Using flashlights in a dark area or corner of the room will enhance a child’s visual tracking skills.
Use the flashlight on a wall and slowly move the light up/down and right/left and in a circle.
Observe how your child reacts to this activity. Do they follow the light in different directions? Do they try to reach out to the light? Give the flashlight to your child if they are interested in it.
Flashlights are a great tool for play and fun. Adults do need to supervise at all times and ensure that the light is not too bright for your child. Attention skills as well as visual tracking skills can be targeted during this activity and it is fun for all involved.
Expand the activity by drawing on the wall with glow in the dark pens and using the flashlight to find them o the wall. Narrate to your child during the activity by describing what you are doing with the flashlight e.g. Oh the light is going up the wall, can you see it?
Step Up – Use the flashlight to move up and down the wall, around in a circle and from right to left. Does your child fix and follow the light? Are they trying to reach for the light? Use a verbal prompt only if required, such as “look at the light.”
Step Down – Using a flashlight on a small blackboard in front of the child may help your child to fix and follow the light better than on a wall. Use hand over hand physical prompts to use the flashlight along with you and point to where the light is on the board. Use verbal prompts such as “look at the light”. Fade the prompts over time.
Visual Tracking
