Learning and Thinking

Visual processing refers to the way we interpret what we see. There are 7 areas of Visual Perception, namely Visual Spatial Relations, Visual Closure, Visual Memory, Visual Sequential Memory, Visual Figure Ground, Form Constancy and Visual Discrimination.   Difficulties in these areas may commonly manifest as:

• Frequent letter reversals
• Inconsistent letter sizing and spacing
• Confusion between upper and lower case letters
• Difficulties copying from the whiteboard
• Difficulties grasping mathematics concepts
• Poor sight word recall and reading fluency
• Poor spelling of non-phonetically spelled words

Occupational Therapy intervention to address these skills can significantly improve your child’s functional performance whilst also contributing to an increase in confidence.

Useful Information Links

https://spdaustralia.com.au/the-visual-system/

https://dsf.net.au/

https://www.understood.org/en/learning-attention-issues/child-learning-disabilities/visual-processing-issues/understanding-visual-processing-issues

Reading remains the primary source of information gathering in the school system. Consequently, if your child is experiencing literacy difficulties, they are unlikely to be able to access the curriculum as effectively as their peers. This can have a significant negative influence on their self-esteem and contribute to anxiety and frustration. An Occupational Therapist can assist you to identify and address the underlying difficulties your child may be having.

Children require a diverse range of skills to function effectively in the classroom. These include organisational and time management skills. For example, many children become overwhelmed when confronted with large, complex assignments. An Occupational Therapist can assist by modelling goal setting and breaking the task into small, manageable steps. Organisation of packing their school bag, use of a diary and filing of notes is also critical to a student’s ability to cope independently in the classroom and can be addressed in therapy.

Assessment and use of technology to support learning and to aide specific disabilities / learning difficulties is also an area that your Child’s Occupational Therapist may assist with.

Useful Information Links

https://dyslexiaassociation.org.au/

https://dsf.net.au/

https://www.canchild.ca/en/diagnoses/developmental-coordination-disorder

https://www.speld-sa.org.au/