Visual: Over Responsive

  1. Student expresses discomfort with bright light/ fluorescent lighting
  2. Student prefers spending time in dark environments, or prefers the lights turned off in the classroom
  3. Student has difficulty making eye contact
  4. Student is easily distracted by visual stimuli in the room; i.e., movement, decorations, toys, windows, doorways etc.
  5. Student often loses place when copying from a book or the board / or when reading

1. Student expresses discomfort with bright light/ fluorescent lighting

A student who is overresponsive to visual input may process lighting as much brighter.

Suggested Strategies:

Suggested Strategies:

  • Change the lighting in the environment:
  • Lamp lighting is less visually stressful than overhead lighting
  • Keep lights dimmed
  • Use natural light when possible
  • Seat student away from the source of light
  • Turn off overhead lights in certain areas of the classroom
  • Remove the fluorescent light bulb above that particular student’s desk.
    • If lights must be used:
  • Allow the student to wear lightly tinted sunglasses or dark sunglasses if necessary
    • Allow the student to wear sunglasses or a baseball cap outdoors
    • Be mindful of reflective surfaces around the classroom / school environment which may concentrate or magnify light source
    • Prepare student before entering environments with different lighting or strong lighting
  • Use visual supports to explain change in lighting
  • Warn student that they may need to use their sunglasses
    • Provide student with a visual scale to indicate when they are becoming distressed by light

Point to remember

  • Provide a lamp, dimmed lighting or natural light

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2. Student prefers spending time in dark environments, or prefers the lights turned off in the classroom

A student who is sensitive to light may impulsively switch off lights or escape to a darker place (e.g. store, under a cushion).

Suggested Strategies:

  • Allow the student to wear lightly tinted sunglasses or dark sunglasses if necessary
  • Seat the student in a darker area of the classroom if possible e.g. away from windows and light sources
  • Place a ‘Stop’ symbol over the light switch and redirect students to other strategies e.g. putting on sunglasses
  • Change the lighting in the environment:
    • Lamp lighting is less visually stressful than overhead lighting
    • Keep lights dimmed
    • Use natural light when possible
    • Turn off lights if possible
  • Prepare student before entering environments with different lighting or strong lighting
    • Use visuals to explain change in lighting
    • Warn student that they may need to use their sunglasses
  • Provide student with a visual scale to indicate when he/she is becoming distressed by light

Point to remember

  • Allow student to wear sunglasses if required

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3. Student has difficulty making eye contact

There are many reasons why a student with autism may find eye contact difficult. Some individuals with autism may find eye contact difficult for social, behavioural or emotional reasons. Others, may find eye contact difficult for sensory reasons e.g. distracted by the features and movements on another person’s face or eye contact may be difficult when engaging in conversation or listening, as processing speech and facial expression at the same time results in sensory overload. Therefore it should not be assumed that because an individual with autism is not looking, they are not attending to and processing what is being said. They may be avoiding eye contact in order to improve their ability to listen and understand.

Suggested Strategies:

  • Don’t force or demand the student to make eye contact.
    • The student may be listening and paying attention without making eye contact – in fact not looking at you might be enhancing the ability to process verbal information.
  • Do not ask the student to “Look at me”. This is a vague instruction; it could mean look at my face or look at my hand, and it can again cause unnecessary stress.
  • Teach the student to look near the eyes instead of directly at the eyes or to fix on another point instead.
  •  Focusing on the lips or the hair line while someone is talking is a good way to show interest and improve comprehension without the sensory overload that comes from a direct gaze.

Point to remember

  • Do not insist that student makes eye contact

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4. Student is easily distracted by visual stimuli in the room; i.e., movement, decorations, toys, windows, doorways etc.

A student who is overresponsive to visual input has difficulty filtering out the varying visual stimulation in the room and is very aware of pictures on the wall, people moving around, screensavers on computer screens, books on shelves, trees and cars outside etc. This causes the student to be easily distracted and in more extreme cases he/she may feel overwhelmed and highly anxious.

Suggested Strategies:

  • Reduce visual distractions and keep classroom clutter free and organised
    • Limit the amount of visual material hanging from ceiling or walls
    • Reduce clutter
    • Seat student away from doors, windows and colourful displays
    • Switch off computers and interactive whiteboards when not in use, as screensavers can be distracting
    • Store resources out of sight if possible, or cover with plain pieces of fabric e.g. a plain white shower curtain
    • Certain wall paint colours help in reducing visual stress e.g. neutral shades
    • Avoid patterned carpet of flooring
  • When speaking to the student/class, stand in front of a blank wall so the student is not distracted by visual input behind you.
  • When speaking to a student who is easily overwhelmed by visual input, limit excessive body language and facial expression.
  • Provide desk partitions or boundaries to reduce distractions and help the student concentrate on their work and what is going on in their immediate visual field.
  • School worksheets:
    • Should include as much white space as possible; if necessary have information printed on more pages to increase white space
    • Keep amount of visual information on worksheet to a minimum

Reduce the amount of colour used on written materials or run through a copier for a black and white version

Point to remember

  • Position screens to reduce visual distractions when student is engaged in independent work

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5. Student often loses place when copying from a book or the board / or when reading

Suggested Strategies:

  • Reduce visual distractions and keep classroom clutter free and organised
    • Limit the amount of visual material hanging from ceiling or walls
    • Reduce clutter
    • Seat student away from doors, windows and colourful displays
    • Seat student near to the board if possible
  • Provide desk partitions or boundaries to reduce distractions and help the student concentrate on their work and what is going on in their immediate visual field
  • Provide visual aids to facilitate copying from book or board:
    • Use a finger or ruler to mark where reading
    • Use a typoscope when reading (cut out a window in a piece of card and show only what is needed to be read)
    • Use an angled writing surface to reduce the distance the eyes have to travel from the board to the paper
    • Use a touch screen instead of computer mouse when using computer
    • Use different colours for different lines of text on the board
  • Provide a written sheet on the desk to copy from rather than copying from the board
  • Use large print books/work sheets
  • School worksheets:
    • Should include as much white space as possible; if necessary have information printed on more pages to increase white space
    • Keep amount of visual information on worksheet to a minimum

Point to remember

  • Reduce the amount of colour used on written materials or run through a copier for a black and white version

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