Does your child struggle with visual processing skills like tracking, eye teaming, and visual perception while reading? These are all developmental skills that children need in addition to seeing clearly. If these skills don’t develop normally, children can struggle with demanding visual tasks. Here are some signs your child may be struggling with visual development:
Visual Information Processing
– Difficulty spelling/copying material from board
– Letter or number reversals
– Not remembering a word in the next sentence
– Poor Reading Strategies
– Slow reading with poor comprehension
Eye Teaming Problems
– Double Vision
– Fatigue after reading
– Headache/fatigue with reading
– Easily distracted/trouble staying on task
Eye Focusing Problems
– Blurry print
– Rubbing of the eyes
– Prefers larger text or picture book
Eye Tracking Problems
– Losing place while reading
– Re-reading words
– Words appear to “swim” on the page
Visual Motor Integration
– Trouble copying from the board
– Sloppy hand-writing
Some of my favorite eye exercises for children are mazes, dot-to-dot pages, highlight hidden pictures, spot the difference, and word searches. There are many iPad apps that help to exercise the eyes as well. Some iPad apps include Vision Tap, Monster Hunt, Flow Free, Visual Attention, and Letter Reflux.
Websites: www.eyecanlearn.com
If your child struggles with visual information processing, call TEAM 4 Kids at 623-322-8250 to schedule an occupational therapy evaluation.
