IDENTIFYING VISUAL CHALLENGES AND THEIR TREATMENTS
Over the past 40 years, the genetic predisposition to visual problems has not changed. However, due to society’s sedentary lifestyle, unregulated TV viewing, excessive video game play, and poor computer habits, more and more children are demonstrating visual challenges at home, at school, and at play.

This seminar is designed to help professionals understand common visual problems in children, what children are “seeing,” why they are seeing it, and how to fix these visual challenges. Combining research-based lecture and interactive labs, this course provides attendees the proper tools to identify and treat visual neglect, cross dominance, eye teaming, visual processing, and scotopic sensitivity. Correcting these issues ultimately improves the child’s quality of life, as reading, handwriting, and playing are enhanced. Grounded in evidence-based information, this seminar offers comprehensive coverage of established techniques that can be implemented immediately and effectively in therapy, at home, and in the classroom.

Course Content

ANATOMY OF THE VISUAL SYSTEM

• Pathway of sight
  • parallel pathways and the LGN
    • parvocellular retinal ganglion cells
    • magnocellular retinal ganglion cells
  • pathway overlap and short circuits (Dyslexia Theory)
• Primary visual areas
• Secondary visual areas
• Interpretation of these areas

VISUAL MOTOR INTEGRATION IN THE BRAIN

• Primary motor pathway
• Cortical interactions between the motor system and the visual system
• Secondary visual area interaction

POSITIONING, MOVEMENT, AND THE EFFECTS ON VISION

• Reflexes: acquiring visual-motor control
• Righting reactions: proprioception, vestibular, and visual system interaction
• Pelvic girdle: power, visual awareness, and alertness
• Shoulder girdle: head and neck control, ocular motor activation

CROSS DOMINANCE: WHEN HAND DOMINANCE AND EYE DOMINANCE DON’T MATCH

• Defining and identifying cross dominance
  • Why do we have a dominant eye when half of each eye has control?
• Directionality and play issues
• Handwriting issues
• Reading challenges
• Treatment techniques and relationship to the brain
• Lab
  • discrimination training
  • vertical midline activities

UNILATERAL VISUAL NEGLECT

• Definition of neglect and the identification
• Issues during play, work, and school
• Handwriting clues associated with visual neglect
• Environmental adaptions
• Treatment techniques
• Lab
  • reflex training
  • midline exercises

EYE TEAMING TRACKING AND SACCADES

• Musculature of the eye
• What do problems look like?
• When should I treat and when should I refer?
  • reading problems
  • handwriting problems
  • gross motor problems
  • orthopedic pelvic dysfunctions
• Training and lab
  • focus/refocus exercises
  • motor system treatments
  • reading training

VISUAL PROCESSING

• Understanding visual processing
• Visual spatial relations
• Visual figure ground
• Effects on handwriting
• Reading challenges
• Treatment techniques
• Lab
  • space-moment and cortical learning
  • relationship to saccades and eye teaming

SCOTOPIC SENSITIVITY AND ITS SECONDARY EFFECTS

• Definition and theory
• Effects on visual pathways and secondary visual areas
• Treatment techniques and effect on visual spatial relations, tracking, and scanning
• Case study