Vision and Reading
The end goal of reading is to UNDERSTAND, COMPREHEND, or get MEANING from what is read.
Try This:
Look at the picture below. Can you "see" or "understand" what it is you are looking at?
"You may not immediately see the subject of the photograph because the seemingly meaningless blobs of light and dark require VISION interpretation. When you "see" the subject, you have VISION. Before that, you had only eyesight. Vision is the ability to get MEANING from eyesight. Many people have clear "eyesight", but are slow readers or have difficulty getting MEANING through the visual pathway. Such persons are handicapped in business, social, and school life. Many also suffer visual discomfort or fatigue while reading or doing other close work."
--Optometric Extension Program Foundation, Inc., www.oep.org
VISION does not happen like taking a picture with a camera; you have to go out and gather meaning and understanding from the world through ACTIVE EXPLORATION. This display will describe how VISION functions in the process of reading, and where breakdowns occur that can lead to poor reading abilities, fluency problems, and dyslexia.
VISION is like the hand. To know what you are holding in your hand, first you have to GRAB the object, then you have to hold it just right (not too tight, not too loose), and finally you have to FEEL the object. Without active FEELING it is hard to know what you have in your hand.
Try This:
Have a friend find a small object (example: a matchbox car). CLOSE YOUR EYES and have the friend put the object in your hand. Can you identify what you have in your hand? Notice that it is hard to recognize the object you are holding if you do not manipulate it within your hand. Actively FEELING helps a lot.
VISION works in a similar way
First you have to VISUALLY GRAB hold of the object you are looking at. Your eyes must be moved to orient them toward the object being looked at. This requires EYE MOVEMENT SKILLS.
Then you VISUALLY GRAB the object by FOCUSING on the object with your FOCUSING SKILLS, and coordinating your two eyes together with BINOCULAR SKILLS so that they both point directly at the object.
Finally, you have to VISUALLY FEEL the object by analyzing its different features. This requires perceptual skills. Only then do you get VISION.
In summary, getting meaning and understanding from our visual world depends upon good FOCUSING SKILLS, BINOCULAR SKILLS, and EYE-MOVEMENT SKILLS. The next panel describes how these systems work.