Visual Perception skills & activities for children

What is visual perception?

Visual perception is the brain’s ability to make sense of what the eyes see. When the eyes send information to the brain, it must correctly interpret that data to understand the world. This is especially crucial for children, who learn and interact through their senses. The way children recognize, analyze, and interpret what they see—combined with their thinking processes—is referred to as visual perceptual skills. These skills can be developed and improved through engaging and purposeful visual perception activities.

Why are visual perception skills & its activities important for children?

Visual perceptual skills are important for our everyday tasks. It helps children to lay good foundation for the skills they need to learn at school.  It enables the child to engage in academic tasks. We use visual perceptual skills constantly throughout each & everyday – For instance, daily tasks like getting dressed, coking meals, searching for some object, etc. These skills help the child to be more independent and develop a positive sense of well-being. Introducing visual perception activities for kids can help improve their focus, confidence, and overall learning.

 What are the types of visual perception skills?

Each skill can be supported through specific visual perception activities and visual perceptual tasks, especially beneficial for children with developmental concerns or children undergoing occupational therapy.

• Visual figure ground: Ability to locate something specific in background. Example- Difficulty in finding shoe lace in his drawer.

• Visual form constancy: The ability to know that a form or shape is the same, even if is made smaller, larger or reversed. Example- Difficulty in reading & writing

• Visual closure: Ability to recognize a form or object when part of it is missing or visualizing the complete whole of an item. Example- Difficulty in making puzzles

• Visual discrimination: Ability to see similarities & differences. Example- Difficulty in identifying letter “p” & “q”.

• Visual sequential memory: Ability to recall a sequence of objects in the correct order. Example- Difficulty in copy writing.

• Visual spatial relations: Ability to judge how far/near the object is with respect to its surrounding. Example- Difficulty in judging distance.

These are foundational to many perception exercises and visual skills activities used in therapy and education.

What problems can occurs when child has difficulties with visual perception?

Difficulties with visual perceptual skills may lead to isolation of child, anxiety, stress due to not coping up and falling behind their peers in development of skills such as handwriting, spelling & math. Children may avoid or refuse to participate in activities due to lack of confidence. So, they may prefer to get others to perform tasks for them rather than doing themselves. They may also find it difficult to obtain, maintain or change their behavior/ attention for a task in a socially acceptable manner.

Child may face difficulties in dressing independently, managing self-care tasks & organizing their belongings. Difficulties in completing school work, worksheets, exams & so on. In addition, they may find it difficult to engage with peers for any sports activity. They may face difficulties in sustaining attention & concentration required to accomplish the given task.

Common Challenges in Children with Visual Perception Difficulties

Children with visual perceptual skill delays may:

• Struggle with handwriting and reading

• Have difficulty completing puzzles or mazes

• Avoid fine motor activities or worksheets

• Show frustration during academic tasks

• Lack independence in self-care routines

• Avoid sports and peer interaction

• Struggle with attention and concentration

Implementing consistent visual perception tasks at home or in therapy can significantly help improve these areas.

So, Lets talk about Visual Perception activities for children

Here are some fun and therapeutic visual perceptual activities for kids, including ideas that are perfect for home, school, or occupational therapy sessions:

1. Scavenger hunt

Scan & find things or spot differences. For Example- – For instance, ask your child to pick up things that you can drink, pick up words with letter “M”. Skills obtained are figure ground, visual closure, form constancy.

Great for: Visual perception activities for autism and general visual activity for kids.

2. Remember the sequence

Take different items & place them down on table. Ask the child to memorize the pattern before mixing the objects and then ask the them to place them in the same order. You can also use Building blocks for construction activity – Child has to copy 3-D block designs as shown. Skills obtained are Visual discrimination, figure ground, visual closure, form constancy, sequential memory.

3. Picture drawing

Complete partially drawn pictures – cover a part of the drawn object and ask the child to guess the object. Skills obtained are Visual closure, form constancy.

4. Dot to dot / Mazes

Classic visual perception games for kids. Joining dot puzzles/ worksheets also helps in fine motor skills, eye-hand co-ordination, letter & number recognition along with its order . Skills obtained are visual closure, sequential memory.

5. Memory games

This activity can be played with cards. Lay few cards face down & shuffled. Take turns turning any 2 cards over table. If you turn over a matching pair you keep the cards and if the pair doesn’t match, then turn the cards back over until it is your turn to try again. Skills obtained are sequential memory, form constancy.

6. Create objects

You can use any object like pen or pencil, spoon or forks, ear buds, coins etc. to form letter, numbers, shapes, etc. Skills obtained are Form constancy, visual discrimination, visual closure.

7. Puzzles

The child can start with easy 2 piece puzzle and after that can gradually go for complex jigsaw puzzles. Skills obtained are Form constancy, visual discrimination, visual closure, visual figure-ground. Above all, it also helps in improving attention & concentration.

8. Sorting

Sort shapes, colors, letters, numbers, etc. Provide different agenda each time. Skills obtained are Visual discrimination, form constancy.

Strengthening visual perceptual skills is vital for a child’s success in school and daily life. These fun and easy-to-do visual perception activities are not just learning tools but also build confidence, independence, and critical thinking.

If you suspect your child is facing challenges, professional support like occupational therapy can guide them through tailored visual perception activities and perceptual skills activities suited to their developmental needs.

At 1SpecialPlace, our expert occupational therapists use personalized visual perceptual skills activities to support every child’s growth and development.