Visual Spatial Deficit

Have you seen Rosner’s book on learning disabilities? He has a series of exercises in it that work on visual spatial skills. I know Linda F’s son did them with great success.

Mazes help too.

Rosner’s book helped with some visual issues but it wasn’t a cure. He did go from a child who could not read charts or draw to one that could draw a little and finally read charts in math. He actually did well in math in some areas but had trouble with other areas. When we started those exercises we had to start at the very beginning because my son tested as about a 4 year old. He did get to the third grade level drawing all the shapes accurately at that level but it wasn’t beautiful if you know what I mean. After his developmental optometrist evaluation it became very clear as to why he had such a problem in this area.

When the developmental optometrist tested him after these exercises he tested his tracking ability and it was found to be defective; barely able to track small discrete targets. (I was later told he was one of the worst they ever saw.”) Focusing ability was reduced to 10% level of expectancy. His visual spatial skills were in the 1%. His figure ground was in the 63rd % and his visual form constancy was in the 60th %. He was scored at grade level 2 for visual memory. Scored as a 5 year old on reversing of letters. and his form perception was at the age of a 6 year old. His balance was at the age of a 6.5. He was tested when he just turned 9 in third grade. The doctor could not figure out why he was soooo weak in some areas and relatively strong (for a child with a severe ocular motor and focusing issue) in others.

I really believe that addressing the focusing, ocular motor , balancing, left/right issues was the key to closing the gap once and for all. After addressing those areas the visual perception work is really going much more smoothly. He is really doing well.

We do one exercise for focusing that uses a negative lense. You have to look through it and take it away constantly adjusting your focus. The most difficult level is level -8 and that is what he is working on now. He skipped a few levels after interactive metronome. (I don’t understand why???)He was on -4 before that.

I have seen big improvements in many areas and so did his teacher at the end of the year. He now loves to read and his reading well above age level.

Not bad for the child who could not draw a square at the end of first grade and was way behind in reading writing and math. He is writing in cursive now and it looks like the cursive of a much older child. Last March his school OT told me he will never be comfortable with cursive and that I should just accept that and let him print. HA!

PS I don’t drill him on cursive it just became comfortable for him after addressing the undelying deficits.

I like dot to dot books, mazes, and the visual perception execises at this website. www.criticalthinking.com

Also audiblox is great!