February 1, 2024

Ocular Motor & Visual Perceptual Assessment & Treatment

NSPT offers Ocular Motor & Visual Perceptual Assessment & Treatment through trained occupational therapists who identify and treat difficulties.

Ocular motor (oculomotor) control and visual perception are foundational skills necessary for a variety of daily activities, including, but not limited to reading, writing, catching, throwing, organization, and safety when navigating environments. Occupational therapists are trained to identify and treat difficulties related to visual perception and ocular motor control in order to facilitate participation and engagement in meaningful activities.

Ocular motor muscles, much like the small muscles in our hands and fingers, work together to control eye movements and facilitate eye teaming (the ability of our eyes to work together in a coordinated fashion). Our eyes must work together to complete smooth tracking movements (such as tracking words across a page as you read) and saccadic movements (such as used when looking up and back down to copy information from the board). Impairments in ocular motor control (often stemming from muscle weakness, vestibular processing challenges, injury or dysfunction within the central nervous system) can directly influence a child’s ability to accurately perceive and receive visual information.

Visual perception describes the ability to perceive and interpret visual information. Visual perception includes many components, including visual discrimination, visual-spatial awareness, figure-ground perception, form constancy, and visual memory, to name a few. Challenges in this area are often associated with learning difficulties in reading, writing, math, and spelling. Other daily activities, such as grooming and dressing, play activities, and athletic performance, are also frequently affected.

Visual perception and ocular motor skills are evaluated through standardized assessments and various clinical observations. Following evaluation, a specific treatment plan is created to address a child’s unique needs. Ocular motor control and visual perception skills can be addressed through a variety of therapeutic interventions. Compensatory and environmental adaptation strategies are also often taught to help a child overcome challenges and adapt tasks to best fit his or her needs. In addition, parent and teacher education is an important component of intervention in order to best support a child in all environments.

If you have concerns regarding your child’s ocular motor control or visual perception skills, contact an occupational therapist to schedule an evaluation.

Download our Guide for Families

We know that choosing a local ABA facility can be a hard decision. We’ve created an informational guide to help you understand more about the questions you should be asking while meeting with different providers.

Although we talk about our services here, our highest goal is for you to feel comfortable and knowledgeable about picking a provider that is the best fit for your needs. You are making a decision that will impact the entire trajectory of your child’s life!
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The cover of the NSPT Guide for Families, which helps families to figure out the questions to ask when picking an ABA provider.

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Why we do what we do.
Success looks different for every child... But we bet we have a story that matches your child's needs. Like James, who started with us as non-verbal and lacking the ability to initiate and maintain social interactions. Today, he can speak complete sentences, clearly state his needs, and navigate social interactions with his friends!

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  • 1
    Submit an inquiry form
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  • 2
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  • 3
    Paperwork & insurance
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  • 4
    Treatment personalization
    We'll schedule an assessment date for your child with one of our clinicians. This assessment will serve as the basis for your child’s personalized treatment plan. After, we'll meet to discuss recommendations and your child’s treatment plan and start date.
  • 5
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    We will greet and welcome your child to our warm and supportive environment where our staff will provide 1-on-1 care to meet our treatment goals.