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Assessment of Auditory and Visual Processing and Saccade Control

The assessments at Blicklabor diagnose deficits in visual and auditory processing and saccade control. These may contribute to reading, writing and/or arithmetic difficulties as well as hindering overall progress at school.

Research shows that between 30 and 75% of children with learning difficulties (dyslexia, dyscalculia, slow learners, etc.) and ADHD suffer from developmental deficits in auditory and visual processing. Overcoming these deficits will not necessarily remedy all aspects of dyslexia and learning difficulties but it ensures that students will not be disadvantaged by undiagnosed visual and auditory deficits throughout their school careers and eventually throughout their lifes.

The assessments analyse how accurately incoming information from the ears and eyes is processed by various centres in the brain. The assessments include:

• Dynamic vision
• Saccade control
• Stability of gaze control (simple and binocular)
• Subitizing (counting objects in one gaze)
• Low-level auditory discrimination (volume, pitch, gap-detection and time order)

Results are compared against those of an age-matched control group. Developmental deficits are diagnosed when individual results are significantly below those of the control group. In these instances a training recommendation is made. Regular practice at home on specific training programmes leads to improvement in auditory and/or visual processing. This may in turn lead to greater progress at school.

Assessments can be carried out in Freiburg or in any of the BlickLabor Centres and Partner Practices in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Luxemburg, Great Britain, Australia and New Zealand.

Usually the costs of the assessment are not reimbursed by public health insurance. Private health insurances usually reimburse the costs of both the diagnosis and the training.

Please note:

• The tests of BlickLabor neither diagnose nor rectify impairments in hearing and eyesight.
• Hearing and Sight Tests are required beforehand.
• The assessments do not involve reading or writing, i.e. they are non-language based.
• The assessments are measures of auditory and visual processing, of saccade and fixation control. They are not measures or indicators of intelligence or achievement.