Sensory Inclusive Schools

Here, we discuss how a sensory view of students’ behaviour can shed light on how they are processing visual information differently and how this impacts their learning and engagement in the classroom.

What Is Visual Processing?

Visual processing refers to our brain's ability to perceive, interpret and process light energy that is coming in through our eyes. It’s a complex process involving numerous brain structures and higher-level cognitive processes.

Visual processing, or visual perception, is crucial to understanding the world around us. Note that it’s not the same as impaired vision: students with visual processing difficulties can have very good vision. It’s about using the information from our eyes to make a meaningful image.

These skills are important for both school and home everyday activities, such as reading, writing, scissor skills, maths, and organising oneself. Unrecognised and unsupported differences in visual perception can impact a student’s self-esteem, academic performance and enjoyment of school. 

Signs And Symptoms Of Visual Processing Difficulties

In your classroom, do you have learners who struggle with:

• Attention when there are a lot of visual distractions, such as colourful wall displays
• Finding a specific item in a cluttered desk
• Keeping their place on a page when reading or writing
• Copying from the whiteboard to their book
• Activities that require precise eye-hand coordination
• Bright lighting and flickering lights
• Listening to instructions whilst paying attention to visual aids
• Wearing, or being around, people who are wearing patterned clothing 
• Identifying the different letters on the page and differentiating between similar letters such as “d” and “b”
• Watching moving presentations on the whiteboard
• Rubbing their eyes frequently in class, complaining their eyes feeling tired, needing to close their eyes or put their head on the desk

Difficulties in the way that individuals process visual information may underlie these behaviours. Students may be over or under-reactive to visual stimuli or have difficulty with visual discrimination (the ability to detect differences and similarities in size, shape, colour and pattern).

What Coping Mechanisms May These Students Have Developed? 

If a student has intense responses to visual input, you may see them blinking lots, their eyes may water, or they could habitually put their hands over their eyes. They might wear their fringe over their eyes and always have a hood up or hat on. They have developed these habits to reduce the intensity of the visual input.

Alternatively, if a student responds more slowly or less efficiently to visual input, their brains will be compelling them to seek more input for longer so they can make sense of it. You may notice that these students are easily distracted by lights, finding them hard to ignore. They may be diverting a lot of their energy into looking at the expense of being able to listen at the same time.

A student with visual discrimination difficulties will have difficulty interpreting the quality of different visual inputs, such as recognising different letters on the page or “not seeing” items that are in front of them.

A Matter of Survival 

Visual perception is strongly connected with our fight, flight and freeze survival system because it’s a key way of detecting threats. This means it's really hard for a student to ignore something in the corner of their vision, particularly something new or unexpected. Their brain will compel them to divert their attention and effort to understand what they see. It should be recognised that this is a survival mechanism, out of conscious control, and not a case of not trying hard enough to concentrate.

In fact, students with visual processing difficulties are putting in incredible effort to integrate and make sense of visual input. You’ll probably find that these students are exhausted towards the end of the school day.

Visual Fatigue

Visual fatigue, or visual discomfort, refers to the discomfort or tiredness experienced in the eyes and surrounding areas after prolonged or intense use of the eyes for visual tasks such as reading, using a computer, or focusing on close-up objects. It can also result from exposure to certain visual stimuli, such as bright lights or flickering screens. Students with visual processing differences will often experience visual fatigue, and this will impact emotional regulation and levels of participation in academic tasks. 

There are two groups of students who may suffer from visual fatigue at a greater rate: autistic students and students with motor and body awareness difficulties. 

Autistic Students

Some autistic students may have a tendency to focus on details rather than the overall gestalt or big picture. This can lead to a preference for focusing on specific aspects of visual stimuli while potentially overlooking broader contextual information. This can put additional stress on the visual system and, combined with sensory processing differences, can cause visual fatigue. 

Students With Motor and Body Awareness Difficulties

Students with motor and body awareness difficulties often have poor feedback from their senses that support motor skills (proprioception, vestibular and tactile). As a result, they use their visual system to check where their body is and how it is moving. They may need to watch their hand when they are writing or watch their feet when they are walking. This puts additional stress on the visual system, leading to visual fatigue. 

Next Steps

As a first step we would always recommend that eyes are checked by an optician to see if glasses may be needed. Students with visual processing differences that impact their daily lives should be referred to an occupational therapist. 

There is a lot that schools can do to accommodate visual processing disorder: small adjustments to classroom practices and environments will better support these students’ ability to learn and engage in class. 

We recommend subscribing to a Sensory Inclusive Schools package to learn more about adjustments that will help such students. You’ll receive immediate access to our suite of online courses about sensory processing differences and the practical steps schools can take to support students’ unique sensory profiles. Your staff will also have access to HCPC therapists qualified in sensory integration via our forum and live online group support sessions. Bring us your specific queries, and we’ll offer advice on how to adapt your learning to your specific school and students.