Visual Processing Affects On Reading, Part 2: Symptoms of Poor Eye Tracking Skills

The last post referred to visual processing deficits, particularly poor eye tracking skills, which impact a child's ability to read and/or learn how to read. My colleagues and I have had the wonderful opportunity to work with Dr. Kristy M. Remick, a developmental optometrist, and her vision therapist, Vicki Bedes, in regards to vision therapy. They published a book, Eyes on Track: A Missing Link to Successful Learning which gives practical visual development activities that can be done by parents and teachers to help students with poor visual processing skills. While working with students in the clinic setting, many of the activities suggested in Eyes on Track were used successfully in conjunction with occupational therapy with a sensory integration focus.  Much of the following information is summarized from Dr. Remick and Mrs. Bedes’ book.

 Students give us clues on a daily basis which display their difficulty processing visual information on a page.  They may say:

            “I lose my place when I read.”

            “I have to blink when I read.”

            “The words and letters are blurry.”

            “I have to use my finer or I lose my place.”

            “I reread lines sometimes.”

            “My eyes get tired when I read.”

            “I can’t remember what I’m reading.”

 Teachers should be looking for the following performance based symptoms of poor eye tracking skills that students display in the classroom:

             Avoids near-point work

            Poor posture while reading

            Head tilting when reading or writing

            Holds book too close to eyes

            Homework requiring reading takes a long time

            Poor attention during work time

            Loses place when reading

            Uses a marker or finger to keep place

            Moves head when reading

            Omits, re-reads words/letters

            Re-reads lines

            Repeats letters within words

            Reads big words, but misreads/misses smaller words (and, but, if, the)

            Difficulty copying form chalkboard/loses place

            Avoids reading out loud

Enjoys being read to/avoids self-reading

Poor reading comprehension

            Comprehension declines as reading continues

            Misaligns numbers in math

            Does not look directly into speaker’s eyes

            Easily distracted


Students can have both eye tracking difficulties and poor vision perception.  The following performance symptoms reflect a vision perception deficit which impacts performance in other areas.  Teachers should look for the following signs of poor vision perception:

            Letter reversals in reading or writing (b,d,q,p)

            Number reversals

            Repeatedly confuses right/left direction

            Word reversals (saw/was, on/no)

            Grips pencil too tightly/poor grip (thumbs crossed over fingers)

            Poor handwriting

            Poor spacing when writing

            Uses other hand as “spacer” to control spacing when writing

            Writes uphill or downhill

            Orients drawings/writing poorly on page

            Poor shape recognition/difficulty copying shapes

            Confuses similar words

            Failure to recognize same word in next sentence

            Poor visualization/spells words based on sounds only

            Poor comprehension/unable to describe what has been read

            May comprehend better when someone reads to them

            Difficulty with sports/poor motor skills

            Frustration with school work


Students who display similar symptoms in the classroom are probably suffering from vision deficits and should be evaluated by a Developmental Optometrist and receive intervention.  The activities found in  Eyes on Track: A Missing Link to Successful Learning can be beneficial to those families who don’t have the financial means to access Vision Therapy and/or Occupational Therapy with a Sensory Integration focus. 

Parents Active for Vision Education (P.A.V.E.) have an excellent website to inform and guide parents (and teachers) on the relationship between vision and achievement.   

http://pavevision.org/

Visual Processing Effects on Reading Part 1

One of the most complex activities that the brain performs is reading, and one of the most important parts of reading is the proper movement of the eyes across the page of print to be able to read that print.  Eye movements are the fastest and most frequent movements made by the human body.  Ocular motor control refers to the control and coordination of eye muscles/movements needed to read print on a page.  Ocular motor dysfunction is one of the main causes of poor reading.

Eye movements are controlled by three pairs of muscles that control three different types of eye movements: moving side to side (left to right when reading), moving up and down (moving down to the next line of text, or moving from your notes to the board), and rotating to keep the visual image upright.

When students are given vision screenings for school, they are usually ONLY tested for visual acuity at a distance of 20 feet and for color blindness.  Most reading is done within an arm's length, so the standard eye chart test does not screen for NEAR vision skills, the skills that are in constant demand of students when performing school tasks. Furthermore, the Snellen Eye Chart that is still used today in screenings was developed way back in 1862 to be used during the Civil War!  Needless to say, most standard school vision screenings have limitations in identifying visual problems that may interfere with a student's school performance.

Due to invention of visually passive items like video games, computer screens, and cell phones, near vision problems are becoming an epidemic in school age children.  The National Eye Institute found a 66% increase in in nearsightedness (myopia) from the early 1970's.  Children are spending less and less time outside where vision is stimulated by focusing on objects further away.

Numerous studies have shown that good eye tracking and attentional skills are directly related to reading readiness.  It has been observed that children younger than 7 years old often have inadequate eye movements for reading readiness.  Most 5 year olds have difficulty performing accurate eye movements used in moving from one word to the next of printed text.  So, why are asking our children to read in kindergarten?  The United States has the highest incidence of learning disabled children while Europe demonstrates a much lower incidence of learning disabilities in children.  Research has shown most European nations don't start students reading until 7 years of age.  There is something to be said about outdoor play and allowing young children to develop in an age appropriate manner.

Coming Next:  Part 2:  Symptoms of Poor Eye Tracking Skills