a type of "fine motor coordination" -- the ability of the eye and the hand to coordinate during a specific action, such as handwriting or copying from the chalkboard STRABISMUS: ("crossed eye", "wall eye", "wandering eye", esotropia, exotropia, hyperphoria) affects approximately 4 out of every 100 children in the United States. It is a visual defect in which the two eyes point in different directions. One eye may turn either in, out, up, or down while the other eye aims straight ahead. Due to this condition, both eyes do not always aim simultaneously at the same object. This results in a partial or total loss of stereo vision and binocular depth perception. The eye turns may be visible at all times or may come and go. In some cases, the eye misalignments are not obvious to the untrained observer. A consultation with an optometrist who offers supervised vision therapy is recommended with this condition. See the Directory of Vision Care Providers.
This is the ability of the vision system to coordinate the information received through the eyes to control, guide and direct the hands. A child with poor eye-hand coordination will exhibit messy handwriting, get frustrated when trying to form letters and copy patterns, and sometimes performs poorly in sports.
