Starter education kits to enhance visual perception in children with special needs

Why is visual perception so important for a child?

Visual perception, which may be explained as the ability of a child to make sense of what he/she sees. Merely looking at an object isn’t enough. The ability to understand the visual object is also important for the child to interact and respond to any given cue. Visual perception will directly impact the way a child translates his/her ability to read, write, draw, play and interpret the surrounding, both at home and school.

When visual perception is hampered, it will poorly influence a child’s school performance, raise behavioral issues and reduce self-confidence. Since children learn best when presented with visual stimulus, efforts to improve their visual processing skills can greatly help in their overall development.

A team of professionals at PERCEPTION consisting of  special educators, have come together and developed two separate kits that are designed to develop perception and processing skills in children. Other than being visually rich, the kits have been designed to provide inputs using different senses in the body which will not only help kids learn new concepts faster but will also help retain them longer. These tools have been well researched and carefully selected for overall development of the child in their initial years.

 In case of any further queries or orders please go through the catalogue given below, and contact Ms.Tejal Shah (Special Educator) on 9886000154.

Starter kit 1 has the following components –

• EMOTION TOOLS – A tool to recognize and interpret emotions in self and others

Children with special needs can have trouble recognizing emotions both in themselves and others. These tools, which are in the form of cards, can be put to use to teach children to recognize and understand different emotions. 

I. First step would be to teach the children the different emotions each card represents.

II. Once they start recognizing different emotions; the next step would be to teach them to recognize these emotions in themselves. When asked a question on how they are feeling, they can be taught to point to the correct emotion card based on their feelings at that time.

III. They can also be taught to recognize each emotion and answer questions on the reasons for the emotions.

IV. These cards can be also put to use to recognize the same feelings in others and help increase their social interactions with others.

• SENSORY TOOLS – A tool to help deal with sensory variations and help manage their sensitivity towards perception by a child

Some children have a hard time perceiving and processing different sensory inputs. They can be in the form of textures, sounds, smells and flavors. Exposing them to different stimuli would ensure sensory satisfaction, and help their ability to handle the variations in sensory information.This sensory tool would provide them with different tactile, visual and auditory experiences, soothing and calming them during panic attacks, in addition to acting as a re-enforcer.

• VISUAL SCHEDULER – A tool to help children plan their day ahead and be better prepared to avoid surprises in their daily routine

I. This tool can be used to provide clarity about their daily routine and inculcate a sense of calm regarding their daily routine. They are better prepared if they know what they are expected to do next.

II. This tool can be used to first show them the list of activities that they are expected to do in different parts of the day.

III. Once the activity is done, they should be encouraged to place the card in the appropriate place. This would also ensure a sense of completion of the task.

IV. The next level would be to match the picture to the written text which would also help with word recognition and pave their way to future reading.

• SAFETY CARDS – A tool that can be used to prepare & reassure a child about a sense of personal safety 

These cards provide the essential visual cues to teach them safety rules in everyday life.These cards can be used to teach safety issues and use them as visual cues to stop a child from doing something dangerous. Research has proved that visual clues help children understand a concept faster than verbal prompts

• VISUAL PERCEPTION TOOLS – A tool that helps develop picture-object matching concepts

This tool lays the foundation to initiate the children towards academic learning by being able to visually identify alphabets, numbers, colors, shapes and fruits recognition and matching. It is a highly effective teaching tool as it incorporates and utilizes different senses to provide visual, auditory and tactile stimulation to promote learning in children. 
It can also be used to match cards with the objects (actual ones or ones in puzzles) to develop picture object matching concept.

Starter kit 2 has the following components –

• Math language book : To grasp mathematical concepts and calculations, it is essential that children are taught the meaning of relative concepts i.e big, small, near, far etc. This tool achieves that by addressing simple to complex functions in basic math. This tool is a great start to your child’s future mathematical education.
• Reading and writing tool : This tool can be used as a fun way to teach children the basics of reading and formation of spellings.  The tool uses 3D objects to teach a concept thereby make the teaching experience far more effective and enriching.

  I. This tool introduces sound and word categories to aid with basic reading skill development.

  II. It can also be used to teach the concept of rhyming words.

  III. Such exercises provide visual as well as auditory discrimination skills when words are formed and read aloud.

  IV. They also promote further learning by providing tactile/kinesthetic sensations

• Fruit/Veggie gameThis game uses daily activities such as buying vegetables and fruits to introduce the concept of money.

  I. It can be played at two levels – one suited for younger children and the other for the older ones.
  II. The younger children can just count the money and pay for the fruits and vegetables. The older children can be taught to add different denominations of the money to arrive at the final price of the fruit or vegetable being bought.
  III. This is a fun way to teach the concept and also would help in developing daily living skills.
  IV. This game can also be played in groups to help build socialization skills.
  V. A rule card is available with instructions to play the game

• House game :

I. A tool that introduces, number recognition, alphabet recognition, identification of consonants/vowels, and finally arriving at the Dolch word list.

II. This is a fun way to teach the children as they are more willing to learn during play than in a formal academic setting.

III. This game is recommended to be played in groups to help build socialization skills.

IV. A rule card is available with instructions to play the game.

• Sensory bottle

Children often grow anxious when thrown into unfamiliar situations.

I. This sensory bottle gives them the necessary distraction from their current situation to ease their anxiety, along with giving them the required sensory stimulation.

II. It is great tool to carry in your bag and provides the children a calming effect either in a social situation or a crowded mall where their senses are likely to be overwhelmed, triggering meltdowns.

DISCLAIMER: Please note that this guide is for information purposes only. Please consult a qualified health practitioner for safe management.

Please check out this detailed infographic that highlights visual milestones during a child’s development.