v

ii

Educational success partly depends on determining a child’s learning pattern as soon as possible,
i.e. (for parents) before a child enters school and (for educators) before beginning any lessons.
The purposes of this book are to
*Provide insight into learning patterns by explaining how to understand, evaluate and teach non-
traditional students, including dyslexics.
*Prevent negative mislabeling of our youngest preschool and older children,
*Inform parents and teachers on how they themselves can screen and teach within a child’s
learning strength, without detriment to fellow students or to the school or class curriculum,
*Ensure educational success for all students in a classroom.

Learning Patterns are simply defined as visual, auditory and tactile-kinesthetic preferences
with right or left hemisphere dominance and all combinations of these abilities. For this set of
books, Learning Pattern is defined as a method of learning determined by a combination of
genetic heredity factors, brain dominance and sensory strengths. Learning Patterns have little to
do with personal choice as they are laid down quite early in each brain. It is important to
recognize and understand the natural tendencies and differences in our sensory responses to
incoming information as they affect learning. These differences may cause conflict with
effective learning from traditional instructional methods. However, once a student’s natural
sensory and dominance patterns are recognized and understood, multisensory teaching
methods enable easier and faster learning for many children who otherwise might be labeled
“educationally challenged”.

The following email is from R.W.Keller, EdD,School of Education, Stanford University

I’ve spent the last two evenings reading through the text of your three volumes: and Jane
has read through some of them as well. We cannot find words to express how truly amazed we
are at the thorough and explicit way you have set forth the substance of what no one, until now,
has expressed by way of insight into what needs to be known about this intricate and perplexing
subject. Most teachers and other educators simply have only vague perceptions of how to deal
with the problems you have so expertly examined; the result being that many intelligent children
have been written off as incapable of achieving the success for which they clearly have the
potential. …this is a most remarkable contribution to the field of education.

The author, Lois E. Rockefeller, has obtained her M.A. in education from Stanford University,
holds a B.S. from Wittenberg University as well as having been licensed as a registered
physical therapist in N.Y. & CA. and holds several teaching, counseling and Resource
Specialist credentials in CA. She has worked for more than thirty years in California with
children of all ages; mainly with classes for the educationally and emotionally challenged,
dyslexic and orthopedically handicapped, but also with children from preschool through college
not been labeled by a school system. The majority of these students had normal intelligence.

Publishing of this material has been delayed due to the author’s severe deterioration of both
cervical & lumbar spine requiring many surgeries between 2001 and 2008 followed by
rehabilitation and chronic pain. It is her greatest joy to offer this information to enlighten all
who live with Dyslexia or learning difficulties. Ms. Rockefeller’s gratitude and
acknowledgement go to John Lebel and Christian Mendelsohn for helping to get this book to
you over the internet free of charge.
 v

Discover Successful Learning Patterns by Lois E. Rockefeller

This book responds to two questions from teachers who read my earlier magazine article.
They asked, “How can we effectively screen students for dyslexia in the classroom?” and “How
can we help them as a classroom teacher?” Parents are also addressed as are any who are
interested in understanding and helping children with learning difficulties.

Part One, The Sensory Dominant Foundation of Learning, explains and supports this
teacher’s discoveries concerning children’s learning patterns and the meaningful pre-
kindergarten screening developed in line with these patterns. It discusses how the developmental
model defines a disability, while the sensory dominant model defines a learning pattern.
Laterality and brain dominance and their relationship to the learning patterns of many people
with learning difficulties are explained. A review of the brain’s importance to learning patterns
is given as is the importance of visual perception abilities and learning. The present educational
system relies on developmental screening, which compares a child’s accomplishments to those
of other children of his age. This screening ignores how a person takes in information through
his senses, brain and body. Through years of experience, I developed screening which checks on
one’s sensory and dominance capabilities. The developmental screening gives results as normal,
advanced or retarded or slow. Only more time or retention is provided as possible help for being
slow. With the sensory dominant screening, an understanding of how a student is learning is
offered with suggestions as to how to alleviate learning problems by teaching to strengths.

 Part Two, Sensory Dominant Screening describes compensatory behavior in

students and the A, B, C’s of sensory dominant screening and scoring as well as the several areas
of this screening. Each item to be screened, such as hand dominance, is named with the
objective given. Instructions are then clearly defined. Scoring is given as 2 for serious problems
with the objective, 1 as minor problems and 0 as no problems. For each objective a description
for each scoring is given. For each area screened, such as dominance, a total score of 0, 1, 2 is
recorded. The back of the book contains the Learning Profile Response Form plus pages needed
for particular visual screening items such as Visual Memory and Albini’s Capital E Chart.

Part Three, Sensory Dominant Instruction describes methods and specific ideas on
how to provide instruction that includes non-visual learners. It is divided into the following
areas for education: WIG for Warm Inclusive Group in the WARM classroom, SIR for Sensing,
Imaging and Relaxation and the Auditory, Visual, Tactile-kinesthetic and other Senses, SMAT
for sensory motor activities with a mat, MELT for memory and learning techniques including
mind maps and mathematics with dice and AAA for Arts, Acting and Activities.
ii

Discover Successful Learning Patterns

“After careful reading to gain a true sense of how your approach differs from that so widely
employed – I am tremendously impressed with your insight into the intricacies of dyslexia,
a most important and perplexing educational problem. So much of what I have seen is
merely perceptual. This is the first examination that to me is truly prescriptive. It would
indeed be a social crime if the substance of this material were to be denied to those who have
responsibility for working with children. I would like to see a copy of this treatise on the desk
of every elementary school teacher.” (School of Education, Stanford University – Ralph W.
Keller, Assistant Dean)

“I feel very privileged indeed to have been given the opportunity to read your book. In a word, it
is nothing short of brilliant. The entire book is fascinating, but in my opinion, the best of the
book is that you gave the first real description and explanation of dyslexia in all of its many
forms that I have ever seen. In addition, you spent a great deal of time explaining how to
determine each child’s learning pattern, urging that each child be individually examined
and evaluated. And finally, you explained how and why dyslexia occurs and manifests itself
from an anatomical and physiological standpoint. I learned a great deal. Publish! This book
is too important to be ignored.” (Robin E. Beare, Attorney at Law – has dyslexia)

“This is a break-through book on dyslexia. Most importantly, it addresses the parents of

dyslexic children as well as teachers, students, administrators and all those interested in
improving the educational system in this area of dire need.” (Richard Price, Ph.D., Psychologist
and author – dyslexic)

“This book is for parents and teachers seeking alternatives for helping intelligent, but
learning-challenged children succeed. The author shares her profound insights into the role
that natural variations in the dominance patterns of our visual and auditory senses have in the
success or failure of learning –especially reading. (These natural variations occur in highly
intelligent children and are not rare.) Reinforced by many years of special-education classroom
experiences, she translates these insights into practical techniques for achieving positive learning
results for all children—including those who struggle in traditional learning environments that
better serve students born with the more typical dominance characteristics found in the general
population.” (Laurene Campbell, retired kindergarten and 1st grade school teacher, parent and
grandparent)

“Discover Successful Learning Patterns helped explain to me why learning is not a

one-way fits all process and, thereby in the same classroom, why some succeed
and others fail to achieve their inherent potential.” (Frank Campbell, retired earth scientist and
concerned parent-grandparent)

“Thank you very much for sending us your book on Learning Patterns and Dyslexia. It is an
excellent treatise on the subject. It does need to be published and shared with others.”
(Everyday Learning Corp., Thomas B. Wise, Vice President)

“Easy to read, hard to put down.”

(K.E. Rockefeller, Hospitality Industry, multi-talented with dyslexia undiagnosed in school.)
 v

Discover Successful Learning Patterns

Part 1. Sensory Dominant Foundation of Learning
Copyright 1996, 2000 by Lois E. Rockefeller, B.S., R.P.T., M.A., R.Sp.

No part of this manuscript may be reproduced, transcribed or transmitted by any means, mechanical or
electronic, including photocopy or recording or stored in any information storage or retrieval system without the
expressed consent in writing from the author or publisher.

Those screening pages noted as Reproducible Pages may be duplicated by the classroom teacher or a parent
for immediate use in the classroom or in one family in a number not to exceed twenty five (25) of any one page.

Reproduction for an entire school or other systems larger than the limited classroom of twenty-five (25), or
for more than one family of up to, but not exceeding five (5) children, is strictly prohibited. No part of this book
may be used commercially.

Names have been changed where it may be necessary to protect the identity of individuals.

The author disavows any claim, legal or otherwise, or any responsibility whatsoever for the outcome of
using the material as set forth in this manuscript.

This book was written to be helpful and informative and is not designed as a research document.
References are mentioned where they occur in the text. Definitions of terms that may be unfamiliar are given where
they first appear in the text. The aim has been to keep the text easy to understand for those whose background is in
other subjects even though interest in the text subject is present. The subject of Learning Patterns touches every
human being.
ii
Discover Successful Learning Patterns Acknowledgments 1992−2000

Any large project benefits from the input of many even though it may mainly be the work of one
person. Therefore special thanks are in order to those who gave freely of their time and energy
towards the effort to bring these books to those who will benefit from them.

I am especially grateful for the support, encouragement, ideas and practical help of my three
adult progeny: Merilee, Nancy and Ken Rockefeller and of my dearest cousin, Marshall Stuart
Caswell and his wife, Eleanor. Thanks beyond measure to Stanford University’s Dr. Ralph
Keller and wife, Jane, who for many years have supported the publication of this project. Their
son, James W. Keller, a busy college vice chancellor, parent and more has been invaluable as
graphics engineer and creative aide. Special thanks to Frank Campbell and wife, Laurene, who
brought me a first, then second and now a third newer computer, providing much instruction and
a more than I can detail here to bring this project to fruition.

Special thanks to Tim Madden, wife Joan, and to Christy and Billy for the first computer and
their devotion of time and energy during the initial struggle to format the book. Bruce Cates,
computer dean of Pacific Grove Adult School, made insert pages, graphs and the first complete
printout of the book in 1996. Thanks to Susan, Bruce’s secretary, for being so gracious and to
Jason Spencer and Jack Herbig for their help in computer problem solving.

Thanks to Dede, my Reader Assistant at the Talking Book Library in Sacramento, CA for
finding and sending books on the brain to aid my research for this book. Love and thanks to
Carmen Courtney and to her son, Jim and to all my students and their families. Grateful
appreciation to the following: My lifelong pen pal in France, Francoise Paraire, sent book cover
ideas and texts on “Dyslexie”. Artist, Vincent Amicosante, helped with early cover design.
Ellen Lyon provided computer adaptable cover designs, et cetera. Heather Johnson-Spiegel drew
just for this book, the hands signing letters and numbers. Richard Price, Ph.D., gave his special
insight as one who grew up with severe dyslexia, well aware of its stigma.

Thanks to “Teaching Today” editor, Betty Ann Codere who said that readers wanted to know
much more than was set forth in my original article. For their guidance and input, thanks to
optometrists: Richard Koleszar, Charles Pearson and E. Borsting. Also to teachers: Ruth
Barnett, Ruth Peace, Sarah Gordon, Sylvia Ortiz, Jennifer Wirth and Carol Catalano. And to
principals: Dr. Peter Crasa, Dr. Harvey Takigawa and Virginia Ziomek for their roles in
permitting me to screen children and interview teachers. Thanks to attorney Robin Beare for her
encouragement.

Thanks for the prayers for strengthening and for personal help from my extended family, St.
Mary’s By the Sea, Pacific Grove, CA, especially for Father Dwight Edwards, Rosi, Helen
Reames, Ripple Huth, Martha Witcher, Ann Wilson Doelman and Anne Bailey. My gratitude to
my medical doctors who have kept me functional during this extended period: Kathleen Smalky,
Michael Mahig, Michael Herhusky, Christopher C. Carver and others.

Heartfelt thanks to all of those who helped bring this book set to its destination.

Lois E. Rockefeller
 v

Discover Successful Learning Patterns

Table of Contents
Part 2. Sensory Dominant Screening

Chapter 1. Compensatory Behavior in Children and How To Detect It.................................. 1

Chapter 2. The A, B, C’s of Sensory-Dominant Screening and Scoring .................................. 8
Chapter 3. Dominance & Auditory Comprehension Screening.............................................. 18
Chapter 4. Comprehensive Basic Sensory Screening............................................................... 30
Chapter 5. Checking The “F’s” of Vision.................................................................................. 59
Chapter 6. Visual Convergence and The String Knot Test ..................................................... 69
Chapter 7. Screening The Neuro-Muscular System For Strength and Coordination .......... 79
Plus - Impressions of Intelligence and Emotional and Physical Health .................................. 79

Chapter 8. Expanded Screening ................................................................................................. 87

A-V-K Observations for Classrooms, Sense & Hemisphere Preference Form, Sensory Dominant
Screening of Adults & Older Students....................................................................................... 87
2

Discover Successful Learning Patterns

Part 2. Sensory Dominant Screening
 1

If when you went to school

Where textbooks are the rule
And you didn't delight in
All that reading and writing,
This book could hold the clue
To what's the matter with you.
So you ought to check it out
And learn what it's about.
Then you won’t have “apoplexia”
When you learn you have dyslexia.

Lois E. Rockefeller
2
Chapter 1. Compensatory Behavior in Children and How To Detect It
Compensatory behavior defined
Before dealing with specific methods
of screening and instruction that could help
dyslexic and other non-traditional learners
learn more easily those things that seem to
elude them, let me speak to compensatory
behaviors. A compensatory behavior may
be defined as a behavior mechanism
whereby an individual disguises or conceals
an unpleasant sensation or feeling by acting
in a way that will relieve their anxiety and
produce desired, or perceived to be desired,
results for himself.
Appearance of immaturity
In school the desired result of the
student is to escape from having to be
confronted with failure or stress. The
present educational system believes that
most, if not all, educational possibilities are
based on developmental readiness or
maturity, which is nearly always a left brain,
visual-verbal approach to a maturity rating.
Therefore, the most common reason given
by teachers and administration for any
child’s difficulties within this system is that
this child is “developmentally immature”.
What may appear to be immaturity in
a child may actually be that child’s defense
against requests or tasks, which seem to him
or her to be impossible. These tasks are, or
appear to the child to be, more difficult than
the child cares to or is able to manage. The
reason for the seeming difficulty could be
immaturity, but it seldom is. More often, the
child is developmentally mature, but he/she
has an undiagnosed sensory or sensory
motor problem, usually visual. This defense
mechanism is most often performed from
unconscious motives and not to personally
thwart the teacher’s plans.
Failure stresses children
Compensatory behaviors often
become the characteristic behaviors of
children who suddenly come up against a
wall of stress in the classroom. The term
“immaturity” may actually describe a fear
reaction. At home, before entering the
mainstream of education, most children
were managing quite well. They had chosen
the activities, which came easily to them.
They had been successful in their
specialized exploits. Discipline for tackling
activities, which might have been more
difficult for them, is often lacking when they
arrive in school.
Now in school, discipline and many
different abilities are needed to succeed.
When the new activity does not come easily
to a child, as was the case before school, the
child fears that he or she will do something
wrong, or will not be able to do the task at
all. Children want to please adults. They
want to be as good as their peers. Children
don’t want to fail. Whereas most adults
have learned to take trial and error in stride,
failure stresses many children.
Many youngsters try to rationalize
away what they experienced as an error on
their part. One very bright boy kept talking,
moving and changing the subject as he
refused to follow the adult’s instructions for
a task he thought he couldn’t do. He refused
to look at a design on a page rather than
make a mistake. Later tests revealed his
visual crossed dominance. The optometrist
validated visual stress caused by a “visual
lag” in his non-dominant eye.
Areas of educational stress
All normal children love to be active
and curious. This natural curiosity leads to a
natural propensity for learning. If a child
behaves in a way that inhibits his natural
desire to learn, then we must look behind the
front of this problematic behavior. We must
find what is producing the anxiety and stress
associated with the task or with school.
Chapter 1. Compensatory Behavior in Children and How To Detect It
Barring serious brain damage, we
will probably find most of the answers to
problematic behavior in one or more of the
five areas listed here.
Five areas of compensatory behaviors
demonstrated by school children.
1. visual abilities, especially near point
vision.
2. auditory abilities, including speech
comprehension.
3. lateralization and brain dominance.
4. vestibular and sometimes cerebellar
balancing abilities.
5. muscle strength and coordination,
especially of the small muscles of the
hands, or combined with vision as in
eye-hand coordination.
Not screening is time consuming
Since many of these abilities develop
in coordination with each other, such as,
eye-hand coordination, muscular strength
with balance and with visual or auditory
skills, specific screening may be necessary
to pinpoint the problem area. If you think
that screening will be time consuming, think
of the time and costs later on, when you try
to deal with a child who believes he or she is
a failure.
Recycling on the retention assembly line
Many educators suggest that
retaining children early in the educational
process will have only benefits and no
deficits for those children. A few years ago
many were shocked and dismayed on
reading in the newspaper that a kindergarten
teacher was retaining most of the children in
her class. She insisted that these children
were all immature and that she was doing
these children a favor. Another article reads
“More than half of eighth graders in an inner
city school district are being held back from
graduation because their superintendent
insists that they be able to read at a sixth
grade level”.
3
Adults with this shortsighted view of
retention seldom see these children once
they’ve entered puberty. An astute,
observant, newspaper reporter who was also
very much involved as a parent in his
children’s schools had this to say about
retention. “I have observed boys ages ten
and eleven, who repeated grades earlier.
Compared to their peers they are street smart
and they feel out of step with the group.
They are far more mature than the kids in
their grade because they’ve repeated a
grade. The problems compound
exponentially.
In junior high school these older kids
are going through pubescence while their
classmates are not. Teachers thinking a kid
will fall in with the next group by repeating
a grade are not seeing the whole picture.
Putting a kid back in a certain place in the
assembly line of education doesn’t mean
he’s going to come out the same kind of
finished product as other kids and retention
could disrupt his life in all ways. Education
is an assembly line. Recycling kids on the
assembly line may not help.”
The alternative to retention could be
to find each child’s learning pattern very
early in life and to bless him or her with
success in learning. Early detection of
learning patterns is the best key to success.
Action, reaction
Those who work or live with
children need to be able to recognize
children’s compensatory behaviors. A child
reverts to earlier, secure behaviors when he
or she is being asked to perform in a way
that is difficult or impossible for that child.
Since the child is perfectly capable of seeing
that other children are able to perform in the
designated way and she can’t, she assumes
that there is something wrong with her.
She can not know what is wrong, so
she may become confused, angry,
withdrawn or act in other apparently
unacceptable ways. Most adults don’t know
4 Part 2. Sensory Dominant Screening
what is wrong either and they just react to
the child’s unacceptable behavior in equally
unacceptable ways. We lose our patience
with a child who seems at the moment to be
obstinate and uncooperative. Then with
further checking for visual perception
difficulties in that child and finding this to
be the case, we might feel quite ashamed of
our impatience.
Understanding the underlying causes
for a child’s “misbehavior” will guide us in
helping that child learn in ways compatible
with his or her own pattern. The defensive
behavior can disappear and smiles will
return all around.
Generalized compensatory behaviors
Some compensatory behaviors are
generalized and will require careful
observation and screening to discover their
source. Some generalized behaviors are:
hyperactivity, temper tantrums, loudness,
bullying, irritability, wandering, seemingly
not paying attention, withdrawing from the
action and generally looking for affirmation
in unacceptable ways. Also, children
exhibiting compensatory behaviors will
usually fall behind in learning in some area
of the curriculum.
Snowballing down hill
Since the majority of these children
are of normal or higher intelligence and their
parents know this, the blame for a child’s
difficulties in school are often labeled by
child and parents as “boredom with school”.
Accusations of a teacher boring a young
child can often cause the teacher to react and
become defensive. The administration will
then be on the teacher’s back to get the
parents’ off the administration’s back.
Meantime nothing positive is happening for
anyone involved, especially for the child.
Task specific compensatory behaviors
Some compensatory behaviors may
be more specific to the task at hand.
Following are some specific behaviors
related to sensory dominance problems.
Vision problems
Visual difficulties might be
suspected when these behaviors are
common. These children often act silly or
distracting especially when close visual
attention is required, such as: looking at a
book, or copying letters with a pencil, or
coloring within lines. These children will
usually try to avoid visual tasks. While they
refuse to perform the visual tasks as
requested they can be very adept at
distracting the adult from noticing that this
is what is happening. Visual tasks are more
likely to get the “This is boring.”, or “I don’t
want to do this.” treatment, with sloppy
work, at best.
Children with visual difficulties may
rub or squint their eyes or show other signs
of visual discomfort including headaches,
stomachaches, etc. They will have a very
limited attention span when it comes to
visual work, but attend for longer periods to
activities they enjoy. They will make all
kinds of excuses to get away from the visual
task including, “I feel sick.” They may truly
get headaches or physical discomfort when
they attempt to do certain stressful activities.
They will be easily distracted and
distracting to others. Boys, more often than
girls, tend to be loud and loquacious to get
attention in the group and make themselves
seem on top of it all. These boys and girls
will give little or no effort to paper and
pencil tasks. Their writing or drawing might
indicate too heavy or too light hand pressure
and other signs of difficulty.
Until the problem is diagnosed
correctly, these children may also be
irritable, hyperactive and defensive, posing
just the kind of behavior that can drive a
caring, patient adult to reacting in ways that
are also irritable and impatient.
Chapter 1. Compensatory Behavior in Children and How To Detect It
They love to talk
Most intelligent youngsters with
visual problems love to talk. They are not
usually the ones, who love to sit in your lap
while you look together at a book, but they
may love to hear stories. They prefer show
and tell activities to anything that requires
sitting at a desk to work or play.
These same children may well
become your auditory learning experts.
They will probably indicate that they have
very adequate auditory memories, being able
to “parrot” your words. They learn best by
watching or with a hands-on activity. They
might prefer audio tape or television
instruction to written instruction. Visual
activities of fairly short duration, compared
to longer duration, might be more
successful. It is important for the educator
to remember that any amount of visual stress
is extremely uncomfortable.
Auditory problems
Hearing or auditory difficulty might
be suspected when there seems to be a
communication breakdown. These children
often ask to have something repeated, but
they do it in such clever ways that most
adults won’t guess at first what is going on.
For instance, they often say, “What?” It
may appear that such children are not paying
attention when oral instructions are given.
In a group setting they may appear confused
about what is going on.
They misbehave or create a
disturbance when asked to repeat oral
instructions, or to take part in a group
discussion. They may appear cranky,
irritable or hyperactive, but can also be
withdrawn into their own private worlds.
Children with auditory problems will
always manage not to go first in a line-up
activity. They will carefully watch and
imitate others. They may have trouble with
marching to or repeating rhythms. These
children may be your visual learners, early
readers and neat writers, if they can manage
5
to comprehend oral instructions. Watch for
lip readers in this group.
It may appear that these children do
better in a one to one tutoring situation, but
that is because they are getting better
auditory input and lip reading in this
situation. Unlike the children with visual
problems, these children with auditory
problems may enjoy working at the table
looking at books, coloring or doing puzzles.
Laterality or crossed dominance
problems
These children will usually have
serious difficulties with the concepts of right
and left. Most children have some problems
with directions through second grade, but
these children will seem utterly confused
with moving in a given direction. Reversals
may continue into second grade or be a
constant problem for them.
They often have visual perception
problems and sequencing problems. Since
they may feel confused by sequential, oral
instructions, especially those having to do
with paper or near vision tasks, they will
likely compensate for this confusion by
avoiding the given task.
May appear slower to learn
In comparison to straight dominant
children they may appear slower in learning
to read, spell or understand sentence
structure. They usually have trouble
organizing themselves and their work. They
may have especially messy desk or work
areas. Since they are smart enough to see
that they are not as quick as their peers in
many tasks, they often feel that there is
something wrong with them. This feeling of
inadequacy will usually produce all the
classic signs of compensatory behavior,
especially those behaviors associated with
visual problems.
They may act silly, noisy,
distracting, angry, bored and generally
inattentive toward the activities that appear
6 Part 2. Sensory Dominant Screening
to be difficult for them. They tend to watch
others, to see how something is
accomplished before taking action. These
children are often the artists in the group.
They often have a more right brain approach
to learning and doing.
Labyrinthine and balance problems
Recognizing problems in these areas
is unfamiliar territory for most adults.
Remember the inner ear with its semi-
circular canals and sacs of crystals called
otoliths? When they have been damaged,
usually by numerous ear infections during
the child’s first five years, the child has
inadequate input to the vestibular nerve.
This child has no automatic sense of
balance and will have to use vision to stay
balanced and upright. Those tiny otoliths in
the inner ear sacs may be unable to move
about freely. Inside the semicircular canals,
fluid and hairs inform the child of his
position in space. With scarring, this child
may not be getting adequate inner ear cues
needed to confidently manage gravity,
balance or speed of movement.
The clown who falls off his chair
Problems with the cerebellum or the
vestibular mechanism in the inner ear can
cause loss of balance. These children use
their eye righting reflex to keep their
balance in the vertical position and tend to
lose their balance when out of the vertical
position or if they are asked to close their
eyes.
They will fall off their chairs more
often than normal. Their sense of balance,
which should be on automatic pilot when
they are learning to walk, is something they
constantly have to think about. Since they
must use their eyes to keep their sense of
uprightness and balance they find it difficult
to concentrate on other visual tasks.
They may be especially insecure
with physical activities and prefer to hold on
when balance is required. If the child plays
the class clown, by falling off his chair
regularly, be sure to check for non-vertical
balance ability as well as the ability to
balance with the eyes covered or closed.
Of course, some children will notice
the attention that a falling clown receives
and imitate falling off chairs. Screening
should eliminate problems of copycats and
reveal true problems.
Muscle strength and coordination
More children have inadequate
strength and coordination than most adults
realize. We usually think of children as
being very active and physically healthy.
Physically active lives are less common than
they used to be. More and more children are
spending their hours sitting in front of a
television set or in front of a computer
screen instead of playing actively outside.
When sedentary children are asked
to take part in physically challenging
activities, they exhibit compensatory
behavior if they think they will be found
inadequate to the task. Here again, they may
revert to clowning around or to withdrawn
behavior to disguise their weaknesses.
They may act the clown part when
they see that their inadequacies bring out
laughter in their peers. These children may
actually appear to be uncoordinated or
clumsy. They may try to get out of doing
physical activities. They may be overweight
and passive and often bully smaller children
because of their larger size. Sometimes they
are the target for teasing because of
passivity or size.
Check hand muscles and pencil control
Children may have weak hand
musculature, which shows up in poor pencil
control, with either light, spidery or heavy
pressured writing. With extensive computer
use, children are less able to write at all.
Physical exercises, which require the use of
specific muscle groups, and coordination of
their use, should help in screening and
Chapter 1. Compensatory Behavior in Children and How To Detect It 7

