Visual Perception Difficulties
Visual perception is our ability to process and organize visual information from the environment. ... A child with visual perceptual problems may be diagnosed with a visual processing disorder. He/she may be able to easily read an eye chart (acuity) but have difficulty organizing and making sense of visual information.Visual perception is our ability to organise and process visual information. Visual Perception Diffiuclties can impact on a students reading, writing and maths skills.
| Visual Perception |
Observed Difficulties |
| Visual Discrimination |
Match colours and shapes
Identify odd one out
Copy sequences
|
| Visual Memory |
Remembering letter/number shapes
Remembering visual sequences
Retaining visual information
|
| Proprioception (Body awareness) |
Understanding of directional and positional information
Dificulties with body awareness
Poor directional sense
|
| Visual Tracking |
Copying shapes and patterns
space letters correctly
Recording work
Placing writing correctly on the page
|
| Visual Form Constancy |
Recognise letters in different fonts
recognising the same shape in different contexts
|
| Visual Figure Ground |
Focus on a task
Read/copy without losing their place
Throwing and catching
|
| Visual Closure |
Completing an almost finished outline of a familiar object or shape. |
Yes @ Areté Learning Trust is able to provide advice on strategies and resources which can support students with Visual Perception Difficulties and the assessment of specific difficutlies.
People with Mearles-Irlen Syndrome (visual stress) may or may not also have other specific learning difficulties.
Signs that a student may have some visual stress difficulties include:
- Rubbing eyes, staring (to hold words), excessive blinking, sore or watery eyes
- Tiredness and poor attention span
- Looking away from the page, or moving and changing position frequently
- Poor comprehension of text
- Losing place or missing out words/ lines when reading
- Reading slowly without expression or meaning
Students with visual stress may experience one or all of the following:
- Blurring of print
- Movement of print
- Pattern through text
- Colours
- Visual discomfort, nausea and headaches
Advice for Specialist Assessors from SASC
Yes @ Areté Learning Trust offer a screening service for Visual Stress difficulties. The diagnostic assessment which costs £10 will be carried out by Inese Yeardley who qualified as an Orthoptist in 1970 from the Manchester School of Orthoptics and became a clinical tutor in 1996. She has worked in Yorkshire, Lancashire and Kent and retired from Durham and Darlington NHS Trust in 2008 after working there for 26 years. From 2004 Inese has worked at Cooper an Leatherbarrow seeing children and adults with reading problems, visual stress and Dyslexia.
To book an appointment please email yes@richmondschool.net
The IIoC is creating worldwide recognition and support for sufferers of visual stress. It is a not for profit organization that exists to promote the awareness of visual stress. Visual Stress is acknowledged by the British government as a component in the failure of some children to access literacy skills. They have supported information on the use of overlays to all schools throughout the UK. The lloC supports and sponsors the strong lobby group who liaise regularly with government ministers to seek extended funding for the Precision Tinted Lenses for children.
In the classroom a range of resources can be used to support students with visual stress.
1. Reading Rulers
2. Tinted Handwriting Exercise Books
3. Tinted Exercise Books A4
4. Tinted Exercise Books 9 x 7
5. Coloured Page Overlays