Visual Information Processing (VIP) Assessment

Also known as a Perceptual Assessment or Visual Perception Assessment, focuses on how well the brain understands & processes everything the eyes are seeing.

This assessment is most commonly done on primary school aged patients to investigate delays in academic performance which is often misdiagnosed as Dyslexia or Learning Disabilities or in adults following a Brain injury.

Understanding VIP Skills:

Reading
- recognizing words on a page regardless of size & font used.
- ability to differentiate between similar words: was/saw, on/no etc
Writing
- correct orientation of letters and numbers, especially b, d, p, q, e, 2, 3, 7, 5, 9
Puzzles
- recognizing an image/object when part is missing
Maths / Problem Solving
- differentiating between maths symbols +, -, x
- visualizing a problem/scenario
- recalling timetables
Coordination
- understanding directions, and being able to use both hands to catch a ball and cross the mid-line of their body

What is a breakdown in VIP Skills?

When we start to suspect a breakdown in these Visual Information Processing (VIP) Skills, parents and teachers are instrumental in identifying problems with learning, reading, writing, homework completion, handwriting and memory.

Some of the most common signs & symptoms parents/teachers notice about the child include:

Fidgets frequently, moves around in their chair and reaches for objects and people they are not supposed to.
Needs to have instructions repeated a few times.
Reverses letters and numbers when writing.
Confuses left and right
Forgets the alphabet in sequence.
Has poor posture with writing, including hunched over their desks and messy writing.
Mistake words with similar beginnings.
Cannot decode words with phonics blends.
Very smart verbally, but struggles with written tasks.

Visual Information Processing Assessment (also available online)

Ocular Motor Skills
- can the eyes track across a page and between objects quickly and accurately.
Visual Motor Skills
- handwriting, posture, pencil grip etc.
Visual Spatial Skills
- understanding of left and right body awareness, and directionality.
Visual Auditory Skills
- using visualization to aid in sounding out words and blends.
Visual Analysis Skills
- Visual Discrimination - identifying differences or similarities between objects based on shape, colour, sizing and positioning.
- Visual Memory - ability to recall details of objects, shapes & movements.
- Visual Form Constancy - recognizing objects as the same regardless of size or orientation.
- Visual Sequential Memory - recalling the correct order of a sequence of objects/letters.
- Visual Figure Ground - ability to locate an object/word when presented with a lot of visual information at once.
- Visual Spatial Relations - left/right relationship of objects.
- Visual Closure - recognizing an object/image when part of the picture is missing

Funding

We offer a range of payment methods:

Private Health Insurance - we are a registered provider with all major health insurance funds for Orthoptic Services & Glasses
National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) - we are a registered provider and able to provide services whether you are self, plan or agency managed.