In our previous Visual Perceptual Skills post, we discussed how our eyes are responsible for performing a variety of complex functions to help us interact with the world around us. In this post, we will take a closer look at the four remaining visual perceptual skills: form constancy, sequential memory, figure ground, and visual closure.
Form Constancy
Definition: the ability to distinguish one object from another similar object, mentally manipulate an object into different positions by just looking at it, and recognize objects regardless of orientation, shape, color, or size.
Below are activities that address form constancy:
- Letter Search: Provide your child with a page from a magazine or newspaper and ask them to highlight or circle all of a specific letter regardless of color, size, or font.
- Worksheets: Purchase our b & d worksheets here to practice distinguishing the difference between lowercase b and d. Follow the directions provided. You can also make your own worksheets at home targeting specific letters, numbers, or shapes your child has difficulty recognizing.
- Tangram Puzzle: The black and white puzzle images will require your child to mentally manipulate the colorful blocks to place them to match the puzzle image. Purchase Tangram here.
Sequential Memory
Definition: the ability to remember things seen in a specific sequence.
Below are activities that address sequential memory:
- Letters and Shapes Worksheet: Purchase our sequential memory worksheets here. Follow the directions provided. Give your child 5-10 seconds to study the shapes/letters/words provided, then cover up them up and ask your child to verbally tell you what they saw, or incorporate pre-writing/letter formation and ask your child to draw or write the shape/letter/word.
- Memory Game: Use Memory Game tiles to create a sequence of 2-5 tiles (you can increase the number as your child’s skills develop). Lay the tiles out in front of your child and give them 5-10 seconds to study them. Then cover them up and provide your child with the same tiles and ask them to place them in the same order as your example. Purchase memory game here.
Figure Ground
Definition: the ability to distinguish, isolate, or find an object in a busy environments. This can include faces, figures, objects, landscapes, letters, or numbers.
Below are activities that address figure ground:
- I Spy Game: This interactive game will require your child to distinguish an item pictured on their card from all the other items features on the gameboard. This game also provides a great opportunity to work on taking turns Purchase I Spy Game here.
- Seek and Find Books: All seek and find books require your child to distinguish a specific image from a potentially distracting background. This can be challenging with a variety of other images that may make it difficult to isolate and find the requested image image. Where’s Waldo is another great option. Purchase the Dinosaur Seek and Find Book here.
- Apps for your iPad or iPhone: Here are some games you can download on your phone or tablet for additional practice.
- Find the Difference – Animal Kingdom
- Spot It
- Highlights – Hidden Pictures
Visual Closure
Definition: the ability to draw conclusions and understand visual images when only given certain pieces of visual information.
Below are activities that address visual closure:
- Complete the Images Worksheets: These worksheets provide your child with 50% of an image and your child must complete the other half.
- Letter Formation Worksheet: These worksheets will require your child to complete the formation of uppercase letters with only limited visual information. As your child becomes more proficient you can cover the example letter on the left and require them to complete the letter formation without a visual example. To increase difficulty one more level, progress through the letters left to right, rather than down the columns, so you child will not be able to anticipate the next letter based on alphabetical order.
- Letter Worksheet
- Number Worksheet
Conclusion
Visual perceptual skills provide us with necessary information to see and interact with the world around us. Use the activities in this blog with your child to strengthen form constancy, sequential memory, figure ground, and visual closure.
Contact Chicago Occupational Therapy or call (773) 980-0300 to learn more about our services and how we can help your child flourish and grow.
