Vision Therapy for Visual Perceptual Delays
Visual Perception (or Visual Information Processing) refers to a person’s ability to interpret and analyze visual information. It involves higher processing centres in our brain and determines how we interact with our environment through our vision. Being able to see clearly does not guarantee that an individual can actually make use of the visual information. A child with a visual perceptual delay may be able to see a picture or a word clearly but not know what that picture or word means.
If a visual perceptual delay is suspected, the following areas may be examined during a Vision Therapy Assessment:
The ability to discriminate dominant features of objects, such as their shape, position, and form.
The ability to perceive the positions of objects in relation to oneself and/or other objects.
The ability to recognize a stimulus item after a brief interval.
The ability to recognize a series of stimuli after brief interval.
The ability to recognize and label an object when seen in a different size, shape, or orientation.
The ability to identify an object from a complex background or surrounding objects.
The ability to identify a whole figure when only fragments are presented.
Also known as eye-hand coordination, this is the ability to interpret visual information and respond with a motor action.
The ability to effectively communicate between visual information and language.
The ability to combine visual and auditory information.
Children with visual perceptual delays often have 20/20 vision but may present with other difficulties such as getting their lefts and rights confused or confuse b’s and d’s and/or p’s and q’s. They may have difficulty remembering what they have just read or find it challenging to learn new words. These children may struggle with schoolwork in general and may have a short attention span or poor reading abilities despite being bright.
Frequently, these symptoms may point us in the direction of a behavioral disorder when in actuality, it is a visual perception problem, and since vision is a learned skill, the accuracy and speed of our visual perception can be trained through vision therapy.
At Vision Therapy Centre, we perform vision therapy assessments, visual perceptual examinations, assessments on patients with learning disabilities, traumatic brain injuries and patients with special needs.
Symptoms indicating that you or your child has a visual perceptual delay
Frequently Asked Questions
No. A vision therapy assessment is a thorough examination to detect any functional vision or visual perceptual delays. If any of those are detected, then vision therapy is recommended, and the severity of the conditions and the estimated length of treatment can be determined. However, if it is found that the person’s symptoms are not due to an underlying visual condition, then vision therapy is not required. Thus, if you suspect a functional vision or visual information processing delay with yourself or your child, the first step is always to book a vision therapy assessment with the Developmental Optometrist. At the end of the assessment, the doctor will be able to tell you whether or not vision therapy can help.
Absolutely! A vision therapy assessment is different from a routine comprehensive eye examination. A vision therapy assessment examines the 17 visual skills required for a well-functioning visual system and involves a different battery of tests compared to a comprehensive eye exam.
No, you do not require a referral to book a vision therapy assessment. You can simply call our office at (825) 413-0912 to book an appointment.
Book an Appointment
Schedule a Vision Therapy Assessment with our board-certified developmental optometrist, Dr. Arora, for a thorough assessment of your visual skills and visual processing speed.