By: Sandy Smith, Neurodevelopmental Specialist
Reading passage for homework: The horse jumped over the fence.
Child reads: “The hose jumped over fence.”
Mom: “Go back. Try again. That doesn’t make sense. You missed something.”
Does your child have reading difficulties? To they continually misread words or leave words out of their reading? Do they frequently have to go back and re-read passages to get the words right, or for the sentences to make grammatical sense?
When we are tiny babies, one of the first things to develop in our brains is the ability for our eyes to track horizontally. The nerves that control the movement of the eyes are being developed in the first few weeks and months of life. If our ability to do this is impaired, our eyes may jump over letters within words, or jump over some words completely. We may easily loose our place or be unable to read smoothly, even if all the words are familiar ones. Although this skill is developed during the first few months of life, the consequences of an underdeveloped visual motor system can be life-long.
A program of NeuroDevelopmental Movement® guides the client through The Developmental Sequence and allows horizontal tracking along with other visual motor skills to develop naturally. Visual motor challenges can also lead to other academic, social and behavioral concerns that lessen and/or resolve as a client progresses through the program.