remediation of such problems. for the disabled in order for him to succeed.
Encouragement towards appropriate The suggestion, instead, was to have him
physical activities and appropriate behavior tutored in vocabulary, reading and writing
help a great deal. practice.
The parent was correct in requesting
Confirm cause of Learning gaps the sensory-dominant screening when her 5th
Sensory dominant screening not only grade son was reading and writing at a 2nd
pinpoints particular weaknesses or grade level. Sensory dominance must be
differences in students, it tells us when the screened and ruled out before tutoring is
problem is something else. When a prescribed for any child. If grade level
schoolchild is noticeably behind others in screening were the only screening
certain subjects and no sensory dominant performed with this ten-year old, we, like
differences are discovered through his mother, would still be unclear as to the
screening, then and only then, the low skill causes of his learning deficits. Clarifying
areas may have other causes. They may be sensory dominant patterns must be done
attributed to a learning gap caused by before grade level screening has reliability.
absences from class, moving from one
school to another, or even by a point of
misunderstanding of a crucial lesson.
Rather than look stupid, students attempt to
fill in those gaps with their own creations.
An intelligent ten-year old boy who
was doing very well in certain subjects, but
failing reading related subjects, was recently
screened for sensory dominant deficits. He
was straight dominant and had excellent
visual, auditory and physical abilities. Then
he was asked to write the cursive alphabet,
which he could not do.
Finally, with Durrell’s Reading
analysis screening, it was discovered that
this boy could read and understand
vocabulary only at a second grade level.
Further questioning of his mother revealed
that her son had gone to first and second
grade in a third world country. When they
arrived in the USA, he had repeated second
grade in one city and then they moved to a
new area and a third school.
There is no question that this boy
missed some crucial instruction along the
way, but the sensory dominant screening
ruled out dyslexia as his problem. The
mother had wanted sensory-dominant
screening to prove that her son was dyslexic
and therefore needed the school system to
provide special education and audio-tapes
8 Part 2. Sensory Dominant Screening
Chapter 2. The A, B, C’s of Sensory-Dominant Screening and Scoring
The purpose of Sensory Dominant
Screening, the screening with the meaning,
is to define and synchronize a student’s or
child’s best sensory dominant receptive
modes with instructional modes. Grade
levels receive no consideration at this time.
The idea is to find how to approach any
person’s instruction in order to avoid grade
level problems.
This screening is designed with the
youngest students in mind, 4 to 6 year olds,
but because these screening items are not
concerned with which facts one knows, as
with developmental tests, most of the items
are not limited by age. Most screening
items work as well for adults as they do for
children. Screening items needed for older
students or adults are included.
Educational success can be assured
Regular classroom teachers, parents,
special education teachers and adult
dyslexics will all find the information
provided by this relatively short and easy
screening to be invaluable in assuring their
instructional success. When instructional
methods are synchronized with sensory
dominant screening results and when they
are included in all classrooms at the earliest
ages possible, education will finally break
out of the present mummified wrappings and
restrictions.
Further professional evaluations.
Hopefully, as a teacher or parent you
will decide to screen your children in those
areas which are important to children’s
learning and which the school’s screening
may have omitted. The screening presented
in this book is not meant to be the final,
definitive testing when student difficulties
are discovered. This screening is presented
to aid teachers, parents, whomever, in
discovering the possible causes of present or
future difficulties with school work
BEFORE CHILDREN FAIL and to
understand how to present lessons geared to
learning strengths so that children succeed.
This screening could indicate needs
and directions for further testing by
professionals who may be able to
recommend or prescribe means for
overcoming or managing a child’s suspected
sensory difficulties. In other words, when
you have the completed test data in hand,
you will be able to tell a doctor why you
think a child needs a complete professional
examination. Then you can find out if
prescription lenses, hearing aids, exercises
or other means or devices would benefit a
particular child.
Familiarization with process of screening
Become familiar with the screening
items and process that follows. Study
information pertaining to the “why”, “what”
and “how” of sensory dominant screening so
that you can easily relate your knowledge to
others. Keep careful notes on each child
you screen. Date everything.
If you plan to screen within the
classroom, talk to parents, aides,
administration and other teachers so as to
gain their support and assistance. Find a
group of capable people to help you from
those just mentioned. You might also tap
retired adults or high school, college and
other students as assistants.
Working within classrooms
After you have become somewhat
familiar with which screening items you
plan to use, meet with your helpers
individually, or as groups. Review together
your plans and practice the screening on
each other. These procedures are easy,
adaptable, and can be accomplished with
Chapter 2. The A, B, C's of Sensory-Dominant Screening and Scoring
flexibility within a full classroom of 20 or
more students.
Abilities rather than disabilities
As teachers, parents and others
working with the education of youngsters
you will gain another perspective on the
screening process outside of the traditional
realm of the school psychologist. The
learning patterns revealed by the results of
your screening indicate which instructional
methods are best suited to a particular
individual. If a student is left eye dominant,
for instance, he or she will probably respond
better to right brain learning methods. If
there are visual perception problems, an
auditory and kinesthetic approach will be
helpful. This is quite different from the
present screening and tutoring by grade level
skills. This method is also different from
the usual advice given to dyslexics that they
just need to work harder and longer with a
one fits all method.
Goals for educators
The goal for the teacher is to make
his/her instructional efforts more successful
for a greater percentage of students than was
previously realized in most classrooms.
Working towards this goal makes the
instructor’s job easier and more relevant to
the needs of all the students. Sharing the
knowledge gained through these methods
will surely relieve some parent, teacher and
student stress. This program of screening
and teaching to dominance and sensory
patterns will increase student self-esteem,
decrease the number of students referred to
dead-end, special education classes or
written off to lower educational
expectations.
More screening tools than you’ll
need are included here. Some may fit your
needs better than others. Some may help
you more clearly pinpoint the source of
vision or other problems for specific
students. These checks and observations are
9
seldom readily available to most teachers,
although nearly all of these tests were
quietly presented to a few teachers for their
use in schools in the 1980’s or earlier.
The importance of sensory dominant
screening is at best, poorly understood by
the present educational system. It is an
optimistic hope that eventually, all educators
will use this screening. The present pre-
kindergarten screening may offer some
insight into such skills as visual memory,
visual motor skills, auditory and language
skills and large motor skills. That screening
can be used for comparison with sensory
dominant screening results and to indicate
sensory difficulties.
Sensory dominant screening components
The screening that you do for most
of your students, and for yourself, includes
the following categories. You increase the
number of test items used in any category,
only if your observations indicate need for
further delineation, say of the vision
problem.
1. Dominance screening
2. Simple Auditory screening
3. Simple Vision observations and checks
4. Neuromuscular system strength and
coordination, including hand strength.
5. Impressions of intelligence, emotional
and physical health.
Reasons for you to take on this
responsibility
Important reasons for you, the
teacher, or the parents, to take responsibility
for dominance, sensory and motor screening
are:
1. To give yourself a solid basis for your
instruction.
2. To gain an awareness of learning
differences in your students.
3. To become more aware of the
relationship between laterality and brain
dominance and learning.
10
4. Sensory dominant screening is presently
not available in most schools. The
standard educational method of
screening children is still the
developmental and grade levels
approach.
5. Special testing for individuals is too
expensive for most parents and does not
vary from present developmental
testing.
6. The waiting time for individual testing
in schools is usually lengthy and does
not include sensory dominant screening.
7. Psychological and other professional
testing contains much “professional
jargon” and is often purposely difficult
to understand and does not include
sensory dominant screening.
8. Professional testing is seldom related to
how to meet a child’s needs in the
classroom. It does not include sensory
dominant screening.
9. Many parents, who are often both
working, if there are two, find little time
and less money for specialized tutoring.
Knowing children’s learning patterns
will provide a better understanding of
how best to help children learn at home
as well as at school.
10. Parents may want to screen their own
children for their sensory dominant
learning patterns to prevent eventual
educational problems. Many teachers
will not put forth this effort.
11. The learning pattern differences in
students are flags for different
instructional needs. These differences
may not be serious problems. They can
and do become serious problems in
most classrooms if ignored or
misunderstood.
12. Many parents tend to deny that their
children are, in any way, different from
the majority. They need to learn that
different from the majority does not
mean less intelligent. An artist is not
less intelligent than a bookkeeper.
Part 2. Sensory Dominant Screening
13. Most intelligence tests of the 20th
century are weighted for a verbal ability
that relies on reading ability. The
educational system is built on, and so
skewed toward reading and writing
abilities and some mental mathematics,
that it negates other important, basic
expressions of high intelligence related
to sensory dominance.
14. At this writing, there are very few
medical doctors and other kinds of
specialists who understand or believe
the relationship between dominance and
vision and of both to learning. They
also depend solely on the developmental
model.
The How-To’s of Screening in Classroom
or Home
With a classroom of energetic
children, you will probably want to schedule
dominance and sensory screening activities
for an hour each day, for perhaps a week or
two depending on:
1. the size of your class
2. the age of your children
3. the number of your helpers
4. the number of items you will be
observing or screening.
If you have more than one helper,
you may want to let them do a part of the
screening with the students while you do
another part. This change of examiners
helps relieve boredom or fatigue. No child
should be asked to perform if he or she is
not feeling at his or her physical and mental
best. At the same time, each child needs to
cooperate to his/her best ability.
Student Preparation
It will probably be best to screen
your children in the early part of the day and
at the beginning or each semester. You will
want to inform parents of your plans for
screening and ask that they be sure that their
children have a good night’s sleep and a
good breakfast before coming to school.
Chapter 2. The A, B, C's of Sensory-Dominant Screening and Scoring
They need to notify you if this is not the
case. Whenever parents and teachers get
together or communicate, good health habits
for children - nutrition, sleep, TV, video
screens, physical activity - should be
emphasized. No sugar highs or
hyperactivity due to diet.
Setting Aside a Screening Area
You will need to set aside a
screening area in your classroom for a few
weeks. This area must be well lighted, but
without glare. Full spectrum light, as in
sunlight, or with a 150watt bulb, is far
superior to blue fluorescent lighting,
especially for anything having to do with
vision. Set aside a particular time of day
when the daylight will be best for the
screening.
Make sure the student can look off in
the distance (out the window) for distance
vision without disturbing the other children.
Also find a 20-foot distance from a toe
marker to a wall where you can tack up the
Albini’s “E” vision chart at the children’s
eye level. This E chart with E’s facing 4
directions requires no alphabet knowledge.
Cover the chart when not in use.
A corner of the classroom near
windows is usually a good area for
screening. You can set the area aside with a
see-through screen or simply with masking
tape on the floor. Since the teacher is
responsible for the classroom, it is best not
to turn your back to the class or to the
entrance to the room, for an extended period
of time. The teacher doing the screening
from the set aside area should be facing the
classroom, still in charge of what is going on
in the classroom.
Seating arrangements for screening
A small (approximately 2 ft. x 4 ft.)
table of adult height or one or two desks and
chairs will be needed to hold the student’s
work sheets and your supplies. The adult
doing the screening, the examiner, will
11
need a comfortable, adult chair and desk or
table. The adult should not be working at a
low table and in a child’s chair for an
extended time, as this will cause the adult to
have back pain. Think of the doctor’s
examining table. The doctor does not sit at
the child’s level and neither should you.
Take it from someone who learned this the
painful way. Prevent problems by not
allowing the adult to be bent over at a
child’s level for long hours.
For the child find a comfortable chair
preferably with side arms, like the sturdy,
wood high chairs for toddlers that
restaurants use. Unless the session is to be
very short for the student there should be a
footrest for the child’s feet, perhaps a lower
chair or a sturdy step stool. If preventable,
the feet should not be dangling.
If the table is no more than two feet
across, the child being screened can sit
opposite you, the examiner. Otherwise sit
near the corner of the table with the student
to your left if you are right handed and vice
versa or however you are comfortable. In
any case be sure that you can see the child’s
eyes clearly and that you can perform the
screening without having to stretch to reach
over the space between you and the child.
Keep your back straight, the child’s back
too.
A relaxing atmosphere
Plan with your helpers how much
time might be required for completing the
minimal visual and other screening with all
of your children. Remember, the sooner you
know each student’s sensory and dominance
abilities the happier all will be. During
screening periods, everyone, the children,
teacher and helpers should be as relaxed and
as quiet as possible. You might want to play
relaxing music such as ocean sounds as non-
distracting background during screening.
12
Invite cooperation early
Invite the whole class to feel that
they are an important part of what is going
on in the room. Explain to the students that
you will all be working together for their
success in learning. Emphasize that this is
not a session to find out what they know, but
rather, how they are learning what they
know. There will be no wrong or right
answers. Cooperation is the key element to
helping each other make these sessions the
best they can be. Show them the section of
the room that you and your helpers will be
using for this screening.
When the screening is done, the
adults will have a better understanding for
which students will do better with a
particular instructional method or group.
Put a positive spin on this project. Answer a
few, three or four, questions the students
may have before you begin. It is usually
necessary to limit the number of questions
as some children use questions to
manipulate adult attention and to avoid
getting started on a task.
Managing the most unruly ones
Let the children know that working
quietly during screening time will be helpful
and rewarded. If you have a few especially
noisy, demonstrative children in the group
you may do well to screen them first to help
relieve their anxieties. Perhaps then you can
better impress on them the need for their
cooperation while you evaluate the other
students. These noisy ones are often the
very ones who are having undiagnosed
visual problems. You may want to be sure
these potentially disruptive children are kept
apart from each other during screening.
Setting up class activities
While you are doing the one to one
screening, one or more of your helpers could
be monitoring small groups of five to eight
students working at various “right brain”
activities. The time allotted for screening
Part 2. Sensory Dominant Screening
periods depends on the ages and abilities of
the children. After each quiet session and
before beginning another activity, plan
activities to let off steam followed by deep
breathing and relaxation.
Structure activities before beginning
These are some right brain activities,
which usually lend themselves to less
talking or distracting behaviors by
individuals. Before they begin, help the
children decide on what they plan to do
including the goals of their activities,. For
instance, if a child chooses to play with clay
ask them what they will make out of the clay
or what they will do with it. Set up the
rules, limits and consequences before you
begin screening. E.g. Each child will work
alone in a specific area.
Let each one know that everyone
will be interested in his/her completed
project. You might suggest some ideas to
the group as a whole and have each one
choose their theme for that day. Also
suggest themes that can be carried forward
over several days, something to look
forward to the following day. Wherever
possible, give the children individual
supplies and specific work areas. In other
words, provide as much structure as you can
while encouraging individual creativity.
Right Brain Activities
1. Working with clay, modeling something
that requires concentration or making
cookie cutter or other shapes with care.
2. Painting, coloring or drawing with one
of these, crayons, watercolors, pens,
pencils, stencils.
3. Cutting, pasting and paper construction
with a plan, such as making a greeting
card, small poster, etc.
4. Construction or building on a carpet with
Legos or interlocking blocks or
something that will not easily tumble
and make noise.
5. Putting puzzles together.
Chapter 2. The A, B, C's of Sensory-Dominant Screening and Scoring
6. Listening to stories on tape with
earphones, which is followed by
drawing, writing, etc., to help others
understand the stories.
7. Any other appropriate, quiet activities,
which require mental and physical
involvement.
Follow-up with adults
Whether you are teacher or parent, plan
to discuss your screening and the results
with the other at your next conference
together. If you are the teacher, provide
some options for groups of parents to meet
with you in an informal setting, preferably
before and after the screening of all the
students.
This way the parents will have peer
support. They are more likely to become
involved, ask questions, learn more about
their children and will be more willing and
able to fill out helpful questionnaires about
their children’s interests, abilities and
history. An important part of the screening
is a confidential parent questionnaire to be
found in the appendix. Although
confidential, the parents could ask questions
or discuss related information with the
teacher or with other parents at these
informal group meetings.
Involved parents will be more likely to
help with the screening at home or in class.
A good rapport and support for your
screening are more likely to develop in
informal group meetings. For those parents
who are unable to attend school meetings,
ask other parents if they would be willing to
call or visit the absent parents to tell them
what they learned at the meetings. Some
may already be friends and neighbors.
Make follow up calls yourself to pass on
important information and to find out if the
parents have questions that you might be
able to answer. Interest may be generated
this way for future attendance and
communications.
13
General instructions for scoring
So that the process will go as quickly
and unobtrusively as possible, prepare the
screening area in advance with the materials
you will need for one day. It is helpful to
have a screening kit inside of which are
whatever materials you will need. Be sure
there will be no glare in the students’ or the
examiner’s eyes during screening time.
An aide could help you by marking
the score for each test item on the student’s
“Learning Profile Worksheet” as you name
and number the item and call out the score
for that item. See scoring below. The
sensory dominance instructional items are
correlated with the items on the individual’s
worksheet by name and number, or use a
legal pad with dates, children’s names,
birthdays and test item numbers which you
can transfer later. Write informative notes
on each child as you move through the
screening; notes to which you can refer later.
Materials For Screening Sections:
I Dominance, II. Auditory and lll. Basic
Vision
In addition to the dominance and
sensory screening instructions you will
need:
1. A Learning Profile form for each child
and a legal pad or notebook.
2. Evaluator’s pen or pencil.
3. Age appropriate pencils, crayons or
colored pens for children.
4. Crayons or color chips in purple, blue,
green, yellow, orange, red, brown and
black and, or colorblind test pages for
red/green and yellow/blue.
5. Paper for each child: one ruled with
clearly visible lines (select for grade
level--2 inch spaces are used through
first grade), and a few unruled pages.
6. Soft Tape Measure or Ruler to be held
near child’s eye.
7. A 5 by 8 inch card with one small hole
punched as described in the near vision
test item 5.B. This card will be used near
14
the eye and should be plastic-coated and
wiped off after each use.
8. A book or page with primary size and
spaced, 1/8th in. or 3 mm., letters or
picture details, which the child will
identify when pointed to by examiner.
9. A single viewer telescope or paper towel
roll for distance vision.
10. A single viewer microscope or a
kaleidoscope. Radio Shack carries hand
sized, inexpensive (approximately
$10.00 each in 1999), battery powered
microscopes. Two AA batteries are
required. A postage stamp is a good
subject for the microscope.
11. A 3 D viewer such as a “Viewmaster”
with a familiar disc inserted.
12. A watch or timer that ticks softly, or
finger nails to flick near the ear, or a
tuning fork. The sound should be quiet
enough to be heard by only one ear at a
time.
Other items or pages, for screening
the F’s of vision and the string knot test, are
listed with those chapters. Be sure to clean
items, which are used by more than one
student so as not to spread eye or other
infections.
General Directions
The screening period is not a time
for instruction or correction for anything you
ask of the student. If the child draws a
person without a body part, the examiner
does not say, “Where is the body? You
should have drawn a body.” Or, “You
should have drawn legs on your person.”
Nor do you say, “Let me show you.”
or “No, no, not that way.”, nor any other
critical remark. The time for the child to
learn new material is before or after any
screening period. The purpose of the
screening is to indicate to the examiner the
areas of strength or deficit of each student so
that his/her learning strengths can be
supported afterwards.
Part 2. Sensory Dominant Screening
No right or wrong answers
Tell the child what you will be doing
together. You might want to begin your
screening with an individual as follows.
“You and I will be working together in order
to improve my instruction and your learning.
Is this agreeable?” Try to put the child at
ease. A little chatting or question answering
at the beginning might help and could also
provide the responses to the first auditory
screening items. If the child is too chatty,
say, “Let’s get started, now.” Emphasize
cooperation to calm fear of giving wrong
answers. Repeat, “There are no wrong
answers to my questions.”
The “Say” instructions for the
examiner are a general indication of what to
say to provide reliability with various
examiners. Try not to give too many
instructions at one time. Use the following
words only as needed.
Say, “I will be telling you to do
certain things. Usually, I’ll ask you if you
are ready to listen and respond. Say YES if
you are ready and NO if you are not ready.
Do you understand?” When needed on
some timed tests, Say “This is a timed test.
Wait until I say ‘Go!’ before you start a
task.” The timing is an indication of
coordination to help the examiner. Again,
there’s no right or wrong way.
Say, “Let’s try these samples to see
how we do? Are you ready? (Yes) Close
your eyes. Now tell me what color shirt or
sweater you are wearing? Forgot? Isn’t this
funny how we forget such easy things? Or
“Very good. Let’s try another memory
check. Are you ready? (Yes) Close your
eyes again. Describe to me what you
remember seeing or hearing when you
arrived in class today.” Notice the types of
things recalled. Praise each answer. “Very
good!”. Say, “These are not tests to see how
smart you are. Most kids think they’re fun.
They are fun and they are also important for
both of us.”
Chapter 2. The A, B, C's of Sensory-Dominant Screening and Scoring
Scoring the screening items and
determining total scores.
On the table in front of you have the
pages of instructions and scoring for the
screening items you will use, such as your
legal pad or notebook and the profile sheet
of the child you are screening. Keep the
materials nearby that you may need during
each screening period, but out of sight so
that they are not a distraction for the child.
If you are moving around the
classroom so that you can record
observations for a number of students, have
your class profile on your clipboard showing
the students’ names and the names of the
screening items, plus dates. Then you can
easily write in several students’ scores and
later transfer these to individual profiles.
Statement of objective
For each numbered and labeled
screening item, there is a statement of your
objective, what it is you are trying to
determine with this item. This is followed
by simple instructions to use in order to
reach the stated objective.
No problems, 0, or problems are 1 or 2
The screening activities objectives
are followed by three scoring statements
listed as: 0, 1 or 2. The 0 means the child
has No Problems with that item. The 1 says
the child has a minor problem, which should
be noted, but of itself, is not serious. The 2
score says that the child has serious
problems with this item, problems that could
interfere with learning. No numeral on the
answer form indicates that this item was not
tested, or someone forgot to mark the score.
Partial example – item # 2. Auditory
Acuity Estimate
Objective
Get a rough estimate of auditory
acuity (how well the child hears quiet
sounds) with each ear.
15
Instructions
Sit directly in front of the seated
child. Show the child the sounding
instrument you plan to use. Hold it up to
each of the child’s ears and ask, “Can you
hear this?” ,etc.
Score auditory acuity, 2
No problems, 0.
The child appears to have no
difficulty hearing with either ear, with this
test.
Minor problems, 1.
The child had tubes in his ears
earlier, but they are out and he appears to
hear satisfactorily now.
Serious problems, 2.
The child may not have satisfactory
hearing in the right or left or both ears.
Decide which problems apply
Several specifics to look for are
listed following the scoring statements for
no, minor or serious problems. Decide
whether any of the statements in each
category do apply to the child you are
screening. Score 0, 1 or 2 accordingly, and
mark down which of those problems do
apply for that item and that child on that
child’s screening form. Often, the no
problem statement lists the characteristics
when everything is as it should be. There is
no need to list these when the score is 0 for
no problems. When any of those listed,
positive characteristics are not present, those
should be listed as minor or serious
problems. Other times, the separate
problems are listed. Note or Circle those
that apply on the response sheet. Scoring
instructions are given with each item.
Total section scores
When you have completed the
screening items for a section, determine the
total score in that area of testing, e.g. the
16 Part 2. Sensory Dominant Screening

total scores for dominance, auditory, visual

and neuromuscular abilities.
Determine the Total Score of a
screening section by reviewing the scores
for that section on the individual’s profile
form. Fill in scores for every item that was
screened. No score will mean that item was
not screened.
1. If there are all zeroes, 0’s, for No
Problems, or only one 1, for a minor
problem, score the total as a zero, 0 for
no problems.
2. If there are no more than two 1’s in a
section, and the rest of the scores are
0’s, and if there are NO 2’s, score the
total as 1, minor problems.
3. If there are ANY 2’s, or three or more
1’s, or if you feel two 1’s are serious,
score 2, for serious problems.
4. The Dominance Total is explained after
those items in that chapter.

Follow up on all 1’s and 2’s

If you feel that any one score
represents a problem serious enough to
affect a child’s learning, even though it is
marked as a 1, make a note of this with the
total score.
17
18
Chapter 3. Dominance & Auditory Comprehension Screening
Beyond dominance, screen only as needed
It is not necessary for every teacher
or parent to use all the screening items
provided in this screening section of the
book. To make it even easier for busy
teachers of the young, the dominance
screening items are presented in various
ways for use with groups of children
wherever possible. The answers to
dominance questions can aid in
understanding someone’s learning pattern,
as explained in part one of this book.
Comprehension of verbal instructions
Any evaluation with verbal (spoken)
instructions must begin with an estimate of
the student’s comprehension of these verbal
instructions. Some limited instructions and
responses are presented before beginning
dominance screening.
With the continued problem of
overcrowded classrooms, teachers may not
be immediately aware of a student’s
difficulty with understanding oral
communication. Hearing or comprehension
problems may not become apparent unless
or until the student develops behavior or
learning problems. It is important to
separate causes of comprehension problems.
Some may be due to a first language in the
home other than the language in the
classroom, others to crossed dominance and,
or to hearing problems.
Young children whose first language
or home language is other than English may
have interpretation problems or need the
examiner to speak more slowly to allow
time for mental translation.
Parent Participation Questionnaire
The parent questionnaire in the
appendix is a necessary part of the student’s
evaluation - even if you are the parent. The
completed questionnaire, with answers to a
Part 2. Sensory Dominant Screening
variety of related questions in one place,
gives an overview or sketch of the child’s
health and interests from past to present.
For instance, it is on this form that the parent
identifies ear infections that affect language
acquisition and comprehension.
The completed questionnaire could
help teachers and parents become aware
early on of possible hearing or
comprehension problems that might lead to
learning problems. Young parents seldom
realize that broken or scarred ear drums
from numerous early ear infections, fluid in
the ears, ear tubes, even heavy wax build up
in the outer ear can cause hearing and
comprehension difficulties.
The examining doctor
If the examiner becomes aware of
possible hearing or comprehension, or other
difficulties for some children, these findings
should be discussed with parents who can
take their children to medical specialists for
more thorough evaluations and possible
remediation. At the writing of this, most
parents and doctors do not realize that
crossed dominance can cause reading and
comprehension difficulties.
Dominance screening results could
point to a time lag in verbal interpretation in
the brain due to visual crossed dominance,
which could also cause comprehension
delay. Equally important, this screening
could be your first indication of possible
vision problems. Crossed dominance and its
effects are not yet taught in medical school,
so be sure the examining doctor seen is at
least willing to think about your
information.
Section l. Dominance Screening for
Groups or Individuals, plus
Chapter 3. Dominance & Auditory Comprehension Screening
Section II. 1. Auditory Comprehension
and 6B tapping sequence, scored with
item 12
Section 1. Dominance
2. Leg Dominance
A. Passive
B. Active: Hand Kick
C. Integrated move with kick
D. Hopping – strength, balance
3. Hand Dominance
A. Write, B. Cut, C. Throw, D. Eat
4. Eye Dominance for Distance Vision
A. Telescope, Kaleidoscope
B. Sight Target.
5 Eye Dominance for Near Vision
A. Microscope
B. Hole in Card
C. Comparison of both eyes
6. Ear Dominance
A. Group
B. Individual with tapping sequence
7 Total Dominance Score
----------------------
Section II. 1. Auditory Comprehension
Objective
Determine whether any students are
having hearing or comprehension problems
in class or home. This item will be included
in the Auditory Screening Total.
Instructions -- Group
To get an idea of each child’s oral
language comprehension within a group
situation the teacher could set up a game
where individual responses to oral language
are required. Such a game is “Mother
(Leader) May I?”
The group stands on one side of the
playground or room and the group leader is
at the other side. The leader calls each name
and in turn tells each child to take any of a
variety of movements toward the leader,
such as, “Take two steps and turn around
twice.” Each child must say, “Leader, may
19
I?”, before taking the moves, or that player
forfeits her turn. The first one to tag the
leader is the next leader or winner.
The teacher looks for errors in
performing the given actions or any requests
for repeated instructions such as, “What?”,
or hesitations while looking to classmates
for reassurance or repeated instructions.
Instructions -- Individual
On an individual basis the examiner
can give similar oral instructions privately to
one child. An average five year old can
usually follow three to four short oral
directions in sequence, correctly and
unhesitatingly, when the examiner speaks
clearly, at a normal or moderate pace and
volume.
Say, “Very good!” after each
performance whenever possible. You can
make up your own directions as long as they
are appropriate for the child’s age. If the
child has difficulty, make a note as to
whether remembering the sequence, and, or
remembering the number of commands
seem to be the problems. Or, does he recall
the first command and forget the later ones,
or vice versa?
Say, “I’m going to give you some
directions to follow. These directions can
not be repeated, so you must listen carefully
and do as I tell you to do. Do you
understand? Good. Are you ready? Here’s
the first set.”
Start with one direction. Then build
to two, three, and four commands. Use the
child’s first name whenever possible.
One-command examples:
• Say, “Billy (use the child’s name), stand
up, please.”
• Can you hop on one foot? Show me.
• Go to the chalkboard.
Two-command examples:
• Jane, please take this to the window and
come back here, quickly
20
• Pat your head, then show me your right
elbow.
Three-command examples:
• Stand up, go to the door and turn around
twice.
• Sit here, take out your blue crayon and
draw a circle.
Four-command examples:
• Go to the switch, turn the light on, bring
a book and come back here.
• Please take this paper scrap to the
wastebasket, then clap your hands, count
to three and sit down.
Score Section II. 1. Auditory
Comprehension,
No Problems, 0
The child understands English. The
child responds quickly and accurately to a
sequence of three or more verbal
instructions.
Minor problems, 1
The child forgets part of, or
transposes the sequence of, one set of
instructions, or asks for a repeat of
instructions, one time. If a repeat was given,
he can do the same number of commands
with NO repeats.
Serious problems, 2
The child does not understand
English, or understands very little English.
The five-year old child makes more than
two errors in following a sequence of three
verbal instructions. The five-year old can
not manage a correct sequence of more than
two commands. Five-year olds includes the
kindergarten age group of 4.9 through 5.9-
year olds.
Part 2. Sensory Dominant Screening
Section 1. Dominance Screening
Objectives
The objectives of Dominance
Screening are to determine whether a child
has straight or crossed dominance and which
laterality is dominant, right, left or crossed.
If dominance is crossed, one needs to
determine the cause. When the cause is the
use of the eye opposite the dominant hand or
laterality, a follow up vision screening is
usually called for.
If you can do only a minimum
amount of screening for your children, these
screening items will give you much
important information, for very little effort
on your part.
Instructions for Screening and Scoring
Dominance and related abilities
Have the class or individual profile
forms ready for recording each child’s
dominance next to the appropriate item: leg,
hand, eye for distance and eye for near
vision and ear dominance. You will tell
students to perform certain activities while
you watch to see whether they choose to use
their right or left side or either side to
perform those activities.
When the individual uses the right
side, naturally, in preference to the left side,
mark an R for right. If she uses the left side
in preference to the right, mark L for left. If
the individual is confused as to whether to
use right or left, make a note of this and
mark whichever side he finally decides to
use. If he uses either right or left hand
interchangeably and comfortably he is
ambidextrous, the scoring of which is
discussed with handedness. Use similar
scoring for use of either leg.
Straight dominance will be shown
when an individual has all right, R, or all
left, L, scores.
Crossed dominance marked with an
X is shown when there is any deviation from
Chapter 3. Dominance & Auditory Comprehension Screening
straight right or straight left dominance.
Lateral dominance is pretty much
determined at birth, and is definite by age
five. If dominance is unsure at this age, the
child’s dominance would be marked with an
X for incomplete dominance. The X score
for crossed dominance represents
ambidexterity or incomplete dominance, in
addition to clear crossed dominance. After
checking for dominance of the eyes, hands,
etc., MARK each person’s total dominance
score as R, L, or X.
Scoring 0, 1, 2 on dominance related tests
When using the individual’s profile
form, straight dominance, when related to
excellent sensory motor skills, is scored as a
zero, 0, to indicate the person has no
problems related to that sensory dominant
ability. On the other hand, crossed
dominance is scored as a two, 2, to indicate
that the person has or may have serious
school problems related to a sensory
dominant ability. The dominance problems
are usually relative to the text book
educational system and not necessarily to
life in general.
When possible, screen children
individually or in small groups rather than
by lining them up. For some children, who
had been previously screened and found to
have confused or crossed dominance,
participation in group-tests, changed their
results. These same children, being very
insecure about their own abilities, watched
and copied the children in front of them.
2. Leg Dominance and more
Objective
Determine which is the dominant
leg. Leg or foot dominance is manifested by
an individual, when he or she, always and
unconsciously, chooses the right or left leg
for such actions as kicking, hopping, or
21
lifting that leg first for stepping into a pants
leg or shoe.
The dominant leg is often the
stronger and better-coordinated leg, much as
the dominant hand is similarly endowed.
Mark scores for strength, balance, agility,
etc., on your class chart while doing group
testing. These can be transferred later to
each one’s individual form.
2 A. Passive tests for leg dominance
Tell the child to perform as follows.
• Stand on one foot.
• Pretend to put your foot into your pants
or shoe as if you are dressing yourself.
• Pretend to kick a ball.
Score 2 Leg dominance, R, L, R/L or L/R
The foot one stands on, lifts first for
pants or shoe, or kicks with is the dominant
leg. But, if the person puts his right shoe on
first, R, but kicks with the left foot, L, score
like this: R/L. When either leg is used
equally well, score first the leg stood on or
placed in the shoe first. Then make a slash
and mark the other foot. When totaling
scores, using either foot is scored as E and X
for crossed dominance, the same as with
ambidexterity.
2 B. - Active tests for leg dominance
These provide motor coordination in
addition to dominance information. Have
each child perform in turn as you mark
dominance, comparative strength, agility,
balance, or planning ability.
2. B. Hand kicking.
For an activity check to see which leg is
dominant, tell each child to stand straight
and hold his arm out in front of himself,
shoulder high. Then tell the child to see if
he can reach his hand with his foot, while
trying to kick it. He will kick with the
dominant leg while standing on the non-
dominant leg. This activity eliminates
22
chasing balls and gives you an overall look
at each child’s strength, agility, balance and
flexibility as well as dominance.
Neuromuscular system inclusion
Score dominant and non-dominant leg
performance 0,1,2.
Once dominance is determined, have
each child perform the same action with the
non-dominant side to learn if the child
performs well with both sides of her body.
Score strength, balance, etc. shown by this
activity in the neuromuscular area of test
profiles. If one side is noticeably weaker or
far less agile than the other side, score these
as one, 1 for minor or two, 2 for serious
problems on the student profile for
neuromuscular system and follow up later.
2. C. Integrated Kicking
Squeeze several large newspaper
sheets into ball shapes with the hands. Add
some masking tape to gently hold the paper
balls together for several runs at it. Place
one paper ball on the ground and tell the
children to take turns running or walking up
to the paper ball and then kicking it in one
smooth movement. Replace paper balls as
they wear out.
It would probably be helpful to allow
the children to practice a few times,
something like walk, one, two, three and
kick, on count four. Each one should
retrieve the paper ball and place it on the
starting line for the next person. As you
note which leg they use for kicking, note
also how well they are able to plan their
moves toward the ball and how well they
integrate their kicking action into that plan.
You will notice, eventually, that some
children have difficulty with sequencing and
planning their moves. Practice or patterns
other than linear may help these children.
Score dominance and performance of both
legs, as before.
Part 2. Sensory Dominant Screening
2. D. Hopping strength and balance
Tell the children to hop on one foot as
long as they can. Besides checking the
dominant leg, hopping can tell you a lot
about a child’s agility, balance and stamina.
You can have four or five children hopping
at one time so that activities seem more like
games, even if you are taking notes. While
hopping, they are not to hold the free leg nor
press it against the hopping leg.
Look for anyone who has little stamina
for hopping. See if you can find the cause
for his weakness. Notice if his feet turn in,
so that he trips over his own feet? Is there
some reason for muscle weakness? Are
both legs weak? If a child wants to change
hopping legs often, after every few hops,
weakness is probably present. Tell a child
to close her eyes and hop. If she can not do
this, she could have vestibular balancing
problems.
Again, once each child’s dominance
is defined, have the children do the same
activities with their non-dominant leg. This
way you will have a better idea of each
child’s general ability, or of any weakness
that could be improved with practice. All of
these activities can be used to improve those
skills just mentioned.
3. Hand Dominance
Objective
Determine which is the dominant
hand or whether the person is ambidextrous
and in what way they are ambidextrous.
The best indicator of hand
dominance is checking which hand the
individual uses for eye-hand coordination
tasks. Have materials ready to check which
hand is used for the following activities,
including right and left-handed scissors.
• A. writing or coloring
• B. cutting paper
Chapter 3. Dominance & Auditory Comprehension Screening
• C. throwing a ball or bean bag
• D. eating
Take your class list with you, one
day, during lunch period to mark which
hand each one uses to hold the spoon or
fork. Sometimes you will pick up
ambidexterity in this way. Have children try
to perform these same activities with the
non-dominant hand to further check
ambidextrous abilities.
Score 3 Hand dominance, R, L, R/L, L/R
The right handed child is R, the left
handed is L. If a child is ambidextrous and
uses either hand equally well, or uses one
hand for writing, or coloring and the other
hand for eating, or throwing, score
ambidexterity as follows. The hand used for
writing would take precedence in the
right/left formula on the screening profile.
If the child writes with the left hand, but eats
with the right hand, score this as L/R. If the
opposite is true, score this as R/L. When
totaling dominance scores, ambidexterity is
classified with crossed dominance as X.
Ambidextrous people have more right brain
characteristics than do straight, right-handed
people.
Eye Dominance, 4 and 5
Since a substantial number of people
have different focusing ability in each eye,
you will need to differentiate the distance
vision eye from the near vision eye, when
checking eye dominance. The near vision
eye and eye-hand coordination, for near
vision tasks, are of the greatest importance
in the developed world because most of our
work requires visual concentration within
our arms’ reach.
23
4. Distance Vision Eye Dominance
Objective
Determine which eye is used or
preferred for clearest, distance vision and
note any related problems.
4 A. - Telescope
Use a toy telescope or paper towel
roll to check for the dominant distance
vision eye. Place the “telescope” about
waist high on a table in front of the child.
Tell the child to pick up the toy telescope
and to look through the telescope at a
specific named target at least 20 feet (6 m)
away. Take notes while screening.
The direct or diagonal path to eye
Note which hand the child uses to
pick up the scope. Also note if the child
moves the scope diagonally and directly to
one eye, or if he or she moves the scope
insecurely up the center of his or her body
and then to one eye.
The path up the center of the body
indicates that the child probably has not
developed a definite lateral dominance. If
the child takes the deviant path, up, then
over, to the eye, or shows other signs of
dominance confusion, meaning that he or
she isn’t sure whether to use his right or left
side for a specific task, make a note of this.
Also, score X for eye dominance on the
child’s total dominance profile.
ASK the child if he can see the target
(a tree, a wall clock) clearly. To be sure that
the child is truly focusing for distance vision
and not just gazing off into space, tell the
child to identify and describe specific details
on the target. You might SAY, “Look
through your scope at that tree and tell me if
you can see a bird or the shape of the leaf in
that tree. Can you see it clearly, or does the
leaf or bird look fuzzy or blurry?” Mark his
answer.
24
Then SAY, “While looking at the
“bird” through the scope, keep your head
still and close one eye. Did the target stay in
focus or did it move?” If the target was no
longer in focus, or moved, he wasn’t looking
through the scope. This child may not have
clear dominance or may not be using the
dominant eye. Do other checks to be sure.
Tell him to keep open the eye looking
through the scope and repeat this exercise.
Screen the other eye
Then tell him to look through the
scope with the other eye. Which eye feels
best for distance vision? Does one eye see
better than the other or do both eyes see
clearly and about the same? Although both
eyes may see equally well, if there is any
discrepancy in visual clarity, the dominant
eye for distance vision, the one the child
chose to use naturally, should have the
clearest vision.
Score 4A Distance Vision Dominance
Mark R for right, or L for left, for
the dominant distance eye. When listing
distance vision eye with near vision eye, the
abbreviations used are: nr for near and fr for
far or distance eye. The near vision eye is
listed first. E.g. Rnr/Lfr means R eye
dominant for near vision, L eye dominant
for distance vision.
No problems, 0
1. The child picks up the scope with the
hand on the same side as the dominant
eye, and moves the scope directly to that
eye to describe details on the target.
2. The object stays in focus for the eye at
the scope or when the other eye is
voluntarily closed.
3. Both eyes appear to have equally
satisfactory vision.
Serious problems, 2
State which, if any, of the above
statements are not true. There is no score 1
Part 2. Sensory Dominant Screening
here. Note any problems on the profile form
for the individual.
4. B. Sight target for distance vision
Determine the dominant distance
vision eye by checking to see which eye the
child would use to sight a target with a
pretend bow and arrow?
Place a sizable, circular target with a
5 inch center about 20 feet from the toe line
on the ground, where the “archer” stands.
Place a dark, contrasting, 4 to 5 inch high
letter, e.g.. E, A, or H in the target center.
Mark a one-inch size dot in the center of the
letter. Have children pretend to aim at the
center of the target with a play or pretend
bow and arrow by sighting along one arm.
Instructions for 4B, target
ASK, “Can you see the center of the
target clearly as you aim?” If the target is
not clear 20 feet away, get an idea of the
children’s near or far sightedness, by asking
them to move farther from or nearer to the
target, until the letter at the center is clearly
seen. Which eye is each child trying to sight
with? If you’re not sure, tell her to keep her
head still and close one eye, while aiming at
the target. When she closes one eye, does
the target move or stay in focus?
Score 4B Distance Vision
Note if the dominant, distance vision
eye is the right, R, eye, or the left, L, eye.
Make notes of all your observations.
No problems, 0, when these are all true.
1. The child’s dominant eye is on the same
side as the rest of her dominance.
2. The child can see the large, contrasting
letter clearly from 20 feet away.
3. The target remains in focus when one
eye is closed.
Chapter 3. Dominance & Auditory Comprehension Screening
Serious problems, 2
If any of the above are not true, a
problem exists. On the child’s response
form, state which of the statements are not
true. If the child uses the eye opposite his
dominant hand or leg, request that a vision
specialist check the child’s vision for
convergence, as well as for acuity, as early
as possible.
5. Eye Dominance for Near Vision
Objective
The objective is to determine which
is the dominant eye for near vision work,
such as reading and writing. Related
abilities are to be noted.
5.A. Microscope
If you have a small, lighted, single
viewer microscope, instruct the child on
how to use the microscope. Then tell the
child to identify a tiny detail on a postage
stamp. For instance, under the microscope
the colors are composed of dots. ASK,
“What do you see?”
If you don’t have a single viewer
microscope, a kaleidoscope can be used, but
the microscope is more accurate. Note
which eye the child uses to look through the
viewer. ASK if the vision of this dominant
eye is clear, fuzzy or blurry.
Tell the child to look through the
microscope with the non-dominant eye.
ASK, “When looking at the stamp through
the microscope, does one eye see more
clearly than the other, or do both eyes see
about the same?” While looking through the
viewer, does one eye feel more natural or
comfortable than the other? Which eye feels
better?
Score 5A Near Vision Eye Dominance
Note which eye is preferred for this
near vision task, Right or Left.
25
No problems, 0
1. The child’s dominant near vision eye is
on the same side as the rest of her
laterality and there is no dominance
confusion for this task.
2. The child appears to have satisfactory
vision for near tasks, in both eyes. One
eye does not see more clearly than the
other.
Serious problems, 2
Serious problems exist if the
statements above are not 100% true. State
on the profile form, which problems exist.
5.B. “Hole in the card” - Near or Far
An easy, inexpensive way for
checking either near or distance visual
dominance is to ask the child to look
through a small hole, no larger than ¼ inch,
(5 or 6 mm) in diameter, punched in a 5x8
inch (12x20 cm) card. Think of the card as
a mask with only one eyehole. The hole
should be 3 inches or 7 2 cm from one edge
of the 8 inch or 20 cm width of the card.
This small hole is centered between the top
and bottom edges of the 5 inch or 12 cm
height of the card, so that there won’t be a
top and bottom of the card.
When the child holds the card, with
the 8 inch width across his face, like a mask,
one eye will be looking through the small
hole. The remaining 5 inches of the card’s
width should cover the eye not being used.
Instructions
SAY, “Pretend that this card is a
mask or wall with only one hole to see
through. Hold the card across your face so
that you can look through the hole with one
eye, while keeping the other eye open, but
covered.” Show how the card will cover the
face when you look through the hole with
one eye. For distance vision have the child
look through the eyehole at a target more
26
than 20 feet, 6 meters, away and proceed as
with the telescope.
Reading distance with “Hole in the card”
To screen for the near vision,
dominant eye, the examiner and the student
should be seated next to each other at a desk
or table. Have ready a page or picture
which displays several small details, each
about 1/8th inch, 3 mm, in diameter. Keep
the page covered until both of you are ready
to begin. The page must be at the correct
reading distance for the child. This distance
is equal to the distance between the child’s
elbow and first knuckle of the middle finger
on the child’s fist - about 12 to 15 inches.
If the child knows letter names you
could point to a letter in a word. If not, you
could point to the 1/8th inch, 3 mm, size
items, like the dog’s eye, ear, nose, etc. Tell
the child to sit up as if she were reading.
Then SAY, “When I say ready, hold the card
over your face and look through the little
hole with your best reading eye. Keep the
other eye open, but covered.”
At that time, be sure that the child is
looking through the hole and not looking
below the bottom of the card. If the child
asks which eye she should use, tell her to
use her best eye for seeing little things. It’s
okay if she needs to experiment with each
eye, looking through the card or viewer
before choosing her best eye for this task.
Specific instructions for near vision
Say, “When you look through this
little hole in the card, you will see my pencil
tip pointing to something on the page. I will
ask you to tell me what I am pointing to. Do
you understand?”
Say, “Are you ready? Place the card
over your face and look through the hole.”
The examiner places her pencil tip or pointer
next to the item on which the child is to
focus.
Ask, “Can you see my pencil tip?
What is it pointing to? Good.” Move the
Part 2. Sensory Dominant Screening
pointer to 3 or 4 items on that page. Ask,
“What is being pointed to now? Do you see
these things clearly or are they blurry or
fuzzy? Thank you. Mark R or L for near
eye preference and dominance.
Notice whether the child has bent
closer to the desktop, or leaned farther away
in order to see clearly. If she leans either
way correct her to the proper reading
distance one time and repeat the instructions
from “Ready?”. If she moves nearer or
farther again, measure the distance from her
eye to the desktop, for the actual reading
distance. Compare to forearm measure.
5.C. Check both eyes for comparison
Then say, “Now turn the card and
look through the hole with your other eye.”
Ask, “Do you see the pencil tip? What is it
pointing to? Good. Which eye feels more
comfortable when looking through the hole?
Can you see little things more clearly with
the first eye or with this eye or do both eyes
see about the same?”
If the child says that one eye sees more
clearly than the other, ask:
1. Have you noticed before that one eye
sees more clearly than the other?
2. Have you had your eyes checked by an
eye doctor? Do you know what the
doctor said about your eyes, (vision)?
3. How do your eyes feel now? Are they
comfortable or tired?
4. How many hours a day, all together, do
you think you spend watching TV,
videos and, or in front of the computer
screen?
5. How close to the TV screen do you sit?
When finished, say, “Thank you.
You did very well.”
Score 5B Near-Vision Eye Dominance
The dominant near-vision eye is the
first eye the child chose to use in this test.
Mark R or L for near vision eye dominance.
Chapter 3. Dominance & Auditory Comprehension Screening
No problems, 0, when these are true
1. The child uses the dominant eye on the
side of her dominant laterality.
2. Both eyes seem to have satisfactory near
point focus.
3. She has had her eyes checked by an eye
doctor with satisfactory results.
4. She reports that her eyes are comfortable
following these and other near vision
tasks. There are no signs of any visual
problems listed below.
Serious problems, 2
1. If the child has crossed dominance,
especially for eye-hand coordination.
2. Near vision is reported as blurry or
fuzzy.
3. The child tries to avoid near vision
tasks?
4. Does he rub his eyes or complain that
they get tired, or show visual stress?
5. When drawing, reading or writing, does
he obviously turn his head in order to
look with one eye in preference to
looking straight ahead and using both
eyes? The use of one eye to the
exclusion of the other eye may signal
amblyopia (lazy eye), or other vision
problems.
6. The child usually holds the head and
eyes more than 4 inches, either closer to,
or further from the page, or other object
of visual inspection, than the measured
reading distance.
7. More than 2 hours daily for children up
to 6 years, more than 3 hours daily for
older children are spent in front of light
screens.
Prevention of further problems
This use of only one eye is a sure
indicator of non-convergence of the eyes. If
permanent vision problems are to be averted
and good vision development is the goal
then early (pre-school) intervention by a
licensed, functional vision optometrist is
needed. The child’s preferences for closer
27
or further reading distances could signal
near or far sightedness, or astigmatism.
Children should not sit closer than
three feet from the screen when watching a
limited amount of television. Not only is a
closer distance detrimental for vision, but
there is a growing concern regarding EMT,
electromagnetic transmissions, and the
extremely bright television light having
harmful effects on our eyes. Child
specialists say that young children should
not be permitted to sit for more than a half-
hour at a time in front of a video or
computer screen for the same reasons. Be
aware of and correct these situations at
home and at school.
6. Ear Dominance
Objective
Determine ear dominance.
6.A. Instructions for group screening
Remember those old western movies
when the cowboys or Indians would place
their ears to the ground to hear if a train or
horses were coming? This is a reliable
method for determining ear dominance
without special equipment and you can set it
up as a game.
Have dominance response forms
ready to fill in. Then select five to ten
children for this exercise. Tell them that
they are going to listen to sound vibrations
from the ground. If the ground is too dirty,
use a table surface in contact with the
ground surface. They will find out if they
can hear what is happening with their ear
only and with their eyes closed. They must
place their best ear on the ground surface.
Have them place a hand over the ear that is
up so that they can concentrate on the
surface sounds or vibrations.
Then several other children can
pretend that they are horses, dancers or
whatever and gallop, hop, tap, jump, run, or
28
walk across the floor near the listening
children. While the listeners are trying to
decipher the sounds, be sure to mark which
ear they place next to the ground or other
sound carrying surface.
6.B. Instructions for individual screening
With the child seated next to desk or
table tell the child that you want her to place
her head on the surface to listen to a sound
under the table. Scratch or tap under the
table. ASK the child what she heard. Note
which ear the child places on the table to
hear sounds. This is usually the dominant
ear. Note if he/she changes ears at any time,
especially during sequencing.
Check auditory sequencing for 12.
C. at the same time by asking how many
taps were heard and telling them to repeat
the tapping sequence they heard. Taps
would be something like a Morse code of
short rhythms. Sequences may be indicative
of left brain abilities. Some people can
repeat the pattern, but not be able tell the
number of taps heard. Check for both.
Tap patterns like, 1,2-1,2,3, then, 1-
2,3,4, 1-2,3,4, then I-2-3, 1-2-3 et cetera.
After each tapping pattern is given, ASK,
“How many taps did you hear?” ASK, “Can
you repeat the pattern of taps that you
heard? Good. Now listen carefully and try
this one.” Make the second set of taps easier
or more difficult depending on how the child
performed the first time. Easier would be 1-
2, 1-2 and perhaps be tapped a little slower.
Note in the auditory score. at 12C, if a
child has particular difficulty with repeating
age appropriate tapping sequences or with
counting the number of taps heard..
Score 6 Ear dominance
No problems, 0
The child uses the ear, R or L, which
corresponds to her laterality, the dominance
of other parts of her body.
Part 2. Sensory Dominant Screening
Minor problem, 1
The child’s ear dominance is
opposite any other dominance. Less
importance is placed on ear dominance
because so many of us listen to the phone
with our non-dominant ear, so that our
dominant hand is free to write. Children are
holding phones to their ears before they can
talk.
7. Total Dominance Determination
Determine Total Dominance by
looking at the dominance tests completed for
leg, hand, distance and near vision. Make a
note of ear dominance, but if it is the only
crossover in dominance, score as straight R
or L at this time. If all other tests are R for
right dominance there is straight Right
dominance. If all are L for left there is
straight left dominance.
If there is any mixture of R’s and
L’s, even for ambidexterity, then mark X
for crossed dominance as the total
dominance score. Highlight whether the
crossed dominance is caused by eye versus
hand, including ambidexterity. For
ambidexterity place the hand used for
writing over the other hand as in R/L for
writes with right, uses left for other
dominance activities. The same holds for
either footed, giving greater importance to
which shoe is put on first and which foot he
uses for “stand on one foot”. For different
eyes used for near and far vision, list the
near eye first as R nr/L fr. The following
example is for someone who is
ambidextrous, uses either foot and uses the
L eye near and the right eye far. That’s
about as confusing as it gets. Hand-L/R,
eye-L nr/R fr, leg-R/L. (When total
dominance is not the concern of the
screening, “A” can be used for ambidextrous
and “E” for use of either leg or foot.)
Chapter 3. Dominance & Auditory Comprehension Screening 29

