Reading and learning difficulties - Impaired eye coordination

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Reading and learning difficulties are not caused by low intelligence, but impaired coordination between several areas of the brain involved in collecting visual information, processing and understanding visual information, and storing the information. These dysfunctions can be triggered by several different causes. Including heredity, disrupted development as a result of premature birth, disrupted development as a result of physical or psychological trauma such as concussion or abuse, or it can be part of other diagnoses and developmental disorders such as ADHD or Tourette's syndrome.

Although there are several different causes of reading and learning disabilities, research shows that there may be more common functional disorders in people with reading and learning disabilities compared to those without. It turns out that children and adults with reading and learning disabilities also have impaired balance and coordination, impaired fine motor control over purposeful eye movements, and impaired coordination and processing of different movement information from the balance organ in the inner ear together with movement information from the neck and eyes. This makes it more challenging to collect and process the correct visual details and thus makes it more difficult to "crack" the reading code, understand the content of the sentences being read, and difficulties in learning and remembering the information being read.

When reading, it is important to have good fine motor control and coordination over the purposeful eye movements and fine-tuned coordination between movement information from the neck and head so that the eyes float in a controlled manner over the letters and words to be read. If you have impaired control over these functions, you can compare it to shaking your hand when filming with a video camera. The image becomes blurred and it becomes difficult to see and analyze the details properly, and you have to exert significantly more effort to maintain concentration. When your eyes do not float smoothly over letters and words, but instead skip past the letter or word you are trying to read. It becomes more challenging for the brain to put together the right letters into the right word and meaning. This can make it difficult to understand and remember the content of what you read, and when reading aloud, you may hear the person mispronounce the word or pronounce the wrong word. And has particular difficulty pronouncing long words.

Several research studies confirm that children and adults with dyslexia also have particular difficulties in performing the controlled purposeful eye movements required for reading and have impaired eye-hand coordination. Fine motor control and coordination over purposeful eye movements used in reading can be measured using videonystagmography (VNG). This is sophisticated computer-based equipment that maps which forms of uncontrolled eye movements the person has, and provides important information about which parts of the brain are malfunctioning. Along with a range of other advanced computer-based tests that challenge eye-hand coordination, balance, coordination and measure brain activity. We can map out how to tailor neurological rehabilitation that can improve how the brain coordinates and processes different movement information, and improve fine motor control and coordination over purposeful eye movements that can make reading and learning easier.

Videonystagmographies one of our standard tests for mapping brain dysfunction:

Research also shows that using the same type of exercises used to rehabilitate patients who have impaired fine motor control and coordination over purposeful eye movements after stroke, concussion, or dizziness and impaired balance can help improve purposeful eye movements in children and adults with reading and learning difficulties. This can include eye exercises, exercises that emphasize aligning movement information between the eyes, neck and balance organ in the inner ear, and coordination exercises with arms and legs.  

The types of exercises that can help improve fine motor control and coordination over purposeful eye movements and improve eye-hand coordination are individual and must be customized after a thorough examination. The team at Sentrumklinikken BrainCamp has extensive experience in examining and adapting neurological rehabilitation that can improve control and coordination of purposeful eye movements in people with reading and learning difficulties.

This video gives you an introduction to your first examination with us:

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