{"id":8711,"date":"2020-10-26T11:40:22","date_gmt":"2020-10-26T11:40:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/?page_id=8711"},"modified":"2021-07-26T08:06:03","modified_gmt":"2021-07-26T08:06:03","slug":"does-amblyopia-lazy-eye-affect-eye-hand-coordination","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/vision-therapy\/vision-therapy-for-lazy-eye\/7-signs-your-child-might-have-a-lazy-eye\/does-amblyopia-lazy-eye-affect-eye-hand-coordination\/","title":{"rendered":"Does Amblyopia (Lazy Eye) Affect Eye-Hand Coordination?"},"content":{"rendered":"

What is a lazy eye and how does it develop?<\/b><\/h2>\n

Amblyopia<\/a>, commonly known as lazy eye, is a neuro-developmental vision condition that begins in early childhood, usually before age eight.<\/p>\n

A lazy eye develops when the neural connections between the eye and the brain are interrupted and one eye is unable to achieve normal visual acuity, even with corrective lenses.<\/p>\n

Lazy eye can be caused by an eye turn<\/a>, an ocular obstruction, such as a drooping eyelid (ptosis), a significantly high optical prescription, or even if there is a significant difference between the optical prescription of the two\u00a0 eyes.<\/p>\n

While any of these conditions may result in a lazy eye, the true underlying cause of lazy eye is a reaction in the brain, called suppression.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

Suppression occurs when the brain actively <\/i>ignores all of the visual information coming from one eye to avoid blurry or double vision (diplopia)<\/a>.<\/p>\n

What happens when you have a lazy eye?<\/b><\/h2>\n

Children with lazy eye are unable to achieve binocular vision, and therefore, often have difficulty with depth perception\u2014 seeing in 3D and judging spatial distances between objects<\/b>.<\/p>\n

Depth perception allows you to determine where you are in space, in relation to the objects around you.<\/p>\n

Depth perception is a necessary skill for accurate eye-hand coordination, and without it, a child may have difficulty playing sports or be labeled as \u201caccident prone\u201d.<\/p>\n

What is eye-hand coordination and why is it necessary?<\/b><\/h2>\n

Eye-hand coordination is the ability to coordinate visual information received through the eyes to control and direct hand movements for the achievement of any given task.<\/p>\n

This skill is typically learned as early as four months of age, and continues to develop as the child grows and reaches new milestones<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Basic eye-hand coordination skills include reaching, grasping, feeding, and dressing. But as an infant matures, eye-hand coordination skills become increasingly important for exploring toys and other objects, climbing, catching and hitting balls, drawing, writing, cutting and pasting.<\/p>\n

If you suspect your child has a lazy eye, contact an eye doctor<\/a>\u00a0near you, who can diagnose and treat the condition.<\/strong><\/p>\n

SEE RELATED: <\/strong>Why Test for 3D Vision?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\t

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Find a Vision Therapy Eye Doctor Near You<\/h3>\n\t\t\n\t
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