It is almost summertime, and a lot of my patients (and patient’ parents) have been talking about how much time they are spending at the baseball fields for practice and games.  We have all heard the saying “Keep you eye on the ball” when the kid is flailing about with a bat.  Because of this saying, parents must know that eye-hand coordination is important, but i rarely get patients coming in for their examinations for the specific reason of “Johnny cannot hit a baseball.”  I often find this out after further questioning, especially if the child has difficulty with depth perception.  Eye-hand coordination is all about binocular vision and how the eyes work together as a team and how well they communicate with the brain.  Most often it is not a matter of Johnny not being able to SEE the ball, but rather he has difficulty judging WHERE the ball is.  Without good eye teaming the brain cannot perceive depth or judge distances correctly.  If your son or daughter has problems at bat or with a glove or even other tasks involving eye-hand coordination such as riding a bike or handwriting, consider a comprehensive eye examination by an eye care provider to determine if your child has trouble with depth perception or eye teaming.

By Lauren E. Grillot, OD, MS