6-year-old Rubbing Eyes/Skipping Lines When Reading...

[redpajama]

Lately we've noticed our 6-year-old rubbing his eyes a lot.  If I ask him why he's doing it, he seems sort of at a loss--occasionally he'll say they hurt, but mostly he doesn't seem to have an answer.  I've noticed him doing this particularly when he's reading.

Last night, I read him a chapter of Harry Potter, and he just sat and listened.  Afterwards, he read me a chapter of a book, and he kept stopping to rub his eyes.  I asked him if he was having trouble seeing the words, and he would said no.  

The other thing I noticed when he was reading aloud was that he frequently skips a line when reading in a body of text, or occasionally begins to re-read the line he just finished.  A Google search turned up a lot of things about dyslexia related to line-skipping.  I don't suspect dyslexia, because he was a precocious reader who is reading several grade levels ahead--is that a misperception on my part?  Or is this line-skipping normal at his age, perhaps?  I remember kids in school reading using a bookmark turned sideways, which they sort of slid down the page as they read, presumably to keep them for skipping/re-reading a line; is this just something some kids do?  

I will likely take him to an optometrist, but I'm curious if anyone has any perspective in the meantime on either the eye-rubbing or the line-skipping.  My vision has always been good, but my husband's vision is quite impaired, and has been corrected with glasses since he was in elementary school.  No one in our family has any seasonal allergies, and he (my son) doesn't show any other signs of them, but that also crossed my mind.

[woodchick]

Any chance he is complaining of headaches?

I didn't have vision issues, per say, as a kid, but I did have issues with the muscles in my eyes tightening up when I read (which was ALL THE TIME).  It would make my eyes tired and kind of blurry and I was complaining of headaches.

I saw the optometrist in second grade, but didn't get reading glasses until I was in 5th. I'm sure there was a reason, but I was a kid and didn't ask!

[redpajama]

He hasn't mentioned it, although he has said that his eyes "hurt" a few times when he was rubbing them, so I suppose that could be his interpretation of a headache.  I'm going to try to pay more attention to when he's doing in, an addition to when he's reading.  He is definitely doing it at times when he *isn't* reading, but it seems like every time he reads for more than 5-10 minutes, he's doing it a lot.  I *feel* like he's doing it when he's using the computer (which is still a lot of reading) or using my husband's iPod.  I don't, on the other hand, recall seeing him doing it when we're outside, or playing more actively.  But I'm going to start paying closer attention.
 

Originally Posted by woodchick 

Any chance he is complaining of headaches?

I didn't have vision issues, per say, as a kid, but I did have issues with the muscles in my eyes tightening up when I read (which was ALL THE TIME).  It would make my eyes tired and kind of blurry and I was complaining of headaches.

I saw the optometrist in second grade, but didn't get reading glasses until I was in 5th. I'm sure there was a reason, but I was a kid and didn't ask!

[MomtoDandJ]

I wonder if it could be allergies... pollen might make his eyes itchy would explain the rubbing.  And if he's stopping to close and rub his eye frequently, it would make sense he's skipping lines a little.  If it was something cognitive then I'd guess you'd see it more with other activities too... recounting numbers he already counted, going to brush his teeth after he already brushed them, etc.

Good luck at the eye doctor, hopefully he'll have some answers for you.

[katiecat]

Oh my gosh my son is doing this too! Not the line skipping but constantly rubbing his eyes. He says they are itchy. He does read a lot and I was trying to see a corelation between if he did it more while/after being on the computer. That is what I was thinking.

Also this started after he had an eye infection in March but that cleared up quickly and easily and his eyes have looked absolutely fine since. So I was also wondering if it is something that just became a habit after the irritation of the eye infection. (He's had other similar habits.)

The other thing I was thinking of was seasonal allergies which he does have but they have not been bothering him as much this year as previous years and the eye rubbing has never been an issue like this before.

