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Map Drills for child with visual processing problems
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My daughter has had vision problems since birth. She has a visual perceptual disability, so reading a map is very difficult for her. Any ideas for map drills that would not be so visually overwhelming for her?
I find the overwhelming part for us comes with a huge sheet of paper with all kinds of writing, designs, or math on it. Cut out just the portion of the map she needs to limit unnecessary stimulation. Like just the Western states or the Middle East kind of thing.
Set a timer for a very short amount of time and just reassure her that when it goes off, you are done. No stresses, no worries, you will just finish the next time. We usually study the map for about 3-5 minutes and then take about 5-7 minutes to label, and about 5 more to double check. So about 10-15 minutes once a week.
Since you are just starting this here are some other ideas to make this into more fun and not just another chore:
You could make two color copies of the map. Cut one into the individual countries (or states) and let her match them up that way. One could even be blank, and one could have the names on the countries or labels. You could even blow the size up to make it easier.
You can read the country list off and she can locate it, first on the cut out labeled map and eventually on an unlabeled map.
You can create another matching game by using just the labels and letting her match those to the countries.
Keep it very short and quick. Remember to quietly play classical music in the background to help her brain stay calm. 😉
I don’t have any experience with visual processing problems…
As I read Sheraz’ wise advice, it occurred to me that you could also use a very large floor puzzle map (like Melissa and Doug make, or the ones made of foam pieces) when you are studying some parts of the world (like the US). I think they also make a ‘world’ map that you could break up by the area that you are studying so that she is only doing a portion of it at a time.
It may help her to actually feel the shapes and place them where they belong on the map.
Just a thought… Blessings :).
Thanks for the tips. I had planned to do the US first because of the period of history we will be in. Also, I thought it would be good to start with something familiar.
Sheila, if I do the puzzle like you were describing, what resource would be good to use for the map? Sometimes I get overwhelmed with all the different options. I had thought about the Uncle Josh book that others have talked about. But, would that be good for doing it the way you described? Thanks.
Pam, the Uncle Josh CD would be great. We use it. She could even just choose to color the states in different colors or something at first too without the labels so she gets familiar with them that way before adding the stress of reading the lables or writing them. As she colors each one, you could just mention “that’s California or Oregon” in a casual way.
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