There
are many skills involved in
using the eyes for vision.
visually track it as she tries to shoot the moving duck in the
carnival.
3. A child must use small saccadic eye movements to move
from one word to another in order to read.
4. A child must be able to use both eye together in order to see three dimensional
objects with binocular vision.
5. A child must be able to localize a moving target amongst many such as
when swatting at a bubble or finding mommy as she walks in a crowd.
6. A child must be able to converge the eyes on a target such as a ball as
it comes closer and closer towards the nose.
7. A child must have good visual perceptual skills to understand
what she is seeing in order to read, write, draw, do puzzles and connect dots.
8. A child must be able to visually discriminate differences in size,
shape, directionality and color, especially in a busy background.
9. A child must have good visual memory to put all of these skills to use
after learning something new.
10. A child must demonstrates good eye-hand coordination to perform
tasks such as threading a needle that requires much control.
A child of course must also have good eyesight which is evaluated by reading the
letters on the Snellen chart in the doctor's office in order to put these skills to use
in functional vision activities. Some optometrists only address the eyesight issue,
others look at functional vision and how it impacts school work and daily living skills.
There are many other visual problems and diseases such as cataracts, glaucoma
and macular degeneration which mainly affect older persons and will not be addressed
here at this time. These ailments require a visit to an ophthalmologist, a medical
doctor who specializes in eye diseases. Please visit Low Vision for more information.
A child will probably have difficulty with binocular vision when one or both of the eyes
turns inword or outword. The eye muscles may not be working properly and one eye
may be stronger than the other other causing the stronger eye to do all the work. This
is often seen in individuals with muscular disorders such as cerebral palsy and genetic
abnormalities such as Down's syndrome. This condition may be quite obvious and
parents usually will bring their child to receive vision care at a young age. Many children
are helped by vision therapy which may involve special lenses, prisms, computer
programs and other techniques. Some doctors recommend eye exercises or patching.
However, sometimes visual problems are less obvious unless the child is
bumping into things or overreaching. Children may avoid fine motor activities
which they have difficulty with due to visual problems and their problems
may not be identified until they are required to read and do paper and pencil
work. Sometimes when the eyes don't work well together a child slants her
For Everybody
Stereograms are 3D images hidden within another picture. Relax, stare at the picture, and the
image will start to take shape. It may help to begin staring with your nose close against the picture
and then slowly move away from it until comfortable.
A Hole in My Heart
©2006 Gary W. Priester - Image used by permission of the artist
www.Custom-Stereograms.com
Back to
Developmental Disabilities
Back To Pediatrics
Back to Geriatrics
Home
1. A child must be
able to fixate on a visual
target such as the rattle as
she reaches out to grab it.
she reaches out to grab it.
visually track it as she tries to shoot the moving duck in the
carnival.
3. A child must use small saccadic eye movements to move
from one word to another in order to read.
4. A child must be able to use both eye together in order to see three dimensional
objects with binocular vision.
5. A child must be able to localize a moving target amongst many such as
when swatting at a bubble or finding mommy as she walks in a crowd.
6. A child must be able to converge the eyes on a target such as a ball as
it comes closer and closer towards the nose.
7. A child must have good visual perceptual skills to understand
what she is seeing in order to read, write, draw, do puzzles and connect dots.
8. A child must be able to visually discriminate differences in size,
shape, directionality and color, especially in a busy background.
9. A child must have good visual memory to put all of these skills to use
after learning something new.
10. A child must demonstrates good eye-hand coordination to perform
tasks such as threading a needle that requires much control.
A child of course must also have good eyesight which is evaluated by reading the
letters on the Snellen chart in the doctor's office in order to put these skills to use
in functional vision activities. Some optometrists only address the eyesight issue,
others look at functional vision and how it impacts school work and daily living skills.
There are many other visual problems and diseases such as cataracts, glaucoma
and macular degeneration which mainly affect older persons and will not be addressed
here at this time. These ailments require a visit to an ophthalmologist, a medical
doctor who specializes in eye diseases. Please visit Low Vision for more information.
Some Common Visual Problems
seen in Children
A child will probably have difficulty with binocular vision when one or both of the eyes
turns inword or outword. The eye muscles may not be working properly and one eye
may be stronger than the other other causing the stronger eye to do all the work. This
is often seen in individuals with muscular disorders such as cerebral palsy and genetic
abnormalities such as Down's syndrome. This condition may be quite obvious and
parents usually will bring their child to receive vision care at a young age. Many children
are helped by vision therapy which may involve special lenses, prisms, computer
programs and other techniques. Some doctors recommend eye exercises or patching.
However, sometimes visual problems are less obvious unless the child is
bumping into things or overreaching. Children may avoid fine motor activities
which they have difficulty with due to visual problems and their problems
may not be identified until they are required to read and do paper and pencil
work. Sometimes when the eyes don't work well together a child slants her
head to the side so
that only one eye is viewing the paper. Another
clue that something is
wrong is when a child skips words or lines while reading either silently or out loud. Visual
problems should be ruled out when children are having difficulties learning how to read.
This requires more than just reading an eye chart.
Children are typically able to visually track a slowly moving object with isolated eye movements
by the age of three years. This means that the child only moves her eyes and not her head.
This requires good abilities to stabilize the head and fixate. Some children with sensory integration
or visual perceptual problems find this very difficult to do and they move their whole bodies rather
than just the head or eyes when shifting the gaze. These children may also shift their bodies or
rotate paper when changing directions on a maze rather than just controlling the pencil to change
directions. This is another red flag to look at visual and perceptual problems which impact learning.