I was thinking to take him to the eye doctor as well and haven't yet but I did take him to our family doctor who just said that itchy eyes are not a cause for concern and recommended using lubricating drops (which there's no way ds would use anyway). They did do a distance eye test which was fine and ds says he is not having trouble seeing.

Can you please post again if you find anything else out?

[Dukey25]

My son does this too although he is not a strong reader so I thought that it might just be his eyes/brain getting use to reading. He has had his eyes checked so it is not a sight issue. I have suspected seasonal allergies since is was 2 (he is now 7) because he has always had summer eczema and congestion in the summer but I think he does this always when reading and not just this time of year. Hmmmmm.

[Redheaded_Momma]

Definitely get his eyes examined. Losing his place while reading is a sign of problems with his vision. Usually an eye muscle problem.  They can strengthen his eye muscles with specific exercises or prescribe glasses to decrease the work load of his eyes depending on his specific problem. Good Luck! Nikki

[Mizelenius]

My oldest was also several grades ahead in reading, but suddenly started complaining that she could "see through things."

At that time she did not need glasses, but she had severe convergence insufficiency.  The could not figure out how she could read-- and she was/is a speed reader, because it is very hard for people with CI to go from one line to the next.  We found out about it through a typical exam, but not all doctors (I don't think) check for CI, so make sure yours does.

She had to go to vision therapy for it, and is now fine.  http://www.convergenceinsufficiency.org/

ETA Symptoms

What are the Symptoms of Convergence Insufficiency?
A person who has convergence insufficiency may show and/or complain of the following while doing close work (i.e., reading, computer work, deskwork, playing handheld video games, doing crafts, etc.):

• eyestrain (especially with or after reading)
• headaches
• blurred vision
• double vision
• inability to concentrate
• short attention span
• frequent loss of place
• squinting, rubbing, closing or covering an eye
• sleepiness during the activity
• trouble remembering what was read
• words appear to move, jump, swim or float
• problems with motion sickness and/or vertigo
• A person can pass the 20/20 eye chart test and still have convergence insufficiency.

[One_Girl]

My dd did this a lot during the first year when she was reading chapter books.  I suggest just pointing to the place where he should be and ignoring it for a while if the check up points to no vision problems.  Bigger print books that he can read while learning may also help.  My dd is 8 now and rarely skips a word even when there is very tiny print so I really do think it has something to do with getting used to going from books with a lot of spacing between very large words to books with very little room between the lines and smaller fonts.

[bandgeek]

DS does this.  He does it more when he's tired or has been reading for a while and getting burnt out.  He's not as far along in reading as your son...we were just reading a dr suess book last night. It had like 60 pages so he would read one then I would read the next.  By page 40 he was slowing down, stumbling over words, rubbing his eyes and skipping lines.  I've also noticed he's a MUCH better reader earlier in the day.  When we try to read before bed he has difficulty with words like "fan" and "tip" when earlier in the day he read the word "unique" without hesitation. LOL  Oh and DS has glasses and it doesn't matter if he wears them or not.  For him it all seems to be about endurance, not eyesight.  But it's definitely worth checking out.

[redpajama]

Thanks for the replies.

It's been a couple months since I posted this, and it seems to be quite a bit better.  Strangely, he had a few big flare-ups with his eyes that led me to believe it was allergy-related (where his eyes got really red and the conjunctiva swelled to the edge of his iris).  I was debating whether to get some sort of otc allergy medication to give him when it seemed to just sort of go away.  

He's been reading non-stop lately, and he doesn't seem to be having problems.  I haven't heard him read aloud in quite a while, at least not for any length of time, but he reads easy chapter books (Magic Treehouse, Judy Moody, Stink, et cetera) cover-to-cover in a single sitting 2-4 times a week, sometimes reading for several consecutive hours, and he's not rubbing his eyes any more.  Perhaps it was some sort of seasonal allergy.  

Thanks again for all the feedback.