Clinical pathway
Visual processing
The student confuses similar letters or shapes, struggles with puzzles and diagrams, or cannot find items in busy fields.
Step 1
Occupational performance problem
The student confuses similar letters or shapes, struggles with puzzles and diagrams, or cannot find items in busy fields.
Step 2
Clinical reasoning
- Name which processing demand is failing — discrimination, figure-ground, closure, memory, or spatial relations.
- Test the same skill in two contexts before concluding it generalizes.
Step 3
Likely limiting level
Level 3: Visual Processing
Direct contributor.
Level 2: Visual Efficiency
Unstable fixation degrades the input processing depends on.
Step 4
Intervention options
Nothing tagged for this step yet.
See all matching resourcesStep 5
Movement-based options
Nothing tagged for this step yet.
Step 6
Teacher strategies
- Simplify the visual field before simplifying the content.
- Pair visual material with verbal description during instruction.
Step 7
Parent carryover
- Matching, sorting, and hidden-picture games at a level that is fun, not frustrating.
Step 8
Progress monitoring
- Accuracy on a consistent matching or figure-ground probe.
- Teacher report of independence with diagrams and maps.
Step 9
Reassessment
Re-screen the limiting level after 6–8 weeks of consistent intervention. If the occupational problem has not changed while the contributing level has, look upstream for a different limiting factor. If neither has changed, or symptoms are worsening, refer out rather than continuing to treat.