Baker 1

Alyssa Baker

Instructor Jack Visnaw

Writing 121

18 October 2018

Visual impairments and coping mechanisms in athletic children

Growing up, I didn’t realize that I was half-blind. I played outside with my siblings,

participated in various sports, and had insignificant check-ups at the doctor’s office. Nothing

appeared to be out of the ordinary, so my parents were not worried. However, my school nurse

discovered that my eyes were not so great during a school-sponsored eye exam. When I visited

an ophthalmologist for the first time during second grade, I discovered that I would permanently

lose the vision in my right eye.

I live with amblyopia, which is also known as lazy eye (“Amblyopia”). Because the

vision in my right eye is so poor, my brain ignores any messages sent to it from my right eye. As

a result, I have a difficult time driving, I run into walls, and I can’t see people sitting right next to

me. This visual impairment has affected every aspect in my life, including sports.

I played basketball from the time I started elementary school to my last year of high

school, and I also played softball in between. These sports required a lot of patience on my part,

as I couldn’t see half of whatever was going on. However, the connection between my visual

impairment and my athletic performance didn’t occur to me until my varsity basketball coach

acknowledged my rapid head movements. My head was constantly on a swivel to maintain

awareness of the court. This coping mechanism was accompanied by my favoritism of the right

side of the court, as well as my inability to complete left-hand layups.

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Looking back, I wish my parents noticed that I had a severe vision impairment sooner

than they did. If they had noticed my tendencies during sports, I might have my vision today. By

attentively watching children play sports, parents and coaches could potentially recognize visual

coping mechanisms and take the appropriate steps to help the child receive treatment.

Amblyopia, myopia (nearsightedness), and hyperopia (farsightedness) may lead to different

coping mechanisms in athletic children.

Amblyopia is “the most common cause of visual impairment among children” (“Facts

About Amblyopia”). This disorder can be caused by uneven vision in the eyes; moreover, there

are many possible factors that can contribute to a lazy eye. Cataracts, myopia, hyperopia, or

astigmatism can be contributing factors. Because there are many possible issues that can lead to

this potentially permanent visual impairment, it is important to find the cause of the disorder for

proper treatment.

Lazy eyes are treatable when the affected individual is still young (“Facts About

Amblyopia”), and research suggests that treatment could potentially be helpful in adolescents

(“Randomized”). Treatment may include corrective lenses, the application of an eye patch during

regular activities, or atropine eye drops (“Facts About Amblyopia”). If an individual with

amblyopia does not receive treatment for this visual impairment, the disorder can cause

permanent blindness (“Amblyopia”).

When a child has amblyopia, their motor skills may be adversely affected. In “The Effect

of Amblyopia on Fine Motor Skills in Children,” researchers tested the fine motor skills of one

hundred nineteen kids, including 82 children with amblyopia or symptoms of amblyopia. Using

the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency, researchers found that affected individuals

demonstrated lower scores in visual motor control and upper limb speed and dexterity.
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In addition to affected motor skills, someone with amblyopia may have issues with depth

perception. In a study of hand-eye coordination, researchers found that binocular is advantageous

over monocular vision in terms of placement (Gonzalez and Niechwiej-Szwedo). Additionally,

the study displayed that “monocular viewing disrupted the temporal coordination between the

eyes and the hand.”

Based on the results from each study, a young athlete with amblyopia could potentially

have lower motor skills and slower reaction times than their peers. These individuals could cope

with their impairment by preparing to react, or by practicing fundamental skills. My coping

mechanisms involved a great deal of avoidance, as well as practice.

While amblyopic eyesight can cut an athletes vision of the court in half, myopia can

make it difficult for an athlete to focus on anything they see (“Facts About Myopia”). Myopia is

an elongation of the eye that affects the vision of things that are far away, potentially causing

headaches in individuals with this impairment.

Myopia is treated with corrective lenses, and it can even be treated with corrective

surgery that changes the shape of the eye (“Facts About Myopia”). If an athlete does not get

treatment for this visual impairment, they may have difficulty seeing teammates on the other end

of the court. Affected individuals may also experiences issues with motor skills.

“Gross Motor Skills and Sports Participation of Children With Visual Impairments”

examined one hundred twenty students, including twenty students with visual impairments. Out

of the twenty affected students, four had myopia. Compared to students with normal vision, this

study found that students with visual impairments had lower object control skills--involving

“two-hand strike, stationary bounce, catch, kick, overhand throw, and underhand roll.”
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Therefore, a young athlete with myopia may experience more difficulty in sports that involve a

ball.

An individual that I interviewed is nearsighted, and she played basketball during her

childhood and adolescence. She recalled having issues with seeing numbers while on the court,

indicating that she “would have to squint” to see the scoreboard. Additionally, she noted that she

experienced issues with distance perception when it came time to shoot the ball. She also

expressed that her visual impairment made her feel “frustrated at times.”

The subject of my interview did not disclose any other coping mechanisms than

squinting. Based on “Gross Motor Skills and Sports Participation of Children With Visual

Impairments”, a young athlete with myopia may be somewhat uncoordinated, or simply less

coordinated than their peers with good vision.

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Works Cited

“Amblyopia (Lazy Eye).” Amblyopia (Lazy Eye) | Prevent Blindness, Prevent Blindness,

www.preventblindness.org/amblyopia-lazy-eye.

“Facts About Amblyopia.” National Eye Institute, U.S. Department of Health and Human

Services, 1 Sept. 2013, nei.nih.gov/health/amblyopia/amblyopia_guide.

“Facts About Myopia.” National Eye Institute, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,

1 Oct. 2017, nei.nih.gov/health/errors/myopia.

Gonzalez, David A., and Ewa Niechwiej-Szwedo. “The Effects of Monocular Viewing on

Hand-Eye Coordination during Sequential Grasping and Placing Movements.”

Vision Research, vol. 128, Nov. 2016, pp. 30–38., doi:10.1016/j.visres.2016.08.006.

Haibach, Pamela S., et al. “Determinants of Gross Motor Skill Performance in Children with

Visual Impairments.” Research in Developmental Disabilities, vol. 35, no. 10, Oct. 2014,

pp. 2577–2584., doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2014.05.030.

Houwen, Suzanne, et al. “Gross Motor Skills and Sports Participation of Children With Visual

Impairments.” Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, vol. 78, no. 2, Mar. 2007, pp.

16–23., doi:10.1080/02701367.2007.10599399.

“Randomized Trial of Treatment of Amblyopia in Children Aged 7 to 17 Years.” Archives of

Ophthalmology, vol. 123, no. 4, Apr. 2005, pp. 437–447.,

doi:10.1001/archopht.123.4.437.

Webber, Ann L., et al. “The Effect of Amblyopia on Fine Motor Skills in Children.”

Investigative Opthalmology & Visual Science, vol. 49, no. 2, Feb. 2008, pp. 594–603.,

doi:10.1167/iovs.07-0869.