Visual Perceptual Skill: Figure Ground

It has been three months since I released my "Visual Perception Reference Sheet". This article contains information from the reference sheet and looks at the aspect of visual perception called "figure ground", every day examples of where it is needed and potential areas of difficulty as well as strategies to assist.

Figure Ground
The ability to see an object or form when presented in a complex background with a lot of visual information at one time.

Everyday examples where visual perception is needed and potential areas of difficulty.

• Sorting shapes and completing puzzles.
• Finding matching socks in a laundry pile.
• Finding specific information on a whiteboard or word wall.
• Finding words on a page or in a dictionary.
• Ability to copy information from a source and keep track of where you are up to.
• Reading each word or sentence without losing place.

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Strategies to assist.

• Hidden picture books (eg. I spy, Where’s Wally, etc).
• Sorting similar items from a pile (eg. sorting pasta shapes, cutlery, socks, etc).
• Minimise clutter or categorise information to help find information (eg. nouns on word wall on a yellow background, simple worksheets with no extra decoration).
• Provide extra cues such as a “post-it” note to bookmark each letter category in the dictionary.
• Provide information to be copied from a piece of paper rather than a board.
• Practise scanning worksheets or books to find relevant information (eg. word search puzzle).
• Provide a “window” to highlight the word or sentence that requires attention during reading.

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Do you have an everyday example of Figure Ground? What is your favourite strategy to assist those having difficulty?
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