A visual-processing deficit is the inability to interpret, organize, analyse or synthesize a visual message in the absence of a visual impairment.
The following is a list of characteristics that may be evident in children with this deficit. Use this as a checklist with regard to students who you think may fit this category.
-The student is inattentive to visual tasks and can be easily distracted by too much visual stimuli (e.g. brightly coloured posters, or too much clutter in the classroom).
-The student is restless during videos or visual presentations.
-The student has difficulty copying from the board, test paper, calculator or textbook to he student’s own paper.
-The student’s written copy may show missing figures or words, reversals, inversions, additions, deletions, or transpositions in letters or numbers.
-The student does not remember what he or she has read silently
-The student rubs his or her eyes or complains that his or her eyes are bothering him or her. The eyes may be bothered because of the intensity needed to decipher the visual material.
-The student’s reading level is below average.
-The student’s oral reading comprehension is better than his or her silent reading comprehension.
-In math, the student is inattentive to function signs, omits steps in a formula, or confuses visually similar formulas.
-The student is a poor written speller, but is an adequate oral speller.
-The student does not observe visual changes or stimuli that other children notice (e.g. bulletin board displays, posted notices in obvious places).
-The student’s directionality is weak, and the student gets lost in unknown places, often copies numbers reversed, inverted or transposed from the original.
-The student’s reading level is below average.
-The student’s work shows persistent spelling errors.
Methods/Strategies:
• Reduce the amount of visual information on a page.
• Have the student use graph paper to assist him or her in lining up the numbers properly.
• Highlight or underline important phrases in the student’s assigned reading.
• Assign fewer questions, but retain the level of difficulty given to an assignment.
• Have the student consistently use a word processor for written work.
• Reduce distracting visual stimuli in the classroom.
• Allow for extra time for written tasks.
• Provide copied notes.
• Allow the use of a calculator for math-related activities.
• Have the student use a sliding mask, finger, or ruler when reading.
• Use a scribe when necessary to record answers.
• Be aware of the difficulty associated with visual tasks such as matching.
Evaluation Strategies:
• Provide oral testing.
• Provide a scribe for testing.
• Give extra time.
• Be aware of the visual difficulty of particular test questions.