What is Visual Processing

Many students may be struggling with visual processing and you won’t know it because it is something that looks much different from other disabilities. According to Kelly (2021), a visual processing disorder is the ability to tell how far objects are from each other and the person. 

A student struggling with visual processing could show symptoms that may be seen as just being clumsy. 

In social situations, this may look like:

• Bumping into people or objects

• Tripping over objects on the floor

• Falling out of their seat

• Unsafe hands when trying to high five students (for example, they miss their hand and hit their arm or another part of their body instead)

• Unafe feet when playing with others (for example, they miss the ball when kicking and accidentally kick a peer) 

• They move into people’s personal space easily

• Struggle with throwing or catching a ball 

In academic settings, it could look like:

• Mixing up letters and numbers like: M W b P 6 9 

• Reach and miss picking up items

• Struggle with retaining and processing visual directions like copying lines during an art project 

• Not using the lines appropriately when writing on paper

• Dropping objects onto floor instead of their desk

• Struggle with tying shoes

• Moving objects into the right containers or space 

It may seem as if the student with visual processing deficits is not paying attention or just not listening, yet when in reality their perception of space is not the same as ours.

The image above provides examples of what someone with a visual/spatial processing disorder may interpret when drawing. Students whose work are in the middle two rows have Williams Syndrome and struggle with visual processing while the last row of students are neurotypical (Garrison, n.d.; Hall, 1966)

I hope this gave you a deeper understanding of what a students drawings may look like who are struggling with visual processing and until next time,

Happy Learning