The term ‘visual skills‘ includes all neuro-muscular and perceptual elements that together give rise to reflexive-passive, and volitional-active vision. These are not limited to the neuromuscular and neurosensory elements of the eye and retina, but integrate inputs from and outputs to other sensory modalities and neurocognitive functions. Visual skills involve the combined efforts of the eyes, eyelids, extra- and intra-ocular muscles, several cranial nerves, cortical and subcortical pathways, brainstem and spinal connection, various cortical loci and subcortical nuclei, audition, kinesthesia and proprioception, and balance. The functional elements of visual skills include vergence and duction movements, binocular coordination, saccades, pursuits, accommodation, target acquisition and fixation, and a number of distinct perceptual elements including “spatial organization, object perception, visual memory, visual thinking, allocation of visual attention, and the ability to integrate visual information with other sensory and output modalities” (Vision Rehabilitation: Multidisciplinary Care of the Patient Following Brain Injury. 2001 Editors: Drs. Suter and Harvey, CRC Press, Taylor and Francis Group, Boca Raton, FL ISBN 978-1-4398-3655-2).
Vision, Learning, Rehabilitation, Opinion
