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Visual Processing Disorder

Rogers Bridge » Visual Processing Disorder

Does your child struggle with handwriting, copying from the board, completing puzzles, finding an item in a busy space, or remembering what they have seen? These difficulties may be related to visual processing skills.


Visual processing refers to how the brain interprets and uses information received through the eyes. A child can have normal eyesight but still have difficulty understanding, organizing, remembering, or responding to visual information. Visual processing difficulties can affect handwriting, reading, schoolwork, coordination, play, and everyday activities.

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Young child looking through toy binoculars while playing with colorful blocks.

At Rogers Bridge Pediatric Therapy, our pediatric occupational therapists help identify visual perceptual and visual motor difficulties that may be affecting a child's ability to participate successfully at home, at school, and during play.

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What Is Visual Processing Disorder?

Visual processing disorder is a term commonly used to describe difficulty interpreting and making sense of visual information.

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Seeing clearly and processing what you see are not the same thing.


Eyesight refers to how clearly a person can see. Visual processing involves how the brain understands and responds to that information.


For example, a child may be able to clearly see the letters on a worksheet but have difficulty:

  • Telling similar letters or shapes apart

  • Remembering something they just saw

  • Finding an item on a cluttered page

  • Understanding where objects are in relation to one another

  • Copying shapes, letters, or words

  • Coordinating what they see with movements of their hands

 

Visual processing includes both visual perceptual skills and visual motor skills. Difficulties in either area can affect a child's ability to complete everyday activities.

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Signs of Visual Processing Difficulties in Children

Visual processing difficulties can look different from child to child. Some children struggle primarily with handwriting and schoolwork, while others have difficulty with puzzles, visual organization, coordination, or finding objects in a busy environment.

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Parents and teachers may notice that a child:

  • Has messy or difficult-to-read handwriting

  • Struggles to copy from the board or another piece of paper

  • Confuses similar letters, numbers, shapes, or symbols

  • Has difficulty finding objects in a cluttered space

  • Struggles with puzzles or matching activities

  • Has difficulty remembering visual information

  • Frequently loses their place during visually demanding tasks

  • Has trouble judging where objects are in space

  • Avoids drawing, coloring, handwriting, or other visual-motor activities


There are several different visual processing skills that may contribute to these difficulties.


Want to learn more about what these difficulties can look like in everyday life?

Read our occupational therapists' guide to the 8 signs of visual processing difficulties in children: What Do You See?

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How Can Visual Processing Difficulties Affect a Child? 

Visual processing skills are involved in many activities children perform every day.

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Handwriting and Schoolwork

Visual processing difficulties may affect a child's ability to copy letters, maintain appropriate spacing, write on a line, organize work on a page, copy from the board, or accurately reproduce shapes and designs.

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Reading and Learning

Visual perceptual skills help children recognize, remember, locate, and organize visual information. Difficulties in these areas may make visually demanding academic activities more challenging. 


Visual processing difficulties and learning disabilities such as dyslexia are not the same condition, although a child can experience both and some of the functional difficulties may appear similar. 

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Play

Puzzles, building activities, matching games, crafts, board games, and many other forms of play rely on visual perceptual and visual motor skills.

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Coordination

Children constantly use visual information to guide movement. Visual motor difficulties can therefore affect activities such as catching a ball, reaching accurately for an object, completing crafts, or navigating the environment.

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Everyday Activities

Finding clothing in a drawer, locating an item in a backpack, organizing a bedroom, using utensils, getting dressed, and completing other daily routines can all involve visual processing skills.​

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Visual Processing Disorder Treatment: How Can Occupational Therapy Help?

Occupational therapy focuses on helping children participate more successfully in the activities they need and want to do.


When visual processing difficulties interfere with a child's daily activities, a pediatric occupational therapist can evaluate the specific visual perceptual, visual motor, fine motor, and functional skills contributing to the difficulty.


Depending on the child's individual needs, occupational therapy may address: 

  • Visual discrimination

  • Visual figure-ground skills

  • Visual memory

  • Visual-spatial relationships

  • Visual closure

  • Visual motor integration

  • Eye-hand coordination

  • Fine motor coordination

  • Handwriting

  • Motor planning

  • Organization of written work


Strategies or modifications that make everyday activities more manageable 
Treatment should be individualized to the child rather than based only on a diagnosis or label.


Occupational therapists may also collaborate with parents, teachers, physicians, and other professionals when appropriate.

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When Should I Consider an Occupational Therapy Evaluation?