Score 7 Total dominance

No problems, 0
Total dominance is straight R or L.

Minor problem, 1
Only ear dominance is crossed.

Serious problems, 2
The total score indicates crossed
dominance.

A functional optometrist needs to

check the vision if the crossed dominance is
an eye-hand cross. This eye-hand crossed
dominance causes problems with visual and
with eye-hand coordination. Vision
coordination problems cause difficulties
with visual learning.
----------------------------------
30
Chapter 4. Comprehensive Basic Sensory Screening
The goal of this comprehensive
sensory screening is to provide the
information needed for a teacher or parent to
understand how each student/child learns
best and to encourage the learning potential
of a child based on these learning
preferences, preferably before a formal,
school education begins.
After each performance encourage
the child’s continued cooperation. Use the
first name of the child whenever possible.
Say something like, “Thank you, Billy.” or
“You are doing fine, Ana.” or “Good job,
Tom.” or “You did that very well,
Margaret.”
Areas of sensory dominance evaluation
There are four main areas of the
complete sensory dominance evaluation
with totals and a fifth area of general
impression totals. The dominance screening
was covered in the previous chapter.
General Impressions of mental and physical
health and the completed parent
questionnaire round out this complete
sensory dominance evaluation.
Section l Dominance--items 2 - 7
Section ll Auditory--items 1, 8 - 13
Section lll Vision --items 14 - 42
Section lV Neuromuscular System, 43-
50
Section V Behavior Impressions, 51 -
53
Use only items specific to need
Don’t shy away from screening
because it looks like too much. Never will
you need to check every item for every child
in a class. You will rarely need to perform
every test item on an individual child. Many
items can be scored during group activities
with the Class Learning Profile Form or
Observation Checklist on your clipboard.
Part 2. Sensory Dominant Screening
Section ll. Auditory and Oral Language
Screening Items.
1. Comprehension of Oral Instructions
8. Auditory Acuity Estimate
9. Verbal Fluency, Articulation
and Expressive Language
10. Auditory Discrimination
11. Long Term Auditory Memory
12. Short Term Auditory Memory
A. Syllables
B. Numbers
C. Tap Sequence from 6B
D. Listening Attention from 25
Imagery
13. Total Auditory Score
_______________________
8. Auditory Acuity Estimate
Objective
The object is to get a rough estimate
of auditory acuity, how well the child hears
with each ear.
Instructions
It’s getting harder to find ticking
watches in our age of silent quartz crystals,
but if you can find one, use it. You could
make a little noise by flicking your thumb
and fingernails against each other, quietly.
Otherwise, find a tiny wind up toy that
makes a quiet sound, a tuning fork or other
manner of producing a soft, continuous
sound next to each of the child’s ears. The
sound should be quiet enough to be heard by
only one ear at a time. Talking or musical
watches might work if the sound is
continuous enough for testing.
You will need to sit or stand close to and
facing the child. First, ASK the child the
following questions and make note of
his/her answers of Yes, No or Don’t Know.
Chapter 4. Comprehensive Basic Sensory Screening
1. Did you ever have a doctor or anyone
else check your hearing?
2. Did you ever have tubes put inside your
ears? If yes, are they in or out now?
3. Do you have many earaches or do you
remember having ear aches or ear
infections when you were very little?
4. Do you think that you hear better with
one ear compared to the other or do you
hear well in both ears?
5. Do you ever have trouble hearing your
mother or people at home? Do you have
any difficulty hearing at school?
Thank you. Okay, now, let’s do an easy
hearing check.”
SHOW the child the sounding
instrument that you will use, or say, “I’m
going to make a sound with my thumb and
finger nails.” Hold the sounding object next
to, but not touching, each of the child’s ears
and ASK, “Can you hear this?” When the
child says, “Yes.” SAY, “Tell me exactly
what you hear?” When she answers
correctly, proceed.
SAY, I’m going to move this sound
out, away from your ear, while you look
straight ahead. Close your eyes to
concentrate better on hearing. When you no
longer hear the sound, tell me by saying, “
Stop.” To be sure the child understands the
instructions ASK, “What are you going to
do?” Child says, I’ll say stop when I can’t
hear the ticking noise.” SAY, “Right! Good.
Are you ready?”
Tell the child to face straight ahead
and to close her eyes. Hold the ticking or
humming object next to one ear. Tell the
child to gently cover the other ear with one
hand.
SAY, “Now listen.” Slowly, about
one second per inch, move the ticking or
vibrating object out to the side of, and away
from one ear. Remind the child to stay
attentive by asking at one inch (2.5 cm.)
31
intervals, “Can you still hear the sound?” or
“What do you hear now?”
With a tuning fork, a foot away from
each ear is far enough. With a small ticking
watch, or finger-thumb nails, a distance of
five or six inches is far enough. Visually
estimate the distances from the ear to the
sounding object when the child indicates
that he or she no longer hears the sound.
Repeat the test with the other ear.
Note if the distances from both ears to
“stop” are about the same. Note if the
distances are equivalent to those of other
children who have no difficulty with this
task. Ask question 4 again. Did you hear
better with one ear than with the other? Or
do both ears hear about the same? Retest if
unsure.
Score 8 Auditory acuity
No problems, 0
The child appears to have no
difficulty hearing your instructions and the
sounding objects moved away from his ears,
with either ear. The answers are No to all
pretest questions.
Minor problems, 1
Hearing appears to be satisfactory,
but the child answers “Yes” to some
questions. The child may have had tubes in
her ears or other ear problems. The child is
slightly inattentive for this task.
Serious problems, 2
The child says that he hears better
with one ear. The child cannot hear a watch
ticking, or other soft sound, an inch or two
away from either ear. The child tells you
that she can not hear much with either or
with both ears, or that she sometimes has
trouble hearing at home or elsewhere. The
child is seriously inattentive during this task,
or asks you to repeat, or asks, WHAT?, two
or more times during this test..
32
9. Expressive Language: Verbal Fluency,
Articulation, speaking ability
Objective
Determine the child’s ease of use
with the English language. The average four
and five year old child speaks
understandably and in sentences. According
to some child development specialists, a
child this age has a vocabulary of more than
1500 words. Linguists give a higher
vocabulary count, but who is counting
words whether understood or spoken? The
more likely objective is to determine
whether or not the child’s command of our
language is good enough to be clearly
understood through proper word placement
and clear pronouncement of most speech
sounds. Is the vocabulary consistent with
age development?
Instructions
Encourage the child to converse with
you on a topic of interest to him or her.
Attempt to elicit a series of sentences from
the child, not one-word answers. Examples:
Do you like animals or have pets at home?
Please tell me about them. Tell me about
your favorite game or story. What do you
like best about school or home? What do
you do when you go home?
Score 9 Verbal fluency
No problems, 0
The child speaks clearly
(articulation) and easily, using complete
sentences with correct sentence structure
(syntax). The child exhibits a satisfactory
vocabulary. (See objective). The child does
not use “baby talk” or immature speech.
Minor problems, 1
The child has occasional difficulty
with sentence structure, clarity of speech, or
difficulty in finding words to express his
Part 2. Sensory Dominant Screening
thoughts. On occasion, his/her speech is
difficult to understand.
Serious problems, 2
The child has regular difficulty
speaking in understandable sentences. The
child does not have an adequate vocabulary
to express himself in English. The child
mumbles, speaks too fast, and/or is often
difficult to understand. He or she stutters,
uses baby talk, or has other speech
difficulties. Note which type of difficulties.
10. Auditory discrimination test
Objective
Determine whether a student has
difficulty hearing differences between
similar sounding words. It can be used as
another auditory acuity check. You can
determine which word sounds are missed,
beginning, middle or ending sounds. Also,
which phonetic sounds give him trouble, e.g.
vowels, consonants.
Instructions
The test is a list of twenty pairs of
single syllable, often rhyming words, which
the examiner reads to the student. Have the
student profile on hand with the twenty
word pairs so that you can mark each pair as
the student responds. The examiner hides
her mouth behind a paper to prevent the
child from lip reading. The examiner reads
the word pairs clearly, enunciating
distinctly, in a normal volume, and at a
normal pace.
The student is to discriminate by
hearing and saying whether the words in any
pair sound the same or different. If the
student is unsure, the examiner may repeat
one word pair, one time, before the student
answers. Do not repeat more than one pair,
and never more than once. Mark R next to
the repeated pair. When a child asks for a
repeat, tell him/her to first repeat what they
Chapter 4. Comprehensive Basic Sensory Screening 33

