Is "visual perceptual processing deficit" the same thing as dyslexia?

Question

my child has alot of trouble with reading comprehension. he was tested by a child psychologist, and was diagnosed with a "visual perceptual processing deficit". it this a fancy way of saying he's dyslexic? how do we help him to process what he reads differently so that he will be able to recall the information later on?

Answer 1

Nope. I mean the 2 could be co-existing but they are not the same.

Visual perception can encompass many things such as depth perception, visual closure and visual discrimination. This could cause problems with reading as well as many other things.

Try some things at home such as puzzles or hidden pictures.

One thing I wanted to suggest is a really good eye exam from and ophthalmologist. You want someone to look at eye alignment, binocular vision, convergence and tracking. Don't think that just because he/she may have passed a vision screen from the school nurse that all is good as most of the time the screening only checks for visual acuity and not any functional vision.

Many of the kids I work with that have visual processing problems have an undetected visual problem (usually in the area of binocular vision)

Ps make sure it is an ophthalmologist not just an optometrist...no offense but there is a big difference.

Answer 2

Good question. There are people at school trained to assist you and your child. Make good use of them and they can be of great help.

Answer 3

Not necessarily. There are 7 areas of visual processing. You need to find out what the specific area is and ensure that they are specifically addressing this need, not just making modifications to go around it.

Some tips could include using different colored clear lay-overs placed on reading materials, practice left to right visual tracking(circle all of the specific letter line by line), use of block designs outlines to assist with visual knowledge of word shapes, etc. Keep a journal with the person providing the assistance so you can learn what they are doing and carry over at home. Check out Onion-mountain website.

Answer 4

Your son doesn't necessarily have dyslexia.  Dyslexia is a form of "visual perceptual processing deficit" but not the other way around.

As for coping strategies and skills work very closely with the professionals at your son's school.