Visual System
Whereas the vestibular, tactile, and proprioception sense aide in neurological organization, vision and the other commonly known senses are the output of this organization. “When the body and head move, the vestibular system is activated and eye muscles get stronger. The more the eyes move, the stronger the muscles of both eyes get so they can work together. When the two eyes can move together efficiently it will be easier for a student to focus and track words on a page,” (The Brain-Movement Connection, n.d., para. 15).
“For full vision to occur, information from all the cerebral lobes must be accessed” (Hannaford, 1995, p. 51). Reeves & Chermak (2002) state that vision is one of the key components for postural control since visual information influences the vestibular system, which makes sense because we saw earlier that the vestibular system and vision share the same cranial nerve. In other words, “vestibular dysfunction can almost guarantee ocular motor difficulty” (Kawar, 2003 in Oden, 2004 p. 57).
Touch and proprioception are also important to vision. “More than 90% of vision takes place in the brain through the association of touch and proprioception. Much of vision is learned, as the brain assembles our visual world from information leared from touch and proprioception,” (The Brain-Movement Connection, n.d., para. 19). As many times as I try to tell my son to look with his eyes and not his hands, it does not work. His visual system is still developing and he needs to touch and feel the objects.
Wilder Penfield, a brain surgeon, noticed that the eyes would move when he stimulated different areas of the brain. When he stimulated the brain stem, the eyes would look up and when the motor cortex was activated, they would look down. Other researchers have noticed that where your move your eyes indicates how one thinks. “Looking up activates the visual part of your brain. Looking to the upper left helps recall and looking to the upper right helps construct. Looking to the left side activates the auditory-internal, for recalling sounds. Looking to the right side allows the construction of sound. Looking down and to the right allows the experience of feeling and to the left to create internal dialogue,” (The Brain-Movement Connection, n.d., para. 9, & Dennison, 2006).
The Vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR), one of a few visual reflexes, is when the head moves the eyes are able to remain fixed on a target. For example, while looking at a mirror, turn your head to the left, your eyes should be able to keep a steady gaze in the mirror. This is what dancers do while spinning to not get dizzy. “Masao Ito at the University of Tokyo, found that by stimulating the vestibule-ocular reflex arc he could achieve actual change in the structure of the cerebellum...The vestibule-ocular-cerebellar reflex arc affects speech, hearing, posture and balance,” (Gold, 2008 p. 141). “If the mechanism is not working properly there will be conflicts of information from one side to the other, resulting in imbalance or even motion sickness,” (Bell, n.d. p. 17).
Results of an Immature Visual System
Many of my students have a poor visual system. They are unable to track a pencil without breaking gaze, often at the midline, which is an indication of poor bilateral integration and an under-stimulated cerebellum. “when there is not easy communication between the brain’s hemispheres, your eyes will compete for dominance in the area of overlap, switching on and off, rather than one eye leading and the other following. Most reading difficulties as well as word and letter reversals are a result of this lack of integration and cooperation in the visual midfield,” (Promislow P. 118).
When students engage in eye exercises where they look in all directions as far as they can so they are stretching the eye muscles, it is not uncommon for them initially to say that it hurts. Obviously we do not ask them to do anything that hurts, but stretching the eyes may be uncomfortable at first if they are used to staring straight ahead at the television all day long. The discomfort does subside, as those same students comment a few weeks later, “teacher, my eyes don’t hurt anymore.”
The ability to see three-dimensional shapes in a two-dimensional shape is a learned skill, which is typically done while playing with blocks, looking at art, books, etc. When working with 3rd-6th graders around the concept of volume, I notice that those who struggle tend to have a very hard time seeing the individual cubes within the picture. I need to build an exact replica with the cubes and have them identify in the picture where each concrete cube is. When working in one district it seemed that for awhile this problem was becoming worse, since there had been a restructuring of the kinder curriculum, which included the removal of the building blocks. For the next few years we saw an upward trend in children who had difficulty visualizing – in both mathematics and in reading. The ability to visualize is foundational for good comprehension, thinking, concentration, and memory (Pheloung & King, 1993).
Children who are hypo-visual are not receiving enough visual input needs the pull of gravity against his body to keep his balance. A child who constantly rocks is most likely a hypo-visual child. On the contrary, a hyper-visual child can get over-stimulated by visual activities and should not spend too much time at any one task. They should be given tasks with details such as puzzles and tracing (Gold, 2008).
Patricia Rodier, a trailblazer in the early orgins of autism, pinpoints that the olivary complexes in the brainstem is damaged in children with autism. This “is the area in which visual control, vestibular input, ad proprioceptive information are closely connected…if the connections there do not function, paralysis of gaze will result…these children cannot look at you” (Gold, 2008, p. 329).
