Concepts explored in this post: Functional Vision: Integrating vision with motor skills and language Dorsal Stream – integrating vision with motor skills Ventral Stream – integrating vision with language skills Ocular Motility: Coordinating movements of the eyeballs Fixations, Visual Tracking, Visual Pursuits Visual Association: Motor free visual perceptual skills impacting Social skills Visual discrimination (i.e., letters, numbers) Children with Sensory Processing Disorders (SPD) often
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Brain wiring includes language with visual input. We often look at artwork and use of symbols as examples of how vision works to help prompt our thoughts. However, visual perceptual skills do not work in isolation. Language helps the learner better understand what is shown. For example, the youngster in the photo above will need to break down the task card into spatial language
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Eye hand coordination, also known as visual motor integration, refers to the ability to bring movements of the eyes and hands together to complete a task. Eye hand coordination also requires attention and organization since eye movements generally lead the way for planned moves of the body, arms, and hands. Eye hand coordination typically places emphasis upon paired moves of the eyes and the
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A key factor for self care, handwriting and math Although these basic shapes are made up of the same parts, the way in which each part is turned makes a world of difference to their meanings and sounds of each letter. As children learn more about how objects can have different meanings depending upon how they are turned, visual spatial orientation skills help them
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Intentionally incorporating vision with hand function Visual perceptual skills do not operate in isolation. For efficiency, the brain incorporates eye movements with neural pathways that extend to include language, vestibular, and hand function skills. This is one of the primary reasons why many pediatric occupational therapists provide “heavy work” movement activities for children before sitting them down at a table for hand function
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Sustained attention to task Visual Sequencing Skills We began incorporating use of digital task cards in treatment to promote increased use of Executive Functions including: Sustained attention to task Task organization Working memory Self monitoring We found the children were better able to pace their level of activity (some were under-aroused while others tended to be over-aroused) as they sustained attention to the digital
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Using construction puzzles to introduce whole-part relationships When we first started this activity, the parts of the animals were assembled in total disarray. While the child was able to match the colors, the sizes of the pieces were not in order to show that the dinosaur had an arch to his back, the legs of the alligator were assembled upside down, and the
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