Orthoptics – Visual Processing Difficulties Clinic

General introduction

The Orthoptic Visual Processing Difficulties (VPD) Clinic helps children with eye problems related to or contributing to a reading difficulty.

Visual processing is the way the brain makes sense of visual information.

In the clinic, orthoptists (eye specialists) check and treat problems with eye movement and vision that may make it harder for a child to read or learn.

This could be due to problems with eye movements during reading and other vision related problems such as visual perception difficulties.

We help children with specific learning issues related to visual processing rather than general learning issues.

We do not assess for learning difficulties such as dyslexia as we are not education specialists.

After each assessment, a detailed report is sent to parents or carers and the professionals involved in the child’s care. This may include their school or college, the person who referred them, and other healthcare professionals such as an occupational therapist or community paediatrician.

How to access this service

We accept referrals from teachers / staff in schools and colleges in Warrington and Halton boroughs using the screening questionnaire (referral tool)

Referrals from other areas are accepted but parents must ask the school / college to complete the referral form and ask their GP to refer them to the service by submitting screening questionnaire (referral tool).

Please note that because of the nature of the testing and difficulties that we are assessing for, we do not normally accept referrals for children below the age of eight.

Complete the screening questionnaire (referral form)

About the team

The team consists of fully qualified orthoptists who are specialists in assessing children with visual processing difficulties. Each orthoptist has completed relevant post graduate training and has extensive experience in this area.

Kathryn Whitfield – Highly Specialist Orthoptist and lead of the service
Lydia Bodell – Specialist Orthoptist
Jenny Shave – Specialist Orthoptist
Emma Rowett – Highly specialist Orthoptist
Aoife McCaughey – Specialist Orthoptist
Milly Bowen – Specialist Orthoptist

Useful information

Orthoptists, are trained to assess patients of all ages and abilities which enables us to be flexible with our approach and allows us to adapt our testing to suit individual needs. We are trained to help children with specific learning difficulties, such as dyspraxia and autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We work closely with school special educational needs coordinators (SENCO) and teachers to provide the holistic care for each child.