heard. This response indicates a loss of list, S means same, D is different. 12 pairs
concentration (can’t recall) or confusion are different, 4 Beginning sounds, 4 Middle
and/or insecurity needing encouragement and 4 Ending sounds. D B means the
one time. beginning sound is different.
SAY, Now listen carefully for all the
Same or different word sounds to hear if the words are the
SAY to the child, This test will same or different. Then, if they are not the
determine how well you hear the different same, tell me how they are different.
sounds in words. For instance, you hear sss Present each pair by saying, “Are
at the beginning of the word sun. What these the same or different?” Stop when
sound do you hear at the end of sun? Yes, he/she misses four pairs. On his profile,
the nn sound, and in the middle of sun? You mark X if incorrect, 0 for correct.
hear the uh sound of the letter u. This will
be a short, easy test, but you must listen Auditory Discrimination List
carefully, as the words will not be repeated.
SAY to the student, “I am going to 1. fun –bun D B
read several pairs of words to you. Listen 2. bit - bid D E
carefully and tell me if the two words I said 3. same - same S
are the same or different. Here is a sample 4. mat –mat S
pair. 1. Tell me if these words are the same 5. limp - lamp DM
or different. Are you ready to listen?” 6. dug - dug S
SAY, “him-whim.” If the child says, 7. mine - mind DE
“different” SAY, “Yes, those words were 8. road - rod DM
different.” 2. Tell me how they were 9. hog – hog S
different, at the beginning, middle or end of 10. west -went DE
the two words? 11. here – here S
If he does not know, say the words 12. tie - die DB
again emphasizing the initial sounds and see 13. cold -code DE
if he now hears where they differ. TELL 14. new – mew DB
him that the beginning sounds of the two 15. will - well DM
words are different. Emphasize the wind of 16. sick –chick DB
wh and h of him. Then give another sample. 17. climb – climb S
Again, ASK, Ready? Are these the same or 18. fall – fell DM
different, heel-heed? Repeat question 2., 19. host – host S
how different? Then explain that the ending 20. keep – keep S
sounds of the words are different. On the
________________________________Sco No problems, 0
re 10 Auditory Discrimination The student gets 18 or more correct
If the child seems to have difficulties with no repetitions. He misses no more than
discriminating sounds see if you can 2 pairs.
categorize the problems as beginning Minor problems, 1
sounds, ending sounds, middle or vowel The student gets 17 correct, but
sounds, or all of these. he/she needed one pair repeated.
Serious problems, 2
The student misses four pairs, even
with repetition of one pair. He/she has
34
difficulty hearing differences and/or
placement of phonetic sounds. Note on the
child’s profile how many misses are
beginning, middle or ending sounds.
11. Long-term Auditory Memory
Objective
Long-term auditory memory refers
to the recall of something heard, at an earlier
time, such as the details of a favorite story.
When asked to retell a familiar story the
child does so with confidence and provides
correct sequence with a sensible beginning,
middle and ending and the inclusion of most
of the important details.
Instructions
Choose a story familiar to yourself
and the child by discussing possible stories.
Note “Goldilocks” in the next section. Tell
her that she will tell you this story after
taking a little time to think about this story,
its characters, its beginning, middle and end.
After 10, 20 and 30 second intervals, ask if
she’s ready to tell this story. Tell her to
speak clearly and begin telling this story,
now.
Listen for: the major characters,
correct sequencing of events, a sensible
story with a beginning, middle and end, and
inclusion of all or most important details.
Do not coach. Allow up to 2 minutes for the
retelling.
Watch to see if the child rocks him
or her self, or uses any continuous motion
while retelling the story. If the child rocks
or moves her head continuously while
telling the story she may be signaling a need
for kinesthetic reinforcement to help her
memory, or she may be trying to set in
motion the vestibular apparatus of the inner
ear in order to reinforce visual imagery and
memory.
Part 2. Sensory Dominant Screening
Goldilocks and the Three Bears
Most children are familiar with the
story of “Goldilocks and The Three Bears”.
Ask the child to tell you this story while you
listen for all the major characters, the correct
sequence of events and enough details to
make a knowledgeable retelling of the story.
For instance, the story of “The Three
Bears” should include the characters:
Goldilocks, Papa, Mama and Baby bear.
The beginning would include why the bears
left their house and who came after they left.
It should include, in correct sequence, the
events with the cereal, the chairs and the
beds. And it should have a sensible
conclusion. If all these events are
remembered and retold with no apparent
difficulty, you can assume that the child has
a good, long-term auditory memory.
If the child is unfamiliar with “The
Three Bears” suggest a story with which you
are both familiar, e.g.. The Three Little Pigs,
Bambi, Peter and the Wolf. If the child
begins and forgets, start again with another
story, but don’t go beyond 2 stories.
Score 11 Long-term Auditory Memory,
No problems, 0
The child retells the story with
confidence and ease. The retelling shows
that he or she recalls all the major characters
and most of the important details and gets
the events of the story in the correct
sequence from beginning to end of the story.
Minor problems, 1
The child forgets or confuses one
important detail, but the retelling shows that
he or she easily remembers the story.
Serious problems, 2
The child seems to be struggling
with the recall of the story, forgets a major
character or important details are omitted.
Events are out of sequence, or the retelling
does not make sense as compared to the
Chapter 4. Comprehensive Basic Sensory Screening
original story. Some children make up their
own stories when they forget the story they
are supposed to be telling. This is not long-
term auditory memory. The child rocks
herself while retelling the story. An attempt
with a second story has results similar to
those of the first.
12. Short-term Auditory Memory
Auditory Memory is either short-
term or long-term. Short-term memory
means that a person can repeat something
she has just heard, before any kind of
interruption or distraction occurs.
Objective
Determine the ability of the child to
recall and repeat something that he or she
just heard.
This short-term memory test has four
parts: A-syllables, B-numbers, C- tapping
sequence from item 6 B and D- Listening
Attention from #25, Imagery.
12. A. Short Term Memory for Syllables
The average 4 to 5 year old child can
repeat a simple five or six syllable sentence.
A first grader, 52 to 6 year old, should be
able to repeat an eight to ten syllable
sentence.
Instructions
SAY to the child, “I’m going to tell
you some sentences. Listen carefully
because these sentences will not be repeated.
After I say the sentence I’ll nod my head as
a signal for you to repeat that sentence.
Wait for my nod before you begin.
Say the first three sentences as a pre-
test. If the child is having no difficulty
repeating the short sentences, go ahead with
the longer sentences. You could say, “Very
good.”, or some other encouraging remark
after the student’s repetition, but don’t say
35
anything after you have read the sentence to
be repeated. Just nod.
A copy of the sentences for scoring
is in the individual profile. Follow the
student’s repetition and mark any errors. An
error is a word out of sequence, an omission,
an addition or substitution of a word.
Check each word as the child repeats
the sentences. Mark errors as follows:
>O= for Omission of a word or words
>A= for Addition of a word or words
>S= for Substitution of a word or words
>Q= for seQuence problems
Stop when the child makes two or
more errors in one sentence or one error in
each of two successive sentences. To make
sure you have an attentive individual, ASK,
“Are you ready? Good. Wait for my nod.”
1. Run fast. (2 syllables)
2. The dog ran. (3 syllables)
3. My cat jumps high. (4 syllables)
4. We went to the store. (5 syllables)
5. Bill is coming home soon. (6)
6. That girl is wearing blue shorts. (7)
7. The other book is over there. (8)
8. Write your name on the top of your
page. (9)
9. Please wash your hands with soap before
dinner. (10)
10. Bill and Tom are going to the movies
soon. (11)
11. Strawberry is my favorite ice cream
flavor. (12)
You can make up similar sentences
with age appropriate words to have at least
two sentences for each number of syllables.
You may want to give the second,
equivalent item if the child was inattentive
the first time, or when you want to retest
with a new list.
36
Score 12A Short-term auditory memory
for syllables
No problems, 0
The child repeats an age appropriate
number of syllables with no errors. Note
how many syllables and age on the response
form.
Minor problems, 1
The child had one error in a sentence
of appropriate length and more than one
error, in the next, longer sentence.
Serious problems, 2
The child is having obvious
difficulty in repeating a sentence of age
appropriate length. Note whether the
problems are with sequencing, addition,
omission, or substitution, or an inability to
repeat the required number of syllables in a
sentence, as with a very limited short-term
memory.
12. B. Short-term memory for numbers
The average 42 to 5 year old child
should be able to repeat a four or five digit
numeral. A child, age 52 to 6 years, should
be able to repeat six to nine random numbers
in correct sequence, as presented here.
Objective
Determine ability to correctly recall
and repeat numerals as heard.
Instructions
SAY the name of each numeral. For
59 say, “Five nine.” For 9013 say, “nine
zero one three.” With a sequence of more
than five numerals leave a quick space after
three or four numerals in a row, as you
would in repeating a phone number, e.g.
659-054. Speak clearly and not too fast. Be
sure the child is ready to start. Have ready a
student profile with a copy of the numbers
for marking any errors. Score similar to
syllables:
>O= for omission
Part 2. Sensory Dominant Screening
>A= for addition
>S= for substitution
>Q= for seQuence problems
Stop when the child makes two
errors, consecutive or otherwise.
SAY, “Repeat these numbers after
me. Listen first, then you say them. Are
you ready? Repeat after me.”
(1) 59 (say five nine), (2) 913, (3) 4071,
(4) 86923, (5) 694-817, (6) 4867-390, (7)
0439-3218, (8) 375-927-016, (9) 372-945-
6018.
Here is a second set of graduated,
random numbers in case the child misses
one or you want to retest at a later date.
“Are you ready? Repeat after me.” (1) 47
(say four seven), (2) 602, (3) 4196, (4)
54792, (5) 183-594, (6) 567-3292, (7) 0785-
6134, (8) 25-376- 809, (9) 743-396-325.
Score 12 B Short-term auditory memory
for numbers
No problems, 0
The child repeats age appropriate
sequences of random numerals correctly.
Minor problems, 1
The child makes one error in each of
two similar age appropriate numbers.
Serious problems, 2
The child has obvious difficulty with
sequence or recall of numerals, in more than
one number sequence. He makes more than
one error in an age appropriate number, such
as, transposes or reverses numerals, or omits
or adds numerals.
12 C. Short term auditory memory for
sequenced tapping
Objective
Determine ability to count and repeat
Tapping Sequences heard, not seen.
Chapter 4. Comprehensive Basic Sensory Screening
Instructions
See item 6.B.of Section l, Ear
Dominance, for instructions on tapping
sequence.
Score 12 C –Short term memory for
tapping sequence.
No Problems, 0
The tapping pattern is repeated
correctly and the number of taps heard is
reported accurately.
Minor Problems, 1
One or two errors are made in
counting or tapping, but the overall ability in
this area is good.
Serious Problems, 2
The ability to kinesthetically repeat
the patterns heard or to tell the number of
taps heard is notably weak. Note the
problems on the profile
12 D. Short term auditory attention
Objectives
The child demonstrates the ability to
concentrate on auditory material by
answering questions about, or by retelling, a
recently heard story. Good auditory
memory is demonstrated when the child
retells a story just heard or answers
questions about that story.
Instructions
Instructions for short term auditory
or listening ability are included with item 25
of section lll, Mental Imagery. A story of
age appropriate length and difficulty is read
aloud while the child listens. He/she is then
able to answer questions about that story.
Score 12 D. Short term auditory attention
No problems, 0
The child demonstrates good
auditory concentration when he/she
correctly answers questions about the story
just heard.
37
Minor problems, 1
Auditory attention is fair. The child
answers most questions and is able to tell
most of what he heard.
Serious problems, 2
Auditory concentration is weak. The
child is not able to retell the story just heard
or is not able to answer related questions.
Sometimes problems in this area are due to
mental anxiety, which should be ruled out
by observation and discussion.
Score 13. Total Auditory Strength
Remember to include the score from
item 1, Comprehension of Oral Instructions,
also item 6B tapping sequence, item 25,
Imagery for listening attention plus all
scores for items 8, 9, 10, 11, 12.
No problems, 0
All auditory scores together, are 0’s,
or there are six 0’s and one minor >1’.
Minor problems, 1
The scores are no more than two 1’s,
NO 2’s, and the rest 0’s.
Serious problems, 2
One or more scores are 2, or there
are three or more 1’s, or you believe two 1’s
indicate a need for further investigation in
this area.
38 Part 2. Sensory Dominant Screening
Chapter 4. Comprehensive Basic Sensory Screening
Section lll - Basic Vision Screening
14. Appearance of Eyes.
15. Eye Coordination - pupils centered
16. Binocular Vision
17. Near Vision Task Distance
18. Near Vision Attention Span
19. Writing tool Grasp and Use
20. Writing Appearance and Pressure
21. Body Image Drawing
22. Visual Memory
A. .See and Say
B. See and Choose
23. Visual Kinesthetic Memory
A. Sequence – See, Write or Draw
B. Pattern – See, Write or Draw
24. Color Vision
25. Visual Imagery (item 12 – listening)
26. Color Overload, fluorescent light
27. Eye Hand Coordination
A. Moving Target - Near
B. Catch and Throw
28. Basic Vision Sub-Total
General objectives
The main objective for screening
these visual abilities is to provide the
instructors with needed knowledge
regarding expectations and, or performance
of required academic skills.
Instructions for general objectives
Several of the vision screening items
can be checked by the examiner’s
observation of the student working at near
point visual tasks. Observations can usually
be made, unobtrusively, when the examiner
sits across from, or moves among the
students while they are performing eye-hand
coordination tasks at desk level.
Give the children an interesting
writing or drawing assignment, using
pencils. Tell the children that you will be
quietly observing them at work.
39
Frequent visual rest periods
If you decide to screen an individual
in several visual areas (items) at one sitting
be sure to provide for frequent, short breaks.
This also holds true for groups of children
who have been doing close visual work and
for adults as well.
To rest from close visual tasks, stand
and stretch with the children. Roll your
heads around on your shoulders in both
directions. SAY, “Take a deep breath, let
it out. Roll your head all about. Roll it to
the left, then roll it to the right. Loosen
up and don’t feel tight.” Breathe deeply
and quietly as instructor and child(ren)
gently cup your hands over your eyes for
five seconds to rest and warm the eyes
before continuing.
Near point visual work can be
stressful. Hearing pleasant, peaceful
background music during visual activities
can help alleviate stress for the children, the
instructor, and/or the examiner.
When you plan on screening all or
most students in the important visual
abilities, taking notes and scoring individual
observations will probably require several
days of similar exercises. The help of
parents and aides could speed up the process
and be a big help.
14. Appearance and Health of Eyes
Objective and Instructions
Determine the state of health of the
exterior appearance of the eyes by
observation. Determine the apparent visual
comfort of the eyes with sustained (5 to 10
minutes) near vision tasks. Before
beginning, read through items and scoring
for awareness of possible problems to be
noted. When scoring, if there are problems,
note which apply.
40
Score 14 Appearance and health of Eyes
No problems, 0
The sclera of both eyes are white and
the eyes appear to be moist, clean and alert.
The eyelashes look normal and clean. The
child appears to be comfortable with near
vision tasks.
Minor problems, 1
Eyes are slightly reddened and
possibly tired. The child rubs his eyes.
These are occasional, not usual conditions.
Serious problems, 2
Sclera are reddened or yellowish
instead of white. Eyes appear dry, tired or
lashes are encrusted. Eyes are watery. The
child displays obvious visual discomfort
when asked to concentrate on sustained
visual tasks. She rubs her eyes, blinks or
squints frequently, or says her eyes or head
hurt with concentrated near point visual
work.
15. Eye Coordination, Pupils Centered
Objective
Determine whether both eyes move
together as a coordinated team and appear to
work together when the child focuses near
and far and also when the eyes are relaxed.
A crossed eye condition is called
strabismus. Even if this condition is slight
it can affect the ability to use the eyes
effectively. Strabismus is a visual condition
in which both eyes can not be
simultaneously focused on one spot. This
condition can cause double vision or
blocking of the vision in one eye by the
brain.
Instructions
Read scoring before you begin. For
the following observations, the examiner
needs to sit or stand facing the child, at the
child’s eye level. Give instructions for
Part 2. Sensory Dominant Screening
aiming the child’s eyes at targets at these
distances - 2, 3, and 10 feet away. Observe
the pupils to see if both eyes aim in the same
direction.
While the person targets his eyes at
those distances, note if either eye or both
eyes turn: * In, toward the nose; * Out, away
from the nose, * Up or Down, as compared
to the centered or alert eye. *Also note if *
both eyes appear to be equally alert and
attentive to what the child is looking at.
Which eye appears more alert?
15 A. Distance focus
Tell the child to look at something
particular in the distance, 10 or 20 feet
away, while you observe the direction of the
pupils of the eyes. SAY, “Look at the light
switch. Look at the door. Look in the
distance past my right shoulder.”
15 B. Distance gaze – relaxed vision
Tell her to relax her eyes and just
gaze off in the distance. Does one eye move
out of alignment?
15 C. Near focus
Facing the child at her eye level tell
her to concentrate on the tip of your nose or
on a pencil top held about 12 to 16 inches in
front of the child’s eyes. Do not say, Look
at me, as it is not possible to focus on more
than one eye at the same time. Note the
direction and alertness of both pupils with
near point concentration.
15 D. Coordinated focus Questions
1. When you first look at something do you
ever see two of anything when you know
there is only one object to be seen?
2. Do you remember times when you did
see two images instead of one? If
>yes=, ask, Can you tell me about it?
When does double vision occur?
3. Did you ever have surgery on your eyes?
If yes, How old were you then?
Chapter 4. Comprehensive Basic Sensory Screening
Score 15 Eye coordination
No problems, 0
The pupils of both eyes aim in the
same direction when the eyes are targeted on
a distant target, when they are relaxed
(gazing off in the distance) and when
concentrated on a near vision task. Both
eyes appear to be working together as a
team. The child responds to questions 1, 2
and 3 in part D with, “No.”
Minor problems, 1
You’re not positive, but you think
the R or L eye may turn slightly off center,
to either side, up or down. The child
answers “No.” to questions in part D, but
you suspect that a double vision or lazy eye
problem is possible. State which eye
appears more alert.
Serious problems, 2
The child probably has strabismus.
The child’s eyes do not appear coordinated
in movement in distance or near vision or
both. One or both eyes turn slightly or
markedly off center.
Note if the right or left eye, R or L,
or if both eyes, turn: In, toward the nose,
Out, away from the nose, or Up, or Down,
as compared to the centered eye. State your
observation this way. Near vision - R eye
turns slightly up, or both eyes turn in toward
the nose. State whether these observations
are true for all or for certain focusing tasks.
Which eye appears more focused and alert,
R or L?
The child answers, “Yes” to double
vision questions, part D. Red tag this child
for immediate visual assessment by a vision
specialist. Provide a copy of your vision
screening to the vision specialist.
41
16. Binocular Vision
Objective
Determine whether the child has
good binocular vision so that he sees 3-
dimensional, foreground and background
objects distinctly. Binocular vision requires
both eyes to work together
Instructions
After placing a “Viewmaster” disc in
the proper slot, set the “Viewmaster 3D” toy
on a particular picture with which you
familiarize yourself. You may want to tape
the trigger so that the same picture stays in
view for screening several children and
clean the viewer for each child.
When ready, give the child the
“Viewmaster”. TELL him to look through
the viewer with both eyes and be ready to
answer questions about what he sees. Say
that a farm scene with tree, barn and animals
is in view. ASK questions like these.
Is one animal in the picture closer to
you than the others? Which animal is closer
(in front)? Which is farthest away (in
back)? If the child does not know which
thing looks closer or further away, ASK,
“Does the picture seem to be flat like a
picture on a wall or do some things look
nearer and some farther away?
If the child says that the picture is
flat, SAY, “Close one eye while looking
with the other eye. Does the picture change
in any way?” If he says that it changes, ask
him to explain how it is different with one
eye closed. SAY, “Close the other eye and
look again. Does one eye see more clearly
than the other?”
Score 16 Binocular vision
No Problems, 0.
The child easily distinguishes
foreground and background objects with the
42
“Viewmaster”. He reports seeing clearly
with both eyes.
Minor Problems, 1
The child is somewhat hesitant in
answering, but does correctly distinguish
fore and background objects. One eye may
not see as clearly as the other.
Serious Problems, 2.
The child is not able to distinguish
foreground and background objects. The
child reports that the picture looks flat which
indicates that he is looking with one eye
only. He may have poor vision in one or
both eyes.
17. Distance for Near Vision Task
Objective
Determine whether the student is
working with his eyes at a correct distance
from the near point task.
Instructions
You will mark two measurements.
While the child is studying or reading, or
drawing or writing, take a soft tape measure
or 18 inch ruler and measure (1.) the
distance from the outer corner of the
dominant eye to the book or paper. Mark
down this distance in inches or centimeters.
Measure (2.) the distance between
the tip of the child’s elbow and the middle
knuckle on the end of his writing hand to get
an appropriate near vision distance for this
child. Mark this distance down. The
distance from elbow to knuckle, as
described, is the ideal reading or writing
distance for a person.
Preferably, the difference between
these two measurements should be less than
two or three inches, (7 2 cm.), closer to or
farther from, the work. Recheck the
distance between eye and desk on another
Part 2. Sensory Dominant Screening
day to see if the measurement is constant or
changeable.
Score 17 Near task distance from eyes
No problems, 0.
The child sits up straight during most
near vision work. The distance between the
eyes and desk level task is correct, about the
same as the distance between the child’s
elbow and middle knuckle. Repeated
observations show this distance to be
constant.
Minor problem, 1
There are more than three inches, but
less than 4 inches between the two
measurements. Note the difference in
measurements and whether the eyes are
closer to or further away from the near
vision task than they should be. Recheck at
other times to see if this distance is constant.
Serious problems, 2
The child’s eyes are consistently
more than 4 inches or 10 cm. closer to or
farther from the desk level task. The visual
distance causes poor posture for close work.
Sometimes, when reading or writing, the
child
• covers one eye with his hand
• lays his head on his arm
• turns his head to one side.
• complains about vision or visual stress.
• seems to have difficulty finding a
comfortable focusing distance for near
work. If the proper distance is set
between eyes and work for the child, he
returns to the improper distance.
18.Near Point Visual Attention Span for
reading and visual motor tasks
Objective
Determine whether the child’s
attention span for near vision tasks is
Chapter 4. Comprehensive Basic Sensory Screening
indicative of good eye-hand and visual
coordination for his/her age. The four or
five year old child with good eye hand and
visual coordination should be able to attend
comfortably to desk level tasks for 10 to 15
minute periods, with increasing increments
of 10 to 15 minutes per year.
Instructions
Observe each child while he or she is
attending to sustained, near point visual
tasks. Notice whether the child performs
many of the following tasks without getting
too restless, tired or evasive.
He/she can and does, confidently,
• look at books with interest,
• recognize some words or printed
symbols,
• put easy picture puzzles together,
• count money or objects,
• write names or letters,
• draw pictures or color with some
accuracy,
• play board games,
• cut, paste, and fit pieces together, and so
forth.
Reading by following with a finger is
very acceptable. Most young children are
attentive to TV programs like “Sesame
Street” for 25 or 50 minutes. What we are
looking for here is how long the four or five
year-old can attend to a near point visual
task which, except for reading or
recognizing reading symbols, requires eye
hand coordination. This eliminates
watching television, computer screen or ball
game activities.
Score 18 Near-point visual attention span
No problems, 0
The child’s attention span for
sustained near point visual tasks is usually
within normal limits. He or she is
comfortable with most of the tasks listed.
43
Minor problems, 1
The child’s attention span for some
of the activities listed is less than desired,
but normal for other near point activities.
He or she does not avoid these activities.
Note which minor problems were observed.
Serious problems, 2.
The child tries to avoid most of the
listed visual tasks or has a low frustration
level with paper work or other near vision
activities. The child becomes irritable,
evasive, leaves tasks unfinished after a few
minutes, is fatigued or otherwise
uncooperative when asked to perform most
near vision tasks. The child complains of
headaches, vision problems, or that his eyes
hurt.
19. Grasp and use of writing tool
Objective
Determine if the child has learned
the correct pencil grasp and is able to use a
writing tool with correct hand control and
pressure.
Instructions
Tell the child to pick up a pencil and
write or draw something. This task could be
combined and observed with item 21 - Body
Image Drawing, or during any other periods
of writing and coloring.
Observe whether pencil grasp has
been learned correctly so that the writing
tool is held comfortably between the thumb
and first two fingers, resting on the middle
finger. Has the child attained some mastery
in the skill of writing or drawing so that she
• attempts line drawings or copying
letters?
• uses normal writing pressure with a
pencil, neither too heavy nor too light?
• doesn’t have heavy hand pressure with
crayons, causing frequent breaking of
regular crayons, nor a fisted grip?
44
• doesn’t have extremely light or spidery
hand pressure with poor grasp or
control?
Score 19 Writing tool grasp and use
No problems, 0
The writing tool is held and used
correctly. Hand control and pressure for
writing are satisfactory for the age. The
child is attempting letters and line drawing.
Minor problems, 1
The child is making an effort to hold
and use the pencil correctly, but is still
somewhat awkward with grasp and use.
Practice should soon bring the desired result.
Serious problems, 2
The pencil or crayon is held in a
fisted or awkward manner or right on the
pencil point. The manner in which the
writing tools are held would make it difficult
for the person to see what he/she is writing.
Hand pressure is very heavy,
imprinting through three pages. He is
constantly breaking pencil points or crayons.
Hand pressure is too light and
uncontrolled. Spidery is an adjective used
for very light pressure writing. Hand control
for writing or drawing needs much
improvement or compensation.
20. Appearance of Writing
Objective
Determine whether the child can
legibly write his/her first name or several
alphabet letters, using the lines on primary
ruled paper. This can be a continuation of
the preceding task concerning pencil grasp.
Instructions
Provide the children with primary
ruled paper on which the lines are easily
seen. Give each one a primary size pencil.
Part 2. Sensory Dominant Screening
Show the child the lines for writing, how to
use them and where to begin the writing.
SAY, “Please write your name or
some letters on the lines. If the child can not
write independently it is okay for the child
to copy from a sample near the top of the
page. Instruct the children to hold the paper
with their free hand while writing with the
other hand.
Score 20 Appearance of writing
No problems, 0
The child holds the paper with one
hand while she writes. The five-year old
writes her name from memory on or close to
the base line. The letters are legible and
fairly consistent in size, slant and spacing.
Hand pressure shows good hand control and
good eye hand coordination.
Minor problems, 1
Eye hand coordination needs some
work, but the letters are legible and show
awareness of lines and spaces. The child
holds the paper while writing.
Serious problems, 2
The writing is not legible. The child
does not hold the paper stationary while
writing. There is little or no awareness of
ruled spaces or edges of paper. The writing
goes off the edge of the page. Letters are
inconsistent in size, slant and shape and are
poorly made.
Writing appears to be a difficult task
with poorly coordinated, short, jerky strokes,
spidery lines or very heavy lines. Circle
those problems that apply on the child’s
profile. Visual perception or other
neurological problems could be at the core
of these problems.
Chapter 4. Comprehensive Basic Sensory Screening
21. Body Image Drawing
Objective
Determine how well the child can
transfer a mental image of his/her body to
two dimensions on paper.
This task requires eye hand
coordination combined with mental to
visible imaging. The average five year old
can draw a recognizable stick figure body of
five or six parts, such as a head, body, legs,
arms, eyes, etc. For this exercise the child
must show a representation of the head and
the body plus whatever other body parts
he/she chooses. The drawing should fill 1/3
to 2/3 of the paper.
Instructions
Give the child a blank 9 x 12
drawing paper and pencil, pens or crayons.
SAY, “Please draw a picture of yourself
showing your whole body from head to feet
or top to toe? It can look a little like a
photograph of you. Also write your name
on the paper. I would like to keep the
picture when you are finished. It does not
have to be fancy. You will have five
minutes or 300 seconds for this drawing. If
you haven’t finished, I’ll tell you when you
have 30 seconds left to finish the drawing.”
Once the above instruction is given,
the examiner is not to tell the child to draw a
head and body or name any body parts. The
class or a group could be doing this exercise
at the same time.
When the child is finished with the
drawing, which seldom takes a five-year old
more than two or three minutes, SAY,
“Please tell me what parts you have drawn
so that I can label them.” Make sure the
children’s names and the date are on the
drawings. Label the body parts as the child
defines them for you. In your notes indicate
the height of the figure and whether the 9"
or 12" edge is the base of drawing.
45
Score 21 Body image drawing
No problems, 0
The drawing of a five year old shows
a head and a body plus at least four other
features, e.g. eyes, mouth, legs, arms, etc.
The drawing fills 1/3 to 2/3 of the page and
is more or less centered on page showing a
satisfactory sense of space.
Minor problems, 1
The drawing has only four or five
parts or there is some misrepresentation of
placement of body parts, e.g. legs come off
head. The figure is closer to the limits of
either the 1/3 or 2/3 size or is noticeably to
one edge of the paper.
Serious problems, 2
The figure is a very poor
representation of a head and body. An
unaware adult would not be able to tell that
this is a drawing of a person. What body
parts the child says are drawn may be drawn
on top of each other. The drawing is tiny,
using less than 1/3 of page, or so large that
lines run off edges of the paper. The
drawing shows a poor concept of the use of
space on the paper.
22. Visual Memory, See & Say or Choose
Objectives
Determine visual memory ability in
two ways.
A. See and Say memory is to describe in
words, orally, what was seen.
B. See and Choose is to choose something
that was seen when that or those items
are mixed in with a variety of similar
choices.
Objective 22 A, See and Say
Determine whether the pre-school
child is able to name several items seen on
flash cards. The young child should be able
to recall the same number of items as her
46
age. E.g. A child, aged four, should recall 3
or 4 familiar items, age five, 4 or 5 items.
An upper limit for this test is 7 items.
Small items such as: a penny, nickel,
button, pebble, paper clip, may be used
instead of flash card pictures, in the same
manner that you show the flash cards, but
when screening for pre-reading skills, letters
and numbers give a better idea of facility
with these items.
Preparations for 22 A
See and Say Visual Memory
Flash cards
Some Visual Memory flash cards are
in the appendix of this book, or you can
make your own with matching books of
simple stickers. Be sure that the child is
familiar with and can name the pictures she
will be shown on the cards. It is helpful to
connect the cards in each set like a spiral
bound booklet so the cards will flip easily.
Spiral bound books of 4x6 inch cards are
available at stores. Cut and Paste the given
visual memory pages on the cards in the
correct sequence, indexing each set.
Each set consists of approximately 5
cards plus a cover or practice card. A
second set of similar cards for each set with
different pictures for the same number of
items will be handy. E.g. If card two of the
first set has pictures of a rabbit and a dog,
use a horse and a cat on card 2 of set 2.
The second set is used for pre and
post testing, for re-testing when a child
misses a specific number of items and as an
alternate test with different children. The
pictures need to be spaced in patterns so that
none are touching the edges of another.
There needs to be good contrast between
each picture and the background of the card.
Outlining each picture in black ink to
increase contrast and the use of color help
memory.
Part 2. Sensory Dominant Screening
Verbal Instructions – 22A See & Say
This easy visual memory screening
is meant for 3 to 5 year olds, but can also be
a quick check for older children. Before you
begin, go through pictures of those items to
be shown on the flash cards, telling the child
to name each figure. Help where needed,
but the child must be able to recognize and
name what you show her.
Allow a time limit of two seconds
for showing each card with up to 3 items
pictured, and three seconds for 4 or more
items. Allow 2 seconds waiting time for the
child to respond and tell you what he saw.
For each second, silently, and at a moderate
speed, count, “One thousand and one” Stop
when she misses two cards.
SAY, “I’ll say ready and then I’ll
show you a picture card. Look carefully and
remember what you see. When the pictures
are gone, wait until I nod my head. Then
tell me what you saw. Okay? We’ll
practice. Are you ready to look? Look.”
Show the cover card. Nod or say, “You saw
...?” SAY, “That’s right.” With the same -
Ready, Look, etc., show card one with 2
items, then card 2 with 3 items.
If the child is doing well, SAY,
ANow there will be more pictures to
remember as we go along. Are you ready?
Wait until the card is gone to tell me what
you saw. Ready? Look. Good or good for
you. Here’s the next one.” If the child
misses a card in one set, you could try again
with that card in the other set. If she seems
inattentive, re-check the next morning.
Score 22A See and Say
No problems, 0
The child can easily recall and tell
you up to the same number of pictures as her
age, e.g. four pictures for four year olds, five
for five years.
Chapter 4. Comprehensive Basic Sensory Screening
Minor problems, 1
The child misses the same number of
pictures as his age the first time, but gets 4
or 5 pictures on a second try. Practice
brings improvement.
Serious problems, 2
The child can not recall the number
of items equal to one less than his age, with
two tries. The 5 or 6 year old is not able to
consistently recall more than 3 pictures
during first or second screening, on two
separate days.
22 B. Visual Memory - See and Choose
Objective
The young child will correctly
choose, by recognizing, pointing to and
naming one or more familiar items from
among several pictured items. After seeing
pictures of one or more items, he will
correctly choose that or those items from a
group of similar items
Preparation
Using flash cards as in 22-A, have
ready a set of 5 cards with one to five
pictures on each card. Have 5 coordinating
cards, each having the original pictures
among several others, so that the child has to
choose which items he saw pictured on the
previous card. The memory cards are
numbered 1 through 5 while their
coordinating cards are numbered 1a, 2a, etc.
For example, the one item on the
first memory card is one of 3 items on the
coordinating card. With the second card
there are 2 pictures to recall from among 4
similar items on the coordinating card, or 3
items from among 5 and so on through 6 and
7 similar items pictured. As before, go
through a complete set of pictures making
sure the child is familiar with and is able to
name all the pictured items. Use the
47
coordinating cards to show and name all the
pictures.
Instructions
SHOW the first memory cards with
up to 3 items to be recalled and found for 2
seconds, those with 4 or more items for 3
seconds. The companion, coordinating card
has the memory items surrounded by several
similar items. Cover each card and WAIT
one second, then SHOW the coordinating
card and ASK the child to POINT to and
NAME the pictures seen on the previous
memory card. Allow up to 5 seconds for the
child to choose which items he recalls
having seen on the previous memory card.
After that, he is randomly guessing.
Demonstrate with the cover or
sample card and a sample coordinate card.
SAY, ALook at the picture on this first card
so that you will remember it when it is gone.
Then I’ll show you another card with several
pictures on it. The first picture you saw is
mixed in with others on this second card.
You are to FIND, POINT TO and NAME
the picture or pictures you saw on the first
card.” If the child can not name the item,
but points to the correct item, you may want
to go over the names again.
SAY, Are you ready? Look. SHOW
the memory card for 2 seconds. Put it away;
wait one second. Then show, for up to 5
seconds, the companion card on which the
matching item or items are hidden among
other similar items. Say, good or good for
you as encouragement. Stop when 2 cards
are missed.
Score 22B See and Choose
No Problems, 0
The 4 or 5 year old child can quickly
recall, point to and name 4 or 5 correct
pictures from among 5 or 6 others with no
difficulty. (4/5, 5/6)
48
Minor problems, 1
The child hesitates, but can correctly
choose 3 or 4 pictures from among 5 or 6
others. (3/5, 4/5)
Serious problems, 2
The child has difficulty choosing 3
or fewer correct pictures from among 3 or
more others. (1/3, 2/4, 3/5)
23. Visual-Kinesthetic Sequential and
Pattern Memory
To Write or Draw what was seen is
visual kinesthetic memory. Since writing
and drawing are kinesthetic (muscle sense)
as well as visual memory abilities, visual
memory can often be improved with
kinesthetic reinforcement of age appropriate
drawings.
Visual sequential memory adds the
element of correct sequence to the ability to
recall what was seen.
Spatial patterning is the visual use of
clockwise or patterned sequencing to
improve memory. For children who have
serious problems with linear sequence, as in
spelling, their abilities should improve with
the use of clockwise or patterned sequence.
Linear Sequence is considered to be
a left-brain ability. Language is one of the
first sequential abilities learned by young
children. The fact that two year olds speak
in orderly sentences demonstrates that they
have understood language sequence, which
word goes after and which goes before.
When children go to school they are
expected to learn visual sequencing. The
left to right sequence is a learned factor in
reading, writing, spelling and math. Top to
bottom linear sequencing is needed in
arithmetic and for reading in other cultures.
Objectives – Determine if:
1. the child has adequate visual sequential
and kinesthetic memory.
Part 2. Sensory Dominant Screening
A. For pre-school with use of designs
B. For children who write letters and
numbers.
2. kinesthetic reinforcement by tracing with
the index finger of either hand improves
visual memory for drawing or writing.
3. a circular, spatial pattern improves
sequential memory.
Visual-kinesthetic memory abilities to be
screened are:
1. The 4 or 5 year old child can write 5 or 6
letters of her first name legibly and draw
age appropriate, sequential designs from
memory.
2. After being shown a visual sequence
display, the school child can recall and
write in correct sequence, those sets of
random letters, numerals or shapes when
they are no longer in sight.
3. Tracing the designs with the index finger
of the dominant hand or non-dominant
hand before writing improves memory
for drawing designs in sequence. Try
both hands, especially if he is
ambidextrous.
4. Sequential memory improves if the
letters are shown in a clockwise pattern.
Preparation
Flash cards, paper and pencils are the
necessary equipment for these visual
memory tests. This test can be given
individually or in small groups. Pages for
visual memory cards are in the appendix.
Or five sets of flash cards can be made with
about twenty 4"x 6@ cards. The five sets of
visual memory cards cover all stated
objectives: 1.A. pre-school designs, 1.B.
writing letter sequences, 2. Tracing letters,
3. Writing linear number sequences and 4.
Patterned sequence of letters.
Silent Thinking
SAY, This is a test of visual memory.
You must not whisper or move your lips to
remember. Instead think silently in your
Chapter 4. Comprehensive Basic Sensory Screening
brain to recall what you see. You will be
shown cards, one at a time, with designs,
letters and numbers. When you hear
“Look”, study the design on the card for all
the time allowed.
You are to remember that design
after the card is put away. When I say,
“Go”, you may pick up your pencil and
draw the design in the correct space on your
paper. If you don’t remember all of the
design, draw as much as you do remember.
Sometimes you recall what you thought you
forgot when you start writing.
Wait until you hear the word GO.
Then pick up the pencil and write or draw.
When you finish a design, turn your paper to
be ready for the next design. Have the
children stretch and rest after each column.
23. Pre-school set, 1.A.
The average five-year old child can
usually print his/her own name of 5 or 6
letters from memory. The following designs
can be drawn from memory at the age
designated. Schools often use these designs
for testing developmental age.
• Circle o - 3 years
• Cross + - 4 years
• Square with good corners .. 5 years
• Triangle with good corners 6 years
• Diamond with good corners <> 7 years
Provide primary pencils and unruled
paper for students. Use cards for pre-school
sequence patterns as follows.
23. Set 1. A. - See and draw
1. Practice card with O and a square …
2. + + O alternate O + square ….
3. draw a square …, a triangle A and O
4. draw O, a triangle A, a square and +
5. for ages 6 plus, draw 2 diamond shapes:
one horizontal beside one vertical, an X
and +.
49
Instructions for pre-school age
Be sure the child is able to draw,
depending on age, the 5 basic shapes or the
capital letters of the alphabet and numerals.
Young children will need a strong pencil
and plain paper. Help the children fold the
page in half, crosswise, horizontally, then
again into thirds, so there will be six rows
across the page from top to bottom. With
the page fully open, help the children write
their name and the date in the top row. At
the left edge of the other rows, write x in the
second row for the practice item, then 1
through 4 in the next 4 rows.
Strictly visual memory
To eliminate visual distractions for
this test, refold the paper so that only the one
row needed is in view. In other words, the
child’s name and date are written in one
row, then the page is folded so that only row
2 is exposed for the practice item. Then
only row 3 is seen for item one and so forth.
To eliminate other distractions, make a rule
of no talking when the test begins.
SHOW each card with the word,
“Look.” Then silently count “one thousand
and one” to time one second while you hide
that card. Say, “Go”, to signal the children
to pick up their pencils and draw. Allow 10
seconds for drawing then go on to the next
row on the page. Refold the page so that
only one row is exposed.
SAY, I’m going to show you a row
of shapes. Look at them carefully so that
you can draw them in the same way when I
take the card away. Are you ready? Look
for the full five seconds. Wait one second.
SAY, GO. Draw what you saw.
23. Sets for ages 4 through school age
Visual memory cards for these
exercises are in the appendix for cutting and
pasting on 4x6-inch index cards or to print
on card stock and cut. To make your own
flash cards, on each card draw a different
50
sequence of two, three and four letters
spaced together as a set, but not touching
each other. Each of these letters should be
drawn about one inch in height and 3/4
inches wide. There are sets in the appendix
to be cut and pasted on 4x6 inch cards.
They may need enlargement.
Set 1.B. - See and write/draw letters
Practice card: M B. (1) C T , (2) U
O V , (3) L J A , (4) H T O S , (5) Z U S L.
Set 2 - See, trace and write
Practice card: Z Q. (1) O L , (2) V C
T , (3) J A L , (4) T S H O , (5) V Z C S.
Set 3 - See and write numbers
(1) 5 9 4, (2) 0 8 2 5, (3) 762-101.
Set 4 - See and write clockwise letters
Draw (1) Z E Y H and (2) F M B P
in clockwise patterns on two cards, placing a
letter at 12, 3, 6 and 9 o’clock. Place the
next set at 2, 5, 8 and 11 o’clock.
For children who are able to write
Give each child a pencil and a paper
to be folded in half vertically, like the
columns of this page. The child writes his
name and the date across the top of the page.
Preceded by an X for practice, the numerals
1 through 5 are to be written along the left
and along the fold edges of this page and
again 1-5 on the back of the page with
several spaces between 4 and 5 for the clock
patterns.
Then the page is folded on the desk
so that only the first column on the
numbered paper is exposed. Have the first
set of sequential cards ready to show. STOP
with any sequence pattern when the child
misses three patterns or two in a row. Go on
to the next set.
Mark the child’s progress on his
individual profile form. To be sure the
student understands and is able to follow
through, give the practice card first, just as if
it were card one. Straighten out any
Part 2. Sensory Dominant Screening
confusion then. After that, move through
the cards with no further explanations.
Instructions to the child
SAY, “I’m going to show you five
different letter designs for five seconds each.
Study each design with your eyes so that
you will remember it when it is out of
sight.”
I’ll say “Look” and show the card for
five seconds. Then I’ll put that card away
and say, AGO@. Then you pick up your
pencil and write exactly what you saw draw
as much of that design as you remember.
Any questions? Wait until the card is
hidden before you pick up your pencils. I’ll
nod or say, “Go”. Are you ready? Here’s
number one.”
Column one
Hold each card in front of the
children for five seconds. SAY, “Look for
the full five seconds.” Give up to ten
seconds for each drawing. If she says “I
can’t remember.” SAY, “Just do your best.
Put down what you do remember.” After
ten seconds or when everyone is done, SAY,
“Pencils down.”. That was the practice
card. Let’s see how well we did. Great!
Now here are the actual sequences. NO
talking or questions are permitted during
these tests. Stretch and rest after the 5
designs for column one.
Column two, tracing
For the second column, with a small
group, you’ll have to give permission to
draw to one while you go to the next one to
trace. OR each one could have a card,
which they turn over when you give that
command.
SAY, ATurn the paper so that only
blank column two is facing you. This time
when I show you a letter design I want you
to look and touch. You will trace the design
with the index finger of your writing hand.
Chapter 4. Comprehensive Basic Sensory Screening
When that design is out of sight, you may
pick up your pencil and draw the design.
Let me show you.” Guide each
child’s finger over an earlier design to show
her how to trace with the finger, in one
continuous movement when possible. With
older children, give an example of tracing
letters using the board, in front of them.
Check to see that all are practicing tracing
with you. Use the practice card first to
ensure that all is well. On the individual
profiles, mark hand dominance and which
hand gives kinesthetic memory
improvement.
Column three, numbers
After a short stretch, have the
students turn their papers over to that 3rd
column numbered 1 through 5 with several
spaces between 4 and 5 for the clock
patterns.
SAY, ANow you will be shown
three easy number sequences. Look at them
for the full five seconds and when I nod or
say AGO@, you will write these numbers
down next to 1, 2 or 3 in this column on
your paper.
Set four, clock patterns with letters
Finally, add the last 2 clock pattern
cards, showing each for 5 seconds. SAY,
This time you will see 2 cards, with letters
arranged on each, in a clock pattern. When
the card is out of sight, draw the letters just
as you remember them. Do not change the
pattern.
Score 23 Visual-Kinesthetic Sequential
and Pattern Memory
No problems, 0
• Visual sequential and kinesthetic
memory is age appropriate.
• In these test situations, no evidence of
problems with linear, visual sequential
memory are seen.
51
• The pre-school child can write her name
and designs from memory.
• The five or six year old child is
consistently able to recall the correct
linear sequence for four or more random
letters or items in a list.
• Tracing with her writing hand finger
improves visual memory.
• Visual spatial memory is good as shown
by pattern design drawings.
Minor problems, 1
• The child can write her name and draw
age appropriate designs, e.g. circle, cross
from memory.
• The child makes a few errors in linear,
sequential memory, but is able to
consistently and correctly sequence three
random letters and sometimes four.
• Tracing improves visual memory if
limited to three letters.
Note if the child does better with spatial
sequential memory than with linear
sequential memory.
Serious problems, 2.
• The child’s visual kinesthetic memory is
too limited to write 5 or 6 letters of her
name correctly or to draw age
appropriate designs in sequence from
memory.
• The child shows persistent difficulties
with linear, visual sequential memory.
• He/she is not able to correctly sequence
three or four letters or items.
• Visual spatial, sequential memory is not
much better. Sequencing needs lots of
work.
• Although these limitations could be due
to lack of practice, tracing new designs
doesn’t show much, if any, improvement
over simply looking at designs.
Kinesthetic memory needs lots of input.
24. Color vision
52
For reasons unknown, more boys
than girls have color blindness, now labeled
color deficiency. Color blindness may be in
the red-green or yellow-blue spectrum or in
all colors. When one is totally deficient in
color receptors he can see only grays, black
and white, but with practice, some
colorblind people can differentiate the gray
shades and name some colors correctly.
Since colorblindness is a genetic
characteristic, present since birth, the child
doesn’t see colorblindness as a problem--
until he is in school.
Objectives.
Determine color knowledge or
blindness through one or more of the
following methods.
1. The child knows the seven basic colors
and black and correctly names them.
[The seven basic colors and black are
red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple,
brown.]. It will be helpful to know
whether the child can identify a color
when he hears its name. When you say,
“Take your red crayon and ...” will the
child know which color to pick up?
2. The child is able to visually discern the
colors by pointing to them as they are
named for him.
3. The child indicates good color
perception by matching the correct color,
to a description of an object. E.g.
strawberries are red.
4. The child recognizes the numbers in a
color-blind bubble test pattern by
naming or by outlining the figure on the
test page with his/her finger.
Materials, color squares or crayons
For screening color knowledge
without the bubble test take a light, neutral
background page and paste or color 2"x 2"
(10x10 cm) samples of the seven colors plus
black leaving half inch spaces on the page
between the colors. Crayons or other colored
Part 2. Sensory Dominant Screening
objects without identifying information like
words on them could also be used.
Objective 1. Child knows basic colors
ASK, “How many of these colors
can you name? List those correctly named.
If the child obviously knows the colors and
their names, no further testing is needed
unless you have the color blind bubble test
and want to double check.
Objective 2. Points to colors named
If the child doesn’t know all the
names of these colors, SAY, “See if you can
point to the colors as I name them. Ready?”
Name each color giving the child three or
four seconds to decide which color goes
with which name. SAY, “Please point to:
red, black, yellow, blue, purple, brown,
orange, green.”
Objective 3. Matches object with color
If the child is still unsure of color
names to match the colors seen, try this test
of pointing to a color corresponding to an
object of the same color. If he does this,
ASK, Can you name that color, now? If he
can not, tell him and have him repeat the
color name.
Instructions for matching - SAY,
1. Point to the color of apples, cherries or
strawberries. Good. What is the
color’s name? It is red.
2. Point to the color of the sky and the
ocean. blue
3. Point to the color of the grass and leaves
in the rainy season. green
4. Show me the color of tree trunks, deer
and some bears. brown
5. Show me the color of pumpkins or
carrots. orange
6. Point to the color of grape jelly or
violets. purple
7. Show me the color of lemons or butter.
yellow
Chapter 4. Comprehensive Basic Sensory Screening
8. Which is the color of night or the centers
of our eyes? black
Objective 4. Sees numbers in bubble test
If you suspect colorblindness, see if
you can borrow or order the red-green and
yellow-blue pages of the colorblind bubble
test booklet used by optometrists. If you
have these pages and good lighting, you can
check for colorblindness in those ranges.
If the child recognizes numerals and
is able to name the numerals on sight, show
him the test pages. Say, “What do you see?”
If the child names the numeral on the page
correctly, note this and do the same with
other test pages. If the child seems unsure
of numerals follow the next procedure.
Trace the pattern with your finger
If you have these colorblind test
pages and the child does not know numeral
names, he can be tested by having him
lightly trace the design with his finger. The
tracing is done preferably without touching
the pages because natural oil in the skin
eventually ruins the pages.
SAY, Look at this page of bubbles.
What do you see? Do you see anything like
a design in the bubbles? You may or may
not see a design. If he says, “Yes.” SAY,
“Will you please, carefully and very gently,
trace with your finger the design you see.”
Watch to see if he is looking at what
he is doing and check how accurately he
traces the numeral in the bubbles. Then
proceed with the yellow-blue test page.
Mark the results on his screening form and
also in the teacher’s planning book.
Shades of gray
If color blindness is determined to be
present by using the bubble test, do the color
identification test to see if the child has
learned to discriminate between more
obvious shades of gray.
53
Score 24 Color vision
No problems, 0
The child has no difficulty
identifying the numerals in the bubble, color
blind test. The child easily identifies the
colors of known items by pointing to the
correct color. The child easily finds the
color named by the examiner, a bonus for
pre-school age children: The child can also
name the basic colors on her own.
Minor problems, 1
The child passes the color blind
bubble test. The child makes one error in
matching color names with the correct
colors and no errors in matching colors to
items of those colors - objective 3. The
child is a little insecure in finding the colors
named.
Serious problems, 2
• The child can not find the figure in a
red-green or yellow-blue color test. In
each case, note which.
• The child is not able to correctly match
colors with items in two or more
instances.
• The child has obvious difficulty finding
the basic color named.
An optometrist can perform a more thorough
test and should be recommended.
25. Using visual or mental imagery
Objectives
Determine if the child is using
extensive or minimal mental imagery to aid
comprehension and memory while listening
to a short story. If imagery is a weak area,
practice will probably improve the ability to
use mental imagery - a necessity for
thinking.
This test can also determine short-
term auditory attention. The attention to the
story can be determined by the details
54
related back in the imagery exercise.
Auditory attention, listening, needs to rated
as 0, 1, or 2 and inserted on the response
form with item 12 D.
Instructions
Tell the child to listen to a sentence
or short paragraph naming some items for
which the child can supply details. Write
down the child’s responses for later
reference. SAY, “Listen carefully to this
story and imagine the scene, picture it in
your mind’s eye. Think about what is
happening so that you can answer questions
about what you heard and maybe saw in
your mind. AAre you ready? LISTEN!@
[The dog came running down the street.
Two boys were running after the dog. A
man was running right behind all of them.]
Details of mental imagery
Give the child a few seconds to think
about what she heard and imagined in her
mind’s eye. Then ASK, *What was
happening? *What were the boys and the
man doing? *What kind of dog did you see?
*What color was the dog? *How old or big
were the boys? *Did you notice what they
were wearing? *Why was the man there?
*What kind of a day was it? *Where were
you?
Very Good. The child should be
able to quickly supply details and answers to
the questions without making them up now
as you ask.
If he had difficulty with the first
example repeat the test with another short
example. This time ask the child to close his
eyes, relax, breathe deeply and then listen
carefully and really try to imagine what is
happening. SAY, Here is another short
story. Close your eyes and listen and try to
imagine what is happening. Think quietly
afterwards about the story before the
questions come. Ready? LISTEN.
Part 2. Sensory Dominant Screening
Next story
Everyone had just come home. Soon
the good smells of food cooking filled the
whole house. We were so hungry. “What’s
for dinner?”, we asked. “It’s our favorite”,
said Mary. “Did you all wash your hands?”
We had no sooner started eating when we
were startled by someone pounding hard on
our front door.
Now think a minute about the scene.
Here are the questions. Ask five or six
questions. *Who had come home? *from
where? *What time was it? *Where were
you? *Who else was there? *What was
each one wearing? *Who was doing the
cooking? *What did the kitchen look like?
*What was for dinner? *How did each one
react to the pounding on the door? *Who
did you think was at the door?
OR ASK, Can you describe the
whole scene, filling in the details? Can you
draw a picture of the scene?
If the child has continued problems
with story #2, give him only one or two
sentences at a time to see if his listening or
imagery response is better. Read this story
again and stop after, What’s for dinner?
Imagery is mental, not necessarily
visual. A dyslexic poet and philosopher said
that he and about ten percent of dyslexics
can not make visual images in their brains,
but they still have and use imagery. A blind
person has imagery. For most people
imagery is a very helpful tool for learning
and remembering. Good imagery is the
building block of thinking.
Score 25 Mental Imagery & 12 D.
Auditory Attention
No problem, 0
The child quickly and confidently
supplies answers from his imagery. He can
retell the story with details. His listening
Chapter 4. Comprehensive Basic Sensory Screening
attention was good, especially for the longer
story.
Minor problems, 1
The child has good to fair imaging
ability and can supply answers to most of
the questions. His listening attention is good
to fair.
Serious problems, 2
The child is weak in or not using his
imaging abilities. Responses were too
sketchy or minimal. He/she may have
comprehension and/or memory deficits.
Auditory attention seems to be weak.
26. Color overload, fluorescent lighting
White light and white paper reflect
all colors of the color spectrum. While most
people experience little difficulty with black
print on white paper a few people find that
black print on white paper stresses their
eyes. A few professionals say that some
individuals are highly sensitive to certain
colors in the white light spectrum. It is
thought that light sensitive individuals
experience “color overload”. Light
sensitivity is relatively rare and this
screening need only be done if the child
complains about his eyes or seems to avoid
bright light.
Blue spectrum light can cause the blues
The blue spectrum of fluorescent
lighting can also cause reading problems.
The human eye has developed over eons to
work with the broad spectrum light of the
sun. Indoor lighting is relatively new in the
time line of evolution. Blue spectrum, also
called cold, fluorescent lighting has been
used in schools and offices to keep expenses
down, but it can cause headaches and other
health problems with lower productivity.
The newer broad spectrum, also called
warm, fluorescent lighting needs to replace
55
blue spectrum lighting in schools and work
places.
Broad spectrum lighting
Accountants and others who use
paper and figures at work daily find blue-
green hues easier on their eyes than white.
Yellow legal pads have long been on the
market. Light sensitive individuals may do
better working with paper of a certain color
to block specific color irritation. Most
people perform reading and writing better
indoors under broad spectrum lighting than
they do with fluorescent lighting.
Fluorescent lights that blink can be
especially stressful to vision and have been
known to initiate seizures in youngsters who
are prone to having them. Broad spectrum
fluorescent lighting is now available for
classrooms.
Objective
Check for possible color overload, or
sensitivity to fluorescent lighting.
Instructions
You will need color transparencies
and colored paper. Show the child a page of
printed words or symbols on white paper.
ASK the child, “Do the words on this or
other white pages do funny things when you
try to read?” IF YES, ASK the child to
carefully explain what happens when he
tries to read black print on white paper. If
the child explains that the words seem to
move or come off the paper or that he sees
white rivers more than words on a page of
print you will want to proceed with this
screening. White spaces that run down a
page between the positive black print images
are called rivers.
Color transparencies and paper
Ask the child to identify letters or
numerals on white paper. Then place the
different colored transparencies over the
words and white paper. Ask the child if
56
reading is easier, more difficult, or about the
same with the various colored transparencies
over the page? Does the moving sensation
disappear with a particular color? Which
color, if any, is most helpful?
Ask the child if and how white paper
bothers his eyes? If there does seem to be a
problem, see if pastel colored papers for
writing or reading appear to alleviate this
problem. ASK, “Does reading and writing
on one of these colored pages make any
difference to your vision? If yes, Which
color is helpful? What difference do you
experience? Is the difference between white
and a particular color, a big difference or
barely noticeable?
Maybe it is the lights
If the difference with color
transparencies or colored paper makes little
difference then white paper is probably
okay. It may be the overhead fluorescent
lighting that is the problem. Ask the child if
she finds any difference working or reading
under incandescent, regular light or under
fluorescent lighting. Ask what type of
lighting is used at home for reading and
writing and which lighting is more
comfortable.
Score 26 Color overload
No problem, 0
The child indicates no particular
improvement in his ability to recognize
printed symbols with overlaid, colored
transparencies. Words do not appear to
come off the page. The child is comfortable
with white paper for reading and writing.
Fluorescent lights cause no noticeable
problems.
Minor problems, 1
The child has some visual
discomfort, but finds that colors make little,
if any, difference for reading or writing.
Fluorescent lights cause some difficulties.
Part 2. Sensory Dominant Screening
Serious problems, 2
The child says that words or lines
appear to move or change on the page. The
child remarks that there is a significant
improvement in his/her ability to “read”
when a particular color transparency is
placed over the page. The improvement
should be in the green-blue or red-yellow
range, but not in both. The child says that
using a specific colored paper makes writing
easier for her/him. Note which colors are of
significant help to the child. The child
notices that the fluorescent lighting gives her
headaches or otherwise bothers her.
27. Visual Motor or Eye-Hand
Coordination for Moving Objects
The eye hand coordination checked
earlier had to do with near vision tasks and
small muscles for writing and deskwork.
The objectives now will be to check visual
motor coordination for larger distances with
larger muscles. This is tested in two ways,
A. to reach and touch a moving object and
B. to throw and catch a ball.
27.A. Ability to accurately reach and
touch a moving object
Objective
The child can repeatedly touch a
randomly moving object within arm’s reach,
thus exhibiting good eye-hand control.
Instructions
One simple method to test eye-hand
coordination is to have the child sit at eye
level in front of you while you move your
finger or pencil top within her reach, 10 to
20 inches from her face. Tell her to place
her hand beside her ear each time and then
try to reach out and touch the pencil top with
her fingertip when you say NOW. Between
successive tries to touch your moving top, as
Chapter 4. Comprehensive Basic Sensory Screening
it is moved in front of her, the child should
return her finger to the side of her face
before reaching out again.
SAY, Now, starting at one-second
intervals and then a bit faster. Remind her
to move her hand back to her face between
taps. Move your top to various positions in
quick succession: above, below, in, out and
to the sides of the child’s face.
She should be consistently accurate
in touching your top and returning her hand
to her ear, even as you move slightly faster.
Children usually enjoy doing this exercise
with each other and it is good practice.
Score 27A. Reach and touch
No Problem, 0
The child is consistently accurate in
touching your moving top even as you move
faster.
Minor Problem, 1
The child is fairly accurate, doing a
little visual searching before contact and
missing a little as you move faster.
Serious Problem, 2
The child is quite slow, searching
visually for the tip before reaching out to
touch it and, or misses your top several
times after a couple of tries.
27 B. Ability to catch and throw balls.
Objective
The child aims correctly and finds
the target when throwing, or visually
follows the moving target to catch the ball.
Instructions
Check for adequate eye-hand
coordination by watching to see that the
child follows with his eyes the throw or
catch of a safe, non-threatening ball. You
could use newspaper balls, as described in
57
dominance testing or a four inch diameter
sponge ball.
1. Throw the ball into the basket
Tell the child to throw the ball at a
target, such as a wide mouthed waste basket
placed at or below hip level, a few feet in
front of this child. Place the basket the
distance of the child’s height from arm to
floor. Move it closer until the successful
distance is determined. Measure this
distance for scoring. The child has five tries
at throwing.
2. Throw and catch with a person
Tell the child to catch and throw the ball
to you or another person and make note of
the distance at which the child is accurate
and successful. This could mean that you
may have to be close enough to the child, at
first, to literally hand her the ball.
Tell the child to keep her eyes on the
ball during these activities. If the child
appears to have difficulty following the ball
with her eyes, but is able to throw the ball,
you should suspect visual coordination
problems and follow up with vision testing.
Score 27B Ability to catch and throw
No problem, 0
The child is able to perform the
activities described in an easy, capable
manner. He gets the ball in the basket at his
own height 3 out of 5 times and catches the
ball 3 of 5 times from 4 or more feet.
Minor problems, 1
The child gets 3 out of 5 balls in the
basket only if the basket is moved between 3
and 2 feet of a 4-foot or taller child. He
catches 3 of 5 balls within the 2 to 3 foot
distance. He can perform the activity, but
has a little difficulty or possible weakness.
Serious problems, 2
The child has poor eye-hand
coordination for throwing and catching. He
doesn’t look at the target or the ball. This
58 Part 2. Sensory Dominant Screening

