Skipping Lines When Reading? How saccadic eye movements impact us

Published on

August 4, 2022

Saccade eye movement is a jump eye movement. This movement involves looking at something and then looking at another thing all of a sudden. A saccade is a quick movement using both eyes, moving from one point of fixation to another in the same direction.

It is a visual skill, which is initiated by the center of your brain that tells you how much to move your eyes and where to land. It involves seeing something in your peripheral vision, shutting off your vision, while your eyes are actually moving from one thing to another and landing directly on the next object. You can understand how something so complicated could result in a visual deficit if the process wasn't operating correctly.

How does saccade eye disorder affect reading?

Reading requires this type of movement, and the most common symptom of the saccade eye disorder is when you reread the same line instead of moving to the next line. Another common symptom is skipping a line and reading the next one, which obviously makes understanding what you are reading extremely difficult. It happens when your brain is telling your eyes to move to a certain line, but the signal is getting messed up so that it gives you an incorrect location. Fortunately, a functional optometrist can prescribe vision therapy during which time we can train the brain to rebalance its connection to the eyes with these kinds of errors. By doing that, the brain can be taught to more accurately use the eyes to move to the correct line on the page in a short period of time.

Contact us for a functional eye exam in New York City

If you or your loved one is having trouble reading and experiencing the above described symptoms of skipping or rereading sentences, then that may indicate that you or your loved one is suffering from saccade eye disorder. If you suspect an issue with saccadic eye movement you should schedule a functional eye exam. Our team of functional optometrists will be more than happy to take care of you. To schedule an eye exam you can call us at (212) 752-6930 or fill our contact form Book an Appointment .

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