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Visual Information Processing (VIP) Assessment

A Visual Information Processing Assessment looks beyond how clearly the eyes can see to assess how effectively the brain understands, remembers and responds to visual information.

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Also known as a Visual Perception Assessment, it is most commonly used with school-aged children who are experiencing difficulties with reading, writing, memory or learning. Visual information processing skills may also be assessed in adults following a stroke or brain injury.

Could Visual Information Processing Difficulties Be Affecting Learning?
 

You may consider a Visual Information Processing Assessment if your child:

  • needs instructions repeated several times;

  • reverses letters or numbers when writing;

  • frequently confuses left and right;

  • has difficulty remembering letters, words or information in the correct sequence;

  • struggles to organise written work on the page;

  • makes mistakes between words that look similar;

  • finds written work much harder than verbal tasks;

  • has difficulty remembering information they have just seen;

  • becomes overwhelmed when there is a lot of visual information on a page;

  • has difficulty copying, handwriting or completing written tasks efficiently.

 

Some of these difficulties can also be seen in children with conditions such as dyslexia, ADHD and other learning disorders. A Visual Information Processing Assessment does not diagnose or exclude these conditions. Instead, it helps determine whether difficulties processing visual information may also be contributing to the child's learning challenges.

How Do We Use Visual Information Processing Skills:

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Visual information processing skills are used throughout the school day and in many everyday activities.

 

Reading

These skills help your child:

  • recognise words even when the size, style or font changes;

  • notice differences between similar-looking words or letters;

  • remember the order of letters within a word;

  • locate information on a busy page;

  • follow information across lines of text.

 

Writing

Visual processing helps with:

  • recognising the correct orientation of letters and numbers;

  • remembering how letters and words should look;

  • organising writing on the page;

  • copying information accurately.

 

Maths & Problem Solving

These skills help your child:

  • distinguish between mathematical symbols;

  • recognise patterns;

  • visualise a problem or scenario;

  • remember sequences and visually presented information.

 

Everyday Tasks & Play

Visual processing also contributes to:

  • completing puzzles;

  • recognising an object when part of it is missing;

  • understanding direction and position;

  • judging where objects are in relation to one another;

  • coordinating visual information with movement.

​What Does a Visual Information Processing Assessment Measure?

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The assessment looks at several different areas of visual processing and how effectively these skills work together.

 

Visual Analysis Skills

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  • Visual Discrimination

    • The ability to recognise similarities and differences between objects, letters or shapes based on features such as shape, size, colour and position.

  • Visual Memory

    • The ability to remember visual information that has been seen.

  • Visual Sequential Memory

    • The ability to remember visual information in the correct order, such as a sequence of letters, numbers or shapes.

  • Visual Form Constancy

    • The ability to recognise an object, shape or letter even when its size, position or orientation changes.

  • Visual Figure Ground

    • The ability to locate important information when it is surrounded by other visual information, such as finding a word on a busy worksheet.

  • Visual Spatial Relations

    • The ability to understand how objects relate to one another in space, including direction and left/right awareness.

  • Visual Closure

    • The ability to recognise an object or image when only part of it can be seen.

  • Visual-Motor Skills

    • We assess how effectively visual information guides movement, including skills involved in handwriting, pencil control and completing tasks on the page.

  • Visual-Spatial Skills

    • These skills involve understanding direction, position, body awareness and the relationship between objects in space.​​​

Funding & Payment Options

We offer a range of payment options for eligible services:

  • Private Health Insurance – Eyetreat is a registered provider with major private health funds for Orthoptics / Eye Therapy and prescription glasses. Rebates vary depending on your level of cover.

  • National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) – Eyetreat is a registered NDIS provider and can provide eligible services for self-managed, plan-managed and agency-managed participants.

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