Rehabilitation Center for Neurological Development
Nicholas School
The Brain Wellness Center
Aquatic Therapy & Wellness Center
Vision is more than 20/20 eyesight. It is a complex process involving over 20 visual abilities and 2/3 of all of the pathways to the brain. Nearly 80% of what a child perceives, comprehends and remembers depends on the efficiency of the visual system.
Vision is a learned skill and a developmental process. Games that encourage the development of good vision skills have been replaced by passive visual activities, such as watching tv, video and computer screens.
Poor visual skills can impede remedial efforts. It's like trying to build a house on sand. Good vision skills, however, can provide a solid foundation for learning to take place.
The Important Visual Skills
Acuity: The ability to see objects clearly.
Fixation: The skill utilized to aim the eyes accurately and shift rapidly from one object to another.
Tracking: Following moving objects smoothly and accurately enables one to catch a ball or keep one's place when the book or the reader moves.
Accommodation: The ability to adjust the focus of the eyes as the distance between the individual and the object changes. Students use this skill in the classroom as they shift their attention between their book and the chalkboard.
Binocular Vision: This refers to the brain's ability to gather information received from each eye separately and form a single, unified image. Our eyes must be precisely aligned or blurred or double vision may result.
Convergence: The ability to turn the two eyes toward each other to look at a close object, like when doing desk work.
Stereopsis: The skill for determining relative distances between objects.
Field of Vision: The area over which vision is possible, including motion, position of objects in space, contrast and movement sensitivity. This effects reading from line to line without getting lost on the page.
Perception: The total process needed for the reception and understanding of what is seen. Form perception is the ability to organize and recognize visual sensations such as shapes, noticing likes and differences (was and saw, that and what, 21 and 12, e's and o's)
