Brief Description: Learning to read is a complex task involving language processing skills and oculomotor function. While it is generally accepted that we read using our saccadic eye system, most of us do not really understand the mechanics of how that is accomplished, nor how eye movements correlate to reading outcome measures. Thus, it can be difficult to evaluate treatments like fixation or saccadic eye training on various reading disorders. Both reading acquisition and the refinement of oculomotor function have their own developmental trajectories. Understanding these timelines can help clinicians and teachers work together to initiate timely interventional reading strategies.

Learning Objectives: At the end of this lecture, participants will:

1. Better understand the components of the saccadic eye movement system (eg latency, amplitude, precision).
2. Learn how the eyes move across the page in order to extract information required for word recognition.
3. Better understand the developmental processes (eg lexical processing) that contribute to reading acquisition.
4. Be able to critique current literature on eye movements and reading in early and experienced readers.
5. Learn about treatment pathways designed to address poor reading mechanics/fluency.

Declaration of Financial Interest: None