LEARNING INTERFERENCES: understanding THEN PLANNIng

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Visual processing disorders occur when the brain has trouble making sense of the visual input it receives. They are distinct from visual impairment in that there is no blindness or issue with the functioning of the eyes. A person may have 20/20 vision and pass a sight test with flying colors but still be unable to distinguish between two objects or make sense of the symbols on a page.

Difficulties can manifest in a number of ways and no two individuals will face the same challenges. Some may have trouble judging distances, whereas others will struggle with the ability to assess color, size and orientation.

Spatial processing and coordination can be problematic and a person might easily become lost and disorientated or struggle with fine and gross motor skills. While not classed as learning difficulties, visual processing disorders can be mistaken for dyspraxia, dysgraphia, ADHD and dyslexia.

They can also co-present with a specific learning difficulty and have a negative impact on a an individual's self-esteem, confidence and performance at school.

Given much of the information students learn in a typical classroom is received through the eyes, visual disorders often affect learning. Students may have trouble focusing and be easily distracted by too much input in their field of vision. 

They can struggle with physical education, art, music and sports, also reading and writing can also be severely impacted. 

Shapes and symbols may be confused because of their orientation or the underlying whole/part relationships. For example, an individual may focus only on the individual letters that make up a word or alternatively see only the word itself and not its component parts.

They may find themselves re-reading the same sentence many times or getting lost on the page. However, unlike dyslexia, issues with reading and writing are not related to phonemic awareness deficits.

Visual processing disorders can also affect life skills, such as remembering phone numbers or following directions. For all of these reasons, it’s important to identify visual issues as early as possible and ensure a correct diagnosis is made. With the right strategies and accommodations, every individual can realize his or her full potential at school.

Recognizing and interpreting visual stimuli is a complex function undertaken by the brain and visual processing disorders range greatly in their severity and the aspects of perception they affect. An individual may present with one or more of the following:

Defined as difficulty processing the location of objects and symbols in relation to each other, symptoms may include directionality issues, such as reversing and confusing letters and numbers with similar shapes. This affects reading skills but can also affect performance in math.

TIP: Did you know lowercase letters may be harder for an individual who struggles with dyslexia or dysgraphia to read and write? Learn more about the visual complexity of lowercase vs. capital letters.

Being able to identify an object from an image and/or to distinguish between objects of a different color, size, shape and positioning are skills the individual may struggle with.

An individual who struggles with visual discrimination may also have trouble recognizing and naming objects and symbols consistently. This can be problematic in math and reading lessons and is often helped by taking a multi-sensory approach to learning.

If an individual is unable to see 100% of an object the brain typically fills in the missing bits using prior knowledge. However, for children with this type of visual processing difficulty, the object may remain unidentifiable and cause comprehension issues and confusion. Generating a mental image for use in mnemonics can also be difficult.

When visual processing disorders affect motor skills it can make it hard for an individual to participate in sports because hand eye coordination is often lacking.

Discriminating the visual details that signal whole and part relationships may be problematic. For example, fitting together a puzzle can be tricky as the individual may not recognize how pieces are related to each other.

There are many ways in which the symptoms of visual processing disorders can mimic dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyspraxia, and ADHD. Because literacy skills are impacted, reading can be hard and letters may be perceived in reverse position. These are also common issues in dyslexia (although they have a different cause).

An individual with spatial and visual motor integration issues may find it hard to write by hand. School assignments can be overly messy and letters and words oddly spaced. This is also a trademark symptom of dysgraphia and is seen in dyspraxia due to the difficulty of holding a writing instrument. The tendency of kids with ADHD to write impulsively can mean they too are prone to submitting messy work.

Individuals with visual processing disorders may be clumsy and frequently bump into objects in the same way as kids who struggle with dyspraxia do. Watching a video and then switching mediums to complete a worksheet may be hard for them and they can easily become frustrated or tune out, as with cases of ADHD.

Students may miss information presented on bulletin boards. They can also easily lose their place on a page and have a hard time copying text into their notes, as with dysgraphia. They may not see signage and important warnings, which consequently causes them to get in trouble at school.

Like specific learning difficulties, visual processing disorders don’t just cause problems with perception, but rather extend to all areas of a student’s life. They impact on academic and emotional development and left un-diagnosed can contribute to a negative attitude towards school and learning. Individual can be embarrassed or become easily frustrated in class. There may also be feelings of low self-worth and a lack of confidence in the classroom.

Learn more about building up an individual’s self-esteem, confidence and motivation here, and read about the symptoms of dyspraxia, dysgraphia, ADHD, ADD and dyslexia in these posts.

Dyslexia has its origins in the late 19th century by German professor Adolph Kussmaul and German ophthalmologist and professor Rudolf Berlin.42 Upon beginning to study the phenomenon of individuals who struggled to read, Kussmaul called the condition “word blindness” since even though these individuals could see, speak, and understand perfectly fine, they struggled reading words.43 Around the same time Rudolph Berlin was also observing people who struggled with reading, and he went on to coin the term “dyslexia” although it would be nearly another century before dyslexia replaced word blindness and when the disorder would begin to be treated rather than just studied.44 45 In 1963 it became an official learning disability and soon after more resources were made available for individuals with dyslexia.46 Today dyslexia is acknowledged as a learning disability that impedes an individual’s ability to read and which can impact spelling, writing, and comprehension skills.47 Dyslexia is classified in categories and can present in five different types.

