What is a Visual Processing Disorder VPD?
Visual Processing Disorder (VPD), also known as Visual Perceptual Disorder, is a neurological condition where the brain has difficulty interpreting visual information, despite normal eyesight. The world may appear clear through the eyes but feels distorted through the mind. It affects how people perceive, process, and respond to visual stimuli, impacting various aspects of daily life. People with VPD may have perfect vision, yet struggle to understand what they’re looking at. They might confuse similar letters, have difficulty navigating spaces, or find copying notes or completing visual tasks exhausting.
VPD affects each person differently. For some, the challenge lies in remembering visual details. Others might find it difficult to judge distances or track movement. VPD frequently co-occurs with other neurodevelopmental differences, including autism, dyslexia, dysgraphia, and dyspraxia. It is also commonly associated with sensory processing disorder and learning disabilities. This visual processing difficulty can quietly impact reading, writing, coordination, and even social interaction.
Symptoms and Signs of VPD
Imagine trying to catch a ball but constantly missing it, not because you’re uncoordinated, but because you can’t quite tell how fast it’s moving. Or looking at a page full of text and feeling overwhelmed – not by the words, but by the space between them, the shape of the letters, or the challenge of remembering the last line you read. Mainly, VPD causes issues in how the brain processes visual information.
These are some of the quiet, often misunderstood signs of Visual Processing Disorder (VPD). VPD is complex, and its signs vary from person to person. Yet many individuals face similar challenges that are often hidden beneath the surface, impacting their ability to understand visual information.
- Difficulty distinguishing between similar shapes or letters (like “b” and “d”, or “p” and “q”)
- Difficulty with spatial awareness, including bumping into objects or struggling with balance
- Trouble copying text or shapes accurately
- Getting lost easily, even in familiar places
- Difficulty recognising the same word in a different context
- Losing place while reading, or skipping lines
- Avoidance of puzzles, drawing, or other visual activities
- Trouble remembering visual information, like faces, words, or directions
- Struggling to organise work on a page, such as writing outside the margins or unevenly spaced letters
These signs can manifest in childhood or adulthood, often leading to frustration, misunderstandings, and low self-esteem.
VPD in Children
Children with visual processing disorder may find it difficult to distinguish between similar letters or shapes, have trouble copying from the board, or struggle with spatial awareness, which can sometimes lead to clumsiness. These difficulties stem from the brain’s processing issues due to their visual perception. How can early intervention make a change?
With adequate support through occupational therapy and tailored educational strategies, children will start developing coping mechanisms and improve their visual processing skills in time. A supportive environment at home and school play a significant role in helping children with VPD.
VPD in Adults
Visual processing disorder is usually associated with children, but its impact on adults is equally present, profound and frequently overlooked. For many, the challenges that VPD bring affect their lifestyle, work, relationship and self-esteem. The signs in adults with VPD are varied and can be subtle. They may include difficulty with reading comprehension, problems with depth perception, challenges organising visual information, and issues with hand-eye coordination. These difficulties do not indicate a lack of intelligence or effort but manifest how the brain processes visual stimuli.
The emotional toll of VPD is significant. Adults may experience anxiety, depression, and a diminished sense of self-worth due to their struggles with tasks that others find effortless. The fear of judgment or misunderstanding can lead to avoidance behaviours, further isolating the person. Support for adults with VPD is available but often underutilised. Vision therapy, tailored to retrain the brain’s visual processing abilities, has shown promise, particularly in addressing visual memory issues. This therapy involves structured exercises designed to improve visual skills and can benefit adults seeking to enhance their visual processing capabilities.
Types of Visual Processing Disorders
When people are affected by visual processing disorder may experience reading as challenging, in situations where letters seem to ‘dance’. Also, finding their favourite shirt in a drawer that appears as a blur of colours has its own difficulties. And these challenges are part of daily life, since they affect learning, coordination and everyday tasks, often leading to misunderstanding and frustration for many.
