Vision Skills

By: Carmen Willings
teachingvisuallyimpaired.com
​Updated November 21, 2025
Following the evaluation of ocular health, visual acuity, and visual fields, the Teacher of Students with Visual Impairments (TVI) should assess the student’s visual skills as part of the Functional Vision Assessment (FVA). These include visual perception, depth perception, visual discrimination, color vision, social visual behaviors, and functional tasks such as handwriting and the use of technology.

​Visual Perception

Visual perception involves the brain's ability to interpret and organize visual information. Assess the following perceptual skills:
  • Depth Perception: Observe how the student:
    • Reaches for, grasps, places, and releases objects
    • Uses eye-hand coordination in tasks such as inset puzzles or placing items in specific locations
    • Navigates indoor and outdoor environments, especially on uneven surfaces or stairs
    • Exhibits behaviors such as overreaching or underreaching, which may indicate depth perception difficulties
  • Visual Closure: Determine whether the student can identify objects or words when part of the visual information is missing.
  • Visual Discrimination: Assess the ability to:
    • Visually search for and identify objects, colors, and pictures
    • Recognize familiar faces, objects, and photos
    • Match or sort objects, colors, and shapes
    • Respond to differences and details in images and demonstrations
    • Adapt to changes in lighting and locate landmarks in different settings
  • Visual Memory & Sequencing: Evaluate the student's ability to:
    • Recall visual information (e.g., pictures, symbols, or patterns)
    • Sequence images or objects in logical order
    • Organize materials spatially on a desk or within a task
  • Figure-Ground Discrimination: Determine how well the student identifies visual elements when they are surrounded by background patterns or clutter.
  • Spatial Relationships: Observe how the student:
    • Understands positioning concepts (e.g., above, below, beside)
    • Orients materials for viewing and task completion

​Social Visual Discrimination

Assess How the Student Uses Vision in Social Interactions
​Observe how the student relies on visual information during communication and social engagement. Consider the following:
  • Orientation and facial recognition: Does the student visually orient toward people and recognize familiar faces such as caregivers, teachers, or peers? Note whether recognition occurs only at close range or at typical social distances.
  • Eye contact and emotional response: Does the student attempt to make eye contact, look toward a conversational partner, or respond with a smile or other facial expression?
  • Tracking visual cues: Does the student watch the speaker’s eyes, mouth, or expressions to gather social or communication cues? This may indicate reliance on lip reading, facial expressions, or gestures.
  • Recognition of familiar individuals: Can the student visually identify caregivers or classmates in a variety of environments or lighting conditions, or do they rely more on voice, movement, or context?

​Color Vision

Accurate color perception is critical for both academic and functional tasks. Color vision assessment should go beyond naming colors. Consider the following:
  • Use materials like Color Vision Testing Made Easy by Terrance Waggoner (if appropriate).
  • Ask the student to:
    • Match colors by shade and hue
    • Sequence colors from light to dark or group into color families
    • Identify and sort colored items in real-life scenarios (e.g., workbook tasks, reading graphs, or choosing clothing)
  • Test with a variety of color pairings that commonly cause confusion (e.g., red/green, green/orange, blue/yellow, brown/purple).
  • Use both structured (cards, toys) and unstructured (classroom materials, clothes) tools.
Note: If color vision differences are identified, ensure to note that color-dependent tasks (e.g., science labs, games) should be adapted.
Accurate color perception is important for many academic and everyday tasks, including reading graphs, interpreting diagrams, organizing materials, and selecting clothing. Assessment of color vision should extend beyond simply naming colors to examine how the student uses color in real contexts. Consider the following:
  • Use appropriate assessment tools: When suitable for the student’s age and developmental level, use tests such as Color Vision Testing Made Easy by Terrance Waggoner or other standardized tools.
  • Functional color tasks: Ask the student to complete tasks that reflect real-world visual demands, such as:
    • Matching colors based on shade, hue, and saturation
    • Sequencing colors from light to dark
    • Grouping items into color families
    • Identifying or sorting colored objects during workbook assignments, reading bar graphs, or choosing clothing
  • Test common confusion pairs: Include color combinations that frequently pose challenges for individuals with color vision differences, such as red/green, green/orange, blue/yellow, brown/purple, and black/navy. Testing across these pairings provides insight into how color perception may affect classroom performance.
  • Use both structured and unstructured materials. This helps determine whether the student’s color identification difficulties appear only during testing or also during authentic tasks. Assess color discrimination using a mix of:
    • Structured tools: cards, chips, toys, matching sets
    • Unstructured materials: worksheets, classroom manipulatives, clothing items, art supplies
  • Document implications for instruction: If color vision differences are identified, note that color-dependent tasks—such as science labs, coding activities, map reading, art projects, board games, or color-coded systems—will require adaptations.