Consider discussing an occupational therapy evaluation if visual processing or visual motor difficulties are consistently interfering with your child's ability to participate in school, play, self-care, or other everyday activities.


An evaluation may be particularly helpful when a child consistently struggles with handwriting, copying, visual organization, puzzles, visual-motor activities, or tasks requiring them to find, remember, or interpret visual information.


It is also important to distinguish visual processing difficulties from problems involving eyesight or eye health. If there are concerns about how well your child can see, eye alignment, eye movements, or other vision concerns, your child's pediatrician or an eye-care professional can help determine whether additional evaluation is appropriate.

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Pediatric Occupational Therapy for Visual Processing in Lawrenceville, GA

Rogers Bridge Pediatric Therapy provides pediatric occupational therapy for children in Lawrenceville, Georgia and surrounding communities.


Our occupational therapists work with children with a variety of needs affecting participation in everyday activities, including visual processing, visual motor integration, fine motor skills, handwriting, sensory processing, coordination, and self-care skills.


Our goal isn't simply to help a child perform better on an isolated visual task. We want to understand how the difficulty is affecting the child's everyday life and help develop the skills and strategies needed for greater success and independence.

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Young child looking through a picture book.


Frequently Asked Questions

  1. Visual Processing Disorder (VPD) is commonly also referred to as Visual Processing Deficit, Visual Perceptual Disorder, Visual Perceptual Deficit, and Visual Motor Integration Disorder (VMI).
     

  2. What is Visual Processing Disorder (VPD)?
    Visual Processing Disorder occurs when the brain struggles to interpret and process visual information received from the eyes, even though vision itself is normal. This condition affects a child’s ability to read, write, recognize patterns, understand spatial relationships, and differentiate objects. VPD includes challenges such as visual motor deficits, visual discrimination disorder, and visual perception difficulties, which can impact everyday tasks and academic success.
     

  3. What are the common signs of Visual Processing Disorder?
    Children with Visual Processing Disorder often show these signs:

    • Difficulty reading or tracking words on a page, often losing their place.

    • Struggles with hand-eye coordination, making tasks like catching a ball or copying from the board more challenging.

    • Trouble distinguishing between similar shapes, letters, or numbers (e.g., confusing "b" and "d").

    • Difficulty completing puzzles or identifying objects in a busy or complex background.
      These signs may point to visual discrimination challenges, visual motor processing deficits, or other aspects of VPD.
       

  4. How does Visual Processing Disorder affect learning?
    Visual Processing Disorder can significantly hinder a child’s academic performance. Issues such as visual processing delays or visual perception deficits make it harder to copy notes, read fluently, interpret charts, and solve math problems involving spatial awareness. Over time, these difficulties can lead to frustration, reduced confidence, and avoidance of academic tasks. Addressing VPD early can help prevent these challenges from negatively impacting a child’s learning journey.
     

  5. How is Visual Processing Disorder treated?
    Treating VPD involves a combination of therapies and tools tailored to the child's unique needs. Common approaches include:

    • Vision Therapy: Exercises to improve how the brain processes visual input.

    • Occupational Therapy: Activities that enhance fine motor coordination, hand-eye coordination, and visual-motor skills.

    • Assistive Tools: Large print materials, color overlays, visual aids, and simplified environments to reduce sensory overload.

      With the right strategies, children can build skills to manage visual processing deficits and improve their quality of life.
       

  6. When should I seek help if I suspect my child has VPD?
    If your child consistently struggles with reading, writing, or tasks requiring hand-eye coordination, and you notice these difficulties stem from how they process visual information, it’s time to seek professional help. Specialists like occupational therapists or developmental optometrists can perform evaluations to determine whether visual processing disorder or a related issue, such as visual motor deficit or visual discrimination disorder, may be the cause.​​
     


Concerned About Your Child's Visual Processing Skills? 

If your child struggles with handwriting, copying, puzzles, visual organization, coordination, or other visual motor or visual perceptual activities, an occupational therapy evaluation can help identify the skills contributing to those difficulties. 


Contact us to learn more about pediatric occupational therapy or schedule an occupational therapy evaluation in Lawrenceville, GA.

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References:

https://www.advancedvisiontherapycenter.com/about/blog/e_1096/Signs-of-a-Vision-Problem/2021/4/What-is-Visual-Processing-Disorder-
https://www.churchillstl.org/learning-disability-resources/visual-processing-disorder/

 

Our team provides Occupational Therapy in Lawrenceville, GA to support children with Visual Processing Disorders and other developmental needs.

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This page has been reviewed by licensed occupational therapists at Rogers Bridge Pediatric Therapy.

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