# Eye Movement Parameters in Children with Reading Difficulties
## 4 Discussion
In this study, the focus was placed on parameters like saccadic accuracy, peak velocity, and fixation stability, as they provide more direct and interpretable measures of oculomotor control in the context of reading difficulties. Additionally, methodological consistency with validated reading tests and eye-tracking protocols ensured that the analysis remained aligned with the study's primary aims. While the results of the current study do not indicate significant differences in saccadic, smooth pursuit, and fixation parameters in children with and without reading difficulties, the target group (children with reading difficulties) might still include single children that present with eye movement dysfunction. There has been a lengthy discussion on whether children with dyslexia also present with abnormal eye movements in other non-cognitive tasks and whether eye movement abnormalities are the cause or consequence of reading difficulties [67]; however, the studies addressing reading performance in patients with other causes of abnormal eye movements indicate the crucial role of oculomotor system performance in successful reading [68]. The results of the current study do not imply that abnormal eye movements do not cause reading difficulties, but demonstrate that, in general, children with reading difficulties are not prone to oculomotor dysfunction. Furthermore, the absence of general eye movement deficits does not exclude specific oculomotor deficits during reading, since different cognitive processes are involved in oculomotor control during, i.e., attention and lexical processing, which in turn might lead to abnormal eye movements specifically in reading tasks [69; 70]. Reading is a multifactorial process that is influenced by psychological, physiological, environmental, sociological, and linguistic factors; therefore, determining the etiology or the exact cause of reading difficulties involves a complex analysis of all previously mentioned factors. The Acaidence(r) Reading test is designed to identify children at risk of developing reading difficulties rather than to diagnose specific reading disorders. In Latvian basic educational schools, reading skills assessment is conducted by speech therapists; however, the diagnostics of specific learning disorders (including dyslexia) requires the involvement of psychologists, neurologists, and other specialists [71]. As the participant selection for the current study was performed only based on the Acaidence(r) Reading test results, the reading difficulties observed among the participants may stem from a variety of underlying causes, including both internal (neurobiological and physical) and external (social environmental) factors [72, 73]. Including children with various causes of reading difficulties is beneficial, but complicates the interpretation of results, which is the main limitation of the current study. A clearer distinction between children with dyslexia and those with other causes of reading difficulties would provide deeper insight into the physiology of dyslexia. However, we found that the inclusion of children with different causes of reading difficulties in their natural school environments enhanced the ecological validity of the current findings. From an optometrist's perspective, reading difficulties may be associated with poor visual acuity, unstable binocular vision, accommodative dysfunction, different ocular diseases, or oculomotor dysfunction [74]. The conventional tests applied to determine the oculomotor performance in reading-like tasks in optometrist practice (e.g., DEM test) are relatively simple and practical; however, these tests are designed for specific eye movement analysis and do not address the overall performance of the oculomotor system, i.e., saccade, smooth pursuit, and fixational tasks. Furthermore, the performance on the DEM test does not correlate with quantitative measurements of eye movements [75].