Another visual problem often identified is school is difficulty shifting the vision from the white
board to paper and back again or shifting vision from one part of the paper to another part of the
paper. Such a child may easily lose her place while reading. Using a ruler under the reading line
may help to keep her place.
wrong is when a child skips words or lines while reading either silently or out loud. Visual
problems should be ruled out when children are having difficulties learning how to read.
This requires more than just reading an eye chart.
Children are typically able to visually track a slowly moving object with isolated eye movements
by the age of three years. This means that the child only moves her eyes and not her head.
This requires good abilities to stabilize the head and fixate. Some children with sensory integration
or visual perceptual problems find this very difficult to do and they move their whole bodies rather
than just the head or eyes when shifting the gaze. These children may also shift their bodies or
rotate paper when changing directions on a maze rather than just controlling the pencil to change
directions. This is another red flag to look at visual and perceptual problems which impact learning.
Another visual problem often identified is school is difficulty shifting the vision from the white
board to paper and back again or shifting vision from one part of the paper to another part of the
paper. Such a child may easily lose her place while reading. Using a ruler under the reading line
may help to keep her place.
Activities to Promote good Visual
Skills
Although
it is in the
realm of an eye specialist to treat visual
disorders, caretakers, teachers
and therapists can encourage activities which promote good visual skills.
and therapists can encourage activities which promote good visual skills.
Babies
- Present simple shape books to look at
- Place a moving mobile
to look at
from the crib
- Place baby on her belly so that she looks upward to reach for toys
- Carry baby around in a backpack or front carrier facing outward so that he can look around while you take a walk
- Prove push button toys
which
make things pop up or move
Toddlers
and Two Year Olds
- Encourage pointing to named objects in the room and pointing to pictures in a book
- Tossing objects into containers or to another person
- Form boards, shape sorters, nesting cups, ring stacks and other toys to develop eye hand coordination
- Swatting at bubbles or suspended toys like a light tetherball
- Scribbling with crayons
- Imitating finger play songs
- Rolling a ball back and forth
- Lots of movement
activities
Preschoolers
- Balloon toss (just keep it in the air)
- Wind
up bath toys
- Playing with Tornado Tubes (water flows from one bottle to the other)
- Filling a bottle with mineral oil and water, add food coloring and enjoy the sight
- Tossing and catching a large ball
- Drawing
shapes: cross,
circle, square
- Puzzles, lacing boards, stringing beads and other toys to develop eye hand coordination
- Simple,
large mazes
- Matching objects and pictures (Play Lotto)
- Drawing
a line between matching
shapes
- Finding Hidden Pictures
- Squirt guns
- Dancing the Hokey Pokey
- Tether ball
Kindergarten
- Tracing over dotted or highlighted lines, shapes, letters etc.
- More complex mazes
- Cut out simple shapes
- Flashlight tag (one person flashes light on object, other person touches or names it)
- Place picture cards on the wall, child places cards on the table in the same sequence
- Sorting a deck of cards
into piles of each suit.
- Balloon toss (make it travel to a named person)
- Air Hockey, Noc Hockey, toy golf games
- Fly a kite
- Water volley ball
- Copy dot designs
- Copy geoboard, bead, block,
peg board and Lite Brite designs
- Point to all the letter A's on the page, letter B's etc/
- Hidden Pictures, Complete the Picture, What's Wrong with the Picture? activities
- Candyland, Bingo and other
simple board games
- Pouring liquids from a
pitcher nad watering the house plants
- Circling which two pictures are the same, cross out the two pictures that are different
- Playing Go Fish and
other simple card games
- Lots of puzzles
- Drawing huge diagonal crosses and infinity signs on the chalk board
- Forming shapes and letters
in the air with fingers, then toes
- Playing a
commercial "Memory" game or card game
"Concentration"
Older
Children
- Circling all the shapes on a page which are the same even if different in size, color or orientation
- Writing letters inside large graph paper squares
- Tossing
alphabet blocks on the
table. The child arranges them in
alphabetical
order alternating
between using right and left hands.
- Coding/decoding games (different shapes are associated with each alphabet letter . A sequence of shapes are decoded to spell something).
- Dribbling the smallest size ball possible.
- Juggling two bean bags, three if able
- Lots
of card games (Spit,
Solitaire, Slamwiche, Rummy, Poker)
- More
complex puzzles and
mazes
- Ball sports/target games (baseball, basketball, tennis, squash, soccer)
- Hitting a small suspended ball with a stick held horizontally between both hands
- Ping
pong, Foosball, Pin ball
- Word searches
- Connect Four
- Yard
games: Hit the penny, Red
Light Green Light, Four Square, Spud
- Volleyball
- Dances
with twirlling (ballroom,
square dance, folk, contra)
- Forward
Pass or Zoomball (ball
zooms on ropes toward face)
- Parachute games (Keep the ball inside while group moves around)
- Simon (by Milton Bradley)
requires remembering color and sound patterns
For Everybody
View
Finders and Movies
Stereograms
Stereograms are 3D images hidden within another picture. Relax, stare at the picture, and the
image will start to take shape. It may help to begin staring with your nose close against the picture
and then slowly move away from it until comfortable.
A Hole in My Heart
©2006 Gary W. Priester - Image used by permission of the artist
www.Custom-Stereograms.com
Back To Pediatrics
Back to Geriatrics
Home