Visual stimulus processing

Most people are familiar with the saying “fooling the eyes”. This is a very real phenomenon because of the complexity of our visual system. You don’t know the various optical illusions for nothing…

Processing visual stimuli

The visual system uses light to detect information through our eyes and then interprets that information in the brain. The visual system works closely with our vestibular and auditory systems to help us navigate our environment safely.

How our visual system works

There are many components that play a role in an optimally functioning visual system. This means that activities such as reading, catching or hitting a ball, locating an object, or giving directions can be challenging when there is a deficit in ocular motor control or visual processing.

In addition to how clearly our eyes register images, our eye muscles play an important role in understanding the visual system and additional problems. The visual system regulates our gaze to adapt to movement, switch between focusing and how we use both eyes together. Without adequate ocular motor monitoring, a child’s schoolwork, balance, depth perception, and hand-eye coordination are likely to be affected.

Signs that may indicate problems with visual information processing:

• Increased sensitivity to light
• Easily distracted by visual stimuli or difficulty maintaining visual attention for an activity
• Frequent squinting, rubbing eyes, or headaches after visually demanding tasks such as reading, using a phone/tablet/computer, or watching television
• Trouble finding things they’re looking for, even when they seem to be “right in front of them”
• Difficulty distinguishing between similar shapes, letters, or images
• Difficulties with handwriting, such as reversal of letters, size, spaces, or alignment of letters.
• May be slow or hesitant when climbing stairs
• Difficulty in visually stimulating activities, i.e., puzzles, finding objects in images, completing mazes, searching for words or dot-to-dots
• Problems with knowing from left to right

Activities to stimulate visual skills:

• Work on visual tracking skills by making contact with moving objects or with stationary objects while the body is moving. This can include catching a thrown or bouncing ball while standing still or walking; Identifying a set of letters, shapes, colors, etc., while jumping
• Crawling and rolling activities are great for the development of eye control
• Activities such as puzzles, but also search books such as “Where is Wallie?” Or searching for words (word search)
• Games like Tetris or a memory game
• Do a scavenger hunt or play “hot and cold” to find stuff
• Tap a balloon back and forth or see how many times your child can tap it without touching the ground
• Blowing bubbles and popping with one finger
• Search or sort materials

Read more tips to stimulate visual stimulus processing

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