What Are Visual Perceptual Skills?
In OT we talk a lot about Visual Perceptual Skills. Visual perception is essentially how our brains interpret what our eyes see. Many Students who struggle with simple puzzles, handwriting, and neatly coloring have difficulty with their visual perceptual skills. Here is a helpful website that breaks down what visual perceptual skills are, and gives an example of each skill: https://www.visionlearningcenter.com/visual-perceptual-skills/
Posted in Handwriting, Helpful Links, Visual Motor, Visual Perceptual by Emily Dandron, OTRL with comments disabled.
Let’s Try Coloring & Writing on a Vertical Surface!
Writing and coloring on vertical surfaces works on so many skills at once!
- Helps to strengthen and stabilize the joints and muscles in the shoulder and arm
- Bilateral coordination skills (using both arms at once) to stabilize paper on a wall
- Encourages wrist extension which will help to develop a functional pencil grasp
- Core Strength and Posture
- Visual attention to task
- Hand-eye coordination
- Crossing midline (reaching across the center of our bodies)
- Visual perceptual skills: spatial awareness
- To learn more visit https://azopt.net/vertical-surface/
Some Activity Ideas:
- Writing & Coloring on a mirror with dry-erase markers (have your student erase their creations too by wiping with a damp paper towel)
- Tape paper to the wall and color with small crayons
- Place a paper with a pre-writing shape on the fridge and have your student place magnets directly over the lines of the shape
- Do you have an eager helper in your household? Have your student “wash the walls” with a damp washcloth or help you wash windows (You MUST supervise if your student is using cleaning products.)
- Drawing on a white board with dry-erase markers
- Write in shaving cream or whipped cream on a mirror
- Paint/draw/color/write on an easel
Posted in Bilateral Coordination, Handwriting, Helpful Links, Motor Planning, Sensory, Visual Motor by Emily Dandron, OTRL with comments disabled.