Topic 5: What Does Poor Spatial Awareness Look Like & How Do They Both Transfer to the Classroom?

For children who are particularly challenged with spatial awareness it helps to describe the space they are in. For example: the desk is wide, the bean bag chair is low, the table is close to the chair, the blocks are far away from the table. This helps the process of understanding space, size, distance and even the impact of speed on his movements.

In the long term, children become confident in their bodies when they know how to move them, how their bodies will respond when they are moved and how much space they take up. This knowledge gives them confidence in their world, comfort with themselves and the control they need to master not only themselves but academic tasks that lay ahead.

• Children who are challenged with spatial awareness may 
  • struggle with up, down, under, over, front, behind, in and out, right and left
  • have poor visual awareness
  • appear clumsy, bumping into things and people
  • stand too far away from things, or too close
  • struggle with writing and pencil mechanics
  • have verbal and non-verbal reasoning skills challenges
  • struggle with games that require equipment
  • have a hard time recognizing the location of something the see, hear or feel

For children who are particularly challenged with spatial awareness, consider having them move through the classroom with you when no other children are around.  As they move, describe the space they are in for example: the desk is wide, the bean bag chair is low, the table is close to the chair, the blocks are far away from the table. This activity will help the child begin to understand space, size, distance, and even the impact of speed on his movements.

In the long term, children become confident in their bodies when they know how to move them, how they will respond when they are moved and how much space they take up. This knowledge gives them confidence in their world, comfort with themselves, and the control they need to master not only themselves but academic tasks that lay ahead.