Dr. Frazer’s Holiday Gift Guide 2017

November 22, 2017 / Visual Processing / no comments

The holidays are right around the corner and you may be wondering, what kind of gifts can I give my child that will also help improve their visual skills. Games are a great way to develop skills related to how we process visual information. Visual perceptual skills help us bring meaning to what we see. Delays in these visual skills can significantly affect reading, writing, math and general learning.

These include visual skills such as:

• Visual Discrimination– ability to pick out details

Which design is exactly like the one on top?

• Visual Figure Ground– ability to find relevant information in a crowded background

The top shape is hidden in which picture?

• Visual Directional Skills– the ability to understand concepts of right, left, up and down on ourselves and on others; a key skill for resolving letters/number reversals

• Visual Motor Integration– ability to use the visual system to guide the motor system

• Visualization– the ability to create a mental picture

• Visual Closure– the ability to mentally complete an incomplete picture

If each design was completed and the lines were not moved, which one would look exactly like the design on the top?

• Visual Memory– the ability to remember what we see

Remember the order of the shapes after you look away.

Without looking above, which row is the correct order?

Gift Guide

I’ve provided a list of games below that are fun and help work to improve one or more of the visual skills. Many of the games are very portable, which is great for taking on trips and keeping busy while waiting for food to be served. While some of these games are best played between 2 to 4 people, some of these games can be played as a one-person game.