Normal reading despite limited eye movements

Abstract

Many investigators have demonstrated that poor readers exhibit abnormal eye movements during reading. 1–3 An association between defective vergence, accommodation, and poor reading skills has also been noted by some investigators. 4,5 Children who are poor readers have been subjected to therapeutic interventions on the basis of the assumption that improving their eye movements, as part of a multifaceted program of “vision therapy,” will yield commensurate improvement in reading performance. 6 This approach has been controversial, and other authors have expressed opposing views. 7,8 We report the ophthalmologic and reading assessments of two children with Möbius' syndrome who were average to above-average readers despite essentially absent horizontal eye movements.