Amblyopia & Strabismus in Adults

Lazy Eye and Eye Turns in Adults

Amblyopia (lazy eye) and strabismus (an eye turn) don't end with childhood. Here is how they affect depth perception, tracking, spatial awareness and confidence in adult life — and what an evaluation at {evaluationOfficePhrase()} can tell you.

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Understanding the Impact of Amblyopia & Strabismus

About eight minutes: what amblyopia and strabismus are, the treatment options and alternatives, and why traditional treatments often fall short.

Understanding Amblyopia & Strabismus — treatment options and alternatives, and why traditional treatments often fall short.

Amblyopia (lazy eye) is when one eye develops weaker vision because the brain learns to favor the other — even with glasses. Strabismus (eye turn) is when the eyes don't point in the same direction, constantly or intermittently. Both interfere with binocular vision: the eyes' ability to work as a coordinated team and deliver true depth perception.

Neither condition simply disappears when you grow up. Adults who were patched as children, had surgery, or were told nothing more could be done can still live with the effects described below. The old belief that amblyopia can only be treated in early childhood is outdated — older children and adults can make meaningful gains. If you are looking for the children's version of this page, see Lazy Eye.

More Details

Summary of Impacts

Four areas of adult life where a lazy eye or an eye turn shows up most — at work, at home, on the road and in conversation.

Depth Perception

Amblyopia and strabismus can significantly affect an adult’s hand-eye coordination, often due to reduced or absent depth perception. Everyday tasks like typing, cooking, or participating in recreational activities become more challenging as the brain struggles to coordinate what the eyes see with hand movements. These difficulties can also impact critical activities like driving or operating machinery, where accurate depth perception and coordination are essential for safety and precision.

Learn more: Understanding Depth Perception

Self-Esteem and Confidence

Adults with strabismus, or a noticeable eye turn, may face challenges with self-esteem and confidence, especially in social or professional settings where others may not fully understand their condition. They may feel self-conscious about their appearance, particularly when people are unsure whether they are being looked at directly during conversations. This uncertainty can lead to awkward social interactions and increased feelings of self-consciousness. These emotional and psychological effects can be just as impactful as the physical challenges, affecting both personal and professional relationships.

Learn more: The Social Implications of Eye Turns

Tracking Skills

Tracking skills continue to be important in adulthood for tasks like reading, driving, or following a moving object. However, adults with binocular vision problems may struggle because their eyes don’t consistently work together. Even if they have adapted to improve reading or other tasks, they may still find it difficult to keep their place on a page or smoothly follow text or objects, as their eyes haven’t fully developed proper tracking skills. This can lead to frustration in both personal and professional environments where precise visual tracking is essential.

Learn more: Ocular Motor Dysfunction (Tracking)

Spatial Awareness

Amblyopia and strabismus can affect an adult’s spatial awareness, making it harder to understand where objects are in relation to their body. This can lead to difficulties with tasks such as navigating crowded spaces, driving, and accurately judging distances. Poor spatial awareness may also cause challenges with tasks that require precision, such as assembling items or recognizing the orientation of objects. Adults may experience clumsiness or difficulty with everyday activities, as the brain struggles to accurately interpret spatial information, impacting both personal and professional life.

Learn more: Visual-Spatial Skills (Handwriting & Math)

Do You Notice?

Most Common Symptoms

Adults with amblyopia or strabismus often notice several of these. Any one of them is worth a closer look.

Misaligned eyes (one eye may turn inward, outward, upward, or downward)
Frequent squinting or closing one eye to see clearly
Head tilting or turning to try to use the eyes together
Poor depth perception (difficulty judging distances)
Blurry or double vision
Losing place or skipping lines when reading
Avoidance of activities like reading or sports that require good vision
Frequent bumping into objects due to lack of spatial awareness
Slow reading speed or needing to re-read text frequently

Take Our Interactive Symptom Survey All Signs of a Vision Problem

Our Approach

What an Evaluation Looks At

A standard eye exam checks how clearly each eye sees. A developmental and binocular vision evaluation goes further: how well the two eyes align and work together, whether you have usable depth perception, how smoothly your eyes track across a page or follow a moving object, and how efficiently they focus. Those are the skills behind the everyday difficulties described above — and they are measurable.

From there Dr. Murray builds an individualized plan, which may combine lenses or prism, selective patching and vision therapy to develop eye teaming and depth perception. When surgery is appropriate, we co-manage with the surgeon — and therapy afterward helps the eyes learn to work together, not just line up. Read more about how we treat amblyopia and strabismus, or about what to expect at an evaluation.

An adult woman follows a fingertip held close to her face during an eye teaming test — Eye teaming, alignment and depth perception are measured directly — not inferred from the eye chart.

Ready for the Next Steps?

If you recognize yourself in this page, the next step is an adult evaluation at our Boynton Beach and Boca Raton offices. You'll leave knowing exactly what is happening with your eyes — and what can be done about it.

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