VISUAL TRACKING & READING PROBLEMS
Eye Tracking Problems When Reading: Could Visual Tracking Be Making Reading Harder?
If a reader frequently loses their place, rereads lines, skips words, or says words seem to move or jump, it may be worth taking a closer look at how their eyes move during reading.
Reading Vision Assessment: $125
Have a referral or promotional code? Enter it during checkout.
When Reading Is Hard to Keep Track Of
Reading isn't just recognizing words.
The eyes have to repeatedly move from one part of a line to another, pause long enough to take in information, and then accurately find the beginning of the next line.
For some readers, keeping their place on the page feels unusually difficult.
They may:
lose their place while reading
reread the same words or lines
skip words or lines
use a finger to keep their place
become tired or frustrated quickly
describe words or letters as difficult to follow
Those experiences do not automatically tell us why someone is struggling. But they can give us a reason to look more closely at the eye movements being used during reading. That is the purpose of the Reading Vision Assessment.
Schedule a Reading Vision Assessment
A Reading Vision Assessment is a short, one-on-one online Assessment designed to observe how the eyes move during reading-related tasks. Have a referral or promotional code? Enter it during checkout.
Ten Shocking Statistics Regarding Vision & Reading
Eye-tracking and muscle-coordination can dramatically affect a child's reading experience. What is perceived as a reading issue could be a correctable visual processing issue. (1)
An estimated 1 out of 4 children struggle with reading and learning because of undiagnosed vision problems. (2)
An estimated 60% of struggling readers have unaddressed vision problems. (3)
Vision problems are often mistaken for dyslexia, ADHD, or low motivation. (4)
Seeing clearly (“20/20”) is just one of 15 visual skills critical to academic success. (5)
Reading requires eye-tracking. You need to fix the eye-tracking problems and fix the reading problems. (6)
Vision therapy and reading intervention are usually separate because they target different problems, but they can overlap when a child has both and can be
addressed simultaneously. (7)
Visual processing problems in children can be hereditary, caused by physical trauma, like birth canal pressure or a concussion or injury, or by emotional trauma. (8)
Visual tracking issues must be addressed directly, or they will last your entire life. (9)
The majority of the vision problems that interfere with reading and learning are very treatable, and can be corrected within a couple of months. (10)
What Is Visual Tracking During Reading?
Eye tracking refers to the eye movements used to move accurately from one location to another.
During reading, the eyes make a series of quick movements and brief stops as they progress through a line of text. At the end of the line, they must accurately move to the beginning of the next one.
These movements happen rapidly and repeatedly throughout the reading process.
When those movements are inefficient or difficult, a reader may have trouble maintaining their place and following text comfortably.
Eyes Up Reading refers to these observable patterns as visual skills related to reading.
A Reading Vision Assessment is designed to look more closely at those patterns.
Do Words Seem to Move or Jump When You Read?
Some readers describe unusual visual experiences while reading.
They may say:
“The words move.”
“The letters jump around.”
“The lines seem to shift.”
“I keep losing where I am.”
These descriptions are useful because they tell us what the reader is experiencing.
They do not, by themselves, establish the cause.
Words seeming to move or jump can have different explanations, and Eyes Up Reading does not use those reports to diagnose a medical eye condition.
Instead, the Reading Vision Assessment gives us an opportunity to observe how the eyes move during reading-related tasks and determine whether an observable tracking difficulty may also be present.
What About Double Vision While Reading?
Seeing double while reading deserves special care.
Our Reading Vision Tutoring includes eye exercises from Leo Angart's book Magic Eyes for Children, which can provide relief from double vision.
However, Eyes Up Reading does not provide medical treatment for double vision. Double vision can have different causes.
If you or your child experiences persistent, unexplained, or concerning double vision, we recommend discussing it with a licensed eye-care professional.
The Reading Vision Assessment helps us observe reading-related eye movements, but it is not a substitute for medical or optometric evaluation.
Start With a Reading Vision Assessment
Before beginning Reading Vision Tutoring, Eyes Up Reading starts with a Reading Vision Assessment.
The Assessment is completed online through Zoom and takes approximately 15 minutes.
