We have many training courses available on our website relating to sensory needs including Cool Characters and Fine Motor Skills, Cool Kids Programme, Sensory Processing and Provision, and Sensory Circuits. Our newest training course, Visual Perception, looks into:
children’s capacity to interpret, analyse and give meaning to what is seen.
So, why might this be relevant to teaching staff? Children are constantly learning through visual opportunities in everyday life across different contexts such as home, school, and in social interactions and play. When a child goes through the process of taking in the environment around them, this is referred to as perception. If this perception is incorrect or altered in any way, a child may present with reading, spelling, handwriting, maths and comprehension problems, which of course is going to be a challenge when it comes to classroom learning.
Some may assume that visual perception may be connected to physical eye issues, but even with 20/20 vision, children can still struggle to organise visual information and develop the visual perceptual skills necessary to create a strong foundation for learning. However, immaturities in any of the visual perceptual areas can improve as the brain matures a great deal from early childhood into adulthood.
There are several areas of visual perception: visual form constancy, visual memory, visual sequential memory, visual figure ground, visual discrimination, visual spatial relationships, and visual closure. In our brand new training course, Visual Perception, written and delivered by Occupational Therapist Roz Roscoe, we explore all of these areas in detail and explain what presentations you may see in the classroom if a child is struggling with visual perception. We also provide a vast range of activities, worksheets and information sheets about each area so that you can offer your children support in school.