Eye dominance
Many are unaware that we actually have a dominant eye like we have a dominant hand. It is actually important that the dominant eye is on the same side as the dominant hand, and ear for that matter. If the eye and hand on different sides of the body, then pointing and tracking with the hand is impossible. If the eye and ear are on different sides, then children will be using different sides of the brain to gather information. For example, if their eye is on the left, which by the way is highly representative of children with learning difficulties, they are reading and looking at the world through a wholistic way, but if they are right eared, they are listening to the details. The visual and auditory is not coinciding.
To test for eye dominance, simply put a hole in the center of an index card. Have the child hold the card with both hands with extended arms to look at something in the distance, like a clock. Make sure that both eyes are open. Have them slowly bring the card to the center of their face while still looking at the clock and notice which eye the hole ends up over.
Visual Processing
When elements of visual processing, such as visual memory, visual discrimination, visual/spatial organization, and visual-motor coordination, are not functioning properly, the following difficulties can be seen in the student:
Loses place on the worksheet
Difficulty differentiating between numbers, coins, operation symbols and clock hands
Difficulty writing across paper in a straight line
Difficulty aligning numbers and other aspects involving directionality
Difficulty using a number line (Bahr & de Garcia, 2010 p. 382).
Ways to Enhance the Visual System
The more the reader’s eyes, ears, movement, and sense of touch are relaxed and coordinated, the more she can scan for information, which is why engaging in the following exercises are beneficial.
The more the reader’s eyes, ears, movement, and sense of touch are relaxed and coordinated, the more she can scan for information, which is why engaging in the following exercises are beneficial.
“For full vision to occur, information from all the cerebral lobes must be accessed” (Hannaford, 1995, p. 51). Reeves & Chermak (2002) state that vision is one of the key components for postural control since visual information influences the vestibular system, which makes sense because we saw earlier that the vestibular system and vision share the same cranial nerve. In other words, “vestibular dysfunction can almost guarantee ocular motor difficulty” (Kawar, 2003 in Oden, 2004 p. 57).
Touch and proprioception are also important to vision. “More than 90% of vision takes place in the brain through the association of touch and proprioception. Much of vision is learned, as the brain assembles our visual world from information leared from touch and proprioception,” (The Brain-Movement Connection, n.d., para. 19). As many times as I try to tell my son to look with his eyes and not his hands, it does not work. His visual system is still developing and he needs to touch and feel the objects.
Wilder Penfield, a brain surgeon, noticed that the eyes would move when he stimulated different areas of the brain. When he stimulated the brain stem, the eyes would look up and when the motor cortex was activated, they would look down. Other researchers have noticed that where your move your eyes indicates how one thinks. “Looking up activates the visual part of your brain. Looking to the upper left helps recall and looking to the upper right helps construct. Looking to the left side activates the auditory-internal, for recalling sounds. Looking to the right side allows the construction of sound. Looking down and to the right allows the experience of feeling and to the left to create internal dialogue,” (The Brain-Movement Connection, n.d., para. 9, & Dennison, 2006).
The Vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR), one of a few visual reflexes, is when the head moves the eyes are able to remain fixed on a target. For example, while looking at a mirror, turn your head to the left, your eyes should be able to keep a steady gaze in the mirror. This is what dancers do while spinning to not get dizzy. “Masao Ito at the University of Tokyo, found that by stimulating the vestibule-ocular reflex arc he could achieve actual change in the structure of the cerebellum...The vestibule-ocular-cerebellar reflex arc affects speech, hearing, posture and balance,” (Gold, 2008 p. 141). “If the mechanism is not working properly there will be conflicts of information from one side to the other, resulting in imbalance or even motion sickness,” (Bell, n.d. p. 17).
Results of an Immature Visual System
Many of my students have a poor visual system. They are unable to track a pencil without breaking gaze, often at the midline, which is an indication of poor bilateral integration and an under-stimulated cerebellum. “when there is not easy communication between the brain’s hemispheres, your eyes will compete for dominance in the area of overlap, switching on and off, rather than one eye leading and the other following. Most reading difficulties as well as word and letter reversals are a result of this lack of integration and cooperation in the visual midfield,” (Promislow P. 118).
When students engage in eye exercises where they look in all directions as far as they can so they are stretching the eye muscles, it is not uncommon for them initially to say that it hurts. Obviously we do not ask them to do anything that hurts, but stretching the eyes may be uncomfortable at first if they are used to staring straight ahead at the television all day long. The discomfort does subside, as those same students comment a few weeks later, “teacher, my eyes don’t hurt anymore.”
The ability to see three-dimensional shapes in a two-dimensional shape is a learned skill, which is typically done while playing with blocks, looking at art, books, etc. When working with 3rd-6th graders around the concept of volume, I notice that those who struggle tend to have a very hard time seeing the individual cubes within the picture. I need to build an exact replica with the cubes and have them identify in the picture where each concrete cube is. When working in one district it seemed that for awhile this problem was becoming worse, since there had been a restructuring of the kinder curriculum, which included the removal of the building blocks. For the next few years we saw an upward trend in children who had difficulty visualizing – in both mathematics and in reading. The ability to visualize is foundational for good comprehension, thinking, concentration, and memory (Pheloung & King, 1993).