During the Assessment, a Reading Vision Assessment Specialist observes eye-movement patterns during guided visual activities. A short reading portion also helps us determine the reader's current reading ability.
We're looking for patterns such as how accurately the eyes move from one target to another, whether the reader can maintain their place, and whether observable eye-movement difficulty appears during reading-related tasks.
After the Assessment, you'll continue the Zoom call with a Reading Vision Tutor.
You'll have an opportunity to discuss:
What we observed: We'll explain the eye-movement patterns that were visible during the Assessment.
What they may mean for reading: We'll discuss whether an observable visual-skill difficulty may deserve attention alongside reading instruction.
Your questions: You'll have time to ask about what you or your child has been experiencing.
Possible next steps: If Reading Vision Tutoring appears appropriate, we'll explain how individualized tutoring could address reading skills while also supporting visual skills related to reading.
The Reading Vision Assessment costs $125 and is completed online from home.
Have a referral or promotional code? Enter it during checkout.
Reading Uses More Than Clear Eyesight
Someone can see letters clearly ("20/20") and still find sustained reading difficult.
Reading involves multiple skills working together.
The reader has to recognize and understand language while also moving through text, maintaining their place, shifting attention, and processing what they see.
That is one reason Eyes Up Reading looks at reading skills and visual skills related to reading as separate but related parts of the reading experience.
An eye-movement difficulty does not explain every reading struggle.
And a reading struggle does not prove that an eye-movement difficulty exists.
The purpose of the Assessment is to look instead of assume.
If We Observe a Visual-Tracking Difficulty
The next step depends on what we see.
Reading Vision Tutoring combines individualized reading instruction with educational exercises intended to improve visual skills used during reading.
Reading instruction can address areas such as phonics, decoding, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.
When appropriate, tutoring may also incorporate activities designed to improve eye tracking, eye teaming, and other visual skills related to reading.
Why Look at Eye Tracking and Reading Together?
A child who repeatedly loses their place may need reading instruction.
They may also benefit from having their eye movements observed.
Those are not competing ideas.
Reading is a complex process involving language, attention, memory, and visual skills.
Eyes Up Reading's approach is designed to customize reading instruction rather than assume that every struggling reader needs exactly the same intervention.
Schedule a Reading Vision Assessment
The Reading Vision Assessment costs $125 and is completed online from home.
Have a referral or promotional code? Enter it during checkout.
Frequently Asked Questions About Visual Tracking and Reading
Does losing your place while reading mean you have an eye-tracking problem?
No. Losing your place can happen for different reasons. It is one observation that may justify looking more closely at eye movements, but it is not a diagnosis by itself.
Why do words seem to move when I read?
People describe moving, jumping, shifting, or unstable text for different reasons. The experience alone does not establish the cause. A Reading Vision Assessment can determine if eye-movement problems could be a factor.
Can someone have 20/20 eyesight and still struggle with eye movements during reading?
Visual acuity and eye movement are different functions. Seeing letters clearly on an eye chart does not by itself describe how the eyes move across sustained text.
Is Reading Vision Tutoring clinical vision therapy?
No. Eyes Up Reading provides educational reading intervention and support for visual skills related to reading. We do not provide optometric vision therapy or medical diagnosis.
Does every struggling reader have a visual-tracking problem?
No. Reading difficulties can involve many different factors. The purpose of the Reading Vision Assessment is to determine whether observable eye-movement difficulties are impacting the reader.
Can adults have a Reading Vision Assessment?
Yes. Eyes Up Reading works with children, teens, college students, and adults. Our oldest student to date is 72!
LEGAL DISCLAIMER: Eyes Up Reading does not provide clinical diagnosis or prescription from state-licensed optometrists or ophthalmologists or orthoptists. We do not provide optometric vision therapy. We do not treat diagnosed visual disorders, strabismus, or amblyopia. We do not treat dyslexia, ADHD, or learning disabilities. Instead, we provide tutoring/educational intervention and we address visual-skills related to reading, particularly eye-tracking issues that may contribute to reading challenges.
If you need clinical vision therapy, please see a licensed professional.
Testimonials reflect the personal experiences and perspectives of students and families, not medical or optometric diagnoses, treatment claims, or professional medical opinions from Eyes Up Reading. Individual results may vary.
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