child has noticeable difficulty, weakness, or SCREENING RESULTS

simply cannot perform this task
satisfactorily. He looks away while The need for professional intervention
throwing or catching. Any child who complains of any of
the following symptoms after using his/her
28. Sub-total Score Basic Vision and eyes should be referred to a vision specialist
Visual motor coordination or doctor.
• Headaches
Review the scores given for items 14 • Nausea
- 27 for an individual. State any problems in • Dizziness
a way that ensures their receiving follow • Burning or itching eyes
through attention and remediation and, or • Blurring vision
compensation. • Double vision
Accompany this referral with the
No problems, 0 results of your basic screening and
All vision scores in this section are 0, observations of this child.
no problems, or there is only one minor In fact, if you do not relate
problem. specifically to the optometrist or other
doctor, what you have discovered and why
Minor Problems, 1 you believe your findings could present
There are no more than three 1’s, No learning problems for a child, you will
2’s and the rest are 0’s. probably be told that there is nothing wrong
with the child’s eyes or vision.
Serious problem, 2
One or more scores of 2, more than The parent’s prerogative
three 1’s, or you believe two 1’s indicate a The decision to take a child to an eye
need for further investigation. doctor or follow up on this visual screening
outside of the classroom, is strictly the
parent’s prerogative. Even if the parents do
not want to take their child to a vision
specialist, for whatever reason, don’t give up
on the child. There are a number of
important ways you can help non-visual
students in your classroom.
The important process is to discover,
in each case, which is the predominant
learning mode for your student. Is the
learning strength more likely to be visual,
auditory, kinesthetic, or a specific
combination of these sensory strengths?
Also, does he/she tend to be more of a right
or left hemisphere thinker. Refer to the
AVK and Preference checklists for the
latter.

Chapter 5. Checking The “F’s” of Vision
Following, Fixating, Fusing,
Focusing, Figure-Ground, and Form
Discrimination, these are the F’s of Vision.
Screening them is crucial for getting to the
root of a child’s school problems related to
vision. Also, learning problems may be
prevented with early knowledge provided by
this screening.
Materials
1. Examiner’s specific instructions for
these visual observations
2. Each child’s vision screening form.
3. Examiner’s pen or pencil, pencils of
three colors (red, blue, green) for
students.
4. Examiner’s pointer
5. A pencil with an attractive top or several
pencil tops to keep the child’s attention.
6. The Albini Capital E chart for non-
readers, or the Snellen Letter chart for
those who know the letter names at an
automatic level, meaning they don’t
have to think about them.
7. A specimen capital E card - a two-inch,
black E on a white card.
8. Eye cover slips for each student, an
opaque two-inch square.
9. Masking tape or a washable marker to
mark a line on the floor.
10. The figure-ground and form
discrimination pages found in the
appendix.
11. Form discrimination demonstration
cards made by examiner.
General Instructions
For most of the following visual
observations the examiner seats herself or
stands, as before, at the child’s eye level.
Tell the child that you are going to do some
eye exercises with her. These exercises will
help her and she needs to cooperate to her
best ability. Nurture cooperation, as these
59
items require good concentration on the
child’s part.
Be sure the child understands what
you are saying to her. If you are not sure, do
spontaneous comprehension and attention
checks. You might drop a small object
beside the child and say, “Would you please
get that and hand it to me? Thank you.”
Chat a little to help the child relax.
When a child is very inattentive you
might try hand puppets to regain or hold his
attention. It’s exhausting, but in a worst
case scenario, it works.
Do relaxation exercises between
screening items, but do not let the child
manipulate his way out of this screening.
Give lots of praise and points toward little
prizes during these tests, but don’t give
distracting items during testing.
29. Focus: Albini’s Capital E or Snellen’s
Alphabet Chart for Visual Acuity.
Objective
Determine the ability to focus clearly
at a 20-foot, 6 meter, distance with each eye
and with both eyes together. Determine if
the better vision is on the dominant or non-
dominant side. Albini’s Capital E Chart can
be used with readers and non-readers alike
to check distance visual acuity and it is
included in the appendix. You might check
near vision focus with the Hole in the Card
Test described in the near vision dominance
test in Chapter 3 of Part 2.
Chart and foot placement
When a person knows the alphabet at
an automatic level, The Snellen Letter Chart
is usually used, when available. For all
others, use Albini’s Capital E Chart. These
chart tests have long been used to check for
near-sightedness. The chart should be
60
tacked to the wall in a well-lit area of the
room at the child’s eye level. There should
be no glare on the chart or in the child’s
eyes.
Clearly mark a line on the floor 20
feet (6 m) in front of the chart. A strip of
masking tape or a washable ink pen is
suitable to mark this toe line.
Have ready for use: the two inch
square, paper eye covers, your pointer,
which can be easily seen 20 feet away, the
child’s vision screening form and your
pencil. If possible, find a helper to record
scores for R, L and both eyes, as you watch
the chart and the child.
How to use Albini’s E Chart
Start at the top of the chart each
time, first with the right eye, then the left
and then both eyes together.
To the left of each line on the chart is
the acuity score for that line, given as:
20/200, 20/70, 20/30, on down to 20/10.
The average score, what the average person
can read at 20 feet, is the line marked 20/20.
If the final line read is 20/40, the top 20 is
the person being screened, the bottom
number, 40, is how far away the average
person stands to read that line. See the
earlier chapter on visual acuity for more
detailed explanations.
The top line will be the 20/200 line.
If the child shows no difficulty in pointing
his fingers in the same direction as the E
then point to E’s in different places on
consecutively lower lines with consecutively
smaller letters.
If the child appears unsure of the
direction of the E, point to other E’s
horizontally on that line. If the confusion
disappears and the child reads the rest of that
line, go on to the next lower line. You do
not have to point to every letter on every
line. When at the smallest print the child
can decipher, then have the child read across
that line. If he reads half of these and
misses half, the score will end in 5. E.g. He
Part 2. Sensory Dominant Screening
reads half of the 20/20 line correctly, his
score is 20/25.
You will mark the result of each test
as the lowest line, the smallest print that the
child can read across, without strain or
squinting.
Turn fingers like E
When you are both ready tell the
child to place his toes at the line on the
floor. Show him a capital E card, the two-
inch black E on the white card. Show the
child how he is to turn his hand so that his
fingers point in the same direction as the
open bars of the E. Turn the E in all four
directions: up, down, right and left.
SAY, “When I point to an E on the
chart, you are to point your fingers in the
same direction as the E on the chart. Do you
understand?” To build his confidence say,
“Let’s try. Can you turn your fingers this
way? Now this way and again. Yes, you
will be fine.” We will check the right eye
and then the left eye, and then both eyes.
Cover one eye
Show him how to gently cover one
eye and then the other with the eye-cover
paper. SAY, “This is how to cover one eye
while we check the other. Cover your eye
gently, don’t press on your eye.” Review
with him, which is his right eye and which is
his left. If he’s not sure of right and left,
mark an “R” with a washable ink pen, on the
back of the right hand. SAY, if this is your
right hand, show me your right eye. Very
good. And which is your left eye?
Excellent.
Give lots of praise as the child
responds correctly to your instructions. Tell
her to stand with her toes behind the line on
the floor. The examiner stands by the chart
to use the pointer. Carefully, watch the
child’s responses. Be sure to mark the
results next to the correct name and eye.
Chapter 5. Checking The "F's" of Vision
Show the direction with your fingers
Tell the child to cover his left eye
with his left hand and to use the other hand
to show the direction of the E to which you
are pointing. Continue down and across
until you have comfortable scores for the
right, the left and for both eyes. The final
scores are the numbers on the chart next to
the lowest line, which the child can
comfortably and clearly see, e.g. 20/20 or
20/15.
Score 29 Focus, E chart
No problems, 0
With or without prescriptive eyewear
the child can easily and confidently read the
20/20 line with either and both eyes
together. If he can read the 20/15 or 20/10
line on the chart with one eye, this eye is on
the same side as his dominant hand.
Minor problems, 1
The child’s best vision is 20/30.
Serious problems, 2
The child’s best vision in one or both
eyes is scored as 20/40 or worse. The child
squints, or shows signs of eyestrain as noted
in earlier vision tests. The eye opposite
his/her hand dominance has better acuity.
When this is the case check further with the
Fusion and String Knot tests to see how well
both eyes are working together.
30. Following or Tracking.
Objective
Determine if the child can easily and
automatically follow or track a moving
target with his eyes, without moving his
head.
Instructions
Sit or stand in front of the child at
the child’s eye level. Tell the child that you
61
are checking to see how well he moves his
eyes separately from his head. Explain to
the child how he must hold his head still
while he follows with both eyes. Show him
by moving your eyes right, left up and
down. Tell him to keep both eyes open
while his eyes follow an attractive pencil top
or the tip of your finger. You will hold the
visual target in front of the child’s face at his
eye level about 12 to 15 inches from his
eyes.
Move the eyes, not the head
The examiner must watch to see that
the child’s eyes move independently of the
head. The movement of the eyes must
coordinate with the movement of the visual
target.
If the child’s head starts to turn
remind him to face forward. If he can not
manage to face forward to follow with his
eyes, you can hold his head still for him.
Place your free hand on top of the child’s
head or under his chin. Then you can see
how well he can follow your target with his
eyes.
The signs to watch for
The examiner must continually
watch for answers to these questions.
1. Are both eyes following the moving tip,
or does one eye follow and the other turn
away?
2. Are the child’s eyes following smoothly
or jerkily?
3. Does he lose attention so that you have
to start again?
4. Do his eyes jump up?
5. Do the child’s eyes tear or does he
complain that this exercise hurts his
eyes. The “hurting eyes” may simply be
due to lack of eye exercise. Do not stop
this exercise unless you see that the child
is in serious distress. If that is so, this
child needs an immediate referral to a
vision specialist.
62
6. Watch to see if there are accompanying
movements of the tongue or other parts
of the body during any of the “F” visual
tests.
7. Check to see if he can think and move
his eyes at the same time. Ask her to
recite a memorized item like her address
or phone number while following the
target with her eyes. Doing the two
actions together indicates that she
doesn’t have to work or think about
them; they are both on automatic.
The bear’s nose
When you are both ready, SAY to
the child, Now I want you to face front and
keep your head still, while you move only
your eyes to follow the movement of this
little bear. SAY, Keep your eyes on this
little bear’s nose as I move it around. Don’t
take your eyes off the bear’s nose.
The bear’s nose is just an example of
a visual target for the child. You can use
any small target on the pencil top or your
fingertip. The examiner may want to lead
the child in a breathing and relaxation
exercise between changes in direction of the
target. Try not to let stress build up.
Moving the visual target
Move the pencil top at a steady pace,
not so fast as to make following difficult,
nor so slow as to make concentration
difficult. Move the pencil from the child’s
midline to about 12 inches to the right. This
should take about one second. (Count one
thousand and one, silently.) Move the target
back to center in another second. Then
move the target to the left and back to
center. Be sure the child’s head does not
move.
Then tell the child to continue to
follow the bear’s nose with his eyes as you
move the visual target vertically up above
the child’s head and then down below his
chin. SAY, Move only your eyes and look
up to follow the bear’s nose. Now look
Part 2. Sensory Dominant Screening
down. Good! Keep your eyes on the bear’s
nose, your head still. Then move the top
diagonally, from upper right to lower left
and reverse. Rest and remind the child and
yourself to breathe deeply.
Circle to the right, circle to the left
Now, move the tip in a circle to the
left and again to the right, at the same
moderate pace. Do this a few times each
way as the child follows smoothly with his
eyes--up, right, down and left and reverse.
Tell the child to say his phone number or
count to ten or some other simple,
memorized information while he is
following the moving top with his eyes.
Say, Very good!
ASK, * How many pencil tops do
you see? * Do you always see one (or two)
top(s)? Praise the child for his cooperation.
Say, You were wonderful. Thank you.
Maybe give him a sticker so that he will
want to be most cooperative in the AF@
tests that follow.
Score 30 Following or tracking
No problems, 0
The child keeps her head still and
moves her eyes smoothly and comfortably in
all directions with no loss of fixation on the
visual target. She can talk and follow with
her eyes simultaneously. She sees only one
pencil tip at all times.
Minor problems, 1
The child occasionally moves her
head or occasionally loses visual fixation on
the target. The child may complain that
these exercises make her eyes tired, but she
is able to complete this screening exercise.
Serious problems, 2
Note on the child’s form which symptoms
apply. The child
• Has continuous difficulty with visual
following or tracking
Chapter 5. Checking The "F's" of Vision
• frequently loses attention so that you
have to start again.
• can not move her eyes without *head or
*tongue movement, or *movement of
other parts of the body. State
specifically which movements were
noticed.
• Eye movement is jerky
• There is a loss of fixation on the visual
target.
• The child’s eyes jump up.
• One eye follows and the other turns
away.
• Her eyes tear during these eye exercises.
• complains of difficulty complying.
• sees two visual targets instead of one
(double vision).
• can not think, as in repeating a number,
and move her eyes at the same time
suggesting that eye movement is not at
an automatic level.
31. Fixation or Accommodation
Objective
The ability of the internal lens of the
eye to adapt for varying focal points is lens
accommodation. This exercise will
determine ease or difficulty in repeatedly
changing visual focus from near to far and
reverse.
Instructions
Choose a distant target for the child to look
at, such as a word on the chalkboard or
something 20 feet away. Your pencil top or
finger tip will be the near focus target. Tell
child that for this eye exercise she is going
to change her focus from near to far to near,
back and forth several times between two
targets. She is to see each target clearly
before moving her eyes in the opposite
direction.
63
Look here, look there
Hold the pencil tip about four to six
inches in front of the child’s eyes. SAY,
Look at the tip. Do you see it clearly? Now
look at the (distant target). Do you see it
clearly? Good. Now when I say, Look
here! you will look at this tip and see it
clearly. When I say, Look there! look at that
target and be sure you see it clearly. We
will do this back and forth, four or five
times. Are you ready?
Begin the exercise saying, “Look
here! See it clearly” and “Look there! See
it clearly.” Repeat these instructions four or
five times for each target. The child should
be able to shift the focus of her vision and
see each target clearly on command without
tiring or stress.
Score 31 Fixation
No problems, 0
The child can shift her focus
smoothly and comfortably from near to far
and back again four or five times.
Minor problems, 1
This task appears to cause minimal
stress in the child. Occasionally, she loses
clear focus on either target.
Serious problems, 2
This task appears difficult for the
child. She complains about her eyes tiring
or hurting during this task. The eyes get
watery or red. One eye seems to lag behind
the other or there is a loss of clarity or
attention on either target.
32. Fusion or Near point of Convergence
Objective
Determine the ability of the eyes and
brain to fuse two images, one from each eye,
into a single image.
64
Instructions
As you move the visual target toward
his/her nose the child should be able to keep
a single image to within two inches from his
nose when he will see two images. He
should recover binocular vision, one image,
at about four inches from the tip of the nose
as you pull the target away.
Moving toward eyes, one becomes two
Start with a stretch, relaxation and
good posture. SAY, “Let’s see how well
your eyes work as a team as I move this
pencil (or finger) toward and away from
your nose. Hold the tip about 13 inches in
front of the child’s nose. Choose a specific
target point, e.g. the nose of the figure on
your pencil top. SAY, “Keep your eyes on
the pig’s nose at the tip of the pencil. As I
bring the tip close to your nose tell me if and
when anything funny happens to the pencil”
Gradually move the pencil vertically,
in a straight line toward the child’s nose.
Mentally measure the distance from the
pencil to the tip of his nose when he tells
you that he now sees two pencils instead of
one. If he sees two pencils before the pencil
is two inches from his nose, continue
moving the pencil to within two inches of
his nose.
Moving away, two become one
Tell the child to keep his eyes and
attention on the pencil tip. Say, “Now, as I
move the pencil away from your nose tell
me when you see one pencil again.” Note
this distance. SAY, Let’s do this a few more
times to see if anything changes. Please say,
“Two.” when you see two pencils as I move
the tip toward your nose. Then say, “ One.”
when you see one pencil again as I pull the
pencil away.” Repeat this exercise three or
four times to see if fatigue becomes a factor.
Mark both of these measurements on
the child’s screening form,
a) the point at which she sees two images
Part 2. Sensory Dominant Screening
b) the point where she recovers binocular
vision and sees one image.
The dominant eye
The child should easily be able to
hold the single image, see one pencil, up to
two inches from his or her nose. Then he or
she will see two pencils as the eyes can no
longer converge or fuse two images into
one. Then one eye will usually turn out
leaving the dominant, near vision eye
focusing on the pencil.
When you back the pencil away from
the nose the child should easily be able to
recover his or her binocular vision and see
one pencil again at about four inches from
his or her face.
Score 32 Fusion
No problems, 0
The child is easily able to converge
and fuse the single images of two eyes into
one image to about two inches from his
nose. In other words, the child sees two
pencils at two inches and easily recovers
binocularity, seeing one pencil again, at
about four inches from his nose.
Minor problems, 1
The child’s eyes begin to fatigue
after three or four repetitions. She sees two
images four or five inches from her nose and
recovers binocular vision five or six inches
from her nose. She has a little difficulty
keeping both eyes focused on the pencil.
Serious problems, 2
The child *unconsciously pulls her
head away and *has noticeable difficulty
performing this exercise. She * loses
concentration or fixation on the pencil tip.
There * is an inability to maintain a single
pencil image to at least six inches from her
nose. (She reports seeing two pencils sooner
than six inches.) There * is an inability to
recover binocularity and see one pencil
Chapter 5. Checking The "F's" of Vision
again by eight inches from the nose. The *
eyes water or the child * complains that her
eyes hurt. Note symptoms that apply.
33. Figure ground
Objectives
Determine if the child is easily able
to find the hidden figures or recognize
objects or outlines in a background of other
objects or lines. Once recognized in a 2-
dimensional picture, can the child use a pen
or pencil to outline the figures without being
confused by background lines.
Background-foreground
Children need to build visual
interpretation abilities, which allow them to
clearly differentiate a figure from its
background. Pre-school children should be
getting daily practice in finding something
they want that might be mixed in with
something else. Can he see his toy bear
tossed in with similar toys or colors?
Once the child is adept at finding
things in her three-dimensional world she
can begin finding hidden figures in two-
dimensional pictures. The child who is
getting ready to read and write will need to
be able to differentiate two-dimensional
objects from backgrounds. Hidden pictures
are popular two-dimensional figure-ground
activities for children.
Instructions and Materials
Each child will need the figure-
ground form found in the appendix. Each
will also need three colored pencils, red,
blue and green. Before being told to outline
figures in this figure-ground test the child
needs to have adequate to good eye-hand
control with a writing instrument. To check
this, make sure he can print his name legibly
on a line.
The figure-ground page has four
exercises of varying difficulty. Fold the
page so that only the one item being worked
65
on is seen. Refold the page to show each
exercise in sequence. Allow a maximum of
one minute for finding and outlining the cat
in zigzag lines, more time if coloring it.
Allow three to four minutes for outlining
each of the other figure-ground exercises.
Minimum reminder instructions for the
figure ground exercises are found on the FG
exercise page.
Item 1. Zigzag lines over outline
Most children easily identify the
figure of the sleeping cat covered with
zigzag lines, but a few may have difficulty
with this item. If so, they will probably
need further professional screening.
Show figure 1. to the child. ASK,
What do you see here? If the child tells you
that he/she sees the cat, tell them to outline
the cat by tracing around the figure with
their finger. When that is done well, you
might SAY, Now, outline the cat with a
colored pencil or crayon. If he/she shows
some confusion in tracing the outline, ASK,
Is the figure’s outline confusing? Can
he/she figure it out with a little more time?
If not, say good enough and move on.
Depending on how well the outlining
is performed with time available, tell the
child to color the cat without coloring the
background. SAY, See if you can color the
cat without coloring anything else. Notice
and rate the amount of ease or struggle with
which the child works on these tasks.
Item 2. Three overlapping apples
Give the child this picture, outlines
of three apples and three pencils of different
colors: red, blue and green. It may be best
to give one pencil at a time. SAY, Outline
each apple in a different color. Outline one
with the red pencil, the second one blue and
the third one green. Notice if there is figure
ground confusion where any color lines
move markedly off the original black line
and toward the other outlines.
66
Item 3. Two overlapping fish outlines
These totally overlapping fish
outlines are more confusing and difficult to
untangle than are the apple outlines. Again,
notice the child’s degree of ease or difficulty
while he/she outlines each fish in a different
color without confusing the outline of one
with the outline of the other.
Item 4. Hidden figure of an elephant
The elephant in the grass has some
confusing lines. See if the child can
distinguish the elephant outline from the
surrounding lines with the use of a colored
pencil.
Score 33 Figure ground
No problems, 0
The child has no difficulty seeing
objects in confusing background lines. She
is able to do age appropriate two
dimensional figure ground exercises. For
the figure ground page here she is able to
see and outline the cat, the three apples, the
two fish and the elephant. Considering
her/his age and visual motor development,
she/he does well in outlining and coloring
these objects without becoming confused by
the background or overlapping lines.
Minor problems, 1
The child can see the cat, apples, fish
and elephant. He can color in the cat in the
zigzag lines. The child confuses a few
overlapping lines.
Serious problems, 2
The child can not see or outline the
figure of the cat in the zigzag lines. He/she
is often confused by overlapping lines and
has difficulty finding and outlining or
coloring the elephant.
Part 2. Sensory Dominant Screening
34. Form discrimination
Objective
Determine if the child can see 2
dimensional forms on paper in a consistently
correct fashion by discriminating between
straight and curved lines of letters. This
visual discrimination test is the equivalent of
the auditory discrimination test.
The world remains relatively stable
despite changes in brightness, color, size or
shape. We can tell if we’re seeing a ball
even if it’s far away. Most pre-school
children have learned to distinguish the
basic shapes like circles, rectangles and
triangles. In preparation for learning to read
and write, one needs to differentiate between
straight and curved lines and the shapes they
enclose to form letters or numerals in
relation to the lines and spaces on which
they are drawn. This takes practice.
Preparation
You will need a stopwatch or a
watch with a second hand to time these
activities. A form discrimination page is in
the appendix. The Century Gothic font is
used on that page because of its simplicity of
lines.
For an individual or group test, the
examiner should have ready to show, five or
six-inch diameter diagrams, on separate
cards. In black ink on white or ivory card
stock, draw, between top, middle and
bottom writing lines, one figure on each card
of the following items. Straight lines as in 1
or I and the intersecting angles made when
straight lines cross or meet each other as in
K or X.
Also prepare cards to show curved
lines as in C or O, and the shapes the curved
lines make when intersecting or meeting
other lines, as in S or D.
Each child will need two colored
pencils, one red to outline circles or curves
and one blue to outline straight lines. Each
Chapter 5. Checking The "F's" of Vision
needs a copy of the form discrimination
page of letters.
This test has 2 sections with 15 items
in each. Each section has three rows of five
items. Section One has mainly, either
straight line or curved line letters to outline.
But Section Two has many combination
letters. When scoring, either the whole
letter is correctly or incorrectly outlined. If
a child does well in part one, but misses
combination letters, then start instruction in
visual discrimination at the point of success
and move out from there.
Instructions
In preparation for discriminating
letter and numeral shapes, show or review
with the children various rounded or curved-
line shapes such as dishes, pupils of eyes,
spoons, et cetera. Then review angular or
straight-line shapes such as tables, paper,
leaves, et cetera. Allow the children to
provide input in this area. Show and give
instruction with the straight line and curved
line cards. Review instruction with the
children in the lines used for writing (top,
middle, bottom or base lines). Then review
the lines, intersections, angles and shapes
used in making letters.
Sample items
Sample items (I, c, R, then P, m, J)
are to be performed orally with the children
as follows. Is I a straight line or curved line
letter? Yes, I is a straight line. And c is a
straight or curved line letter? Yes, c is a
curved letter. Now what is R? It has a
straight line back, a round or curved top and
an angled line foot kicking off the bottom of
the curve. It is a combination letter, having
straight and curved shapes in it.
Let’s outline together, the letters I, c
and R. If the lines are round or curved,
outline them with your Red pencil because
Round and Red both start with the R
sound. If the lines are straight, outline those
in Blue because Blue and Back both start
67
with the B sound. Let’s see how we did?
Good. Now try P, m and J. After, these
samples are corrected and understood, SAY,
Now, you are ready to outline the next rows
on your own. Fold the paper to show only
rows 1, 2 and 3 or only one section at a time.
Direct the children’s attention to each line in
succession.
SAY, Remember Red for Round,
Blue for straight Backs. Don’t be too slow,
but do work carefully. This is a timed test,
but you will have 120 seconds, plenty of
time, for each part of this exercise. When I
say GO, pick up your Red pencil and outline
all the Round, curved or curved parts of
letters in rows one, two and three. SAY, Go
as you start your timing. Then, SAY STOP
after 2 minutes. Adjust timing if good
reason makes it necessary.
SAY, When I again say Go, pick up
your Blue pencil and outline only the
straight line or straight-line parts of letters in
those same three rows. Allow 2 minutes for
blue. Check to see how the children
understand and are managing the work
before going on to part 2. Do not correct
papers here, but review orally if needed.
Section One
1. A, K, O, M, U
2. V, C, N, G, T
3. E, F, Q, H, S.
Section 2 contains more lower case
and combination letters. Give directions as
before. Allow one minute on each line for
red, round and one minute, more, for blue, a
total of 6 minutes for section two.
Section Two
4. b, p, w, r, z
5. t, d, n, e, k
6. B, f, D, I, h
68 Part 2. Sensory Dominant Screening