To understand the challenges better, let’s focus on the different aspects of visual perception and the different types of visual processing disorder, such as:
Visual Discrimination Issues
Visual Discrimination is a specific type of Visual Processing Disorder (VPD) that affects an individual’s ability to notice and interpret differences and similarities in visual stimuli. Visual Discrimination involves the brain’s capacity to process and differentiate visual information. For instance, recognising the difference between the letters ‘b’ and ‘d’ or identifying subtle distinctions between similar-looking objects requires efficient visual discrimination skills. When these skills are compromised, it can lead to confusion and errors in tasks that rely on visual cues.
Tools such as the Developmental Test of Visual Perception (DTVP) may be used to evaluate various aspects of visual processing. Teachers must focus on observations in educational settings, especially in a classroom setting. At the same time, the reports made by parents and teachers are an essential part of the assessment process.
Visual Figure-Ground Discrimination Issues
Visual Figure-Ground Discrimination is a specific type of visual processing disorder where an individual struggles to distinguish a particular object or piece of information from a complex or cluttered background. This difficulty is not related to eyesight but to how the brain interprets visual information.
This skill involves focusing on a specific visual target while filtering out irrelevant background information. For example, finding a friend in a crowded room or locating a particular word on a busy page requires figure-ground discrimination. People with challenges in this area may find it hard to:
- Identify objects in a cluttered environment.
- Read text on a busy or patterned background.
- Focus on a teacher’s writing on a whiteboard filled with information.
Visual Sequencing Issues
Visual sequencing issues are a type of visual processing difficulty where a person struggles to perceive or remember the correct order of visual information. This can affect reading, writing, and other tasks that require understanding sequences, such as following instructions or recalling visual patterns.
When this process is impaired, a person may:
📖 Reverse letters or numbers (e.g., confusing ‘b’ with ‘d’, or ‘6’ with ‘9’)
📖 Skip or misread words while reading, even in familiar texts
✍️ Have difficulty copying information from one place to another, such as from a whiteboard to a notebook
🧠 Struggle with spelling due to challenges in remembering the sequence of letters
Visual-Motor Processing Issues
Visual-Motor Processing Issues refer to broader challenges in coordinating visual input with motor output, affecting tasks like handwriting, sports, or navigating spaces. Due to visual perception or motor planning delays, people may struggle with hand-eye coordination, spatial judgment, or copying from a board. Most times, Visual-Motor Processing Issues and Visual-Motor Integration Issues are often referred to as the same condition. Even though they are closely related, they refer to slightly different aspects of how the brain processes and responds to visual information.
People with visual-motor processing issues may experience:
✍️ Poor handwriting or difficulties with forming shapes and letters.
📖 Difficulties in copying from a book or board.
✂️ Trouble with fine motor tasks like cutting or tying shoelaces.
🏀 Struggles with hand-eye coordination in sports or physical activities.
🖍️ Avoidance of drawing or writing tasks, often due to frustration or fatigue.
Assessment of visual-motor integration typically involves standardised tests administered by occupational therapists or orthoptists. These evaluations assess the person’s ability to coordinate visual input with motor responses and visual motor skills.
Visual-Spatial Issues
As a subtype of VPD, this type of disorder involves difficulties in understanding spatial relationships between objects. This can affect tasks such as judging distances, navigating environments, and interpreting visual information. People with these challenges may struggle with activities like reading maps, assembling puzzles, or organising written work.
Visual-spatial difficulties can impact a child’s ability to accurately align numbers in mathematics, understand geometry concepts, or copy information from a board in educational settings. Therefore, support strategies should include breaking tasks into smaller steps, using visual aids, and providing clear, uncluttered instructions. Occupational therapy and tailored educational plans are part of these support strategies.
Visual Closure Issues
Visual Closure is a specific type of visual processing disorder where an individual has difficulty recognising a complete object when only parts of it are visible. This skill is essential for interpreting incomplete visual information, such as identifying a word with missing letters or recognising a familiar object partially obscured.
