Visual Processing Disorder and its relationship to Art Education
Visual Processing Disorder: Disorder refers to a hindered ability to make sense of information taken in through the eyes. This is different from problems involving sight or sharpness of vision. Difficulties with visual processing affect how visual information is interpreted or processed by the brain.
Defined by: http://www.ldonline.org/article/6390
Annotated bibliography – websites:
Visual Processing Disorders
http://www.ldonline.org/index.php
This website is developed by The America National Center for Learning Disabilities. It is “the world’s leading website on learning disabilities and ADHD.” It introduces various kinds of learning disabilities and gives brief introductions about them. This website not only provides teachers with classroom management skills, lesson plans and incrustations, but also provides vital information for parents. It also demonstrates artworks, stories, books and e-cards provided by children with LD.
Lumosity: Reclaim your brain
http://www.lumosity.com
This website is full of games for children and adult a like to help them improve their thinking and memory. The website is made by The Lumos Lab located in America. It contains wonderful graphic games that improve verbal fluency, information processing, visual field, arithmetic, and memory work. The website keeps tracks of your daily record, provides useful games to improve daily brain stimulation and gives feedbacks on your progress. The upside to this website it that it is fun to improve brain actives with games especially for secondary school students, but the downside is that the website is limited to a trail period and will charge a fee after the trail period expires.
Eye Exercises to Increase Attention and Reduce Impulsivity
http://www.yourfamilyclinic.com/adhd/vision.html
This websites demonstrates simple tests that can be done to determine if the child has a Visual Processing Disorder. The test is more focused for parents and at home use. It is best to get children that appear to have LDs tested in a professional setting.
Visual Processing Disorders in Children
http://mislabeledchild.com/html/Library/VisualProcessing/index.html
This website offers variety of information on Visual Processing Disorders, but mainly focuses on children and their development. The website is made by two American medical doctors that are trained both in medicine and neurology. The website mainly focuses on Visual Process Disorder and its interference with reading, writing, math and social problems. It gives short descriptions of common problems in found those areas of disciplinary skills.
LDinfo Website
http://www.ldinfo.com/self-advocacy_chapter_8.htm
A series of activates provided to strengthen visual abilities. This website shows that interaction with images such as television, drawings, painting and comic strips...etc. can help with improve visual process abilities. This website is helpful for parents, teachers and also students of all ages with Visual Processing Disorder.
Local contact info:
Website:www.ldav.ca
Email:info@ldav.ca
Mailing Address :
Learning Disabilities Association of BC – Vancouver Chapter
3292 East Broadway
Vancouver , BC V5M 1Z8
Phone:
Learning Centre: (604) 873-8139
Fax: (604) 873-8140
This location deals with all kind of learning disabilities. It helps students develop reading and writing skills as well as social skills. There are classes of creative art therapy (helpful for Visual Processing Disorders), and support groups for adults with learning disabilities.
Characteristics of Visual Processing Disorder:
Depending on person and the areas of study, people with Visual Processing Disorder might present different symptoms of Visual Processing Disorder. The lists provided below are just some general symptoms of the disorder.
Stated in “Visual Processing Disorders in Children”
Examples of issues and concerns for teachers to look for in visual processing disordered students:
Vision and Math:
- reverse numbers and symbols (ex. 2 turned to 5, > to <...etc)
- Struggle with multi steps of math
- Problems with drawing graphs and diagrams
Vision and Reading/Writing:
- Large letters when writing
- Skipping lines with reading and keeping eyes closer to the pages
- Doubling letters in words or skipping over them
Vision and Social Skills:
- Have trouble reading facial expressions
- Have trouble keeping eye contact
- Miss glances and gestures during interaction
Curricular modifications or adaptations:
Art classes can be challenging for students with Visual Processing Disorder, but it can also improve their learning outcome by supplying them with visual cues and visual dialects.
Painting/ drawing:
Drawing and painting can be very useful to help students develop visual processing skills. Students with Visual Processing Disorders may not be able to paint or draw perfect renditions of objects, so working with abstract images and ideas will be helpful. Letting students know the outcome of the artwork is not important as important as the process. This will help students with Visual Processing Disorders have the confidence to express their thoughts in images and make a connection between words and images.
Working with clay:
Using their sense of touch students can create figures that that will develop their visual interruption skills. Student may not feel comfortable citing their work in front of the class. Telling the class to give only give positive feedbacks to each other will encourage the student to participate more in art making. Private assessments can be done one on one between the teacher and the student.
Image study:
recognizing images can be difficult for students with Visual Processing Disorders. Using abstract images such as works by Picasso can allow students with Visual Processing Disorders see that being an artist does not mean they have to draw figures perfectly. Student might not remember all the shapes and figures that make up an abstract painting, but it will leave them with a feeling and an impression of the art work. Image study also helps students in other academic subjects by transforming shapes into meanings (ex. Emotions and words) and patterns.
Figure study:
Figure studies can improve students with Visual Processing Disorders to recognize movements, emotions and gestures. Students can look at images or sculptures of figures and try to act them out. This activity connects students with what they see into what they may feel when they have those expressions. Taking photos of their own expressions may help students to recognize and realize visual cues presented by themselves and others.
Instructions:
instructions given out in art class need to be clear. Teachers can hand out worksheet with larger fonts for the student with Visual Processing Disorder. Instructions can be read out in class as the student follows the steps in their own worksheet. Questions can be asked to make sure students have full understanding of the assignment.
Famous people with Visual Processing Disorder:
Monet, Claude Oscar (1840-1926):
A famous impressionist painter that had a change in his perception of colours in his later years of life. He was no longer able to see the same intensity in the colours he was painting with.
