Published: 18 August 2020 | Last updated: 16 September 2026 | Publisher: Smart Vision Optometry
At a glance
- Eye tracking describes the accurate eye movements used to follow a moving target and shift between points of interest.
- Reading behaviours such as losing place or using a finger can have many causes and do not diagnose an eye-tracking problem or dyslexia.
- An eye assessment can check visual acuity, prescription, eye health, alignment, focusing and eye movements when clinically indicated.
What is eye tracking?
The eyes use several movement systems. Saccades are quick shifts from one target to another, pursuits follow a moving target, and fixations hold gaze on a point long enough to gather visual information. During reading, the eyes make a sequence of fixations and saccades rather than moving smoothly along every letter.
These movements work with focusing, eye alignment, visual acuity, attention and language processing. Difficulty in one area cannot be identified reliably from a single classroom or sporting behaviour.
Eye movements during reading
Researchers can use eye-tracking systems to record fixations, saccades and regressions. A 2024 comparative study of small groups of children found group differences in several reading eye-movement measures. That type of study helps describe patterns, but it does not show that an observed behaviour diagnoses a condition in an individual child.
A child may lose place, reread words, avoid reading or use a finger as a guide for many reasons, including the difficulty of the text, attention, fatigue, language skills, uncorrected refractive error or an eye-movement problem. These signs justify a broader review rather than a predetermined conclusion.
Eye tracking is not a dyslexia diagnosis
Dyslexia is a language-based learning difficulty. The RANZCO position statement on learning difficulties in children says dyslexia is not caused by a vision problem and that evidence-based educational support remains central.
This does not mean eye care is irrelevant. A child can have dyslexia and a separate refractive, binocular or ocular-motor condition. An eye examination can identify and manage a genuine eye problem without presenting that treatment as a cure for dyslexia or other learning difficulties.
Eye tracking in sport and daily activity
Following a ball, shifting gaze between players and judging a moving scene use eye movements together with attention, timing, depth cues and motor responses. Poor performance in one drill is not diagnostic. Read more about how visual skills can be assessed in sport.
What an assessment may include
- visual acuity and refractive error;
- eye health and alignment;
- focusing and binocular coordination; and
- saccades and pursuits when the history and symptoms make them relevant.
The findings should be explained in plain language and linked to a specific management goal. Review SVO’s vision therapy assessment service or arrange an appointment if persistent visual symptoms are affecting reading, work or sport.
Questions about eye tracking
What does eye tracking mean?
Eye tracking refers to movements such as saccades, pursuits and fixations that shift gaze, follow a moving target and hold attention on a point.
Do eye-tracking difficulties cause dyslexia?
Dyslexia is a language-based learning difficulty and is not caused by a vision problem. A person can still have a separate eye condition that should be identified and managed on its own merits.
When should eye movements be assessed?
Assessment is reasonable when persistent visual symptoms, double vision, difficulty following a moving target or repeated reading discomfort affects daily activity. The clinician can decide which eye-movement tests are relevant.
