Does my child have Visual Perception problems?

Visual Perception is the ability to interpret, analyze and give meaning to what is seen. The process of taking in one's environment is referred to as "perception." If this perception is incorrect or altered in any way, a child will present with reading, spelling, handwriting, maths and comprehension problems. Visual perception may be connected to physical eye issues but even with 20/20 vision, your child can still struggle to organize visual information. Considering that 80% of what he is expected to learn in school is through visual opportunities, good visual perceptual skills will be essential to establish a strong foundation for learning.

The list below summarizes some common mistakes a child may make when completing their schoolwork due to visual perceptual problems:

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Difficulty distinguishing between similar forms, for example, circle/oval, square/rectangle.
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Confuses similar letter symbols, for example, u/v; r/n; p/q/g.
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Reverses letters and numbers, for example, b/d.
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Difficulty classifying things (struggles to see similarities and differences).
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Misreads words, substitutes words or omits words when reading.
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Looses his place when copying from the board.
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Difficulty looking up words in a dictionary or places on a map.
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Difficulty drawing a straight line between two boundaries.
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Poor grasp of spatial terms, for example, in, out, over, in between, below.
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Poor judgment of spacing in writing.
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Slow motor speed in writing.
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Reads from right to left, for example, mad for dam, tap for pat.
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Confused with the order of vowels in words, for example, oa/ao, ou/uo
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Poor drawing skills (parts may be scattered or have incorrect orientation)
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Difficulty telling a story in the correct sequence

For more information on Visual Perceptual Skills log onto www.visuallearningforlife.com The Visual Learning for Life website offers an extensive database of over 1200 worksheets to stimulate the development of visual perceptual skills. This provides parents, teachers and professionals with a unique and easily accessible tool to help empower children with visual perceptual problems.