Published: · Last updated: · Publisher: Smart Vision Optometry
At a glance: This historical account describes a child practising juggling. It illustrates eye-hand coordination and enjoyment of a new skill; it does not show that juggling treats a vision condition or improves reading.
Eye-hand coordination means using visual information to guide hand movements. Our article on how the eyes and brain create vision explains the wider visual pathway. Catching and juggling bean bags are examples of activities that involve this coordination. The account below, originally published in 2015, describes one child learning a new skill. It is an individual experience, not a clinical study showing that juggling treats a vision disorder or improves school performance.
A juggling session: one child’s experience
A little girl came to a vision therapy session and learnt to juggle with two bean bags. According to her parents, she left feeling that she had learnt something she could show others.
For this little girl, the achievement mattered because it was something she could do at her school talent quest. She had learnt how to juggle.
Now please don’t go thinking I am going to run off to join the circus with all of my vision therapy patients. I am in no way that talented (what a shame!) There were only two bean bags involved, there were a lot bean bags thrown haphazardly across the room and there was lots of laughter. Slowly, but surely, this shy little 8-year-old girl learnt how to track the bean bags back and forth between her two hands. She learnt to cross her body midline in an efficient way and learnt how important it was for her eyes to maintain consistent fixation on a moving target. She learnt how to locate that target in space and how to remember a sequence of steps that would ensure success – up, grab, catch.
When she was able to follow the steps accurately and maintain her concentration, she was able to complete the task. In the end, she was running off to show both parents, the staff at reception and anyone who would listen in the waiting room. She became excited, confident in her ability and the bit I liked the most? She smiled. She walked away smiling to herself knowing she had just achieved something. And that is the crux of it – no matter how big or how small, every success should be celebrated, admired and broadcasted. For me that was only 20 minutes of a 45-minute session of an 8-hour day. For her, the whole world stopped and she realised that she was good at something. She could do something special. Her enjoyment of this task was worth celebrating, while progress with other activities would need to be assessed separately.
Putting the experience in context
Evidence for a specific treatment should be matched to the condition being treated. The National Eye Institute describes convergence exercises as a treatment for diagnosed convergence insufficiency. That is different from assuming that practising juggling provides the same clinical benefit.
In the NIH-funded CITT-ART trial, treatment improved clinical signs of convergence insufficiency, but reading improvement was no greater than with placebo therapy. An enjoyable coordination activity should not be presented as a replacement for an eye examination or appropriate educational support. Discuss a child’s symptoms and the purpose of any proposed treatment with the treating clinician.
If you would like to discuss a child’s vision with an optometrist, book an appointment at our Bondi or Mosman practice.
Frequently asked questions
What is eye-hand coordination?
Eye-hand coordination is the use of visual information to guide hand movements, such as catching a bean bag.
Does learning to juggle prove a vision treatment has worked?
No. An individual experience of learning a skill is not evidence that a diagnosed vision condition has improved.
Can this activity replace an eye examination?
No. Concerns about vision need individual assessment; an enjoyable activity cannot establish a diagnosis or replace appropriate care.
