Walter E. Dunson, Jr., Ph.D.

When discussing visual processing ability, the actual process of seeing is not the issue.  Visual processing refers to the acquisition of a visual image in the "mind's eye".  Students with deficits in this area have difficulty with the recognition and recall of words.  Because these students have poor visual imagery and pronounced word recognition difficulty, they struggle with reading, spelling, and composition.  Those toward the lower end of the spectrum, approximately 20% of the world's population, can be described as dyslexic with a specific visual processing difficulty.

Visual processing includes:

• seeing differences between things
• remembering visual details
  
• filling in missing parts in pictures
• remembering general characteristics
• visual-motor coordination
• visualization and imagination
• organization of a room, desk, binder, etc.