The benefits of visuospatial rehabilitation

Have you heard about visuospatial rehabilitation? 

Your child or teenager may need to carry out an assessment to follow rehabilitation sessions with a psychomotor therapist. We’ll explain here in detail what it is, as well as the reasons and benefits of following visuospatial rehabilitation. 

Don’t hesitate to read this article with your child in order to discuss this subject together!

What is

visuospatial rehabilitation?

Visuospatial rehabilitation is a specific therapeutic approach which aims to improve the visual and spatial abilities of people with cognitive disorders, in particular learning disorders such as dyslexia, dyscalculia, dyspraxia or even dysphasia.

 

When a person (child, adolescent but also adult) has difficulties in these fields, it can cause a cognitive deficit which affects their development and learning abilities.

 

These disorders can have repercussions on different aspects of daily and school life, leading to organizational difficulties, attention or behavioral problems, and even academic failure.

 

Therefore, visuospatial rehabilitation consists of working specifically on the visual and spatial functions of the brain, thanks to exercises and adapted techniques.

How do you know if your child

need a visuospatial rehabilitation?

  •  

First, the psychomotor therapist will carry out a visuospatial assessment to evaluate the child’s cognitive abilities.

 

The goal of this assessment is to identify the nature of the difficulties and to propose arrangements adapted to the schooling of the young patient.

 

Different psychomotor functions are assessed using standardized tests:

 

  • coordination between the eye and the hand, and visuomotor precision ;

  • laterality (preference of manual, ocular or pedestrian use) ;

  • spotting and orientation in space ;

  • visuoperceptual abilities ;

  • visuoconstruction abilities ;

  • visuo-attentional abilities.

Following this assessment, a specific support may also be implemented by taking into consideration the neurovisual aspects underlying the motor skills of the child (dexterity, accuracy, graphics, construction …) which can impact and disrupt learning (dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyspraxia…).

What is the aim of visuospatial rehabilitation?

The objective is to strengthen the abilities of spatial identification, visual perception, visual memory, motor coordination, but also to facilitate learning related to reading, writing and mathematics.

The rehabilitation will then be based on the visuospatial, visuomotor, visuoconstruction and visuo-attentional skills of the patient.

This rehabilitation can be carried out by different health professionals, such as speech therapists, neuropsychologists, psychomotor therapists or even occupational therapists.

What are the benefits of

visuospatial rehabilitation?

This rehabilitation is based on fun and stimulating activities, aiming to strengthen the child’s visual, spatial and attentional skills.

 

The aim of visuo-spatial rehabilitation is to enable the child to compensate for his difficulties and to develop his cognitive abilities as much as possible.

 

It can offer real benefits, particularly in terms of:

 

  • language development;

  • memorization;

  • motor skills;

  • academic skills.

It is important to underline that visuospatial rehabilitation cannot cure specific language disorders, but it offers tools and strategies allowing the child to cope with their difficulties.

 

It is part of a global approach of re-education and rehabilitation, taking into account the neurological, cognitive and psychomotor dimensions of each individual.

To conclude

Visuospatial rehabilitation is a therapeutic approach that aims to improve visual and spatial abilities of people with learning disabilities.


The COP9 team wishes to raise awareness of the fact that it constitutes valuable help for children suffering from dyslexia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia or even dysphasia.


This rehabilitation allows them to compensate for their difficulties and progress in their intellectual and academic development!

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