​Strategies and Accommodations for Visual Perception & Color Vision

  • Use bold black lines around coloring areas
  • Label crayons or other color tools using large print, braille, or tactile symbols
  • Modify color-coded assignments (e.g., use textures or symbols)
  • Use tactile or symbolic maps rather than color-coded ones
  • Teach color concepts using real-world examples
  • Label clothing by color using tags or apps
  • Modify games that are heavily reliant on color identification

​Handwriting

Handwriting and Low Vision. Handwriting can present significant challenges for students with low vision. When evaluating the student’s written work, consider the following:
  • Legibility and accuracy: Observe how clearly the student forms letters and numbers when writing independently. Note issues such as uneven spacing, inconsistent size, or difficulty staying on the line.
  • Ability to reread written work: Determine whether the student can easily reread their handwriting immediately and after a delay. Many students with low vision struggle to interpret their own writing later, which can impact note-taking and homework completion.
  • Comfort and posture: Look for signs of visual strain, such as leaning very close to the page, tilting the head, or shifting in and out of position. Posture may reveal the student’s preferred viewing distance or challenges with clarity.
Use Functional Writing Tasks. Include authentic writing tasks to better understand the student’s real-world writing needs, such as creating lists (grocery lists, reminders, to-do lists), writing letters or journal entries, and filling out planners, calendars, or homework logs. These tasks reveal how well the student uses handwriting for organization, communication, and daily functioning.
Encourage Trial of Adapted Tools. Invite the student to explore different materials to determine what improves comfort and legibility:
  • Bold-line or raised-line paper
  • Pens with varied ink colors, tip widths, or contrast levels
  • Felt-tip markers for darker, more consistent lines
  • Slant boards or angled writing surfaces
  • Task lighting for improved contrast

​Use of Technology

Assess how effectively the student uses technology to access information, complete academic tasks, and support independence. Consider the following areas:
Keyboarding Skills
  • Accuracy and speed: Can the student type efficiently enough to complete classroom tasks?
  • Typing method: Do they use touch typing, visual guidance, or a combination? Note any adaptations used to improve accuracy.
Assistive Technology
  • Visual access tools: Screen magnifiers (ZoomText, built-in magnifiers), screen readers (JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver), or refreshable braille displays.
  • Device accessibility settings: Use of contrast adjustments, zoom features, enlarged cursor, color filters, voice commands, or text-to-speech on tablets, Chromebooks, or smartphones.
Productivity Tools
  • Word processing: Ability to create, edit, save, and share documents in Google Docs, Microsoft Word, or other platforms.
  • Organization tools: Use of digital calendars, reminders, planner apps, task lists, or note-taking tools.
Communication Skills
  • Digital communication: Ability to read, compose, and send email or text messages, and navigate communication apps as appropriate for age.
  • Online platforms: Familiarity with tools such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, including joining meetings, using chat, and accessing shared screens.
Navigation and Orientation Tools
  • GPS and travel apps: Use of apps like Google Maps, BlindSquare, Soundscape, or other orientation tools during travel or mobility tasks.
  • Independence: Ability to activate, interpret, and follow directions provided by these tools.

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