16/06/2025
For those who are considering vision therapy or coloured lenses, this article provides evidence-based research on what works and what doesn't.
In summary
"Parents are being cautioned against falling for the “myth” that eye exercises can treat children struggling with reading, as experts warn the unproven treatments are a waste of money that could harm students’ academic progress.
Eye and vision exercises, using coloured lenses, wearing weak glasses and even hopping on one leg towards a target are among the therapies advocated by a branch of optometry known as behavioural optometry, which links “eye tracking” issues to reading difficulties such as dyslexia.
The claims have prompted the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists to warn that the unfounded theory could lead to a delay in accessing evidence-based treatments for children with dyslexia and compromise their capacity to learn to read.
Sydney-based paediatric ophthalmologist Dr Maree Flaherty undertook a review of the literature following concerns raised by college members that parents were receiving incorrect advice and that their children were participating in unproven treatments. Flaherty found that the eye-tracking theory was not supported by evidence.
“Tracking is a myth,” she said. “We don’t read with tracking movements.”
Flaherty said children with dyslexia were prone to lose their place or skip lines when reading, which leads to difficulty decoding letters and words. She said this was the result of a reading disorder, rather than a tracking abnormality.
“All the reviews have said that [learning to read is] about teaching phonics, vocabulary, fluency, comprehension,” she said. “It’s all in the language side.”
Eye exercises, using coloured lenses and even hopping on one leg are among the treatments being warned against for parents of children with reading difficulties.