Score 34 Form Discrimination

No problems, 0
The kindergarten child correctly
identifies all or 90%, 27 of 30, items. If all
preparation was carefully undertaken, more
than 3 errors could indicate minor problems.

Minor problems, 1
The kindergarten-aged child
correctly identifies 80%, 24/30 items, or
misses or misidentifies no more than 20% or
6/30 items. Score an older or younger child
accordingly.

Serious problems, 2
The kindergarten-aged child misses
or misidentifies more than 30% or 9/30 of
either set, or both sets of letter shapes.

35. Score sub-total “F’s of Vision”

No problems, 0
All the vision scores in this chapter
were 0’s, or there is only one A1.@

Minor problems, 1
The scores are no more than two 1’s,
no 2’s, and the rest are A0’s.@

Serious problems, 2
One or more 2-scores, or more than
two 1’s, or you believe two 1’s indicate a
need for further investigation in this area.

Chapter 6. Visual Convergence and The String Knot Test
Optical illusion
A fellow teacher asked me once, “If
you could do only one vision test, which one
would you do?” Without hesitation, I
answered, “The String Knot Test.” Why?
Because this test quickly, easily and
inexpensively discovers more of the hidden
vision problems of children and adults than
any other test I’ve come across.
The String Knot test is an optical
illusion test, which indicates whether the
two eyes are, or are not, working together as
a team. Visual convergence is the ability of
our two eyes to work in coordination with
each other so that our brain interprets one
three-dimensional image from each of the
two images sent to it by our eyes.
Convergence of the eyes is also
called eye coordination. It takes
coordination for our eyes to focus together
on a single target. And this coordination,
this integrated action of the brain and many
muscles, like any other voluntary muscle
skill, takes practice.
Movement aids visual development
Optometrists say that convergence
develops around age two or earlier. A
toddler, when learning to walk, is also
learning to coordinate his vision with his
movement within his environment. Visual
convergence and visual coordination with
69
one’s movement and with one’s other
senses, are learned skills, which rely on our
two eyes being aimed at one target, looking
in the exact same direction at the same time.
Good vision development also
depends on a non-restrictive and active
environment. Children will have poor visual
development if they are watching television
or screens for hours each day. Instead of
sedentary activities, they need to be running,
jumping and playing ball games, doing
things that build total brain and body
coordination. To some adults, children
appear to be hyperactive. The children are
merely expressing their inborn need to move
and to coordinate movement with senses.
Screening for convergence overlooked
We seldom think about the physical
training of our eyes in order to improve our
vision. Perhaps we should. The ability of
our two eyes to work together as a team is
extremely important, especially for near
point vision tasks.
Screening for this ability is most
frequently overlooked. Good vision
depends not only on the clarity of vision of
each eye, but on the ability of the eyes to
simultaneously and automatically see and
send one message to our brains.
70
Binocular vision
Each of our eyes, because of the two
placements in our heads, sends a slightly
different picture to the brain. When our
brains integrate the two perspectives into
one view, we have depth or binocular vision.
With binocular vision, there is an
overlapping area of view at the center of our
focus. This overlap of vision from each eye
is interpreted or perceived by our brains as a
three-dimensional view controlled by our
dominant eye.
Hunting animals: cats, dogs, birds of
prey and human beings, have eyes that are
centrally placed in front of our heads so that
we will have good depth perception. Those
creatures who are preyed upon: little birds,
rabbits, ducks, deer, and the like, have their
eyes placed farther to the sides of their heads
which gives them a wider peripheral view.
This wide view of surroundings allows these
animals to see an attacker and run before it
gets them.
Invisible perception problems in brain
Our centrally placed eyes must be
looking at a single target, in coordination
with each other, in order to direct
themselves to one focal point. A visual
convergence problem is usually much less
obvious than a crossed eye condition. Poor
or lacking convergence may be caused by a
weakness in one or more of the muscles that
turn the eyes, but more commonly it is
caused by improper control of those
muscles, which soon enough leads to
perception problems in the brain.
Poor convergence, when spotted
early enough, can often be corrected by
specific eye exercises. But before exercises
can help, improper convergence must be
discovered early enough in a child’s
development to allow changes in the brain.
Many eye doctors believe that visual
development is complete around age seven
and that it is much more difficult to change
Part 2. Sensory Dominant Screening
visual skills after that age. But it is not
impossible.
Symptoms of vision problems
When the eyes do not work together
as a team, the problems presented could be,
* double vision, * lazy eye or amblyopia, *
greater effort required to maintain single
vision and * loss of depth perception.
The common symptoms of such
visual problems are *headache, *early visual
fatigue, *avoidance of visual tasks,
*irritability and *poor visual concentration.
In the classroom, children with
visual problems tend to be loquacious,
continually chattering, noisy and often
demanding attention in unorthodox ways.
They are probably trying to send the
message that they are smart even though
their visual problems prevent them from
being good readers.
Visual Convergence - String Knot Test
Fortunately for us there is this fairly
simple screening device, the String Knot
Test. The purpose of the String-Knot is to
check the person’s ability to aim and
coordinate the eyes on a target. In this test
we concentrate on the near-point target,
only, since this is the distance requirement
for reading and writing.
Another version of this test is called
Brock’s String Test. Varieties of this test
were taught to interested teachers in separate
workshops given by different optometrists.
The string knot test has been completely
reorganized here for ease of comprehension
and use.
Familiarity with string knot test
Every examiner planning on using
the String Knot test with children should
have previously familiarized herself with the
test. This can be done by studying the test
questions and possible answers and by
trying the String Knot test on herself and
Chapter 6. Visual Convergence and The String Knot Test
practicing the test with other adults and then
with children who have good coordination.
The examiner needs to understand
the terminology of the test and the possible
interpretations of the answers. She needs to
be ready to knowledgeably discuss the test
results with other involved adults.
Caution to examiners
Practice with and personal
difficulties with taking this test, taught me
that the questions are not always easily
answered. It is an optical illusion test with
questions and answers that are not as simple
as they seem. This test must be
administered with special patience and
understanding. No one should give it unless
they have first taken it and can understand
the complexities of unequal vision.
For example: when the single string
becomes two in front of one’s eyes as it
should and one string appears brighter than
the other as is often the case, it is not always
easy for the child or the adult to say which
string is brighter because the strings appear
to cross.
Right eye string from left ear, vice versa
It is good to remember that while
both eyes are focused on the knot, the right
eye sees the string appear to come from the
left ear area or left side of the face and cross
over at the knot to the right side and vice
versa. The left eye sees the string appear to
come from the right ear and cross over to the
left side. See the illustration.
When the subject holds the string on
the end of his/her nose and looks at a fixed
point on the string, an optical illusion is
created which gives us insight into how the
eyes are teaming, working together as a
team.
Some bright youngsters will think
you are trying to fool them when they see
two strings, when they know there really is
only one string. A simple explanation of the
fact that each eye sees a slightly different
71
picture may put them at ease. Seeing that
peers also see two strings really helps.
Main diagnoses of String Knot Test
The four main diagnoses of vision
problems discovered with this test are as
follows.
1. Over or Under convergence - The focal
point of the eyes is closer to, or farther
from the eyes than it should be.
2. Suppression of either eye - One eye is
stronger than the other and overpowers
the weaker eye, or the eyes switch
control from one to the other.
3. Vertical or spatial imbalance - The
view from one eye is higher than, or
appears to be coming from a slightly
different angle, than the view from the
other eye.
4. Visual stress – Mental and visual stress
caused by difficulty in keeping a target
in focus, due to one of the other
imbalances.
Optimal teaming
If there are no vision problems and
the eyes are teaming optimally, then, while
the eyes are focused on the knot, the subject
should see two strings of equal and steady
brightness, which appear to cross through
the center of the knot. The subject should
see only one knot while his/her eyes are
focused on that knot.
String-Knot preparation
Since this test can be used later as an
exercise to improve eye muscle balance, it is
suggested that you prepare a string with
knots for each subject, which he/she can
practice with at home and at school. You
can use contrasting colored yarn for the
string and for the double knots. Cut a 40
inch or one meter, length of yarn, for each
subject. About one inch, 2.5 cm, from each
end of the string twist and tie single knots.
With these end knots the string will not
72
easily slip from the child’s or the examiner’s
hand.
With darker, contrasting yarn tie a
double knot, one knot on top of the other,
about 12 to 15 inches away from the
proximal end of the string, the end nearest
the child’s eyes. This target knot placement
is the average near vision distance. This
distance can be measured for each child, as
the distance from the elbow to the knuckle
of the middle finger on the back of the hand.
Holding the string
The test subject holds the near end of
the string at the end of his/her nose with
his/her elbow pointing down towards the
floor. The examiner can hold the other end
of the string just tight enough to take up any
slack. The string must be held straight out
from the subject’s nose parallel with the
floor and directly between the subject’s eyes
at right angles with the face and with the
floor.
Tape string to wall
The better alternative is to tape the
distal end of the string to the wall. This will
free the examiner’s hands for recording
results and protect the subject from a
wavering string. Tape the string under the
distal end knot to the wall at the same height
as the proximal end that the child is holding
on his/her nose.
Have the child walk up to the wall
holding the near end of the string on his
nose to find the correct height for the string.
Tape or tack the distal end of the string on
the wall and ask the subject to slowly move
straight back so as to take up the slack in the
string. As he moves back, be sure the string
remains centered between the subject’s eyes
and between the floor and ceiling, in other
words, keep right (90 degree) angles at all
intersections of the string.
Part 2. Sensory Dominant Screening
String-Knot questions and observations
The examiner needs the String Knot
Test questions, a pencil and the subject’s
profile form. Remember to be patient and
relaxed as you wait for the subject to answer
your questions. Both examiner and subject
could take a few deep breaths to encourage a
relaxed attitude for testing.
SAY to the student, There are no
right or wrong answers to these tests, there
are only observations of what happens. This
is like a magician’s test. Things may or may
not be where they seem to be. That’s to be
expected. If you are asked to touch
something, and it isn’t there, that’s okay.
The important thing is to keep your finger
exactly where you first touched and not
move the finger.
This is a diagnostic test, like taking
your temperature with a fever thermometer.
The reading is no good if it is changed
before being read. The first finger
placement gives the correct measurement.
Watch for Visual stress
Visual stress is indicated if the subject
shows any kind of strain or difficulty in
cooperating in this test.
1. The subject may see two strings cross at
the ideal distance, but he/she may be
having difficulty in maintaining this
visual balance.
2. Look for *complaints, *pulling the head
back, or *to either side, *watering eyes,
*other signs of discomfort.
Start each sub-test with
“WHILE LOOKING AT THE KNOT…”
Remind the person that this test
tricks the brain. Say, Keep your focus or
eyes on the knot while answering questions
about what you see. Hold the string still and
straight.
Chapter 6. Visual Convergence and The String Knot Test
36. Over or under convergence
Objective
Determine if over or under
convergence of the eyes is a problem. Over
or under convergence is indicated when
1. more than one target knot is seen.
2. the knot or the string crossing is seen
before or after the fixation point. The
placement of the crossing is determined
with item 37 to provide a time lapse
between touching the knot and the string
crossing, but it is scored with item 36,
convergence.
36 A. How many Knots
1. While looking at the knot, how many
knots do you see?
2. Do you always see one knot or do you
always see two knots?
3. Do you sometimes see one knot and
sometimes two knots?
4. Is it easy or difficult to keep a single
knot in focus?
36 B. Touch the knot
The child (person) reaches out and
touches the place on the string where he
thinks he sees the knot. The knot may not
be at the place he touches the string and he
will want to correct himself. Remind him
that he is correct the first time he touches the
knot or string.
Before he moves that finger take
note of how many inches or cms. from the
nose, the finger is initially placed. Make
sure he was looking at the knot when he
tried to touch it.
SAY, Remember this test sometimes
tricks the eyes, but it is like the fever
thermometer, useless if changed. Keep your
eyes on the knot while answering questions.
5. While looking at the knot, show me with
your finger where you see the knot.
73
Hold your finger there; do not move it so
that the distance can be measured.
Score 36 Over/Under convergence
No problems, 0
The eyes converge on the knot and
always see only one knot. The finger is
placed within an inch, either side of the
knot, or either side of the strings crossing,
and there is no visual strain or stress.
Minor problem, 1
The subject may see two knots at times,
but sees one knot most of the time. The
child touches the knot or the strings
crossing, between one and two inches in
front of or behind the knot. Note the
distance on the profile and whether it is
before or after the knot.
Serious problems, 2
Convergence of the eyes is a
problem when the subject sees two knots
sometimes or most of the time and
especially if he/she sees two knots all of the
time and can not maintain one knot with
both eyes focused at the knot. It is difficult
to maintain only one knot in focus.
When touching the knot or the place
where the strings cross, over-convergence is
shown if the crossing or knot is seen more
than 2 inches closer to the nose than the
actual intersection. The eyes would be
turning in too much toward the nose.
The eyes are under-converging when
the knot or the string crossing touch is more
than 2 inches farther away from the nose
than the actual knot placement The farther
touch shows that the eyes are not turning in
towards the nose enough.
74
37. Suppression of vision of either eye
Objective
Determine if suppression of either or
both eyes exists. Suppression is indicated
when
1. only one string is seen.
2. one string disappears and then reappears;
one string blinks on and off.
3. both strings blink on and off.
4. gaps or dull spaces in the string or
strings are seen.
5. one string appears brighter than the
other. The brighter string indicates a
stronger eye.
6. string brightness switches from one eye
to the other. Switching brightness
indicates visual circuit imbalance.
7. the subject attempts to move herself, or
moves the string, to the right or left, out
of the right angle stance between the
string and the face, or between the string
and the floor.
37 A. Suppression-How many Strings
1. While looking at the knot, how many
strings do you see? If two, ask
2. Do you always see two strings at the
same time? If unsure, ask
3. Do you sometimes see one string and
sometimes two strings, or always two?
If one string, ask
4. Do you always see one string?
If the subject can see only one string and
always one string, with both eyes open and
focusing on the target knot, then the image
from one eye is being completely
suppressed, or one eye is not functioning.
To see which is the suppressed eye ask,
5. Which side of your face or ear is the
string you see coming from?
Recall that the right eye sees the string
coming from the left ear and vice versa. If
he sees only one string coming from the left
Part 2. Sensory Dominant Screening
ear, then the left eye is suppressed or not
functioning. (No string is seen from that
eye’s view.) The right eye sees the string
coming from the left ear and crossing over
to the right side.
Whenever a suppression problem exists,
check to see which eye is, or is not, having
the problem by finding out which side of the
face is connected to the string in question.
37B. String brightness
6. While looking at the knot, are both
strings equally bright or does one seem
to be brighter than the other?
7. If one string appears to be brighter than
the other, the brighter string is coming
from which ear? Right ear says the left
eye is stronger, etc. The brighter,
constant string will indicate the stronger
eye.
8. Does string brightness switch from one
eye to the other, switching back and
forth?
37C. Blinking strings
Blinking on and off indicates inadequate
balance between the two visual circuits, the
right and left eyes. If both strings blink on
and off, vision may be switching from one
eye to the other. If one string blinks, this
indicates a weaker visual circuit. Check
which eye sees the blinking string
9. While looking at the knot, are the strings
equally clear and steady, or does one
string appear to blink on and off? OR
10. Do both strings seem to blink on and
off?
If one string blinks on and off, ask
11. From which side of your face do you see
the blinking string?
Chapter 6. Visual Convergence and The String Knot Test
37D. Bright or dull gaps in strings
Gaps in the string indicate selective
suppression of one eye. If spaces or gaps
are seen, which eye sees them? Ask for a
specific description of where the gaps occur.
12. While looking at the knot, does one
string have bright and dull spaces or
gaps in it? If yes, which eye sees them?
Describe where they are on the string.
37E. String crossing, convergence
13. While looking at the knot, show me with
your finger where you see the strings
cross. Hold your finger there; don’t
move it.
Take note of how many inches from
the nose the subject initially places his/her
finger to indicate where he/she sees the
strings cross. Mark this answer with
convergence scores, 36.
Score 37 Suppression
No problems, 0
No suppression problems were
found. The child sees two equally bright,
equally steady, strings all of the time.
Minor problems, 1
Two strings are seen all of the time,
but minor, very occasional flashing or
blinking is noticed. There is some difficulty
in maintaining two strings in focus.
Serious problems, 2
Only one string is seen. One or both
strings blink on and off. One string is
brighter than the other, or has gaps in it.
String brightness switches back and forth
between eyes. The child moves the string or
his head or shows other signs of discomfort
during testing. Be sure to mark all answers
on the profile form.
75
38. Vertical Imbalance, String over top
Objective
Determine whether vertical
imbalance of the eyes might exist. Vertical
imbalance is indicated when one string
appears to cross over the top of the other. If
one string appears higher than the other, the
two eyes are probably not in vertical
alignment. This could cause visual fatigue.
If one string appears to go over the top,
determine whether the high string is from
the right or left eye?
1. While looking at the point where the
strings appear to cross, do both strings
appear to go in to each other?
2. Does one string appear to cross on top of
the other? Which ear, eye?
Score 38 Vertical Imbalance
No problems, 0
The strings appear to go in to each
other.
Minor or Serious problems, 2
One string appears to go over the top
of the other. The eye doctor needs to
determine the seriousness of this problem.
39. Spatial Imbalance, Side of Head
Objective
Determine if a problem exists with
spatial imbalance. The strings should
appear to be level, coming from the same
place on each side of one’s head. Spatial
imbalance exists if the strings appear to
come from different places on each side of
the head, one higher than the other. Spatial
imbalance could indicate problems with
visual spatial integration and visual stress.
If the strings appear to come from different
places on each side of the head, ask, What
do you see? Write down what the child
76
describes and note which string placement
appears higher or otherwise different.
Indicate which string position is related to
the right eye and which to the left eye.
1. While looking at the knot, do the strings
appear to come from the same place on
each side of your head?
2. While looking at the knot, does one
string seem to be coming from a higher
or different place on your head
compared to the other?
Score 39 Spatial Imbalance
No problems, 0
The strings appear to be coming
from the same place on both sides of the
head.
Serious or Minor Problems, 2
The strings appear to be coming
from different places on each side of the
head. The eye doctor will need to determine
the seriousness of this problem.
40. Visual Stress from String-Knot Test
Objective
Determine a level of mental and
visual stress during and at the end of this
String-knot test. The person taking the test
may have seemed okay with knot and string
placement and the rest, but as the test comes
to a close, strain or stress could become
more apparent.
1. How was this test for you? Did you find
it easy, not so easy, or difficult?
2. Was it pleasant or unpleasant?
3. What is your stress level now? Are you:
*Feeling good, not stressed, *A little
stressed or tired, *Very stressed or tired?
4. Are your eyes feeling fine or are they a
little or very tired?
Part 2. Sensory Dominant Screening
Score 40 Visual Stress
No problems, 0
The child moved through this test
easily and appears to have no convergence
problems.
Minor problems, 1
The child does not appear to have
visual convergence problems, but this was
not an easy test for her/him. He/she sees
two strings cross at the correct distance, but
seems to have minor difficulty maintaining
visual balance.
Serious problems, 2
The child has obvious stress related
to taking this test. Some of the following
problems exist: *she pulls the head back, or
*off center, *her eyes water or *are tired,
*she wants test to end. *He/she tells you
that the test was difficult and stressful.
41 Sub-total Score, String-Knot Test
No problem, 0
The student appears to have good
visual convergence with no visual stress.
The knot is seen as single and at the correct
distance. Both strings appear equally bright
with no gaps, and appear to go in to each
other. The strings come from the same
places near each ear.
Minor problem, 1
The student appears to have adequate
visual convergence, but some stress is
apparent. The eyes tend to tire during these
tests.
Serious problem, 2
The student appears to have visual
convergence problems. Fill in which eye, R
or L, or both, as with both strings flashing.
Be sure to detail on the student’s profile
form any problems that apply.
-----------------------------------
Chapter 6. Visual Convergence and The String Knot Test 77

Communicate test results to others No problem, 0

ASK when and if the child was seen There are no apparent vision
by an eye doctor to check his vision, even if problems, all test scores are 0’s or only two
the vision seems fine. The vision exam is a or three very minor problems.
number one priority for every school child,
even, or especially, if it is pre-school. Minor problems, 1
Make a copy of your test results to There are No serious problems.
share with the parents, an optometrist or There are two or three minor problems that
other trained vision specialist who will may not require screening by a vision
follow up on your observations. Make sure specialist. Note which for future reference.
students who have demonstrated difficulties
with any vision screening observation Serious problems, 2
receive professional help. There are one or more serious vision
problems, 2’s, or three or more minor
A qualified vision specialist problems, suggesting the need for screening
When helping the parents seek out a by a vision specialist or vision therapist.
vision specialist, tell them to be sure that Note which tests and items by name and
specialist is qualified and willing to number, plus other important details.
investigate and attempt to remediate all
aspects of vision, not just acuity and Total Vision Score, 42 is 0, 1, 2
prescription lenses. Remember, most
learning disabled students have vision Recommendations are to be written
problems that were not helped with eyewear. on the student profile with dates for follow-
Ask the doctor to provide the teacher and up evaluation.
parents with a copy of his/her report and
recommendations.
If visual exercises to improve visual
coordination are prescribed for this student
to practice at home or at school ask for
specific instructions. The school
instructions need to be something the
student can practice on her own. Teachers
and parents should understand how and
when the exercises are to be practiced, and
know what the goal is and how to follow up
on that goal.

