Factors associated with slow reading and impaired fine motor skills in children with amblyopia

Abstract - Amblyopia (‘lazy eye’) is the most common cause of monocular vision impairment among children, affecting 2 or 3 of every 100 children. Amblyopia commonly results when there is unbalanced binocular input during visual development, associated with strabismus (eye misalignment), anisometropia (unequal refractive error), and less commonly, unilateral cataract (blurry lens). Sensory and ocular motor deficits are well-established in the amblyopia literature. However, the functional consequences of amblyopia on the developing visuocognitive and visuomotor systems are less known. My previous research shows slow reading and poor fine motor ability in amblyopic children, even when they have one eye with normal visual acuity under binocular viewing conditions. Yet, causes of these impairments remain poorly understood. My current research focuses on the underlying causes of slow reading and fine motor impairments in children with amblyopia, strabismus, and cataract by assessing eye movements during reading, and eye and hand movements during visually-guided reaching and grasping. These studies aim to determine how sensory deficits (e.g., decreased visual acuity, impaired depth perception, interocular suppression), ocular motor dysfunction (gaze instability, abnormal eye movements), and deficits in visual planning and guidance of hand movements affect reading, reaching, and grasping in amblyopic children under binocular viewing conditions. Data from these experiments will determine the consequences of abnormal visual experience during development on the visuocognitive and visuomotor systems, provide information on sensory and motor integration during maturation, and aid in determining more effective amblyopia treatments and academic accommodations that allow amblyopic children to thrive.

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