Have you ever thought about what your eyes are actually doing when you read? Reading isn’t just about recognizing letters and words—it also relies on complex, finely tuned eye movements known as tracking. These movements are guided by two different neural pathways and must be precise every single time we move from word to word.
If you’ve ever watched someone’s eyes while they read, you’ll notice they don’t glide smoothly across the page. Instead, they make quick jumps from one spot to the next. In skilled readers, the eyes typically take in about 5–6 words at a time before pausing. After this, there’s often a small backward movement (a regression) before moving forward again.
Here’s what’s happening step by step:
- The eyes fixate (pause briefly) on a word
- Then they make a rapid “jump” movement called a saccade to the next spot
- After 5-6 words the eyes pause and allows the brain processes what was just read
- Small regressions occur when the eyes shift back
- The process repeats until we finish the text
This entire process is a learned skill and is absolutely essential for fluent reading and learning. Strong readers don’t have to think about these movements—they can focus entirely on the meaning of the text.
But for children with tracking difficulties, also called oculomotor dysfunction, this process can become a major barrier to reading and learning.
Signs of a Tracking Problem
Some common symptoms include:
- Losing their place while reading
- Adding or skipping small words
- Rereading words, letters, or whole lines
- Confusing words with similar beginnings or endings
- Needing a finger or marker to follow along
- Excessive head movements while reading
- Avoiding reading altogether
- Doing better in math than in reading
- Understanding material better when it’s read aloud to them
- Not performing at the level expected for their intelligence
Finding (and Treating) the Problem
The first step in solving any problem is identifying it. During a comprehensive eye exam, specific tests can reveal tracking issues. One of the most widely used is the Developmental Eye Movement (DEM) Test, which measures how efficiently a child’s eyes move while reading and compares their performance to age-based norms.
With this information, a tailored program of therapy activities can be designed to strengthen eye movement skills and bring the child up to age level.
The Good News
We’ve seen many bright children struggle simply because their eye movements weren’t supporting reading. This doesn’t mean they can’t learn—it means they’re missing one of the foundational building blocks of reading. The great news is that tracking is a trainable skill. With the right diagnosis and therapy, children can dramatically improve.
We’ve had the privilege of working with so many kids who, after treatment, not only became stronger readers but also grew in confidence. For them and their families, it has truly been life-changing.
“If I could give Panorama 100 stars, I would. We moved from Toronto last year and Dr. Johal was highly recommended by our optometrist for my young daughter’s vision therapy. We were assigned Rachel as our vision therapist and she was just amazing! She was knowledgeable, friendly and professional and was able to my shy kiddo to work with her and get her to thrive in the exercises. There were regular re-assessments done by Dr. Johal to track progress and we really felt guided and taken care of, had all of our many concerns addressed, and never once felt gouged for money. At times, we had to see another vision therapist like Alex and Gagan, but you can’t go wrong with any of them as they are all fantastic. Furthermore, the offices are clean, how they operate is smooth and efficient, and the receptionists are super kind. My kid’s treatment is done and the whole team will be missed. I can’t thank them enough for turning something as scary as learning my kid has vision problems into a wonderful experience.” – Grace W.
“My daughter recently went through the Vision Therapy program with Dr. Law with amazing success! She has struggled with reading and writing for years at school, we tried everything to help her but nothing made a difference. I stumbled upon this program during some Google searches for learning disabilities, particularly dyslexia. As it turned out she had eye-tracking issues that were hindering her reading, writing and even her own body spatial awareness. Within a few weeks we started seeing a difference in her abilities and now after 6 months she is not only reading at her grade level but her confidence has finally been restored! Thank you so much!!” – Lara Guelpa