Children who are hypo-visual are not receiving enough visual input needs the pull of gravity against his body to keep his balance. A child who constantly rocks is most likely a hypo-visual child. On the contrary, a hyper-visual child can get over-stimulated by visual activities and should not spend too much time at any one task. They should be given tasks with details such as puzzles and tracing (Gold, 2008).
Patricia Rodier, a trailblazer in the early orgins of autism, pinpoints that the olivary complexes in the brainstem is damaged in children with autism. This “is the area in which visual control, vestibular input, ad proprioceptive information are closely connected…if the connections there do not function, paralysis of gaze will result…these children cannot look at you” (Gold, 2008, p. 329).
Eye dominance
Many are unaware that we actually have a dominant eye like we have a dominant hand. It is actually important that the dominant eye is on the same side as the dominant hand, and ear for that matter. If the eye and hand on different sides of the body, then pointing and tracking with the hand is impossible. If the eye and ear are on different sides, then children will be using different sides of the brain to gather information. For example, if their eye is on the left, which by the way is highly representative of children with learning difficulties, they are reading and looking at the world through a wholistic way, but if they are right eared, they are listening to the details. The visual and auditory is not coinciding.
To test for eye dominance, simply put a hole in the center of an index card. Have the child hold the card with both hands with extended arms to look at something in the distance, like a clock. Make sure that both eyes are open. Have them slowly bring the card to the center of their face while still looking at the clock and notice which eye the hole ends up over.
Visual Processing
When elements of visual processing, such as visual memory, visual discrimination, visual/spatial organization, and visual-motor coordination, are not functioning properly, the following difficulties can be seen in the student:
Loses place on the worksheet
Difficulty differentiating between numbers, coins, operation symbols and clock hands
Difficulty writing across paper in a straight line
Difficulty aligning numbers and other aspects involving directionality
Difficulty using a number line (Bahr & de Garcia, 2010 p. 382).
Ways to Enhance the Visual System
The more the reader’s eyes, ears, movement, and sense of touch are relaxed and coordinated, the more she can scan for information, which is why engaging in the following exercises are beneficial.
The more the reader’s eyes, ears, movement, and sense of touch are relaxed and coordinated, the more she can scan for information, which is why engaging in the following exercises are beneficial.
Works Cited
Bahr, D., & L.A. de Garcia. (2010). Elementary Mathematics is Anything but Elementary. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Bell, R. Novel Testing Methods and Clinical Applications of Primitive Reflexes retrieved from http://www.spectrumak.com/resources/spectrum-articles/novel-testing-methods-clinical-applications-of-primitive-reflexes.html on 3/12/2013.
Dennison, P. (2006). Brain Gym and Me. Ventura, CA: Edu-Kinesthetics, Inc.
Gold, S. (2002). Exercises to Help your Child, Fern Ridge Press. Retrieved from http://www.fernridgepress.com/autism.exercise.phases.html on 2/12/2013
Gold, S. (2008). If Children Came with Instruction Sheets. Eugene: Fern Ridge Press.
Hannaford, C. (1995). Smart moves: Why learning is not all in your head. Atlanta: Great Ocean Publishers.
Oden, A. (2004). Ready Bodies Learning Minds.
Pheloung, B., & J. King. (1993). Overcoming Learning Difficulties: How you can help a child who finds it hard to learn. NY: Doubleday.
Promislow, S. (2005). Making the Brain-Body Connection: A playful guide to releasing mental, physical, and emotional blocks to success. Canada: Associated Publisher’s Group.
The brain-movement connection. retrieved 2/5/13 from http://www.skillstrainer.co.k/stnews2/brain2.html
Bahr, D., & L.A. de Garcia. (2010). Elementary Mathematics is Anything but Elementary. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Bell, R. Novel Testing Methods and Clinical Applications of Primitive Reflexes retrieved from http://www.spectrumak.com/resources/spectrum-articles/novel-testing-methods-clinical-applications-of-primitive-reflexes.html on 3/12/2013.
Dennison, P. (2006). Brain Gym and Me. Ventura, CA: Edu-Kinesthetics, Inc.
Gold, S. (2002). Exercises to Help your Child, Fern Ridge Press. Retrieved from http://www.fernridgepress.com/autism.exercise.phases.html on 2/12/2013
Gold, S. (2008). If Children Came with Instruction Sheets. Eugene: Fern Ridge Press.
Hannaford, C. (1995). Smart moves: Why learning is not all in your head. Atlanta: Great Ocean Publishers.
Oden, A. (2004). Ready Bodies Learning Minds.
Pheloung, B., & J. King. (1993). Overcoming Learning Difficulties: How you can help a child who finds it hard to learn. NY: Doubleday.
Promislow, S. (2005). Making the Brain-Body Connection: A playful guide to releasing mental, physical, and emotional blocks to success. Canada: Associated Publisher’s Group.
The brain-movement connection. retrieved 2/5/13 from http://www.skillstrainer.co.k/stnews2/brain2.html