Presenter links reading struggles to vision-tracking issues and proposes simple classroom screening and exercises

Summary

Mary Mahalka told the House Education Committee that vision-tracking problems can cause reading and attention difficulties. She demonstrated low-cost screening exercises she says can be taught to parents and volunteers; legislators asked technical and implementation questions and expressed interest in exploring classroom or volunteer-based pilot

Mary Mahalka told the House Committee on Education that basic vision-tracking deficits — how the eyes work together and follow text — are an under-recognized cause of reading and attention problems in students and presented a low-cost screening-and-exercise approach she said can be used with children and adults.

Mahalka, a former teacher who said she lives in Star, told the committee that a recent U.S. education report showed declining fourth-grade reading proficiency and that “only 31 percent of fourth grade students performed at or above the proficiency level,” citing a National Center for Education report. She said that in her experience administering quick vision-tracking checks and short, daily exercises, many students labeled with dyslexia, ADD or ADHD show remediable oculomotor or binocular-vision problems.

“I have worked with individuals from age 4 to 94,” Mahalka said. “There is hope. With simple testing and daily practice, you can raise the level of classroom…

Presenter links reading struggles to vision-tracking issues and proposes simple classroom screening and exercises

Summary

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