What are visual-spatial skills?

Visual-spatial skills allow you to judge how far objects are from you and from each other. They are used all the time in a variety of daily activities such as driving, walking, reading, and doing math. Some examples of how they are used in these activities are:

• Driving - Merging into traffic requires you to make a judgment on how far away other cars are so you know when it is safe to enter traffic. When pulling into a parking spot you need to be able to judge how big your car is and how close you are to the other cars.

• Walking - When you are walking through a crowded room, visual-spatial skills keep you from bumping into things or people. When walking downstairs, they help you take each step at just the right size.

• Reading - Reading uses visual-spatial skills because words are formed based on how the letters are put together on the page. How you perceive the letters makes a difference in what you read. Seeing "M" versus "W" is also because of your visual-spatial skills.

• Math - Math is just like reading. The way you see the numbers in an equation makes a big difference. 5-3+2 is different from 3-2+5.