Reading Difficulties
may be due to visual tracking
“Visual tracking” is a term applied to a function of eye movement abilities. It refers to the ability to quickly and accurately look (fixate), visually follow a moving object (pursuit) and efficiently move our eyes so we can fixate on objects from point to point as in reading (saccades).
Signs and Symptoms of Ocular Motility Dysfunction
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Appears to guess at words
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Avoids or resists reading
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Clumsiness, spills or bumps into objects
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Difficulty copying from the white board
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Easier to read large font
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Head movement (side to side) when reading
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Loss of place when reading, writing, or copying (especially during the return sweep phase)
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Omits words or transposes words when reading (especially small or similar words)
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Overwhelmed by pages of text
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Poor accuracy with word endings
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Poor awareness of punctuation
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Poor handwriting
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Poor reading comprehension
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Poor reading fluency
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Poor reading speed
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Poor sports performance (particularly ball-playing sports)
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Prefers to be read to, rather than read
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Re-reads words or sentences
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Reverses words or letters
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Skips sentences
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Slow, halting reading pattern when reading out loud
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Squints, or rubs eyes when reading
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Text or words may appear to “float” or “move” on the page
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Tilts head when reading
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Uses finger or guide when reading
Eye tracking skills are particularly important for reading, and achieving maximum academic potential. Poor eye tracking skills are closely associated with poor reading skills. Poor eye tracking skills are more common than most people may realize. 25% (1 in 4) of all students cannot read due to vision skills deficits. Approximately 30% of individuals diagnosed as having dyslexia have some degree of eye tracking deficits, and until treated will impede progress of dyslexia therapy or tutoring.