Understanding Visual Processing Disorders: When 20/20 Vision Isn’t the Whole Picture
Having 20/20 vision is often seen as the gold standard of eye health. But what if your vision is perfect on paper and you still struggle with reading, writing, or navigating your surroundings? For some individuals, particularly children, this may indicate visual processing disorders.
Visual processing disorders can affect how the brain interprets what the eyes see. While these conditions don’t involve poor eyesight, they can have a significant impact on learning, coordination, and confidence. Here’s what you should know.
What is a Visual Processing Disorder?
Visual processing refers to how the brain interprets the visual information received from the eyes. A visual processing disorder occurs when something in this process doesn’t function correctly, not because of a problem with the eyes themselves, but due to how the brain receives and interprets those signals.
When light enters the eye, it hits the retina at the back of the eyeball and is transmitted via the optic nerve to the brain. From there, the brain decodes the signals, creating the images we perceive—all in a matter of milliseconds.
When a visual processing disorder is present, this communication pathway can be disrupted. The eyes may be healthy, but the brain struggles to organize or interpret the information they provide.
7 Types of Visual Processing Disorders
Visual processing challenges can sometimes overlap with learning difficulties, making it important to understand the symptoms and seek appropriate care. Below are seven types of visual processing issues and how they may appear in daily life.
1. Visual Sequencing Disorder
This affects the ability to see and process the order of letters, numbers, or images. So it comes as no surprise that it can be confused with dyslexia. And you might be able to see why due to the possible signs:
- Skipping or rereading lines of text
- Confusing letters like “b” and “d”
- Mixing up numbers in math problems
- Difficulty reading left to right
Visual Sequencing Disorder affects how the brain processes the order of visual information, such as letters or numbers. In contrast, dyslexia is a language-based learning disorder that primarily impacts phonological processing and reading fluency, even when visual skills are normal.
2. Visual-Spatial Disorder
An important part of human vision is understanding the spatial location of objects in relation to one another. Visual-spatial disorders affect how people navigate the world and interpret the locations of objects. Symptoms can include:
- Appearing clumsy or uncoordinated
- Getting lost in familiar places
- Having trouble with puzzles or building blocks
- Poor depth perception
Many adults with visual-spatial disorders find that essential tasks, such as driving, are very challenging.
3. Visual Discrimination Disorder
Visual discrimination disorders are among the most common visual processing disorders. Individuals with this disorder may struggle to distinguish between similar-looking objects, letters, or numbers. Signs of this can include:
- Confusing similar letters, shapes, or objects
- Struggling with pattern recognition
- Losing their place while reading
Like many of these issues, they typically present during childhood. That is why it is essential to undergo regular comprehensive eye exams, even if your child has 20/20 vision.
4. Figure-Ground Discrimination Disorder
This visual processing disorder involves struggling to distinguish an object, pattern, or figure from its background or surrounding information. Symptoms include:
- Trouble with games like “Where’s Waldo?”
- Problems with focusing on reading text
- Trouble with letter, shape, or object identification
- Issues processing large or complex pages, figures, and graphics
Individuals with this disorder may struggle more in dim lighting or when viewing low-contrast images and text.
5. Visual Closure Disorder
People with visual closure disorder may have to see an entire image or object to recognize what it is. Their brains struggle to fill in the gaps on a partially visible object. Possible signs can include:
- Trouble with fill-in tasks like puzzles
- Slow reading pace
- Needing to sound out words
- Trouble picking the right object out of a group
- Problems finding hidden or covered items
A key sign of visual closure disorder is that someone needs to sound out words they’re already familiar with, no matter how many times they’ve read them before.
6. Visual Memory Disorder
Visual memory disorder affects a person’s ability to recall and reproduce visual information from memory. You want to consider the following symptoms:
- Trouble copying notes or information
- Problems navigating familiar places
- Trouble spelling familiar words
- Shape recognition issues
- Poor active recall
- Inability to recognize familiar people or objects
This is different from a standalone memory disorder. Visual memory disorder only affects memory as it relates to the visual system.
7. Visual-Motor Processing Disorder
This disorder affects a person’s ability to move through space according to what they see. In more basic terms, it involves challenges coordinating vision with body movement. You may have issues with:
- Clumsiness or lack of coordination
- Trouble writing within the lines
- Difficulty with physical activities like catching or throwing a ball
- Fine motor skill problems
Visual-motor challenges can be embarrassing, especially for children, as they may frequently bump into objects or other people.
How to Approach Visual Processing Disorders
Visual processing challenges are often mistaken for behavioral or attention issues, but they require different treatment approaches. If you suspect your child is struggling with one or more of these symptoms, a comprehensive vision evaluation can help.
At Looking Glass Optical, we offer specialized vision therapy designed to strengthen the brain’s connection with the eyes. Through personalized exercises and targeted care, we help patients build the skills they need for success, in and out of the classroom.
You don’t have to navigate this alone. Let’s work together to improve your child’s confidence, learning, and daily comfort. Schedule a vision therapy consultation today.
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