Why Visual Performance Matters: Foundations for Occupational Therapy Practice
FREE 3-HOUR CONTINUING EDUCATION COURSE
Why Visual Performance Matters: Foundations for Occupational Therapy Practice
3.0 contact hours / 0.3 AOTA CEU • Introductory • OT Service Delivery • Live virtual or on-demand through the 2026 UOTA Fall Conference • No cost to participants for Live virtual
About this course
A passed vision screening tells you a student can resolve a letter on a chart. It tells you very little about whether that student can use vision to do the work of the day. This course gives occupational therapy practitioners a defensible, occupation-based way to observe, describe, and act on visual performance — without stepping outside the OT scope of practice.
The course is built in six blocks. Each block opens with a brief anchor concept, then spends the majority of its time on expanded application material: classroom and clinic signatures, referral decision-making, comorbidity patterns, and modifications a practitioner can put in place the next workday. Practitioners who have attended a prior Visual Minds Learning session will recognize the anchors as a quick refresher; the substance of each block is new material. For first-time participants, the course stands alone as a complete foundation.
Course objectives
Upon completion of this course, participants will be able to:
- Explain why a passed vision screening is a starting point, not an endpoint and articulate how visual performance influences reading, writing, attention, and occupational participation.
- Describe the visual pathway from eye to occupation using functional, non-diagnostic language that supports clinical observation, documentation, and interdisciplinary communication.
- Identify behavioral signatures of ventral (“what”) and dorsal (“where”) visual processing differences as they present in classroom, clinic, and home tasks.
- Distinguish visual red flags requiring referral to optometry or ophthalmology from findings addressable through occupational therapy and justify that decision with occupation-based rationale.
- Analyze how autism, ADHD, dyslexia, and dysgraphia alter the visual performance picture and integrate that understanding into intervention planning rather than addressing vision in isolation.
- Construct an immediate environmental and task-modification plan matched to observed visual performance limitations including a written next-step summary usable the following workday.
Agenda — three hours, six blocks
| TIME | BLOCK |
| 0:00 – 0:25 | Vision as a performance system: why a passed screening tells you little |
| 0:25 – 0:55 | What vision looks like in occupation: classroom, clinic, and home signatures |
| 0:55 – 1:30 | Recognize and refer: red flags by urgency and the scope line |
| 1:30 – 2:00 | When it is not just vision: autism, ADHD, dyslexia, dysgraphia |
| 2:00 – 2:35 | Modify Monday morning: environmental and task modifications |
| 2:35 – 3:00 | Where this goes next: from observation to structure and measurement |
Every block includes a poll, a case vignette, and a reflection prompt.
Who should attend
- Occupational therapists and occupational therapy assistants in school-based, pediatric outpatient, and early-intervention settings
- OT practitioners in home health, outpatient, or community settings who encounter low-vision presentations
- Practitioners serving clients with autism, ADHD, dyslexia, or dysgraphia who want to integrate visual performance screening into evaluation
- OT students and new graduates preparing for pediatric, school-based, or community fieldwork
Completion requirements
Participants complete all six blocks including the embedded case-application exercises, pass the post-course examination with a score of at least 80% (unlimited retakes permitted), and submit the course evaluation. A certificate is issued listing participant name and credentials, course title, 3.0 contact hours (0.3 AOTA CEUs), completion date, provider name and number, and a unique verification code validated at visualmindslearning.com/ceu/verify. Completion records are retained for a minimum of five years.
Presenter
Jeff Foster, OTR/L
Occupational therapist and vision impairment specialist with Madison County Schools, and founder of Visual Minds Learning, LLC. Jeff developed the Five-Level Visual Performance Framework and the Visual Performance Assessment (VPA) to give school-based and pediatric practitioners a structured, occupation-based way to identify and address visual performance limitations that interfere with learning and participation.
Provider statement
Visual Minds Learning, LLC is an AOTA Approved Provider of professional development. Provider #0000001618. This course is offered at 0.3 AOTA CEUs (3.0 contact hours), introductory level, OT Service Delivery. AOTA does not endorse specific course content, products, or clinical procedures.
How to Attend
This is a free event for members of the Utah Occupational Therapy Association (UOTA). All current UOTA members will have an email sent to them on approximately Thursday, October 1, 2026 with instructions to join this virtual event. Please make sure your email is current so that you receive the email (UOTA webpage > Membership > My Account). If you don’t receive emails from UOTA, you will want to make sure your email is not blocking these emails or sending them to your junk box.
This event will be recorded and made available to those attending the UOTA Fall Conference in November.
Questions?
Please reach out to Travis Chamberlain, OTD, OTR/L, UOTA Continuing Education Committee Chair at Travis.Chamberlain@Utah.edu