42.Total Vision Score-

Basic vision (items 14-27), “F’s” of vision
(items 29 - 34), String Knot (36-40)
Sub-Totals:
28. Basic Vision Screening Total- 0, 1, 2.
35. F’s of Vision Total- 0, 1, 2.
41. String Knot Test Total- 0, 1, 2.
78 Part 2. Sensory Dominant Screening

Chapter 7. Screening The Neuro-Muscular System For Strength and Coordination
Plus - Impressions of Intelligence and Emotional and Physical Health
Relating to a center
There are four main groups of
muscles that move our skeletons about in
our symmetrical, two sided bodies. There
are muscles, which relate to the front and
back of our bodies. The flexors, from the
Latin root meaning to bend or fold, and the
extensors, from the Latin means to stretch
out.
Then there are those muscles, which
relate to the right and left halves of our
bodies, the adductors and abductors. The
arm and leg, finger and toe adductors pull
these parts down, in and together toward that
right-left center or median plane of our
bodies.
The word ducere in Latin comes
from the word for a duke, meaning someone
who leads. Ab means away and ad means
toward, so an adductor is something, in this
case, a muscle, which leads toward the
center between right and left.
Two imaginary planes of the body
These four main groups of muscles
relate to two imaginary planes or lines
passing through our bodies. The flexors and
extensors bend or straighten our body parts
in relation to our front or back along our
frontal plane. If you could see the frontal
plane it would be like a line that separates
the face from the back of the head going
through our ears. It would separate our
chest from our back and the fronts of our
arms and hands, the fronts of our legs and
feet from the backs of these limbs.
The adductors and abductors pull our
arms and legs toward or away from the
imaginary line or plane that separates our
right halves from our left halves. This is
called the median or sagital plane. If you
could see this plane it would go from front
79
to back between our eyes, through the
centers of our noses and mouths, down
through our belly buttons and between our
legs.
Moving on an angle
So basically exercises are forward
and backward flexion and extension, bend or
stretch, or they lead parts of the body toward
or away from the median plane between left
and right sides. They lift out or pull in and
usually on a diagonal rather than a straight
line.
Most of our muscles, attached by
tendons to our bones, pull in diagonal lines
toward and away from our body’s center.
The arm flexors pull down and across our
bodies making an AX@ shape. The
extensors pull up and out extending that
AX@ shape.
SECTION IV
Screening the neuromuscular system.
43. General Flexor strength and agility
44. Vestibular balance in flexion
45. General Extensor strength and agility
46. Hand and Finger strength
A. Finger Adductors
B. Finger Abductors
C. Thumb Opposition
47. Hip and Shoulder strength and agility
48. General Body Coordination, Balance
49. Rhythm and Timing
50. Total Neuromuscular Score
Objective
Check to see that all muscles and
therefore the nerves supplying them are in
good working order by determining strength,
flexibility, motion and coordination.
80
Score each of the exercises for
neuromuscular system strength and
coordination.
No problem, 0
The participant is able to perform the
activities described in an easy, capable
manner.
Minor problems, 1
The person can perform the activity,
but has a little difficulty or possible
weakness.
Serious problems, 2
The person is having noticeable
difficulty or weakness, or simply cannot
perform the exercise correctly.
43. General Flexor Strength, Agility and
Coordination
Instructions, Curl your fingers and toes
One of the best ways to test all of the
major flexor muscles of the body at one time
is to have children lie supine, meaning on
their backs, preferably on a firm mat. Then
tell them to use their flexor muscles to curl
their fingers and wrists, bend their elbows
and lift their arms up and forward at the
shoulders and over their faces. Then tell
them to lift their heads by bending their
necks forward and at the same time flex
their abdominal and hip muscles by pulling
the shoulders toward the hips and vice versa.
The leg flexors bend the knees, pull the
ankles down and curl the toes.
To instruct children in how to do this
exercise when they are supine on the mat,
you might SAY
“Curl your fingers, curl your toes.
Pull your knees up to your nose.”
And you might want to add, “Keep
breathing.” In other words, if you put all
your flexors to work at one time you would
be curled up on your back or side in
Part 2. Sensory Dominant Screening
something similar to the fetal position or the
hibernation pattern of small animals, like
squirrels.
It is also like the race jockey’s tight
posture on horseback. If you just uncurled
your toes with your toe extensors, and kept
everything else in flexion, you might be able
to balance your forwardly curled up body in
an upright position on your toes like a
jockey.
44. Vestibular balance in flexion position
The Vestibular system is that system
of tiny crystals or stones (otoliths), hairs and
fluids in the three semi-circular canals and
sacs of the inner ear. This system sends
messages regarding our motion and balance
to the brain through the right and left
Vestibular Nerves. Ear infections, which
affect the fluid, can then affect balance.
Vestibular balance is checked in a non-
vertical position to eliminate the eye-
righting reflex balance system, which keeps
us upright through vision and which takes
over in a vertical, standing position.
Objective
Determine the adequacy of the
Vestibular System.
Instructions
The rolled up position on one’s back,
besides testing the strength of the flexor
muscle system, is also very helpful in
finding those children who may have
vestibular balance problems, probably due to
numerous early ear infections. To test for
vestibular balance the child should be able
to hold his knees in this supine, rolled up
position for a full ten seconds. Count one
thousand and one for each second.. The
ability to balance in this position for the
count of ten says that all balancing receptors
in the semicircular canals are adequate and
the flexor muscles are normal.
Chapter 7. Screening The Neuro-Muscular System For Strength and Coordination
If the child falls to the side
immediately, with several efforts, and can
not stay on his back in this position, damage
to the vestibular balancing system should be
suspected. If the child can not lift his head
from the mat, or attain this flexion position,
muscle weakness is the likely culprit. Both
balance and weakness could be problems.
45. General Extensor Strength, Flexibility
and Coordination.
Instructions
After flexion, it is time to test the
extensor muscles, those muscles that
straighten everything out again, or allow us
to stretch like the basketball player. The
ankles and toes are extended when they are
pulled up toward your face as you might do
when you straighten your knee while sitting
in a chair. Otherwise extending your legs,
hips, back and neck will bring you to a
straight position as in standing up like a
soldier.
This stretched position, one in which
your head and buttocks and backs of your
legs are reaching toward each other could be
done in the prone position, lying on the
stomach. The extended shoulder is pulled
down and back, while extended elbows,
wrists and fingers are stretched straight up
toward the back of the arm.
Lift and reach
An excellent way to test, and later to
exercise, most of the extensor muscles, is to
have a three foot long wooden dowel, like a
sawed off mop handle, which is held by the
children’s hands, stretched above their heads
while they are lying prone. Ask them to lift
the dowel with both hands placed about
shoulder wide on the dowel and with
straight arms or elbows.
When they can lift the dowel from
the mat see if they can also lift their heads
up and back and then arch their backs and
81
lift their straight legs off the mat. Once
children practice this exercise a few times
they usually enjoy doing it as it feels good
and it is a great exercise for most extensor
muscles. For shoulder extension, place the
dowel on the mid-back and starting with
arms by sides, reach back and lift the dowel
off the back.
46. Hand and Finger Strength and
Agility.
46.A. Testing finger adductors
With the fingers, thumbs and toes the
adductors pull toward the center of the
hands or feet. If someone has strong finger
and thumb adductors, their fingers will snap
back together when you try to pull the
fingers apart with your fingers. Their fingers
and wrists are to be extended, wrist back,
fingers up. The forearm and elbow are
supported on a table.
SAY, “Now, hold your fingers and
thumbs tightly together and don’t let me pull
them apart.” Notice if the child tries to use
his finger or hand flexors, instead of
adductors, by bending his fingers or wrists
during this exercise. Tell him to keep his
hand and wrist straight for this exercise.
46B. Testing finger abductions
If someone has strong finger and
thumb abductors, her fingers and thumbs
will snap out again to the stretched and
spread out position when the child resists
your try to push two or more fingers
together with your fingers. Place the wrist
and hand in a straight position with the
elbow supported. SAY, “Spread your
fingers and now, hold your fingers apart and
don’t let me push them together.”
46C. Testing Thumb Opposition
It is sensible to check finger and
thumb strengths when someone finds
82
writing difficult or is awkward holding a
crayon or other writing utensil.
The human has the special capability
of crossing the palm of the hand with special
thumb muscles called the “opponens.” This
is the muscle that allows us to grasp, unlike
our chimp cousins. The person should be
able to hold each finger tip and thumb tip
tightly together so that if you pull your
finger, with considerable force, through the
point of the thumb and finger contact, that
contact will immediately snap back together.
Something a chimp can’t do
SAY, Hold your thumb and finger
tips tightly together making a circle so that I
can’t break through, or if I do your thumb
and fingers will snap back together. For a
quick check, SAY, Hold all of your finger
tips and thumb tip together in a tight circle
and don’t let me pull them apart. Then ask,
Ready? These muscles are surprisingly
strong. You can use an unsharpened pencil
to pull through the circle of contact points.
47. Leg/hip and shoulder strength, agility
Everyone uses their large abductor
and adductor muscles of the hips and
shoulders when they do Jumping Jacks,
jumping the feet apart while lifting the arms
out to their sides and overhead and clapping
and then pulling the arms down to their sides
while jumping the feet back together again.
Jumping jacks also require good timing and
coordination. Cheerleaders have made
Jumping Jacks their signature exercise.
Beginner Jumping Jacks
With beginners, try just having the
children jump out and in until they can do
that easily. Then have them lift their arms
away from their sides shoulder high and
back to their sides again. Then have them
lift their arms away from their sides all the
way up and into the clap with straight
Part 2. Sensory Dominant Screening
elbows. They will have to learn to turn their
hands going up and down also. When they
are able, have them coordinate arms and legs
in rhythm for Jumping Jacks.
Angels in the Snow pattern
If anyone seems to be having serious
trouble with Jumping Jacks, have her lie on
her back. Then tell her to move both legs
away from each other as fast as she can.
Notice if one leg is moving farther or faster
than the other. Provide a little resistance at
the ankles, to this outward motion, to check
for actual weakness of the abductors of one
or both hips. Then provide a little resistance
for adduction, telling her to pull both legs
together without bending or twisting, while
you gently try to hold the legs apart at the
ankles. The weight of the legs provides
enough resistance, so that unlike the fingers,
the examiner provides very little extra
resistance to check strength. Feel for ease of
movement against this resistance.
Check for accuracy of movement
Do these same exercises to check the
ab and adductors of the shoulders. The arms
can also be tested while in the sitting or
standing position. It is important when
checking ab and adductors to be sure that the
stronger flexors are not taking over the
action, by pulling the body part forward
instead of to the side.
48. General body coordination, Balance
Watch them walking
One of the best ways, to check
children of kindergarten age for general
coordination, balance and rhythm, is to
watch them while they are walking. Four or
five year old children should walk with
confidence, grace, symmetry and a natural
rhythm. Walking upright is as natural to the
human as blinking or sneezing. Most
children have been practicing this activity
Chapter 7. Screening The Neuro-Muscular System For Strength and Coordination
since they were between 12 and 18 months
of age. Walking is hard wired in our brains
before birth.
Hop along
For school age children you might
also ask them to hop a distance of six feet or
two meters on one foot and then hop back
on the other foot. Tell them to keep one foot
high off the floor or ground. The bent up
leg should swing free and not be pressed
into the leg they are using for hopping. Also
see if they can walk forward and backward
on their toes and then on their heels, about
ten steps for each activity.
49. Sense of rhythm and timing
Check children’s sense of timing by
telling them to walk to a beat or rhythm.
See if they can count as they walk, making
their steps match their oral counting. If that
is troublesome, see if they can walk to your
count of: one, two, three, four and repeat.
If they still have trouble, walk beside
them and count slowly until they are in step
with the rhythm. After this, see if they can
clap in rhythm on every count of one, as in
ONE, two, three, four, ONE, two, three,
four.
50. Neuromuscular System Total Score.
The total score is arrived at in the
same way it was for earlier tests for vision,
etc. A single 2 for serious problems gives a
total score of 2 for this section. All zeroes,
0, for no problems remains a 0 when it
includes only one or two minor scores of 1,
one, for minor problems. A score of one, 1,
is used when there seems to be an overall
minor problem with this area of the
screening, as with more than two scores of
one.
When a child performs well in these
few complete exercises, you can be pretty
83
sure that their neuromuscular system is in
good working order. If this system is
normal, but not in good working order,
practice in these exercises, starting at the
point of success, not of expectation, should
improve general strength and coordination
so that the children will do better in active
games during a follow-up screening.
SECTION V General Impressions of
mental, emotional and physical health
51. Intelligence Factors & Total
52. Social-Emotional Factors & Total
53. Physical Health Factors & Total
Know the child to encourage their pattern
A total evaluation of any youngster
for the purpose of encouraging each child’s
learning potential needs to include
knowledgeable impressions of the child’s
intelligence, physical health and social-
emotional health. The examiner, whether
parent, teacher or other person with intimate
knowledge of the child being evaluated, is
asked to give a best judgment as to whether
a problem exists in one or more of these
areas that may affect this child’s ability to
learn in a classroom.
Not an IQ test
This section does not rely on tests,
but on ratings. The person providing these
impressions needs to have spent significant
time with the child being evaluated, as in
observing this child during screening and
with a group of his/her peers. The evaluator
should also have an interest in the education
of this child. To enhance this child’s
education, examiners need to provide and
include specific information, which may aid
anyone working with the child
How to score these impressions
Scoring will be as before, except that
it will be a two-part process. Besides, the
final ratings of Zero, 0 for no problems, 1
84
for minor problems and 2 for more serious
problems that could affect the child’s
learning potential, the evaluator is asked to
rate statements as to frequency of
occurrence. Each of the three general
categories, intelligence, social-emotional
behavior, and physical health, is followed by
a list of usually positive statements. These
statements are considered to be indicative of
normal, healthy, average or above average
behavior for five and six year and older
children, when and if sensory abilities are in
tact. These are behaviors that are usually,
but not always, synonymous with “no
problems” in this area of the personality.
Frequency ratings
The frequency of occurrence for
particular behaviors will have three ratings:
• U for Usually or almost always or this is
regular behavior.
• O for Occasionally, sometimes, now and
then, but not unusual behavior.
• R for Rarely, almost never or seldom is
this true.
The evaluator compares each
statement with her knowledge of the
behavior of the child and gives each
statement a frequency rating of U, O or R,
which indicates how often that behavior is
observed in that child. For example, if you
are rating the child’s interest in reading with
the statement: Shows high interest in
reading, loves to read, often found reading
in the library, how often would you honestly
find this child reading or in the library?
Would it be Usually, on a regular basis, or
Occasionally, less often, but often enough to
suppose this as a normal behavior or
characteristic of this child, or Rarely?
Rarely means this is not a characteristic
behavior of this child.
Combine frequencies to decide final score
Any one of those ratings has more to
do with how this person would like school
Part 2. Sensory Dominant Screening
than with natural intelligence, but reading is
often coupled with being smart. When you
come to the total score, ask yourself if the R,
rare frequency in reading, is countered by
actions like: loving to discuss new subjects,
being an active listener and actively
discovering. Or, does he ask others to read
to him, does he listen to books on tape?
Does she indicate special areas of personal
interest? In other words, after the statement
is given a frequency rating, decide if this
indicates a problem or no problem by
assigning a 0, 1 or 2 to that statement.
As another example
Examine statement one under
intelligence factors.
1. Attentive, interested in learning.
If a child is not attentive in school, or is
not alert and interested in learning, when
learning should be taking place, this may be
a serious problem--especially in school. As
you go through each list with a particular
child in mind, consider whether the behavior
stated or truth of the statement would apply
to this child in one of the three frequencies:
U, O or R.
Impressions of intelligence
Intelligence has been variously
defined as: the ability to learn, the active use
of higher mental functions, the acquisition,
retention and extension of knowledge, the
ability to comprehend and react to new
situations with a rapid and effective
adjustment of behavior. The word
intelligence is derived from a Latin word
meaning to perceive or understand.
Comprehension of a situation is
usually expressed in language, but can also
be expressed in sensible actions or reactions
and the ability to foresee consequences of
behavior, including other people’s or even
an animal’s behavior.
Chapter 7. Screening The Neuro-Muscular System For Strength and Coordination
Understanding versus language
Language ability, including reading
speed, is easier to test than are leadership
qualities, which are often expressed in
actions. Therefore intelligence tests are
weighted toward one’s facility with
language and vocabulary. Since thinking
requires language as well as images, the
intelligence connection to language makes
sense. Reading speed makes less sense.
If the results of one of these
“intelligence tests” are available, use them,
but do not base your whole assessment of a
child’s abilities on these test results. State a
child’s talents or special abilities when
known. Use the individual learning profile
pages to mark your decisions. Circle those
factors in the lists that apply to the child you
are observing and add other factors known
to you that also apply.
51. Intelligence Factors
Read each statement, decide and rate the
frequency for this behavior by assigning a
frequency of U, O, R to each statement, then
score each statement in relation to all
intelligence factors as No problem, 0, Minor
problem, 1, or Serious problem, 2.
1. Attentive, interested in learning, alert
manner. Has high purposeful energy.
(Frequency U, O, R, then Score 0, 1, 2)
2. Good memory, mental growth
demonstrated through the incorporation
and use of newly acquired knowledge.
3. Exhibits constructive leadership
qualities in some areas. Foresees
possible outcomes of the behavior of
others and acts responsibly.
4. Speaks clearly or appropriately for her
age and use of spoken language shows
good understanding of words and
meanings (if hearing and speech
apparatus are adequate).
85
5. Understands visual symbols required
for satisfactory accomplishment in
reading, writing and arithmetic (if vision
is adequate).
6. Numerous interests, inventive,
creative. Loves to make interesting
things or create sensible plans
7. Avoids problems knowing
consequences of personal behavior.
8. Self-motivated, enjoys researching or
investigating subjects of interest to her.
Score 51 Intelligence Estimate
Mark individual profile for Total
Intelligence estimate. Number of U/8, O/8,
R/8 and Total score 0,1,2.
52. Social - Emotional Factors
Read each statement, decide and rate the
frequency for this behavior by assigning a
frequency of U, O, R to each statement, then
score each statement in relation to all social-
emotional factors as No problem, 0, Minor
problem, 1, or Serious problem, 2.
1. Balanced, well-adjusted personality,
which avoids extremes of behavior.
2. Confident, independent, exhibits
positive self-esteem.
3. Shows awareness and concern for
peers, adults, animals and environment.
4. Gets along well with peers and adults.
5. Seldom, if ever, exhibits traits of
hyperactivity.
6. Outgoing and friendly, not withdrawn
7. Even tempered, seldom if ever has
outbursts of excessive or abusive anger
or hostility,
8. Cheerful, seldom, if ever depressed,
9. Alert, no unnatural daytime sleepiness,
10. Concentrates well, attentive. No
inability to concentrate.
11. Stable personality, no instability and
moodiness.
86 Part 2. Sensory Dominant Screening

12. Is not boisterous and demanding
attention as in “acting out” personal
frustrations.
Score 52 Social-emotional factors
Mark individual profile for social-
emotional factors.
53. Physical health
Read each statement, decide and rate
the frequency for this behavior by assigning
a frequency of U, O, R to each statement,
then score each statement in relation to all
physical health factors as No problem, 0,
Minor problem, 1, or Serious problem, 2.
1. Child has history of good physical
health, with no unusual or frequent
childhood illnesses and a normal birth.
2. No serious health problem such as:
severe allergies, continuous ear and, or
throat infections, headaches or
stomachaches, muscle pains or
disabilities that preclude group
participation.
3. Child is robust, healthy, and is seldom, if
ever, absent from school or group.
4. Physical examination by a medical
doctor or a rough estimate of sensory
abilities garnered with sensory dominant
screening has precluded problems with
vision, hearing, tactile-kinesthetic
abilities, neuromuscular abilities, central
nervous system or other defects.
0’s, 1’s and 2’s in each group. Decide on a
final score of 0, 1 or 2, recalling that any 2
for serious problem, gives a final score of 2.
This is done so that any or every
serious problem will receive immediate
attention. Strategies will then be devised
and provided in order to alleviate these
problems whether by correction or
compensation.
51. Intelligence Total 0, 1, 2
52. Behavior Total 0, 1, 2
53. Physical Health Total 0, 1, 2
Instructional Need Reminder
On completion of screening for an
individual, complete the total screening
overview at the end of the Learning Pattern
Profile. Note whether the person is straight
R or L or crossed dominant as well as the
total auditory, vision, kinesthetic and
neuromuscular scores. Place these scores
where indicated near the top of page one of
the Learning Pattern Profile. As reminders
of instructional needs, each student’s pattern
needs to be placed at the front of each
teacher’s class book.

Score 53 Physical health estimate

Mark health factors on individual
profile form.
-----------------------------------
Remember that these are diagnostic
tools, nothing more. After scoring the items
in each category, you can arrive at a total
score from all you know, at this time, about
that individual in the same way you have
totaled scores before for screening all other
items in this book. Review the number of

Chapter 8. Expanded Screening
A-V-K Observations for Classrooms, Sense & Hemisphere Preference Form, Sensory
Dominant Screening of Adults & Older Students
Using the A-V-K Observation list for
Screening in Classrooms.
A limited amount of observation
screening can be accomplished by walking
among a group of children who have been
assigned a reading or writing task. Drawing
might work for very young children, but not
as well as word work.
Simply insert the Observation
Checklist found in the Appendix, on your
clipboard and write the children’s names
next to those behaviors, which are true for
them. For instance, when you are at the
item, “moves lips”, notice while they are
reading, which children are moving their
lips. The “A” next to this item indicates a
need for some auditory and perhaps,
kinesthetic reinforcement for the visual task
of reading for these children.
The item, Tracks reading with finger
or other aid, has a AV@ next to it. This
action indicates a need for visual
reinforcement, as in keeping the eyes on
target for reading. Poor posture, as in being
slumped or sprawled out over the chair
while reading, if noticed often, could
indicate a number of things like weak
muscles, lack of sleep and, or avoidance of
visual tasks. Very heavy or very light,
spidery handwriting could indicate a mild
brain abnormality, or need for kinesthetic
reinforcement, “K”.
Indications of AVK Checklist
1. This list tells what type of learning
reinforcement, if any, each child needs
for near-point visual work. A rough
indication is given as to whether the
student is visual, auditory or tactile-
kinesthetic, V-A-K.
87
2. The dominant hand for writing and
whether there may be other problems
related to this writing are revealed.
3. The tape measure test tells whether this
child is using her correct distance
between eyes and work or if she might
need further vision checking.
Using a soft tape measure
A soft tape measure can also be used
in this group setting and provide a great deal
of information. For this you would need a
page or space on the page for each child.
Remember to date everything. This item is
covered in the sensory screening, but added
here for convenience with group
observation.
Tell the children or adults that you
will be measuring distances on their arm and
face while they are writing. If the young
child can write his name only, have him
practice it a few times until you get to him.
As you move to each person write down
which hand they use for writing, R for right
or L for left.
Measure the distance between the
corner of their eye closest to the page and
the page on the desktop. Note whether or
not they are looking straight ahead while
writing. If not, which eye is turned toward
the page, R or L?
Next, measure the distance from
their elbow to the end of their first knuckle
on the middle finger. Mark these distances
in inches or centimeters. The arm
measurement is the proper distance for near
vision work for that person. If there is a
distance of more than 4 inches, 10 cm.,
between the two measurements, or if the
head is turned to one side, as if using one
eye instead of both, further visual
coordination and acuity testing are needed
88
for this child. Near and far vision
dominance tests on these children should be
next on your list of priorities.
Sense-Hemisphere Preference Form
Although brain scientists now agree
that no one’s thinking is strictly divided into
the right or left hemisphere, they also agree
that some characteristics are more likely to
be located in either the right or left
hemisphere. The Sense-Hemisphere
Preference Form in the appendix is an
attempt to classify activities usually aligned
with the right or left hemisphere.
Activities also indicate whether one
prefers auditory, visual or kinesthetic ways
of doing things. Crossed dominance is self-
checked. Dr. Jerre Levy’s handwriting
position test, which confirms which
hemisphere contains the language center, is
provided. This is discussed in Part One,
Chapter 10. This preference page can be
used as an aid in confirming sensory
(modality) and hemisphere preferences.
Along with a blank Preference form
for personal use, there is a filled-in form for
scoring in the appendix with the letters A, V
and K and R or L at the appropriate spaces.
Many right hemisphere preferences are in
the right column, while some left
hemisphere preferences are in the left
column, but some right and left hemisphere
items are in opposite columns.
Sensory-Dominant Screening for Adults
The very young require this S-D
Screening to prevent problems, but older
students and adults request sensory
dominant screening to help define their
learning problems. Age is not a factor in
defining sensory dominant learning
strengths or problems and is accomplished
for all ages with many of the same screening
items. Before performing this screening for
anyone, the examiner in every case must
have practiced and become adept with the
Part 2. Sensory Dominant Screening
complete process of Sensory Dominant
Screening and with its underlying concepts.
The main differences for older
students or adults compared to pre-school
children, are that among many other
abilities, most older students have learned to
read, write and explain their thoughts with
maturity. The purpose of this screening
remains the determination of dominance
and sensory strengths and weak areas.
Instructions are adjusted toward the maturity
and abilities of the person being screened,
the examinee, and tests for reading, writing
are included.
Assemble necessary screening items
The examiner needs to assemble the
required items before beginning screening,
e.g. stopwatch, pencils, paper, et cetera.
For those who have learned to read and
write, the examiner needs to have ready,
several reading passages of approximately
300 to 500 words each. These are best
chosen from a magazine like Reader’s
Digest. Keep it simple and interesting.
Choose a 2-column page with no pictures
that tells a story with a beginning, middle
and end. You may want to type these
selections to have several copies available
for scoring and reading and to keep type size
stable. When counting words, stop at the
end of a sentence, averaging 295 to 305
words, the same for 400 and 500 word
passages. Mark with slashes /…/, the start
and stop places and be ready to time the
reading speed to arrive at a words per
minute score.
Select in similar mode, several
sentences for auditory memory dictation
and for writing dictation. For these, count
syllables. Refer to instructions and samples
with those items.
Use Sensory Dominant Screening Sections
Sensory dominant screening for anyone
is defined by and includes the following test
items. These are spelled out in other areas
Chapter 8. Expanded Screening
of this book for use here. Only changes
required for literate students/adults are
included here. The “A” for Adult in front of
test items shows a required test for adults or
older students.
• All dominance screening
• Auditory discrimination & memory
• Basic vision screening
• F’s of vision
• String knot test
• Neuromuscular balance & coordination
A l. - Dominance screening for individuals
Follow instructions for Sensory
Dominant Screening, Chapters 2 and 3. Use
Section 1 to check for dominance of leg,
hand, ear and for eye used in distance and
near vision. The Hemisphere Preference
Form can be filled out after other screening
is completed. Check items on the AVK
checklist while the subject is reading or
writing. Following this AVK (auditory-
visual-kinesthetic) observation, ask the
subject if he/she is aware of these behaviors
in him/her self.
A 2. - Comprehensive Sensory Screening
Follow instructions and scoring,
estimating with 0, 1, 2 scores for items 1,
and 8-13, but with adult expectations.
Item 11. – Long term auditory memory
Select an adult story with which you
and the examinee are both familiar, e. g.
Dickens’ “Christmas Carol”, Jack London’s
“Call of the Wild”, Louisa May Alcott’s
“Little Women”, John Steinbeck’s “The
Pearl” or “The Red Pony”.
Tell the person that he/she is to relate
a 3 to 4 minute synopsis of that story while
you listen for the appropriate beginning,
middle and end plus all pertinent details.
Score accordingly.
Item 12A. - Syllable memory
89
The object here is to have the subject
listen carefully, recall and repeat longer
sentences, 15 to 30 syllables. Have a
response copy of the sentences or passages
to be read in front of yourself so that you
can check for O, A, S, Q (Omissions,
Additions, seQuence, Substitutions) types of
memory problems. Refer to similar items
in Part 2. Again, use a magazine like
Reader’s Digest for adult sentence
selections. Make the judgment for longer or
shorter passages according to the person’s
first performance.
With longer passages of 40 to 50
syllables, give the selection as 2 sentences
with a break near the center. The simple
words in the sample passages are easy
enough to repeat for someone 10 years or
older, but if the person has difficulty with
the passage length, try shorter ones and
build up length.
Sample 1. And why worry about your
clothes? Look at the lilies of the field; they
do not work or make clothes for themselves;
(26 syllables). Yet, not even Solomon with
all his wealth had clothes as beautiful as one
of these flowers. (23 or 49 syllables total).
Sample 2. To avoid flight delays, consider
that the earlier the flight, the less likely it
will be delayed. (25 syllables) If you take a
late flight that’s cancelled, you could get
stuck in the airport overnight. (19 or 44
syllables total).
A 3. - Section lll, Basic Vision screening
Items 14 - 20 and 23 - 28
Item 20. – Writing
20 A. - Cursive and Printed Alphabets
Inform the examinee that he/she will
be timed while writing the cursive alphabet,
where accuracy, legibility and neatness will
be scored. If the person says he/she has
never learned the cursive alphabet, tell
him/her to do his/her best, whatever he/she
90
recalls. Later he/she will be tested on
printed letters or those he uses regularly.
Say, “When I say GO, please start
writing the capital letters in cursive. You
tell me “Stop” when you’ve completed each
task.” Start your stopwatch at GO and stop
it when you hear or see the task completed.
Score the number of correct letters. (45–60
seconds for capitals is good for 10 year
olds.) Re-testing after instruction gives a
base of comparison for the individual.
Repeat this test with the lower case
cursive alphabet (20-30 seconds). It is okay
to connect the lower case cursive letters.
Repeat these tests with printed letters and
then with the individual’s personal (how
he/she usually writes) alphabet.
20 B. Sentence writing and memory
As an adjunct to auditory memory,
writing, spelling and punctuation, give the
examinee a 20 to 30 syllable sentence to
write from memory after you have repeated
that sentence twice. Tell the examinee that
writing, spelling, etc. all count with auditory
memory. Have a copy of the sentences you
have selected ready for scoring as well as
the copy for reading.
Tell the examinee that you will
repeat each sentence twice before he/she
begins to write. You can not repeat
anything after you say GO. The examinee is
to listen while you repeat twice what he/she
is to write. Then say GO and time how long
the examinee requires for writing each
sentence. Check O, A, S, Q as well as
writing, spelling and punctuation. Move
forward or back in sentence length and
difficulty depending on performance.
Sample 1. The first major sign of
appendicitis is usually discomfort
throughout the abdomen. (25 syllables)
Sample 2. A succession of visitors came to
the university to interview certain students
about their experiences. (32 syllables)
Part 2. Sensory Dominant Screening
Sample 3. The accreditation needed for
receiving free books on tape for dyslexic
persons requires medical proof of dyslexia.
(32 syllables)
Item 23. - Visual Memory
23A - See & Say
Refer to instructions for Visual
Memory, 22 See & Say and See & Choose
and 23 See & Draw and See, Trace & Draw
for children. Use the flash card sets for VM
1.B with instructions for See & Say and then
See & Draw. If the examinee has particular
difficulty with letter and digit visual
memory, return to See & Choose cards 4
and 5 to check this ability.
Otherwise, start with a minimum of
4 letters/digits (cards 4 & 5) and add cards
with 5 to 9 similar items for visual recall.
For more than 6 items give 2 to 3 seconds
viewing time. Additional card samples –
WNZGS, YOQME and 14376 or 06894.
For more than 6 letters/digits make a break
in the middle like phone numbers.
Examples: AYI-KNT, BXL-UFVE,
FMNW-PHCD and 9504-673, 9120-4583.
23B - See &Write
For see & write, show 2 or 3 short
sentences on cards. Examples: 1. The
children wanted to hear a story. 2. Today’s
paper tells of a big clothing sale tomorrow.
3. Make sure you get my favorite chocolate
ice cream when you go shopping.
Finish the basic visual screening items
through 28.
A 4. - F’s of Vision - items 29-35
Instructions and scoring for this test
are found in the chapter by this name and
has its own response page.
A 5. - String Knot Test - items 36-42
Instructions and scoring for the
String Knot test are in that chapter and has
its own response page.
Chapter 8. Expanded Screening
A 6. Oral Reading Speed & seconds for her to gather her thoughts. If the
Comprehension
Instruct the examinee on the
procedure to follow. Place on the
examinee’s desk, an upside down copy of
the easiest reading passage you have
prepared by counting off 300, 400 and 500
word passages with slash marks at start and
finish. Keep a work copy of the given test
page in front of yourself to mark O, A, S, Q
as he/she reads.
Tell the person to read clearly and
for understanding and not to be concerned
about the stopwatch. More important than
speed is for the reader to concentrate her
attention on the content. Tell the examinee
that she must be able to tell what she read
about when she’s finished reading. Speed
changes with practice.
When you say, GO, the examinee is
to turn over the reading page and begin
reading aloud. Start the stopwatch as the
person starts to read. Mark O,A,S,Q’s while
the examinee reads. Stop the watch when
the reading is completed and mark down the
time in minutes (‘) and seconds (“).
Later, to find the reading speed,
divide the number of words read by the
number of minutes and seconds used. First
change minutes (‘) to seconds (“) so that 2
minutes equals 120 seconds and add all the
seconds together for the divisor to get words
per second. E.g. 2’20” = 120” + 20” = 140”.
If the person read 300 words in 140 seconds
divide 300 words by 140” to get 2.14
words/second. Multiply that by 60 to get
words per minute. 2.14 x 60 = 129 wpm. If
the reading passage was 300 words long and
the examinee read it in exactly 3 minutes,
300 divided by 3 equals 100 words/ minute.
An oral reading speed of 100 words per
minute is good or average for adults.
After the person has read the
selection aloud, Say, “Please tell me what
you read about, the content of that story,
starting at the beginning.” Wait up to 10
91
reader needs prodding, two or more non-
leading questions may be asked. Samples
questions - 1. The selection you read is
primarily concerned with .……..? or 2. The
author’s main purpose is ……….? Do not
ask questions which give clues to content.
Comprehension is the main purpose of this
test. If blanking out is a memory problem
for one selection, tell her/him to think of
ways she/he brings to mind other items.
Allow up to 20 seconds. If there are too
many errors marked while reading, select an
easier reading passage. Make a note of
number and types of errors as a guide to
instruction.
Comprehension should be good for
90% of what was read. Note if she forgets
the beginning, middle or end. Depending on
the first performance, repeat this test with 2
or 3 other shorter or longer selections to
arrive at an average performance in both
speed and comprehension. If the first one is
a total blank, which happens, delete that
score and try again to have 3 good scores to
average.
A7. - Silent Reading speed and
comprehension
Provide similar and fairly easy, word
counted passages from the aforementioned
or similar magazine to read and to score,
again moving according to performance.
Tell the examinee that the instructions are
the same as before except that 1. When you
say GO, the page is turned over and he/she
will read the selection silently and 2. Since
you can not hear, he/she must say STOP
when the reading is completed. Start your
stopwatch timing as soon as you say GO and
stop it when you hear or see that the person
has finished.
Remind the person to concentrate on
understanding what they read while reading
as fast as they are able. Comprehension is
more important than speed. To assure silent
92
reading without sub-vocalization, you could
have the person hold a pencil covered with a
straw between his teeth during this exercise.
If the pencil makes reading more difficult,
this reader may be more auditory than
visual. If frustrated by the pencil, remove it
and watch for mouth movements, etc.
Check for AVK problems. Ask the
same type of non-leading questions as
shown in oral reading comprehension.
Silent reading speed should be closer to
300 (250-350) words per minute with
equally good comprehension.
A better comprehension performance
for oral reading or listening is usually
indicative of an auditory reader, while the
opposite may be true of the visual reader.
A8. - Neuromuscular and Balance
Follow the instructions and scoring
for muscle strength and vestibular balance as
given in part 2, items 43-50.
Screening conclusions – total scores
Review all scores noting any minor
or serious problems in any sensory dominant
area of this screening. These areas could be
concern for a diagnosis of dyslexia or other
learning pattern. More importantly, these
scores should be the clue as to how to move
forward with this person’s learning goals.
When the screening is completed,
rate this person according to learning
strengths - Visual, Auditory, Kinesthetic and
Right, Left or Crossed Dominant with
hemisphere preference.
_______________________
9. - Questions toward self-evaluation for
the adult or older student
Have the examinee dictate or write
out complete answers to the following
questions.
Part 2. Sensory Dominant Screening
1. What was your highest grade
completed? In which school and when?
If you left early, what was your
predominant reason for leaving?
2. What makes you think that you may be
dyslexic? At what age or grade did you
feel that you couldn’t keep up with your
peers? In what subjects? How was this
handled? How was your self-esteem
affected or changed? How has your self-
esteem changed since then? Advice for
similar students?
3. When did you have a complete vision
examination? Hearing exam? Results?
4. Regarding the educational system, with
#1 being easy or no difficulty and #5
being serious difficulty, rate your ease of
difficulty with school and particular
subjects.
5. Were you retained or placed in any
special education program? Which
program and grade levels? How long?
What was the diagnosis? Were you seen
by a doctor and placed on prescriptive
medication? How do you feel about the
whole procedure? Did it help or not?
6. What were your best subjects, your
worst? What type of aids helped you
most? What left you feeling defeated?
How would you change yourself or the
system if you had to go through it again?
7. What activities filled your spare time
after school? And now?
8. What do you read? How often? When
do you write and how often?
9. Do you use the computer screen at
work? At home? Do you enjoy its use
or use it because you have to?
10. Of what accomplishments are you most
proud?
11. Generally, how do you see or think of
yourself now? Strengths? Weaknesses?
Ambitions and goals? Other?
 93

Part 2 Sensory Dominance Screening

Appendix

All Chapters
Overview of Screening Items 1 page
Learning Pattern Response Form 8 pages
Parent Participation Form 4 pages

Chapter 4 - Basic Sensory Screening - 6 pages

Visual Memory - See & Say
Visual Memory – See & Choose
Visual Kinesthetic Memory - Sequence & Pattern

Chapter 5 – F’s of Vision pages

Albini’s Capital E test 3 pages
Figure Ground Screening Exercises 1 page
Form Constancy Screening Exercises1 page

Chapter 8 – Expanded Screening

A-V-K Observation Checklist 2 pages
Sense & Hemisphere Preference Form and Key to Answers 2 pages
Questions toward self evaluation for the Adult or older student 1 page
94 Part 2. Sensory Dominant Screening
 L. E. Rockefeller c 2000 95

Overview of Screening Items for DISCOVER SUCCESSFUL LEARNING PATTERNS

Learning Profile for __________________________Date ______Evaluator__________________

Highlight X’s or 2’s in RED, 0’s and straight R or straight L in green.

