(Not in Online Resources
Strategies to Improve Visual Field Cuts
Following are general strategies to help individuals who have visual field cuts:
- Educate the individual regarding the nature of the visual field deficit and environmental restructuring (e.g., consistently presenting stimuli in the preserved field).
- Cue the individuals to the side of the visual field cut by use of auditory, tactile or visual (intact field) stimuli.
- For persons with homonymous visual field losses (i.e., loss of one half of the visual field), it is recommended that they compensate by developing a head tilt or turn their body to more effectively scan the preserved field for vision. For example, if the visual field loss was for the left side of space, he or she should routinely be encouraged to poise his or her head approximately 45 degrees to the left.
- Train the individual in effective scanning techniques which involve learning to rapidly move the eye to scan the environment.
- Consider the use of action oriented three-dimensional video games to improve scanning speed and efficiency.
- Consider referral to an ophthalmologist or optometrist for potential use of prism lenses or special glasses to refract peripheral stimuli to the intact visual field.
back to Compensatory Strategies for Neuropsychological Weaknesses index