Lauren Hoare is an MSc Candidate in the School of Optometry and Vision Science whose research is making significant strides – literally – in understanding amblyopia, commonly known as lazy eye.
Amblyopia is an eye and brain condition that affects two to four per cent of children in Canada alone – approximately 150,000 to 300,000 children. Amblyopia, in which the brain prioritizes input from one eye over the other, can arise because of poor vision in one eye. This can result in issues such as poor depth perception, difficulty reading, and deficient motor skills.
Lauren Hoare's research focuses on how amblyopia impacts children's walking abilities. She has found that children with amblyopia exhibit more variability in their walking patterns and are less accurate at stepping on targets. These findings are crucial as impaired motor skills can significantly impact children's daily lives in various ways that are often easily dismissed, such as appearing to be 'clumsy'.