1. Auditory Comprehension ____ 28. Basic Vision Sub-total ____

Dominance Screening #0’s____#1’s____#2’s____
2. Leg dominance R, L or either, E ____
3. Hand dominance R, L Ambi, A ____ F’s of Vision
Writes with R-L, fingers up-down ____ 29. Focus ____
4. Eye – Distance ____ R 20/____ L 20/____ both 20/____
5. Eye – Near Vision ____ 30. Following ____
6. Ear dominance ____ 31. Fixation ____
7. Total Dominance R-L-X ____ 32. Fusion ____
33. Figure ground ____
1. Auditory Comprehension, Receptive _____ 34. Form discrimination ____
8. Auditory Acuity ____ 35. F’s of Vision sub-total ____
9. Expressive Language ____
10. Auditory Discrimination ____ String-Knot Test
11. Long term Auditory _________________ 36. Visual convergence ____
12. Short term Auditory memory avg.______ 37. Visual Suppression ____
A.Syllables_____, B. #’s_____, C. # taps 38. Vertical imbalance ____
_____from 6B, D listening, correct facts & 39. Spatial imbalance ____
sequence__________ from 25 40. Visual stress ____
13. Total Auditory Score ______ 41. String knot sub-total ____
#0’s ____#1’s ____#2’s ____ 42. . Total vision score ____
#0’s____#1’s____#2’s____
Basic Vision Screening
14. Eye appearance ______ A. Neuromuscular strength &
15. Eye coordination, pupils centered _____ coordination
16. Binocular vision ______ 43. Flexor strength & agility ____
17. Near vision task distance ___in/pg ______ 44. Vestibular balance in flexion ____
18. Near point attention issues ______ 45. Extensor strength & agility ____
19. Writing tool grasp ______ 46. Hand & Finger strength ____
20. Writing appearance ______ 47. Leg/hip & shoulder strength ____
21. Drawing body image ______ 48. General coordination & balance ____
22. Visual memory _______ 49. Rhythm & Timing ____
A. See & say ____ B. See & Choose ____ 50. Neuromuscular System Total ____
23 Visual Kinesthetic ______
A. Sequence _______B. Pattern ________ Mental, emotional & physical impressions
24. Color vision ______ 51. Intelligence factors total ____
25. Visual imagery (item-12-listening) ______ 52. Social & Emotional factors total ____
26. Color Overload ______ 53. Physical health total ____
27. Eye-hand coordination _______A-Moving
Target_____, B-Catch & Throw______
96 Part 2. Sensory Dominant Screening

Adult & Older Student Screening notes with F’s of Vision, 35

 L. E. Rockefeller c 2000 97
DISCOVER SUCCESFUL LEARNING PATTERNS c 2000 L.E. Rockefeller

Part II SENSORY DOMINANT SCREENING

Learning Pattern Profile Response Form

Learning profile
for:___________________School________________________Phone_________
Date:Yr._____Mo._____Day_____
Examiner:__________________Title_____________________
DOB:Yr._____Mo._____Day_____ Parent’(s)
___________________________Phone__________
Age: Yr._____Mo._____Day_____ Home-first Language_______________ Multi-lingual? yes-
no
Thinks in _______________ Prescriptive lenses - yes-no, hearing aid - yes-no, other aid
________
__________________________Type of Learner_______________Dominance_____R-L
Pref___

This evaluation clarifies HOW a child is learning with the hope that INSTRUCTION for each
individual will WORK WITH LEARNING STRENGTHS while building up weaker areas for
knowledge assimilation. These areas of learning strength and weakness are common to all
beings. Instructions for Sensory Dominant Screening including scoring, are found in
DISCOVER SUCCESSFUL LEARNING PATTERNS - PART 2.

Scoring
• On each page or at each test given, write: 1. name of the child or person being screened, 2.
name of the person doing the screening, the examiner and 3. date of that screening process.

• Follow scoring instructions in “Discover Successful Learning Patterns Part II, Sensory
Dominant Screening”. The final score for each test item has 3 possible responses, 0 for no
problems, 1 for minor problems and 2 for serious problems.

• Circle or fill in correct responses. Make pertinent notes. * Red line or highlight areas that
will need follow-up. Mark the “Overview of Sensory Dominant Screening Items” page with
scores of 0, 1, 2, to indicate items screened. No mark indicates items not screened.

• Give final overview following item 53 as to this child’s learning strengths – e.g., Auditory,
Neuromuscular, Intelligence. Also note pertinent learning weaknesses –e.g., Visual
Coordination, Crossed Dominance, Vestibular Balance.

• On completion of screening, Fill in the student’s Learning Pattern above as a specific

combination of A, V and K, Dominance as R, L or X and R or L hemisphere dominant.

SECTION I. Dominance R, L, X
98 Part 2. Sensory Dominant Screening

SECTION II. Auditory

SECTION III. Visual
SECTION IV. Neuromuscular
SECTION V. General Impressions & AVK List, Sense & Dominance Preference, Adult
Screening
 L. E. Rockefeller c 2000 99
Learning Profile for: _________________________Date _________Examiner
_______________

Scoring reminder - Circle R or L for each exercise to indicate leg, hand, eye first used.
Circle correct answers where choice given. Fill in others. Circle 0-1-2 for performance rating.

SECTION II. AUDITORY 1. Auditory Comprehension ____________________ 0 - 1 - 2

2 Commands 0 - 1 - 2 , 3 Commands 0 - 1 - 2 , 4 Commands 0 - 1 - 2 .

SECTION I. DOMINANCE SCREENING

2. Leg Dominance ________________________________________ R, L, R/L, L/R ___0 - 1 - 2

2.A. Passive R-L. 2.B. Active hand kick R-L. Performance is 0-1-2
2.C. Integrated kick-plan, sequence moves - Kicks R-L 0-1-2 Non-dominant leg 0-1-2
2.D. Hopping-stamina, balance. Dom. R-L leg performance-0-1-2. Non-dom. leg 0-1-
2
Close eyes & hop. Dominant R-L leg performance 0-1-2 Non-dominant leg 0-1-
2
________________________________________________________________________
__
3. Hand Dominance Specify ambidexterity as R/L or L/R ___________ R-L-A_______ 0 - 1
-2
3.A. Writes R-L-A. 3.B. Cuts R-L-A. 3.C. Throws R-L-A. 3.D. Eats R-L-A.
________________________________________________________________________
__
4. Distance Eye Dominance _____________________________________R-L________0 - 1 -
2
4.A. Telescope R-L eye - path to eye is sure & straight or across. Visual Clarity R = 0-
1-2
L = 0-1-2, Both Eyes–Same-Different.
4.B. Distance Target @ 20 ft./6m with R-L dom. eye, person moves closer-farther for
clarity. Clarity R = 0-1-2. L = 0-1-2. Close R-L eye, target stays-moves. Cover non-
dom. R-L eye, target stays-moves. Correspondence of Eye-Hand? Yes-
No._________________

5. Near Vision Eye Dominance ________________________________R-L__________0 - 1 -

2
5.A. Microscope R-L dom. Visual Clarity R = 0-1-2, L = 0-1-2. Both eyes-Same-Diff.
________________________________________________________________________
__
5.B. Hole in Card – R-L Eye to Hole. Eyes closer to-farther from task than normal.
Visual Clarity for R eye = 0-1-2, for L eye = 0-1-2. Both eyes - Same-Diff. Better Eye R
- L.

Near Vision problems: * Eye-hand Coordination X? Yes-No. * Near Vision Blurry? Yes-No.
Avoids visual tasks? Yes-No. * Visual stress evident? Yes-No * Turns head to use R or L eye?
Yes-No. * Eyes -closer to-farther from -task than norm. Questions: * Checked by eye doctor?
100 Part 2. Sensory Dominant Screening

Yes-No. When? ________* Doctor’s

comments_________________________________________ Condition of eyes now_________
* TV/computer screen ______ hours per day. * Visual Distance from screens ______ft/cm.
Professional vision exam recommended? Yes/No

6. Ear Dominance. Corresponds to natural R or L laterality. Yes-No. R-L-E

6.A. Group exercise Dom. ear is R-L. 6.B. Tapping sequence Dom. ear is R-L. Tapping
Performance 0-1-2. Score sequencing ability with auditory memory, 12 C 0 - 1 - 2__
7. Total Dominance. _________________________________________R - L -X ____ 0 - 1 - 2
Leg ____, Hand ____, Distance Eye ____, Near Eye ____, Ear ____ Total _______
 L. E. Rockefeller c 2000 101
COMPREHENSIVE BASIC SENSORY SCREENING

SECTION II AUDITORY Screening for:_______________________________date:______

1. Auditory Comprehension (completed) _____________________________________0 - 1 - 2

8. Auditory Acuity Estimate. _______________________________________________0 - 1 -
2
Hearing instrument used now _________________ Avg. dist. determined for good hearing
______
in/cm from ear. Distance from ear for this child R ____in/cm L ____in/cm. Hear better with R
- L ear or about the same?
_____________________________________________________________

Questions. * Doctor or other check hearing? Who?______________When?_______ No, Don’t

know. * Tubes in ears? Yes-No When?_______Out now? Yes-No * Early childhood ear and
throat infections? Yes-No * Difficulty hearing at home? Yes-no When?_______________ At
school? Yes-no When? Other?

9. Expressive Language _________________________________________________ 0 - 1 - 2

Home lang. _________________English is good-fair-poor. Articulation is clear-unclear.
Sentence structure sensible-poor. Vocabulary good-fair-poor. Other difficulties; e.g. stutters.
______________________________________________________________________________
10. Auditory Discrimination.______________________________________________0 - 1 - 2
Same-Different, S or D. Sound noted is in beginning-B, middle-M, or end-E of word.

1. fun - bun D - B 6. dug - dug S 11. here - here S 16. sick - chick D -
B
2.-bit - bid D - E 7. mine - mind D - E 12. tie - die D - B 17. climb - climb S
3. same - same S 8. road - rod D - M 13. cold - code D - E 18. fall - fell D - M
4. mat - mat S 9. hog - hog S 14. new - mew D - B 19. host - host S
5. limp - lamp D - M 10. west - went D E 15. will - well D M 20. keep - keep S

Score # correct _____/20. Sound errors: Begin_____/4, Middle _____/4, End_____/4._____

11. Long term Auditory Memory___________________________________________ 0 - 1 - 2

Retelling of _______________________________is good-fair-poor. Animated-Sits still
during retelling. Rocks self. Yes-No. Characters included: _____________________excluded:
_____________________Details-good-fair-poor. Sequence of events good-fair-
poor___________

12. Short term memory Repeated correctly: Syllables _____, #’s _____, taps _____. 0 - 1 - 2
Listening, see 25-Imagery for attention and recall as good-fair-poor. score 0 - 1- 2
12. A. Syllables. O for omissions, A for Additions, S for substitutions and Q for sequence 0 - 1
-2
Readiness items - 1. Run fast. (2 syllables) 2. The dog ran. (3 syllables)_________
3. My cat jumps high. (4) 4. We went to the store. (5)
102 Part 2. Sensory Dominant Screening

5. Bill is coming home soon. (6) 6. That girl is wearing blue shorts. (7)
7. The other book is over there. (8) 8. Write your name on the top of your page. (9)
9. Please wash your hands with soap before dinner. (10)________________________
10. Bob and Tom are going to the movies now. (11) ____________________________
11. Strawberry is my favorite ice cream flavor. (12)______________________________
# syllables repeated correctly ______ # and type of errors ___O,___ A,___ S,___ Q__
12. B. Numbers. Mark O, A, S, Q. Readiness 59, (read five-nine)-______________ 0 - 1 - 2
1. 59 4. 86923 7. 0439-3218 # and type of errors
2. 913 5. 694-817 8. 375-927-016 ____O, ____A, ____S, ____Q____
3. 4071 6. 4867-390 9. 372-945-6018 Score # correct _______________

12. C. Tapping from 6.B. # taps repeated correctly _____ difficulties? yes-no______ 0 - 1 - 2
12. D. Listening attention span and recall, from 25. Imagery, is good-fair-poor 0-1-2
13. Total Auditory Score __# 0’s______# 1’s______ # 2’s______ _____________ 0 - 1 - 2
1. Comprehension 0 - 1 - 2 10. Auditory discrimination 0 - 1 - 2
8. Acuity estimate 0 - 1 - 2 11. Long term memory 0-1-2
9. Expressive language 0 - 1 - 2 12. Short term memory 0-1-2

SECTION III Basic VISION Screening

14. Eye Appearance for:____________________________Date:__________________ 0 - 1 -

2

15. Eye Coordination – pupils. * Mark which eye turns: In, Out, Up, Down. ________ 0 - 1 - 2
15. A. Distance focus R _____L _____ 15.B. Distance gaze R _____L _____.
15.C. Near focus R _____L _____. 15. D. Coordinated 0 1 2 * Sees two. Yes-No.
* Ever sees two images? Yes-No * Ever have eye surgery? Yes-No. When?
__________

16. Binocular Vision. Instrument used ________________ fore and back ground.ability_0 - 1 -
2

17. Near Vision Task Distance ______________________________________________0 - 1 -

2
Distance from eye to page while working. _________in/cm___________________
Distance from elbow to second knuckle. __________in/cm___________________
Difference between these measurements. __________in/cm___________________

18. Near Point Attention __________________________________________________ 0 - 1 -

2
Type of task observed. _____________________ # minutes ________# times ________
Problems observed: _______________________________________________________
Problems to watch for: * Avoidance, * frustration, * irritability, * evasive, * fatigued by effort,
* uncooperative, * unfinished tasks, * headaches, * other _______________________________

19. Grasp of Writing Tool. Consider age for the following screening items____________0 - 1 -
2
 L. E. Rockefeller c 2000 103
Hand control is good-fair-poor. Pressure is average-heavy-
light.____________________

Appearance of writing. ___________________________________________________ 0 - 1 -

2
Holds paper. Yes-No. *Writes name from memory? Yes-No. *Letters legible? Yes-No.
*Size, Slant, Stroke and Spacing are good -fair-poor? *Use of lines is good-fair-poor. *Aware
of edges? Yes-No. *Eye-hand coordination good-fair-poor. Observations
______________________
________________________________________________________________________
__
21. Body Image Drawing Paper held in vertical-horizontal position. ________________0 - 1 -
2
*Height of figure _____in/cm. FOR AGE *Use of page, space is good-fair-poor.
*Body parts included: head, body, two legs, two arms, name
others__________________________
___________*Placement of parts is good-fair-poor. *Body representation is good-fair-
poor.
22. Visual Memory ____________________________________________________ 0-1-
2
22. A. See & Say. # items recalled ____. Attention to task good-fair-poor. 0 - 1 - 2
22. B. See & Choose. # correct items ____ Attention to task good-fair-poor. 0 - 1 - 2

23. Visual Kinesthetic-Sequential and Pattern Memory ______________________ 0 - 1 -

2
Linear sequential – *Pre-school - name and designs. Good- fair- poor. *K to 2nd
grade-age - *Writes from memory # items ______ in correct sequence. *Tracing -does -
does not- improve memory. *Clock pattern -does-does not- improve memory.
__________________

24. Color Vision. _______________________________________________________ 0 - 1 -

2
1. Names 7 colors and black. Yes-No Misses _________________________________
2. Points to colors named. Yes-No 3. Matches description to color. Yes-No
4. Colorblind Bubble Test. Sees red-green. Yes-No Sees yellow-blue. Yes-No

25. Visual Imagery (score listening attention span & recall with auditory item 12) ____ 0 - 1 -
2
Story 1. The dog and two boys - What happening? _______________________________
What kind dog? ______________color _________ Boys’ ages-sizes
____________What wearing? __________________Day was ______________You were
________________

Story 2. Dinner and knock on door - Who came home? ________________where from
_______________the time was ? _______ (teller) You were _________________Who
was home? ________________each wearing?__________________________ Who and
104 Part 2. Sensory Dominant Screening

what cooking? _________________________Describe kitchen

_________________________
What happened at knocking? ________________________________________________
Score Auditory Memory 12. - Listening attention span and recall is good-fair-poor.

26. Color Overload _____________________________________________________ 0 - 1 - 2

Performance improves with Transparency color ______________ paper color
__________
Reaction to fluorescent lighting – yes-no. Problems
______________________________

27. Eye-hand coordination – moving object _________________________________ 0 - 1 - 2

27.A. Reach & Touch Accuracy & visual attention good-fair-poor____________0 - 1 -
2
27.B. Catch & Throw *Visually follows ball - Yes-No. *Aim is - good-fair-poor.
Accurate throws _____/5. Catches _____/5. Distance of thrower to target for accuracy
______ft/cm. Height _____ft/cm. ________________________________________

28. Basic Vision Sub-total Score for:________________________ date:__________ 0 - 1 - 2

14. ______________ 18. ______________ 22. _____________ 26. _______________
15. ______________ 19. ______________ 23. _____________ 27. _______________
16. ______________ 20. ______________ 24. _____________
17. ______________ 21. ______________ 25. _____________
# 0’s __________# 1’s _________ # 2’s _________
 L. E. Rockefeller c 2000 105
Learning profile for ___________________________Date
__________Examiner____________

B. F’s of Vision

29. Focus Lowest line comfortably read on E or Snellen Eye Chart _____________ 0 - 1 - 2
R eye 20/_____, L eye 20/_____, Both eyes 20/_____. Laterality R, L, X

30. Following _________________________________________________________0 - 1 - 2

Keeps head still, moves eyes. Yes-No. * Both eyes follow smoothly-jerkily. R-L eye
turns away. * Loses visual attention. Yes-No. * Eyes jump or lose fixation. Yes-No.
Eyes tear. Yes-No. * Tongue or other movements. Yes-No. * Thinks while eyes
follow. Yes-No. * Double vision. Yes-No. * Other
___________________________________

31. Fixation ____________________________________________________________0 - 1 - 2

Near to far & back 5 times is comfortable. Yes-No.
Complaints:_____________________

32. Fusion _____________________________________________________________0 - 1 - 2

Sees two images @ ______in/cm. * Recovers binocular vision @ ______in/cm. R-L
eye turns out. Dominant near vision eye, R-L.
_____________________________________
Problems: * pulls head back, away. * Loses concentration. * Sees 2 pencils sooner than 6
inches. * Recovery of one image at 8 or more inches. * Eyes water or hurt.
_______________________

33. Figure-ground - Outline figures ________________________________________0 - 1 - 2

(1) Cat 0 - 1 - 2 (2) Apples 0 - 1 - 2 (3) Fish 0 - 1 - 2 (4) Elephant 0 - 1 - 2
Problems _____________________________________________________________________

34. Form Discrimination –Straight or curved lines in letters outlined correctly _______ 0 - 1 - 2
Part 1: Straight line letters are: A, K, M, V, N, T, E, F, H. _____/9 correct. Curved line
letters are: O, U, C, G, Q, S. ____/6 correct. Total_____/15 correct ______________________
Part 2: Straight letters are: w, z, t, k, I. ____/5. Combination letters are: b, p, r, d, n, e, B,
f, D, h. _____/10 Total ____/15 correct. Total correct in parts 1 and 2 _____/30, or _____%.

35. F’s of Vision Sub-total 6 items - # 0’s _____, # 1’s _____, # 2’s _____ 0-1-2
______________________________________________________________________________
Sense & Hemisphere Preference Form, A-V-K Observation pages or Adult Auditory
Memory and Reading Skills
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
106 Part 2. Sensory Dominant Screening
 L. E. Rockefeller c 2000 107
Learning Profile for ___________________________Date _________
Examiner____________

String-Knot Test for Visual Convergence, Suppression, Etc.

WITH EYES ON THE KNOT

36. Visual Convergence Closer to eyes = over, farther from = under convergence. 0-1-
2
36.A. How many knots? Over-under convergence
1.# knots seen ______ 2. Always one-two? 3. Sometimes one-two? 0-1-
2
4. Difficulty maintaining one knot? Yes-no ____________________________ 0 - 1 -
2
36.B. Touches knot _____in-cm - before-after knot._________________________0 - 1 -
2
37.E. Touches string crossing _______in-cm - before - after knot.____________ 0 - 1
-2
Which problem with convergence exists? None - over - under __________________

37. Visual Suppression L ear = R eye and R ear = L eye. ______________________ 0-1-
2
37.A How many strings? One eye stronger ___________________________ 0 - 1 -
2
1. # strings _____ 2. Always two Yes-No 3. Sometimes one? Yes-No ______
4. Always one? Yes-No 5. Sees one string from R-L ear. ________________ 0 - 1 -
2
37.B. String brightness 6. Equally bright Yes-No ______________________ 0 - 1
-2
7. One string brighter Yes-No 8. Bright string from R-L eye ______________
9. Switches eyes. Yes-No____________________________________________
37.C. Blinking strings – Visual circuit in balance
10. One blinks on and off? Yes-No 11. Blinking string from R-L eye. _____
12. Both strings blink. Yes-No ______________________________________ 0 - 1 -
2
37.D. Gaps in string - Selective suppression _____________________________ 0 - 1 -
2
13. One string has gaps. Yes-No 14. Gap or dull area of string from R-L eye
15. Gaps in both strings. Yes-No Both eyes see gaps. Yes-no __________ 0 - 1
-2
Which eye is suppressed? R – L - both ______________________________ 0 - 1
-2
37.E. Where strings cross Score with Convergence 36
16. Touches string crossing _____in-cm before-after knot. More than 2 in.? Yes-No

38. Vertical Imbalance - How strings cross, high or same. 0-1

-2
Strings go in to each other? Yes-No. High string from R-L ear = R-L eye.
108 Part 2. Sensory Dominant Screening

39. Spatial Imbalance - Strings from same place each side of face. 0-1
-2
Strings appear from same place on each side. Yes-No High string from R-L side, R-
L eye. What seen_______________________________________________________

40. Visual Stress during this test. 0-1-

2
Notes ________________________________________________________________

41. Sub-total Score for String-knot test (items 36-40) #0’s _____#1’s ____#2’s ____ 0 - 1 -
2

Sub-totals: 28. Basic Vision (items 14-27) 0 - 1 – 2. 35. F’s of Vision (items 29-34) 0 - 1 -
2

42. Total Vision Score Basic Vision ____, F’s Vision ____, and String-knot ____. 0-1
-2
 L. E. Rockefeller c 2000 109
Learning Profile for ___________________________Date __________Examiner
___________

SECTION IV. Neuromuscular Strength and Coordination

43. Flexor strength, agility and coordination 0-1-2

44. Vestibular Balance in Flexion 0-1-
2
45. Extensor strength, agility and coordination 0-1-
2
46. Hand and finger strength 0-1-
2
A. Adductors – in _______B. abductors – out _______C. Thumb opposition _______
47. Leg/hip and shoulder strength 0-1-
2
Jumping Jacks - arm and leg ab and ad duction - Legs-hips 0- 1- 2, Shoulders 0- 1- 2
Coordination ____________________________________________________0- 1- 2
48. General body coordination and balance 0-1-
2
Walking 0- 1- 2________Hopping 0- 1- 2________Skipping (age 7+) 0- 1-
2_________
49. Rhythm and Timing Walks to rhythm ____________________________________ 0 - 1 -
2
50. Neuromuscular System Total __________________________________________ 0 - 1 -
2

SECTION V. General Impressions of Mental, Emotional and Physical Health

51. Intelligence Factors Refer to full statements in Sensory Dominant Screening.- Part 2
Rate each statement: U for usually true, O for Occasionally true, R for rarely true.
1. Attentive, interested in learning ___ 2. Good memory, uses new knowledge___
3. Constructive leader, foresees outcomes ___ 4. Speaks and comprehends well ___
5. Good vision, reads, writes well ___ 6. Many interests, creative, sensible ___
7. Avoids problems, knows consequences ___ 8. Self motivated, investigates subjects
___
Total Intelligence Impression - Number: U ____/8, O ____/8, R ____/8 Score - 0 - 1
-2

52. Social and Emotional Factors Score same as for intelligence

1. Balanced, well adjusted ___ 2. Confident, high self-esteem ___
3. Concerned for peers, animals ___ 4. Gets along well with peers and adults ___
5. Seldom hyperactive ___ 6. Outgoing, friendly ___
7. Even tempered, outbursts rare ___ 8. Cheerful ___
9. Alert, not usually sleepy ___ 10. Concentrates, attentive ___
11. Stable personality ___ 12. Not boisterous, or demanding ___
Total Social/Emotional Number: U _____/12, O _____/12, R _____/12 Score - 0 - 1
-2
110 Part 2. Sensory Dominant Screening

53. Physical Health Rate U, O, R or circle problems and explain on back _____________0 - 1
-2
1. Good health history __ 2. Frequencies of health problems such as: severe allergies ___
continuous ear and, or throat infections ___ headaches ___ stomach aches ___ muscle pains ___
or disabilities that preclude class or group participation ___. 3. Robust ___, healthy ___, seldom
absent from group ____. 4. Physical exam date & Dr.____________Problems with vision
___, hearing ___, tactile-kinesthetic ___, neuromuscular ___, central nervous system ___.
___________
Total Physical Health is good-fair-poor._________________________________ Score - 0 - 1 -
2

Screening Profile - R-L-X__ Auditory___ Vision___ Kinesthetic___ Neuromuscular___ other

______________________________________________________________________________
L. E. Rockefeller c 2000 111
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136 Part 2. Sensory Dominant Screening

A 9. - Questions toward self-evaluation for the adult or older student

Have the examinee dictate or write out complete answers to the following questions.

1. What was your highest grade completed? In which school and when? If you left early, what
was your predominant reason for leaving?
2. What makes you think that you may be dyslexic? At what age or grade did you feel that you
couldn’t keep up with your peers? In what subjects? How was this handled? How was your
self-esteem affected or changed? How has your self-esteem changed since then? Advice for
similar students?
3. When did you have a complete vision examination? Hearing exam? Results?
4. Regarding the educational system, with #1 being easy or no difficulty and #5 being serious
difficulty, rate your ease of difficulty with school.
5. Were you retained or placed in any special education program? Which program and grade
levels? How long? What was the diagnosis? Were you seen by a doctor and placed on
prescriptive medication? How do you feel about the whole procedure? Did it help or not?
6. What were your best subjects, your worst? What type of aids helped you most? What left
you feeling defeated? How would you change yourself or the system if you had to go
through it again?
7. What activities filled your spare time after school? And now?
8. What do you read? How often? When do you write and how often?
9. Do you use the computer screen at work? At home? Do you enjoy its use or use it because
you have to?
10. Of what accomplishments are you most proud?
Generally, how do you see or think of yourself now? Strengths? Weaknesses? Ambitions
and goals? Other?
 L. E. Rockefeller c 2000 137
Selected Bibliography

Discover Successful Learning Patterns

Lois E. Rockefeller copyright 1996 and 2000

Cassette Books from the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped,
Public Broadcasting Service Videotapes and Other Learning Materials are included with books
in print.

American Academy of Ophthalmology Pamphlets. 1984. 1. "Amblyopia - Is it affecting your

child's sight?" 2. "Low Vision - Help Can Make a Difference." and others.
American Foundation for the Blind. 1991. A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words for Blind and
Visually Impaired Persons Too! An Introduction to Audio description." American
Foundation for the Blind
American Optometric Association Pamphlets. 1980−1987. 1. "Answers to your questions about
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Seeing" and others.
American Vision Institute. 1981 Vision Improvement Program - A New Approach To Better
Eyesight. International Biophysics Corporation. No longer at address named in
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Anshel, Jeffrey. 1990. Healthy Eyes, Better Vision: Everyday Eye Care For the Whole Family.
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Los Angeles, CA 90048.
Belgau, Frank A. and Basden, Beverly V. 1971. A Perceptual Motor and Visual Perception
Handbook of Developmental Activities For Schools, Clinics, Parents and Pre-School
Programs. 1971 address was: Perception Development Research Associates, P.O. Box
827, Port Angeles, Washington 98362.
Blakemore, Colin. 1977. Mechanics of the Mind. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge,
New York.
Blakeslee, Thomas R. 1980. The Right Brain - A New Understanding of the Unconscious Mind
and Its Creative Powers. New York: Anchor Press/Doubleday.
Boodman, Sandra. "School Nurse Emergency - Are Kids at Risk?" Redbook. Feb.1995.
Brutten, Milton and Richardson, Sylvia, 1973. Something's Wrong With My Child. Harcourt,
Brace, Janovich, Inc., 757 Third Av., N.Y., N.Y. 10017.
Burke, James. "The Day the Universe Changed." (The Gutenberg Printing Press) 1993 PBS
series narrated by James Burke.
Buzan, Tony. 1974. Use Both Sides of Your Brain. New York: E.P.Dutton (1976).
CA State Federation, Council for Exceptional Children. 1982. "Project Balance -:Encouraging
Hemispheric Integration Through a Balanced Curriculum." 32nd Annual Conference,
Monterey, CA. Nov. 23, 1982.
138 Part 2. Sensory Dominant Screening

Chaconis, George. "Vision Therapy at Home." D.I.S. Center - Vision Therapy - San Diego
School District, CA. 1982.
Clarke, Louise. 1973. Can't Read, Can't Write, Can't Takl Too Good Either. Walker & Co.,
720 5th Av., N.Y., N.Y. 10019.
Cronin, Eileen M. 1994. "Helping Your Dyslexic Child". Prima Publishers
Cytowic, Richard E. 1993. "Man Who Tasted Shapes". G. P. Putnam
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Burlingame, CA.
Edgar, D., Clara Lee and The Santa Cruz Special Education Information Management System
(SEIMS). 1979. The Edgar Developmental Observation Checklist and Teacher
Instructional Guide. Published by Santa Cruz Office of Education, Santa Cruz, CA.
Edwards, Betty. 1979. Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain. J.P.Tarcher Inc., Los Angeles
Eisenson, Jon. "Why can't I read?" Stanford - Fall 1987.
Fagan, J. and Irma Lee Shepherd. 1970. Gestalt Therapy Now. Harper & Row, New York:
Fox, Stuart Ira. 1987. Human Physiology. Wm. C. Brown Publishers, Iowa
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Publishing (USA) Inc., 361 Hanover St., Portsmouth, NH 03801-3959 USA.
Goldenson, Robert M., 1970. The Encyclopedia of Human Behavior - Psychology, Psychiatry,
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County Herald. Jan. 16, 1994.
 L. E. Rockefeller c 2000 139
Hirsch, Carl. Member of American Optometric Association, Monterey County Office of
Education Vision Workshop. June 1982. "Visual Tests, including String and Knot Test
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140 Part 2. Sensory Dominant Screening

Mueller, Conrad G., Mae Rudolph and the Editors of Life. 1966. Light and Vision. New
York:Time Incorporated.
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Nauta, Walle J.H. and Michael Fiertag. 1979. "The Brain". Scientific American: September
1979, Vol. 241, # 3. San Francisco, CA: W.H. Freeman and Co.
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Restak, Richard. 1991. "The Brain Has a Mind of Its Own". Harmony Books

San Diego School District Workshop - Vision Therapy. November 1982. Visual Screening
including Brock's String Test and Vision Therapy for Home and Classroom.
Schank, Roger C. 1990. Tell Me A Story: A New Look at Real and Artificial Memory. Scribner
Smith, Lendon H. 1976. Improving Your Child's Behavior Chemistry. Wallaby - Pocket Books,
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Psychology of the Growing Person. Random House Inc., New York, Toronto.
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 L. E. Rockefeller c 2000 141

Key Words – Sensory Dominant Screening, Sensory Dominant Instruction, Learning Patterns,
dyslexia, right brain, brain dominance, diagnostic prescriptive, elementary school,
educational alternatives, teachers, parents, classroom, learning, teaching, techniques, senses,
activities, Stanford University, Mneumonic, right brain/left brain, cutting edge testing,
dominance pattern characteristics, physiological dyslexia