondering if anyone else with some form of autism has this issue. I see a reddish, orange, yellow, and green static in my vision all the time. Like television static. It gets really bad when I am in the dark or are looking at a blank wall. I have had this as long as I can remember and the eye doctor says there is nothing wrong with my eyes. It's probably something I need to ask my general practitioner. I was wondering if it could be an autism thing.

I'm an aspie too, but I came down with psychosis and schizo-affective disorder in my early 20's. Since psychosis and getting on better medicine, the "visual snow" has really become apparent in december of last year (and, strangely, I experience short-sleep syndrome since then too). Though, visual snow is more or less a medical term, I'm curious if instead of it being noise a kind of synesthesia perhaps. There's been static in my vision at night, seeing blue entropic phenomena and floaters that I don't think I've ever taken note of but have had since childhood.

My night vision is actually pretty good I think, though the visual snow is there I see it on the surface of everything in addition to being in the air, so there is some sense of vision in almost total darkness for me but I have little depth perception without "visible light" in addition to whatever else visual snow is. In addition, it seems my color vision is excellent as far as I've been able to test with internet tests (but still there's limits here, because a computer monitor uses an artificial colorspace). But I don't see colored dots I think but more or less everything seems to be infused with the presence of this pulsating static.

It has been just within the past week, that now I seem to experience both broadband and pulsatile visual snow (first it was broadband / television static only). I really do hope that this condition confers some advantages in addition to where it can be sometimes down-right incapacitating, such as on bright summer days in parking lots for example, not to mention how nerve wracking the condition can be sometimes because it never goes away or stops, preventing silence of the senses except during sleep. So, God bless all!

 

[Rescued One]

Whoa! That's weird. Thanks for telling us about it.

My adult son has always been sensitive to bright lights; his eyes would water in bright sunlight or a flash bulb. I can't see in a make-up mirror that has a fluorescent light attached. My 100% blind grandson can't tolerate loud noises even if it's music.

 

[BryanJohnMaloney]

It is not normal. It is not part of autism. See an ophthamologist and a neurologist. Have them consult with each other.

 

[Ohj1n37]

Hey thanks for posting everyone I've learned that visual snow is probably due to an overactive part of the brain. For people with autism it is probably due to there being to many neurons and bad connections between them.

Something interesting I forgot to mention is that certain colors will cause the visual snow to become so bad that it is as if I have just looked at a very bright light such as the sun.

Honestly for the visual snow while being bad is bearable, but this probably because I am very use to having bad vision as I am very nearsighted.

It is not normal. It is not part of autism. See an ophthamologist and a neurologist. Have them consult with each other.

From what I have read and from the doctors I have talked to both a neurologist and optometrist it is nothing wrong with any part of my eyes, but it has to do with my brain and how it processes visual stimuli. Sadly there doesn't seem to be anything that can be done. It's not that bad because it could always be worse.