Visual perception

Visual perception is the brain’s ability to make sense of what the eyes see. It is not related to whether you have full visual acuity or need glasses.

Why is visual perception important?

Good visual perceptual skills are important for many every day skills such as reading, writing, completing puzzles, cutting, drawing, completing math problems, dressing, finding your sock on the bedroom floor as well as many other skills. Without the ability to complete these every day tasks, a child’s self esteem can suffer and their academic and play performance is compromised.

If your child struggles with visual perception they may have difficulties with:

• Telling letters apart such as ‘p’ and ‘q’, ‘b’ and ‘d’
• Finding their place on the page when reading or writing
• Ordering letters in a word
• Copying from the board to their paper
• Spacing between words and paragraphs when writing
• Correcting errors in their writing
• Recognising a letter is the same in their work book, on the computer screen and in different fonts
• Blocking out visual distractions such as movement in the classroom or pictures on a page when trying to read
• Finding items on a cluttered desk or in their schoolbag

Click on the video to hear from Dr Chapparo about visual perception and early literacy.

Visual perception and literacy

What can I do to help my child with visual perception?