Signs of deficits and what you can do to help
Visual perceptual skills are essential skills needed to be successful in everyday activities but for students, specifically tasks like spelling, writing, math and reading. Sometimes we, even teachers, take for granted how much processing goes into something as “simple” as forming words or spacing out math problems in a written format. Before we get into more details below, if you haven’t read it already, check out my post on what visual perceptual skills are and about the eye brain connection
Visual Discrimination
- Children with visual discrimination problems may have trouble:
- sorting items
- matching socks or shoes
- distinguishing between letters or numbers
- correcting errors in school work
- discriminating between size of letters and objects
- matching two dimension to three dimension objects or letters
- matching coins
- Activities you can do:
- become captain obvious- start pointing out everything you notice between the similarities and differences then start to slowly ask your child about what they see, you may need to point to specific areas to help them target where to begin looking
- play matching games
- have them sort common items
- have them help sort laundry
- Activities specific to writing:
- have them circle or identify capital letters versus lowercase letters
- have them “grade” paper by circling letters or numbers formed correctly versus incorrectly
- use flash cards with correct letter on one side, have your child try to draw the letter correctly before turning it over
Visual Closure
- Children with visual closure problems may have trouble:
- solving jigsaw puzzles
- writing
- spelling
- finishing a partially drawn picture
- fill in worksheets with partially missing pieces or that are poorly photocopied
- copying from a presentation where they can’t see the whole screen
- completing dot to dot or crossword worksheets or puzzles
- identifying mistakes in written work
- completing math problems
- leave out part of words or entire words in a sentence
- Activities you can do:
- complete jigsaw puzzles with your child and start pointing out different parts of each piece before connecting them
- play guessing game, cover up half of an item with towel and have them guess what the item is
- write a couple of letters on a board and have them come up with a list of words that have those letters in them ex. pl could become play, plate, plateau, plumber. Have the letters start at the beginning, middle and end of the words
- complete 3D puzzles
- complete mazes
- make sure their seat and board has no obstructions
- provide a hint to help student locate mistakes or errors in writing
Figure-Ground
- Children with figure-ground problems may have trouble:
- over attending to details and miss the “big picture”
- overlooking details and misses important information
- with having visual search strategies
- attending to a word due to difficulty blocking out other words on page
- copying from the board, may leave out words or segments
- keeping place while reading or writing and relocating where they left off
- locating items in fridge, pantry, closet, or dresser
- locating items in hidden pictures
- locating a friend on the playground
- recognizing malformed letters or uneven spacing
- Activities you can do:
- play BINGO, word searches
- play hidden picture games (ex. Where’s Waldo, Highlights, I Spy)
- play I Spy with items around the room (make it 3D)
- when playing games or completing puzzles, present one item at a time
- place only one activity or one problem on a page or on the table
- use paper or a towel to block out parts of a page that they don’t need to focus on yet
- don’t have worksheets cluttered with information or “cute” decorations
- make a “homework” area with decreased visual clutter
- use a colorful placemat under worksheet
- keep interesting items behind closed doors
- use a study carrel or blocker
- place desks closer to the front of the room to reduce visual distractions
- use a colored marker to highlight specific areas you want them to attend to
Form Constancy
- Children with figure-ground problems may have trouble:
- recognizing letters or numbers consistently
- read words presented in different fonts, books, print
- reading
- mastering the alphabet
- recognizing errors
- discriminating between b, d and p, q, g and a, o
- transitioning from print to curvsive
- gaging size of item despite distance
- understand volumetric concepts like mass, amount, quantity
- identifying items when looking from a different angle
- Activities you can do:
- build and complete construction type activities like Legos or Duplo, Erector Sets, K-Nex
- copy or build picture based on a model
- complete writing and reading in a variety of positions
- try to use the same font and color on handouts
- when first learning letters, start out learning in the same plane (if its on flat table or vertical surface like a chalkboard keep it like that until the child memorizes it)
- teach them to turn or tilt their head if they have trouble visualizing
- when having them copy from a board, provide a printed form on paper to copy at desk from
- practice, practice practice! they need more repetitions
Spatial Relations
- Children with figure-ground problems may have trouble:
- remembering where to start when reading or writing or loses placement on page
- remembering left versus right
- finding items
- reading charts, maps and diagrams
- differentiating between b, d, p, q
- planning actions in relation to things around them
- understanding concepts like in, out, under, next to, up, down, on top of
- sight vocabulary
- letter and number reversals
- writing out math problems
- Activities you can do:
- create obstacle courses for your child to navigate
- dance to songs like the Hokey Pokey or chicken dance song that tell you where to place your body
- play Simon Says
- practice copying 3D designs
- use graph paper to help with spacing for math problems
- have them say the math problem orally before they write it so you know they grasp the concept
- use a sticker or highlight a dot or start to show them where to start
- practice drawing and using arrows for directions
- place sticker or mark on right side of body and clothing/shoes to help them differentiate between the sides of their body
- decrease use of 2D items like images on paper or tablet and utilize more 3D items so they can feel the difference in their hands
- provide pictures of how you want areas organized versus just telling them “put it away,” “put it in the box,” or “it goes under the sink” etc.
Sequential Memory
- Children with figure-ground problems may have trouble:
- math
- spelling
- sequencing letter or numbers in words or math problems
- remembering the alphabet sequence
- copying from one place to another (ex. from board or book to paper)
- retreiving words with reversals or when out of order
- remembering order of events after reading
- reading comprehension
- remembering assignments
- remembering steps in an activity
- Activities you can do:
- play board games
- play game “memory”
- play Simon Says
- play and dance to songs like Hokey Pokey, chicken dance, or line dances that have sequential steps
- play games such as BINGO that require you to look for specific forms
- teach them strategies like repeating the information over and over out loud
- provide visuals of the story for them to manipulate when chaining event timeline together
- provide steps with pictures of activities you want them to do independently
Visual Memory
- Children with figure-ground problems may have trouble:
- remembering sight words
- remembering or writing letters and numbers from memory
- not mixing lower and uppercase letters
- with reading comprehension
- remembering a phone number or address number
- wayfinding/navigating their environments
- copying from the board or book/replicating information
- transferring learned letters or words from one medium or context to another
- Activities you can do:
- play games like “memory”
- teach them strategies like take a picture and put it in your mind, pay attention to where on the word is on the page or where the item is in space, repeat the information out loud until you know longer need to remember it
- have them build letters and numbers out of pipe cleaners or popsicle sticks
- trace the letter onto their body
- write the letter in the air with your hand or your feet
- draw the letterr with their eyes closed
- use fun verbal descriptions to describe letters, like letter m and n are like a camel, n has one hump, m has two humps
- provide them with a visual model until they have practiced enough that the information transfers from short term memory to long term memory
- allow them to use strategies like spell check
I hope you find some of these strategies helpful!! Subscribe and let me know what you think! :)