Efficient eye movements provide a physical foundation for proficient reading skills. We investigated the effect of in-school saccadic training on reading performance. In this cross-over design, study participants (n = 327, 165 males; mean age [SD]: 7 y 6 mo [1y 1 mo]) were randomized into treatment and control groups, who then underwent eighteen 20-minute training sessions over 5 weeks using King-Devick Reading Acceleration Program Software. Pre- and posttreatment reading assessments included fluency, comprehension, and rapid number naming performance. The treatment group had significantly greater improvement than the control group in fluency (6.2% vs 3.6%, P = .0277) and comprehension (7.5% vs 1.5%, P = .0002). The high-needs student group significantly improved in fluency (P < .001) and comprehension (P < .001). We hypothesize these improvements to be attributed to the repetitive practice of reading-related eye movements, shifting visuospatial attention, and visual processing. Consideration should be given to teaching the physical act of reading within the early education curriculum.
Early Reading Proficiency in the United States. Annie E Casey Found. 2013;(1):1–4.
2.
National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)2013 Reading Assessments. 2013.
3.
MilesSStipekD. Contemporaneous and longitudinal associations between social behavior and literacy achievement in sample of low-income elementary school children. Child Dev. 2006;77:103–117.
4.
LesnickJGoergeRMSmithgallCGwynneJ. Reading on grade level in third grade: how is it related to high school performance and college enrollment? A longitudinal analysis of third-grade students in Chicago in 1996-97 and their educational outcomes: a report to the Annie E. Casey Foundation. 2010:1–36.
5.
FellemanDJVan EssenDC. Distributed hierarchical processing in the primate cerebral cortex. Cereb Cortex. 1991;1:1–47.
6.
GalettaMSGalettaKMMcCrossinJ. Saccades and memory: baseline associations of the King-Devick and SCAT2 SAC tests in professional ice hockey players. J Neurol Sci. 2013;328:28–31.
7.
Doré-MazarsKPougetPBeauvillainC. Attentional selection during preparation of eye movements. Psychol Res. 2004;69:67–76.
8.
BalcerLJMillerDHReingoldSCCohenJ. Vision and vision-related outcome measures in multiple sclerosis. Brain. 2014;138:11–27.
9.
MosterSWilsonJAGalettaSLBalcerLJ. The King-Devick (K-D) test of rapid eye movements: a bedside correlate of disability and quality of life in MS. J Neurol Sci. 2014;343:105–109.
10.
LinTPAdlerCHHentzJG. Slowing of number naming speed by King-Devick Test in Parkinson’s disease. Park Relat Disord. 2014;20:226–229.
11.
FernandezGMandolesiPRotsteinN. Eye movement alterations during reading in patients with early Alzheimer’s disease. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2013;54:8345–8352.
AyazHShewokisPScullL. Assessment of prefrontal cortex activity in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients with functional near infrared spectroscopy. J Neurosci Neuroengineering. 2014;3:1–11.
14.
StepanekJPradhanGNCoccoD. Acute hypoxic hypoxia and isocapnic hypoxia effects on oculometric features. Aviat Space Environ Med. 2014;85:700–707.
15.
StepanekJCoccoDPradhanGN. Early detection of hypoxia-induced cognitive impairment using the King-Devick test. Aviat Space Environ Med. 2013;84:1017–1022.
16.
DaviesECHendersonSBalcerLJGalettaSL. Residency training: the King-Devick test and sleep deprivation study in pre- and post-call neurology residents. Neurology. 2012;78.
17.
BenedictPBanerNVHarroldGK. Gender and age predict outcomes of cognitive, balance and vision testing in a multidisciplinary concussion center. J Neurol Sci. 2015;353:111–115.
18.
VenturaRJeffreyJBalcerLGalettaS. Diagnostic tests for concussion: is vision part of the puzzle?J Neuro-Ophthalmology. 2015;35:73–81.
19.
VenturaREBalcerLJGalettaSL. The neuro-ophthalmology of head trauma. Lancet Neurol. 2014;13:1006–1016.
20.
LunaBVelanovaKGeierC. Development of eye-movement control. Brain Cogn. 2008;68:293–308.
21.
FioravantiFInchingoloPPensieroSSpanioM. Saccadic eye movement conjugation in children. Vision Res. 1995;35:3217–3228.
22.
SeassauMBucciM-P. Reading and visual search: a developmental study in normal children. PLoS One. 2013;8:e70261.
23.
EdenGSteinJWoodHWoodF. Differences in eye movements and reading problems in dyslexic and normal children. Vis Res. 1994;34:1345–1358.
24.
BiscaldiMGezeckSStuhrV. Poor saccadic control correlates with dyslexia. Neuropsychologia. 1998;36:1189–1202.
25.
LeongDFMasterCLMessnerLV. The effect of saccadic training on early reading fluency. Clin Pediatr (Phila). 2014;53:858–864.
26.
AllenMBeattyRBlancoS. The King-Devick test as a reading fluency training program for students in elementary schools. Poster presented at: Meeting of the American Optometric Association-Optometry, Chicago, IL, June 10, 2012.
27.
ThiagaragjanPCiuffredaK. Versional eye tracking in mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI): effects of oculomotor training. Brain Inj. 2014;28:930–943.
28.
ThiagarajanPCiuffredaKJCapo-AponteJE. Oculomotor neurorehabilitation for reading in mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI): an integrative approach. NeuroRehabilitation. 2014;34:129–146.
29.
van WykAEksteenCRheederP. The effect of visual scanning exercises integrated into physiotherapy in patients with unilateral spatial neglect poststroke: a matched-pair randomized control trial. Neurorehabil Neural Repair. 2014;28:856–873.
30.
DentonCABarthAEFletcherJM. The relations among oral and silent reading fluency and comprehension in middle school: implications for identification and instruction of students with reading difficulties. Sci Stud (St Bonaventure). 2011;15.
31.
HospMFuchsL. Using CBM as an indicator of decoding, word reading, and comprehension: do the relations change with grade. School Psychol Rev. 2005;34:9–26.
32.
QuaidPSimpsonT. Association between reading speed, cycloplegic refractive error, and oculomotor function in reading disabled children versus controls. Graefes Arch Clin Exp Ophthalmol. 2013;251:169–187.
33.
King-Devick Test for Reading Test Instructions. King-Devick Test, Inc., Oakbrook Terrace, IL; www.kingdevicktest.com/for-reading/. Published April 2015. Accessed April 1, 2015.
34.
WetheJLeongDPangYWeilR. Oculomotor training using King-Devick remediation & elementary school reading fluency outcomes[published online August 2015]. Vis Dev Rehabil. 2012.
35.
FederKPMajnemerA. Handwriting development, competency, and intervention. Dev Med Child Neurol. 2007;49:312–317.
36.
ChetwoodAKwokKSunLAlE. Collaborative eye tracking: a potential training tool in laparoscopic surgery. Surg Endosc. 2012;26:2003–2009.
37.
Convergence insufficiency treatment trial investigator group. A randomized clinical trial of treatments for symptomatic convergence insufficiency in children. Arch Ophthalmol. 2009;126:1336–1349.
