Visual discrimination is the ability to distinguish objects from one another based on characteristics such as color, size and position as well as distinguishing an object from it’s surroundings. People with visual processing disorder can have difficulties with visual discrimination.
Object recognition is another hard area for people with visual processing disorders. This involves recognition of known objects, such as letters and numbers. Having difficulty recalling these known objects makes learning much harder.
Visual motor integration refers to the ability to use visual clues to guide their movements. This is used in both large motor and fine motor skills. Children with large motor visual integration difficulties may consistently bump into furniture because they confuse the spatial relationships. In fine motor skills, this can cause difficulty in writing on paper, understanding and using a number line or graph paper.
Auditory Processing
People with auditory processing disorders have a difficulty processing the spoken word. Since much information in school is given orally, with the teacher talking, children with auditory problems can have difficulty recalling information later or they may process the information incorrectly and remember it differently than it was said.
Learning to read through phonics is done using auditory processing. Children with problems in this area may not be able to isolate sounds in words, recognize sounds or see similarities in words. They may have difficulty rhyming words
Children with auditory problems may have a hard time recalling verbal words or instructions. Following directions, therefore, can be difficult.
Auditory sequencing is being able to reconstruct sequences. Words are made up of sequences. For children with auditory problems, this can make words come out incorrectly, saying the word “Lusually” instead of “Usually” or “Psaghetti” instead of “spaghetti.”
Nonverbal Learning Disorders
Although most of the instruction in school is provided through visual and auditory means, a great deal of information is also shared in nonverbal ways. Children that have a difficult time processing nonverbal cues are often labeled as behavioral problems. They can exhibit inappropriate behaviors because of their inability to process signs and signals given by teachers and classmates.