Chiildren and adults with Visual Closure difficulties may show the following signs:
🔍 Struggling to identify partially hidden objects or images
🧩 Difficulty completing puzzles or tasks that require recognising incomplete figures
📖 Challenges in reading, such as misreading words or skipping over them entirely
✍️ Challenges with handwriting, including omitting letters or parts of letters
🔠 Trouble spelling and recognising familiar words, especially when letters are missing or arranged unusually
Letter And Symbol Reversal Issues
Letter and symbol reversal issues are a specific manifestation of visual processing disorders, where people struggle to correctly perceive and interpret the orientation of letters and symbols. This challenge is not due to poor vision but to how the brain processes visual information.
Letter and symbol reversals involve confusing characters with mirror images or similar features, such as ‘b’ and ‘d’, ‘p’ and ‘q’, or ‘6’ and ‘9’. These reversals are common in early childhood as part of normal development. However, if they persist beyond the age of 7 or 8, they may indicate underlying visual processing difficulties.
Long- or Short-term Visual Memory Issues
Short-term visual memory involves the immediate recall of visual details after brief exposure. This skill is essential for tasks such as copying information from a board or remembering a phone number just seen. Difficulties in this area can lead to challenges in academic settings, where quick retention of visual information is often required.
Long-term visual memory refers to storing and retrieving visual information over extended periods. This function is crucial for recognising familiar faces, navigating environments, and recalling learned visual information. Impairments can result in difficulties with reading comprehension, spatial orientation, and performing tasks that rely on visual cues.
Impact on Learning in Children
Imagine a child who can see clearly but still struggles to make sense of the world around them. This is the daily reality for children with Visual Processing Disorder (VPD). Besides academics, VPD can influence a child’s social interactions and self-esteem.
They may avoid games that require coordination, leading to feelings of isolation. The constant struggle to keep up with peers can result in anxiety and a negative self-image. As we consider the challenges faced by children with VPD, we might ask ourselves: How can we create learning environments that acknowledge and support diverse processing needs? Are we equipping educators with the tools to effectively recognise and address these challenges?
Can Children Outgrow Visual Processing Difficulties?
🧠 Children do not outgrow Visual Processing Disorder (VPD). It is a lifelong condition that persists into adulthood without specific intervention. While children may develop coping strategies to manage their challenges, special accommodations may be necessary as the underlying difficulties in processing visual information remain unchanged over time. Early assessment and targeted support are crucial in helping children with VPD manage their learning environments effectively and build confidence in their abilities.
Coping with VPD and Support
People with Visual Processing Disorder (VPD) can manage their challenges through tailored strategies and support systems. Creating an organised and distraction-free environment helps minimise visual overload. Using tools like highlighters, colour-coded materials, and visual aids (e.g., charts or diagrams) can enhance comprehension. Multi-sensory activities, such as hands-on projects or auditory instructions paired with visual tasks, reinforce learning. Taking regular breaks during visually demanding activities can also reduce frustration and improve focus.
Support Available:
- At Home: Parents can foster understanding by discussing challenges openly and incorporating structured routines. Activities like puzzles, art, or building blocks can strengthen visual skills.
- In School: Accommodations such as larger fonts, simplified layouts, extra time for tasks, and oral instructions alongside written ones are beneficial. Individualised Education Programs (IEPS) can customise support.
- Therapies: Occupational therapy and vision therapy target visual-motor coordination and processing skills. Specialised tutoring may address reading and comprehension difficulties.
- Community Resources: Workshops, support groups, and educational software provide additional tools for parents, educators, and individuals. Advocacy organisations can guide families in securing rights under laws like the IDEA.
How Does Unique Community Services Support People With Visual Processing Difficulties?
A person-centred plan tailored to the person’s specific challenges—whether in reading, spatial tasks, or social interactions—is essential. By combining practical adaptations, emotional support, and professional collaboration, we encourage people with VPD to lead more independent and fulfilling lives.
We have a multidisciplinary team of in-house therapists, including occupational therapists, who directly work with the people we support and their families/guardians, to reinforce skill-building exercises.
For more information about our support services, contact us today.
Offices: Manchester and Leeds
