Eye Tracking Problems
Eye tracking is a skill that we use every day for basic vision, sports, and most importantly, to READ. As you read these words, your eyes have to stop on each word as you take in the information, then jump to the next word and stop again. This is an amazing skill that requires pinpoint accuracy! Our eye tracking system is designed to work with perfect accuracy and speed, so that we can do the following:
- Hold our eyes still so we can see an object and take in information about it (called a fixation)
- Quickly and accurately jump from one object to another (called a saccade)
- Track and follow a moving object (called a pursuit)
Problems with eye tracking can create many different symptoms including:
- Poor reading comprehension
- Loss of place when reading, writing or copying
- Use of a finger or marker when reading
- Difficulty copying from the board
- Skipping or repeating words
- Difficulty maintaining attention
- Reversing words or letters
- Head movement side to side while reading
- Poor handwriting
- Poor performance in sports
Vision therapy for tracking problems has a very good success rate! Training activities are geared toward helping the eyes to move more rapidly, with better control and accuracy.
Connection between Eye Tracking and Motor Coordination
Eye Tracking can be thought of as a super-fine motor skill. If overall motor coordination skills are not well developed, it is likely that fine motor (handwriting) and eye tracking skills will be poor as well. One approach to training the eye tracking system includes training the overall motor coordination system, because motor development is the foundation for vision development!
UNDIAGNOSED problems in tracking may lead to labels such as ADHD, learning disabled, or even “lazy”. Fortunately, tracking problems can be treated with VISION THERAPY!!!