Dyspraxia - are you clumsy? + vision problems

Yes but - if I play 3D Mahjong religiously every morning till I hit a certain score for reflexes, and I practice hopping and balancing on one then the other leg for balance  and it gets better. My senior exercise class instructor also helps us with that. I have Meniere's in the left ear. I am not clumsy in the hands, just slower than average (hence the Mahjong).

I am legally blind on the right from un-diagnosed lazy eye. So will bump into anything on that side and must be especially careful when crossing streets.

Uhane said:

I am legally blind on the right from un-diagnosed lazy eye. So will bump into anything on that side and must be especially careful when crossing streets.

I have a lazy eye too, so maybe that's partly why I bump into things so much.

I believe the official term is amblyopia and there is a link with autism. According to this article more than half of children with autism had some form of amblyopia compared to children without autism

I had surgery on it when I was very young but I guess that wasn't successful. I also remember having to wear a patch over my good eye for large parts of my early childhood, in an attempt to force my brain to use the lazy eye. That didn't work either, as the only time I ever use that eye is if my good eye is completely covered. Numerous opticians have commented on the instantaneous switch that my brain does when my good eye is covered. 

Uhane said:

I am legally blind on the right from un-diagnosed lazy eye. So will bump into anything on that side and must be especially careful when crossing streets.

I have a lazy eye too, so maybe that's partly why I bump into things so much.

I believe the official term is amblyopia and there is a link with autism. According to this article more than half of children with autism had some form of amblyopia compared to children without autism

I had surgery on it when I was very young but I guess that wasn't successful. I also remember having to wear a patch over my good eye for large parts of my early childhood, in an attempt to force my brain to use the lazy eye. That didn't work either, as the only time I ever use that eye is if my good eye is completely covered. Numerous opticians have commented on the instantaneous switch that my brain does when my good eye is covered. 

yes I saw some of those, ehem, "comorbidities".

I also get the double vision when I tired and the lazy one wanders off, I can bring it back to heel but it's a signal I need to rest my eyes or sleep.

All very interesting.

I'm pleased to hear your 'bad' eye is improving. I had sort of assumed that mine would get worse through lack of use but I'm not sure. 

Currently the sight in my weaker eye isn't too bad. Everything is blurred but I can still read the top few lines on the opticians chart with corrective glasses. Perhaps all that patch treatment as a child actually did help and the sight on that eye would have been worse without it. I used to get double vision when I was younger, so at that stage my brain was still trying to use both eyes.  

Alas it still doesn't point ahead, it only moves if my stronger eye is closed or covered. That really only happens during an eye test or if I'm testing my vision myself. Otherwise it's pointing off to the side and not really doing anything. 

I have been doing more research into the link between autism and eye problems. I'll post some of my findings on the other thread you started, hopefully tomorrow.

fascinating article, Debbie! I am learning a lot from this thread. thanks.

thanks for this. My "bad" eye  - [bad eye, bad eye, sit, roll over!] - does follow along as if it were in the game somewhat but it just sees dim blotches or color and shapes. Odd thing is it is improving slowly. This, I am told is from progressive farsightedness. I am happy yours is pointing ahead now. What can you see out of it and has it changed much over the years? this is all very revelatory for me.

The 'switch' happens when my weak eye is suddenly called into service, as a result of my stronger (left) eye being covered or closed. I have a turn in my right eye which means it points outwards most of the time and it is mainly the white of my eye that is visible. That was what the surgery (I had when I was around 2) was supposed to correct but clearly didn't. My lazy (right) eye does its own thing (usually nothing at all) but when activated it will suddenly switch to looking straight ahead, to focus on whatever the good eye was looking at before being covered.

The opticians observing my eyes can see that movement, while I'm reading the letters from the chart on the wall during an eye test. I can test it myself to a certain extent in the mirror or when looking at something. For instance when I'm looking at my computer screen and close my weak eye nothing changes. If I close my good eye the whole screen shifts and everything becomes blurred and very difficult to see with my weak eye.

Unfortunately children will quickly pick up on these eye differences and use it as another reason to tease and bully. The fact that I have worn glasses from very young at least meant that most of it focused on that, with the usual 'specky four eyes' sort of name calling. Few actually looked beyond the thick glasses to notice that my eyes were pointing in different directions. 

A rabbit hole of further research into this is calling me. I vaguely remember reading something previously on this but I had no idea that the prevalence was so high until yesterday. A separate thread on these sort of issues is a good idea.

This article states "According to research, children with ASD present with a higher incidence of strabismus (eye turn) ranging from 21-50 percent prevalence, as compared to children without ASD. "

Mine was caught at a very early age, because the turn in my eye was so prominent and visible to others. Despite having surgery plus having to wear a patch for years it never corrected properly. I didn't 'cheat' either. Healthcare professionals still use patient blame even today, when their treatments fail to work 

Perhaps a lazy eye thread...

You always start really wonderful threads!

Do you not have it anymore?

Yes its a reason I feel a bit awkward driving too. sometimes there is no choice and I use the wipers to "register" where I am in the road, and my thumb to tell how far away something is. There are strategies - some I learned from my sculpture friend who lost one eye to a foundry accident.

That is fascinating, the switch! I want to experiment with that!! That is also fascinating about the stats of ND peeps with this condition! As I age the weak eye is improving ever so slightly too, not that it plays nice wit the dominant left one.

How can the eye doctor tell if you are "switching tracks" as it were?

I am so fascinated by your experience. Let's PM about it if you are uncomfortable doing so here an would also like to. thanks for this - This will go on the 3 goods things list today!

I was told, by a recent study group of eye doctors doing an experiment to reverse the condition, that if it is not caught within the first 3.5, 4 years it is too late. I had the infernal patch for over a year at 5-6yrs old while in first grade with no special accommodation.  Already the most kick-able kid around, I got tripped up a lot to howls of glee, and got the '3 eyes' moniker.

Maternal unit, when noting the failure to improve after one year of "good money spent", declared that I had cheated as the reason: par per for maternal unit.

Autonomistic said:

According to this article more than half of children with autism had some form of amblyopia compared to children without autism

I just checked out myopia (which I have acutely):

https://autism.org/vision-problems-common-in-children-with-autism/

So, myopia (and astigmatisms which I also have) are more common in autistic people.

I have a feeling I did have a slightly lazy eye as a small child too.

This is a fascinating off-shoot of the thread.

Thank you all for contributing to it.

Hi Uhane & Autonomistic, I have amblyopia too! My right eye can't see very well (everything is really blurry if I close my left one) which I believe causes poor depth perception. One of the reasons I don't drive. I was not aware that this is so common in people on the spectrum.

Wow I had no idea there might be connections between autism and lazy eye. I also had a lazy eye as a kid. I used to wear glasses with a cover.