One of the most common reasons that children struggle in school is due to visual tracking problems. When kids struggle with eye tracking, they have a hard time following written lines of text. This can lead to poor test scores, reduced comprehension, and other similar struggles. In addition to comprehensive visual therapy, kids with these types of problems can also benefit from additional exercises at home. Here are a few of the things you can do at home to help your child's visual tracking struggles.

Art Exercises

Art is a great way to improve visual tracking because kids will have to follow the tools along the lines that they are trying to create. Drawing, painting, and even dot-to-dot pictures will encourage your child to follow lines. Even simple tracing can help kids with their tracking struggles. Following the lines of the picture beneath enhances eye control.

Puzzle Games

Working on puzzles will help children with visual tracking problems as well. Kids will need to be able to see how the pieces fit together, following the lines of each puzzle piece to find the proper fit. Mazes are another great game for visual tracking because your child will have to follow the lines of the maze to find the end. This requires some consistency in eye movement, which can improve tracking. Games like "I Spy" also refine visual tracking because kids have to relate the information about the object with what they're seeing around them, following visual paths to spot other potential solutions.

Visual Identification

Encourage your child to identify specific things, such as shapes, letters, or mistakes in pictures. Things like this require your child to focus clearly on the picture at hand to pick out the objects. In addition, things like mimicking movements made by someone else will encourage not only the visual tracking of watching the movement but also the cognitive processing to duplicate it.

Kids with visual tracking problems aren't resigned to a life of educational struggles. In fact, you can overcome many of these challenges with the right therapy program and in-home support. Tips like these will help you improve your child's tracking without making them feel like they're still in therapy at home. For more tips to help your child with visual tracking struggles, talk with a local vision therapy clinic, such as Absolute Vision Care, about your concerns. They can help you create a comprehensive treatment plan to address your child's specific struggles.

 

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