From Balance to Brilliance
How Visual-Vestibular Integration Supports Learning, Praxis, and Spatial Thinking
When: In Person - March 15, 2027
Description
Visual-vestibular integration is far more than balance and eye movements. It is the foundation upon which children develop body awareness, spatial understanding, purposeful action, and the ability to think about space itself. As the nervous system matures, these early sensory-motor processes support increasingly complex skills, including praxis, visual-spatial reasoning, navigation, construction, visualization, and learning.
This advanced one-day workshop follows the developmental progression from foundational postural and ocular control through visual-spatial perception, skilled action, and higher-order spatial thinking. Participants will explore the neuroscience underpinning visual-vestibular integration while learning how to recognize its influence on play, motor development, academic performance, and everyday participation.
Designed for pediatric clinicians, this workshop integrates evidence-informed theory with case studies, movement experiences, clinical reasoning, hands-on activities, and practical intervention strategies throughout the day. Participants will leave with a deeper understanding of how visual-vestibular development shapes functional performance and with immediately applicable tools to assess, interpret, and support children across a wide range of developmental presentations.
Outline / Agenda:
9.00 to 10.30am Finding Our Center
The Foundations of Visual-vestibular Integration
10.30 to 11.00am Morning Break
11.00 to 12.30pm Making Sense of Space
Developing Visual-Spatial Perception Through Movement
12.30 to 1.30pm Lunch
1.30 to 3.00pm Moving with Purpose
Visual-vestibular Integration, Praxis and Skilled Action
3.00 to 3.30pm Afternoon Break
3.30 to 5.00pm Thinking Beyond What we See
Visualization, Imagination, and Higher-Order-Spatial Thinking
Learning Objectives:
- Analyze the contributions of the visual and vestibular systems to postural control, body orientation, and the development of stable visual perception during movement.
- Differentiate the components of visual-spatial processing and explain how visual-vestibular integration supports spatial perception, environmental navigation, and functional participation.
- Examine the relationship between visual-vestibular integration, praxis, and motor performance to interpret how deficits may influence participation in everyday occupations.
- Apply principles of visual-vestibular development and spatial cognition to clinical reasoning when assessing and designing intervention strategies for children with visual-spatial challenges.
- Analyze occupational performance and develop individualized intervention strategies that support children's success in academic, social, play, and daily living environments.
Provider Name: The Maude Le Roux Academy
Presenter: Maude Le Roux, OTR/L, SIPT
Bio: Maude Le Roux is a global trainer in multiple methodologies and a mentor to therapists from multidisciplinary teams. She opened her practice, A Total Approach in Glen Mills, PA, USA in 2001, and the satellite office in Allentown, PA in 2023. Maude started her training career in 2007 and opened her online academy in 2019. She has designed the Developmental Pathways Model (DPM), which she applies to her own unique assessment and intervention protocol for major diagnosis such as Dyspraxia, ADHD and Executive Functions, Autism, Reading and Writing Disorders, and Trauma and Attachment. Maude served 9 years on the Board of Directors for ATTACh and currently serves on their Advisory Board. She also serves on the Advisory Board for LSWorks (Neuralign program). She is a co-author of two books and more recently wrote a chapter on Trauma and the Body in “Healing Connections” which launched in September 2024. Maude received an award for “Continued child advocacy” through the ATTACh organization in September 2024. She also received the Champion Award through ICDL in November 2024. Maude has a “whole child” approach to care and intervention and equipping the child, while empowering the parent is at the core of who she is as a clinician and trainer.
Target Audience: Occupational Therapists, Speech Language Pathologists, Physical Therapists, Social Workers, Psychologists, Educators, Parents
Educational Level: Intermediary
Instructional Methods: PowerPoint, Video
Contact Hours: 6 hours
Contact: [email protected]
