Eye Tracking Problems and How We Can Help
Many of our patients have dealt with undiagnosed eye-tracking problems all their lives but never knew why they had trouble reading and processing information until we diagnosed it. We've diagnosed eye tracking problems in children and even adults. Undiagnosed eye-tracking disorders are pretty common since school vision screenings often miss these issues. As a result, many children struggle with reading well into adulthood. At Epic Vision Eye Center in Kansas or Missouri, we are here to help patients begin their treatment for eye-tracking problems.
Common Symptoms of Eye Tracking Problems
When a person has normal binocular vision, his or her eyes act in unison, moving quickly and accurately, following a steady linear path. However, when patients have a binocular vision disorder like an eye-tracking problem, their eye movements are jumpy and inaccurate. Unfortunately, eye tracking problems can go undiagnosed for years since they don't affect visual acuity. This means that although most people with the disorder have no issues reading an eye chart, their inability to move their eyes smoothly impedes their ability to track words.
If you have eye-tracking problems, you're prone to:
- Move your head from left to right as you read a sentence
- Use your finger to hold your place
- Frequently lose your place in a paragraph
- Skip lines of text
Normal or accurate eye-tracking is a motor skill, and like all fine motor skills, it develops as we get older. However, if a child suffers a deficiency or delays in his or her developmental vision skills, they are less likely to outgrow eye-tracking problems. But if a patient's difficulty is discovered and diagnosed early enough, he or she has a better chance of getting back on track.
How Our Eye Doctor Treats Eye Tracking Problems
Once our eye doctor has diagnosed a vision tracking problem, he will prescribe a vision therapy program for the patient. Of course, the earlier a person starts vision therapy, the better, but it's never too late to start. Non-invasive vision therapy is a type of physical therapy for the eyes. The goal is to strengthen the patient's ability to focus and visually process what he or she is reading. While vision therapy started in adulthood will not erase all a patient's difficulties, the exercises and training will strengthen the neurological pathway between the brain and the eyes.
Contact Us for Vision Therapy from Our Eye Doctors in Missouri and Kansas
If you think you are suffering from eye-tracking problems or have observed signs of them in your child, you can schedule an appointment with our optometrists at Epic Vision Center. We can prescribe a vision therapy program to address your specific difficulty and improve your eye-tracking skills. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help patients at our Kansas and Missouri locations.