Behave yourself

It is important to distinguish the anecdotal from the proven. It is tempting to assume what seems to be a good idea to be the truth. Our media are full of such suggestions and this can filter through to clinical practice.

Beliefs ranging from the wearing of prisms to improve reading performance and undertaking certain eye tracking exercises to improve hand-eye coordination are all based on some good solid science but have yet, in varying degrees, to be completely validated by double-blind randomised controlled trials. The danger is that certain clinical techniques may then be undertaken (and charged for) on the basis of less than completely scientific foundation. This may ultimately be to the detriment of the profession. A counter argument might be that, by introducing new techniques, their success or otherwise may be better determined by their effects. The great danger, however, with any technique that claims to influence visual performance or has any subjective element to it is that the placebo effect may be strong. If there is a perceived difficulty with, for example, reading, the simple act of paying some apparently professional attention to it may influence that process in future. Furthermore, individual successes may be interpreted as proof of success as a whole.