Optometry Vision Therapy Center
 

Visual Processing Skills!

Helping Your Child Understand the World They See.

 
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More Than Meets the Eye: When Seeing Clearly Isn't Enough

Does your bright child struggle with reading, writing, or paying attention in school? You may have been told their eyesight is "20/20," yet you know something is holding them back. The problem may not be with their eyes, but in how their brain processes and understands visual information.

Vision information processing is the brain's ability to interpret and make sense of what the eyes see... it goes beyond just having 20/20 eyesight. It involves analyzing, interpreting, and storing visual information to coordinate physical or mental reactions. It is crucial for tasks like reading, writing, understanding social cues and performing coordinated physical activities and competitive athletics.

The Building Blocks of Visual Understanding

Visual processing isn't one single skill, but a team of abilities that work together. Our therapy programs focus on identifying and improving these core areas:

Visual Discrimination

The “What is it” Visual Skills
  • Visual discrimination Is the ability to recognize differences in images which is essential for reading, math, and writing. A deficit can lead to mixing up words or numbers while reading or doing math, leading to reduced comprehension or an incorrect math problem.
  • Form constancyRefers to recognizing a shape or image even in a different orientation. For example, writing a letter “A” on a piece of paper and turning the page upside down, one can still recognize that this is a letter “A” even though it is upside down. This is important for a student to recognize letters, words, or numbers at any orientation.
  • Visual closureIs the ability to recognize an object or image without seeing the full picture. Consider seeing a partial image of a face. Even if parts of the face are missing, we can visualize the rest of the face and understand that this should be a face. This becomes important in developing speed and fluency while reading.
  • LateralityIs the ability to recognize directional differences between words, letters, numbers, or objects. This also includes recognizing a distinction between one's own right and left.
Impact on Learning:
Crucial for noticing small details in pictures and math problems and for recognizing letters like 'b' and 'd', identifying words like 'was' and 'saw'.

Laterality

The “Where is it” Visual Skills
  • Visual spatial awarenessAllows one to understand where various objects are in space relative to oneself, and where objects are in space relative to each other. An essential ability to understand the position of oneself and other objects in space, along with size, speed, and direction differences.
  • Visual figure groundRefers to the ability to find an object in a busy background. A good example of figure ground are hidden picture activities. Having difficulty finding an image or word on a page can make finding information quickly more difficult and time consuming.
Impact on Learning:
These skills are important for math problems, reading comprehension, gross motor skills, sports, and the ability to navigate appropriately in space. Affects handwriting with proper spacing and
sizing, prevents letter and number reversals, and is key for understanding maps, graphs, and
geometry.

Visual Memory

The “Remembering” Visual Skills
  • Visual memoryIs the ability to recall visual information that was seen moments before after looking away.
  • Visual sequential memory Refers to being able to recall information in the order it was presented.
Impact on Learning:
Essential skills for copying notes from the board, remembering spelling words, and performing multi-step math problems without losing track. Accurate visual memory becomes crucial for developing good reading comprehension – if a student cannot remember a passage that he or she has read, then understanding the meaning becomes much more difficult.
.

Spatial Orientation & Relations

The “How to React” Visual Skills
  • Visual motor integrationRefers to how we physically react to visual information. Consider a baseball player hitting a ball: The baseball player has to see the ball and then coordinate swinging the bat with what he sees. That coordination between seeing the ball and swinging the bat is visual motor integration.
  • Visual cognitive integrationIs similar with a mental reaction to visual information. Consider mental math, visualizing a solution to a puzzle or anticipation of other actions in real time worked out “in your head"
Impact on Learning:
Difficulty with visual motor integration and visual cognitive integration can create difficulty with writing or copying information, difficulty with math problems, and difficulty with sports.

Common Signs of a Visual Processing Challenge

A visual processing deficit can sometimes be mistaken for a learning disability or attention issue. If your child exhibits several of the following signs, a comprehensive visual skills evaluation may provide answers:

  • Confuses similar-looking letters and words (e.g., b/d, p/q, was/saw)
  • Struggles to copy notes accurately from the board or a book
  • Has messy or poorly spaced handwriting
  • Complains that words "move around" on the page
  • Shows difficulty remembering spelling words
  • Has trouble with puzzles or recognizing patterns
  • Seems clumsy or has difficulty with right vs. left directions
  • Experiences fatigue quickly with reading or close-up work

How Vision Therapy Builds Stronger Brain-Eye Connections

The great news is that visual processing skills are trainable. Through a personalized vision therapy program, we use a series of fun, engaging, and repetitive activities to build and strengthen the neural pathways between your child's eyes and brain.

Our therapy is designed to make these essential skills more automatic and efficient. By improving how your child processes and understands visual information, we can help reduce their frustration and unlock their true potential for learning.

Find the Answers to Help Your Child Thrive

If you recognize these signs and feel your child could benefit from a deeper look into their visual skills, we are here to help. A comprehensive evaluation is the first step to understanding your child's challenges and creating a plan for their success.

Schedule a Visual Skills Evaluation