
Good visual processing skills are essential for classroom learning. They also form the foundation for social connection, and our ability to “read” faces, and are closely linked to other areas of sensory and motor development.
Delays in early development of visual processing skills often become apparent when children start to struggle in school,. You may notice delays in learning to read and write, or poor hand-eye coordination and difficulty with sporting activities. These difficulties are often linked to symptoms of ADHD and dyslexia, and your child’s teacher might suggest that they “need a diagnosis”.
What is Visual Processing?
While vision refers to the ability to see, visual processing, or visual perception describes the way the brain processes this visual information. Each eye takes in a slightly different image, for example, and our brains have to process these to make sense of what we are seeing.
Your child might not appear to have any problems with actually seeing, but difficulties arise with how their brains are able to interpret and make sense of what they are seeing.
Importance of Early Development
Early development of visual processing forms an important foundation for all later learning. It can affect learning to read, the ability of our eyes to follow our hand when writing, and being able to catch or hit a ball. It can also affect our ability to connect socially and form relationships, as we learn to visually “read” faces for cues of safety.
This article discusses how visual processing skills develop, and how immaturities can be linked to learning difficulties and signs of ADHD and Dyslexia. It offers tips for supporting your child’s early visual development, and an explanation of how difficulties with visual processing may present in the classroom. The article concludes with some suggestions for helping children who are struggling with reading and other learning difficulties.
How Visual Processing Develops
Your child’s early visual development started even before they were born. Baby’s eyes open around week 28 in utero. They started to perceive bright lights, focus on close-up objects, and could actually start to track movement. At birth, baby quickly learnt to focus, gazing at your face when feeding, learning that you are their safe place.
This was the very beginning of learning about emotional regulation. Baby was also learning to read social signals by watching and attuning to your facial expressions. They noticed how the tiny muscles around your eyes and mouth were moving, and were able to tune into your emotions.
Did you know you were this important?
What’s it like for baby, though, when mum’s focus is on her phone rather than baby’s face during feeding? How does baby learn to read facial expressions when mum’s facial muscles have been artificially paralysed?
Visual processing continues to develop as baby grows, and is gradually able to process increasingly complex visual information. Floor play becomes important as baby learns to focus on objects both near and further away. Baby also enjoys watching and imitating your movements and watching your face through games such as peek-a-boo.
Visual Processing In the Classroom
Somewhere between the age of 6 and 7, your child’s sensory and motor skills will have developed to the point where they are ready for more complex learning, such as reading and writing. Not only do they need to be able to interpret the letters individually, but they also need to be able to make meaning from them when they are grouped together to form words.
Is Your Child Ready for Reading?
Following from these important stages of early development, reading readiness requires the ability to:
- Distinguish between similar looking letters
- Process and recall the order or sequence of letters
- Remember and recall visual information
- Recall similar shapes of words
- Both eyes need to be able to work together as a team
- Focus on the same point the same time – a single image or written symbol
- Interpret the symbols on the page
- Track smoothly along a line of written symbols, easily crossing midlines, and
- Send a clear image to the brain in the correct sequence
- Be able to quickly change focus, angles and distance, moving from a speaker, to do written work.
Links to ADHD and Dyslexia
Since 2005 I have been checking visual processing as part of a general assessment for developmental readiness for school. Many of these children came with diagnoses of Dyslexia and/or ADHD. I often found difficulties with aspects of visual processing, such as being able to bring both eyes together to focus on a single image, or being able to easily follow a moving target. I also noticed that these difficulties were often linked to other areas of sensory development, such as senses of balance, touch, and listening or auditory processing.
Children who struggle with learning to read and write don’t usually know why they can’t keep up with their peers. Although they are trying just as hard, they are just not getting the results. Becoming frustrated, they may think they are dumb or stupid, and give up. Being asked to try harder won’t help, and can actually create anxiety, reinforcing learning difficulties.
They let us know that they are struggling through their behaviours. They may start annoying their neighbour, or just give up altogether and gaze out of the window. It’s not unusual for children to tell me they “hate reading”. They also feel self conscious, and self esteem drops, as they have no idea why others can “get it” and they can’t.
Imagine building a house with some of the foundations missing. This is what classroom learning can feel like for children with delays in early stages of sensory and motor development. Many will struggle to acquire new skills through no fault of their own.
Signs of Difficulties with Visual Processing in the Classroom
Some things you might notice include:
- Loss of place tracking a line of print, jumping to anther line, or missing words in a line
- Need to use a finger to follow the words when reading
- Frequent mistakes when copying letters, words
- Little expression when reading aloud – monotone, no expression
- Poor reading comprehension – they can “read” the words, but lose track of their meaning when in a sentence, unable to remember what has been read
- Trouble with drawing – unable to copy shapes
- Misreading words
- Letter reversals after age 7
- Slow reading, intense concentration
- Reads better with one eye closed
- Complains of headaches
- Poor posture when reading or writing
- Poor concentration, restless when asked to read, spell
- Difficulty catching a ball
How You Can Help
As mentioned earlier, skills of visual processing, as with all sensory development, started before birth, and developed through early feelings safety and connection.
Some things you can do to help their early development of visual processing skills:
- Minimise (eliminate) the use of television and digital devices for the first three years, especially small screens. Pixellated images are not the same as the real world!
- Lots of outdoor play, climbing trees, scrambling over rocks at the beach, and building sand castles will help to strengthen not only their big muscles, but also help with hand-eye coordination
- Time spent in nature, looking into the distance, gazing at the clouds, as well as focussing on the details of flowers, grasses and insects
- Games where their eyes need to change focus, from close up to distance, such as throwing and catching balls
- Activities to build hand-eye coordination, cutting paper, building with clay and play dough, drawing, painting
- Playing with trains and toy cars, will help their eyes work together to follow a moving object
- Jig saw puzzles, where their eyes need to focus on the small parts, as well as the big picture
- Develop social skills through speaking and listening, noticing facial expressions, and linking them to feelings
- Spend lots of time having fun together, especially in the first three years
- Creating safety in relationship as a foundation for all sensory development – listening, visual processing, touch, taste, smell, balance
School-based Sensorimotor Development Program
Research from the Institute of Neuro-Physiological Psychology shows benefits of a school-based sensorimotor development program. Addressing neuromotor immaturities has been shown to support learning in all its forms – social, emotional, physical, behavioural as well as academic.
Counselling Support
If your child is struggling at school, an assessment for developmental readiness is a good place to start. Your counsellor can help you understand the impact that disrupted early development can have on learning and behaviour — and they can work with you to help you address any issues you would like to resolve.
Please Note: If you’re worried about your child’s vision or visual processing, it is a good idea to make an appointment to see an optometrist.
Tips for Raising Happy Healthy Children
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Related Articles
- Floor Play and Tummy Time
- Raising a Secure Child
- Building Blocks for Learning
- Does my Child need a Diagnosis?
Further Reading
- Badenoch, B. (2018). The Heart of Trauma. Norton. USA.
- Goddard Blythe, S. (2023). Reflexes, Movement, Learning and Behaviour. Hawthorn Press. UK.
- McGilchrist, I. (2018). The Master and His Emissary. Yale University Press. USA.skillswork to