1. Developmental dyslexia – is genetic and may be present since birth. It contains primary and secondary dyslexia.
   1. Primary dyslexia – is genetically inherited.
   2. Secondary dyslexia – occurs because of problems with brain development during the early stages of pregnancy.
2. Acquired dyslexia – can happen as a result of a traumatic brain injury or disease that affects the part of the brain that processes language.

1. Phonological Dyslexia – individuals struggle sounding out words and matching sounds to symbols.
2. Rapid Name Dyslexia – individuals struggle to rapidly name colors, numbers, and letters.
3. Double Deficit Dyslexia – individuals struggle with two aspects of reading: naming speed and identifying the sounds in words.
4. Surface Dyslexia – individuals can sound out words but struggle to recognize familiar words.
5. Visual Dyslexia – individuals have a hard time recalling what they see on a page, making it hard to keep track of words and lines of text.

It is not an optical problem. It is a problem with the brain’s ability to process visual information. This problem tends to run in families and is not currently identified by standardized educational, psychological, optometric, or medical tests. This problem can manifest itself differently for each individual. Irlen Syndrome is not remediable and is often a lifetime barrier to learning and performance.

• Light Sensitivity
• Reading Problems
• Headaches and Migraines
• Attention and Concentration Problems
• Strain and Fatigue
• Problems with Depth Perception
• Print or Environmental Distortions

It is not an optical problem. It is a problem with the brain’s ability to process visual information. This problem tends to run in families and is not currently identified by standardized educational, psychological, optometric, or medical tests. This problem can manifest itself differently for each individual. Irlen Syndrome is not remediable and is often a lifetime barrier to learning and performance.

• Light Sensitivity
• Reading Problems
• Headaches and Migraines
• Attention and Concentration Problems
• Strain and Fatigue
• Problems with Depth Perception
• Print or Environmental Distortions

More Information About Signs and Symptoms of Irlen Syndrome

Irlen Syndrome is present in a variety of populations, including individuals identified with reading and learning difficulties, low motivation, attention deficit disorder (ADHD), discipline problems, headaches and migraines, autism, and traumatic brain injury.  While more common in populations with specific difficulties, such as reading problems and ADHD, even gifted and highly successful individuals can be impacted by this issue – often working harder and suffering more than necessary to succeed.

• 14 % General population
• 46% Individuals with reading or learning difficulties, including dyslexia
• 35% Individuals who have suffered TBI or concussion
• 33% Individuals on the autism spectrum
• 33% Individuals with attention and concentration problems, including ADHD
• Individuals with medically resistant headaches and migraines (incidence data not yet available)

            To see the way words look with Irlen please go to   https://irlen.com/         

There are treatments for visual processing difficulties but it’s also important to implement a set of classroom accommodations to prevent individuals from falling behind. Because no two students will have the same set of symptoms, each approach should be customized for the individual.

1. Repeat information in different modalities. Important information such as task instructions should always be delivered in more than one modality. Teachers might want to say the instructions out loud, demonstrate them and provide a handout. This is good practice in general as it will ensure students with different learning styles and preferences are all given an equal opportunity to prepare for the lesson.
2. Provide thickly lined or dotted paper for writing. This can make it easier when writing by hand is required. It’s also helpful for students who struggle with dysgraphia and dyspraxia.
3. Set tasks that require multi-sensory feedback. Consider both the modality in which a task is delivered and that in which responses are given and incorporate auditory feedback when possible.
4. Make use of tablets and other screens that can be enlarged. Zooming in on an image or piece of text can help reduce visual noise and make it easier for a child to focus during reading.
5. Teach them how to touch-type on a computer. Using the muscles in the hand and fingers to type is often an easier way for students to write because they do not need to visually scan the keyboard for keys. It’s also helpful when handwriting is painful or difficult. Learn more about teaching kids to type, including when it is appropriate to start instruction.
6. Encourage using an object to guide the eyes during reading. Help guide the eyes with a finger, a ruler or any other object that allows students to keep their place on a page and avoid getting lost during reading.
7. Practice reading books with large print. Larger print books may make it easier to process letters, which can have a positive impact on reading comprehension. 
8. Give students a break. Include some activities that don’t require students to use their eyes. Processing visual input all day can be exhausting so plan lessons that require children to use other senses, such as their ears or sense of touch. Keep in mind that motor skills and hand-eye-coordination can be implicated in physical tasks.
9. Set them up with a note-taking buddy. Paying attention to a lesson and writing at the same time can be difficult. Pair students up with a note-taking buddy so they can concentrate on learning instead of struggling to record information. Learn more about helping students take better notes.        

               Read more at    Touch type Read and Spell