Children with visual perception disorders have difficulty reading, writing and remembering visual images. Visual memory is an important factor in the process or interpreting what we see. So the child who lacks these abilities will likely have difficulty succeeding when it comes to reading, recognizing symbols and interpreting data.
Difficulty Reading
It is not always apparent that a child has a visual perceptual disorder. The fact that a child has a visual perceptual problem typically surfaces around the age of 6 when a child is learning to read. These children may fall behind their classmates in reading achievement and unfortunately, rarely catch up to their classmates. They tend to confuse symbols that look alike, have difficulty recognizing and remembering “sight” words, lose their place when reading, confuse words that look alike, may reverse letters and read the word “mug” as “gum.”
Difficulty Writing
Children with a visual perception disorder tend to dislike writing. They have difficulty remembering the shapes of letters and numbers, their work may be sloppy and incomplete, spelling is inaccurate, they omit letter and numbers, reverse letters and numbers and have difficulty organizing their written work.
Visual Perceptual Problems Involve More than Reading and Writing
Visual perception disorder creates many more obstacles for children than just reading and writing. They struggle with not only words, but with numbers, diagrams, pictures, maps, charts, tables and graphs. They may have a poor sense of direction and space, problems with planning and organization of tasks, and even interpretation of speed. When it comes to doing schoolwork and homework they fatigue easily and may give up. These children typically have trouble finding things in their room, in their desk or in their backpack. They are easily distracted by other visual stimuli such as movement, pictures on the wall, decorations or people moving around the room. They may also confuse left with right.
Helping the Child with Visual Perceptual Disorder
The first step is to have the child tested. The child’s teacher other school professional can provide for information on where to have the child tested. Some school systems will provide this service free of charge.
Children and teens with visual perceptual disorder often use their auditory skills to make up for their inability to decipher the written word. They can be helped by allowing them to listen to books in addition to reading them. With the use of voice-recognition software, they can use computers to help them write their papers and reports. The child’s teacher(s) and other educational professionals should be consulted to solicit their support in allowing the child to utilize other modes of learning.
Above All, Support and Love Your Child
The good news is that with the right support and counsel, students with visual perception problems can succeed in school and go on to college or a technical school. They can learn how to compensate for their perception problems and utilize their unique strengths.
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