• jaybone@lemmy.zip
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    4 days ago

    Question: do people still use the term “lazy eye”, or is that considered ableist?

    • NABDad@lemmy.world
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      4 days ago

      You could call it amblyopia.

      It’s kind of fun to say. The syllables roll over each other like wet pumpkin seeds.

      Most people won’t know what you’re talking about, unless you hang out with a lot of eye nerds. You’ll probably find yourself saying, “… which is the medical term for ‘lazy eye’ …” all the time.

      I just googled “amblyopia” and the result came up as:

      Lazy Eye

      Also called: amblyopia

    • Mouselemming@sh.itjust.works
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      4 days ago

      Cookie demonstrates strabismus, misaligned eyes, specifically exotropia, pointing outward. While this can cause amblyopia or lazy eye, they’re different things.

      I have had a lazy eye (one that doesn’t work well with my brain, so I have crap depth perception) as a child because it was much more nearsighted than the other, and now because of cataracts and floaters. But it aligns properly.

      Cookie also has a more unique and adorable quality of “googly eyes,” in that they can bounce around randomly before returning to their basic misaligned position.

      I’m not sure it counts as ableist since “lazy” is at the eye not the person, and I found it a helpful description when I was a child. But using the medical term shows you’re trying, and of course it’s best to get the person’s preference.