AOTA Approved Provider · Pediatric vision & performance
Choose your path
For individual OTs
AOTA-approved CEU courses
Start free with Course 0. Course 1 ($49) is open now; Course 2 ($79) opens this week.
See coursesFor clinics & districts
Team training packages
Seats for your whole team, in-service materials, and invoice or purchase-order billing.
Team optionsFor evaluation
VPA™ & Classroom Screens
A free 5-minute Classroom Screen and the full Visual Performance Assessment™.
See assessmentsThe Performance Cascade™
One child. Four systems. Find where it starts.
Vision, posture, sensory regulation and attention work together. A classroom symptom is often where the breakdown shows, not where it begins. We look at vision first, then follow the chain.
- 1 · Start with vision
Visual efficiency
Pursuits, saccades, convergence and focusing at near. When these aren't automatic, near work costs more effort.
Looks like: Loses place, rubs eyes, avoids copying
- 2 · Then check the body
Posture and motor control
The body adapts to help the eyes: head tilts, chin props, slumping, heavier pencil pressure.
Looks like: Slumps, tilts head, writing falls apart
- 3 · Then regulation
Sensory modulation and arousal
Rising effort shows up as movement-seeking, chewing, or shutting down to keep going.
Looks like: Rocks, chews, wanders, withdraws
- 4 · What the teacher sees
Attention and task behavior
Less capacity is left for starting, holding and finishing the task.
Looks like: "Won't start," "off task," "looks like attention"
A clinical reasoning guide, not a diagnosis. The chain can start at any level; checking vision first keeps it from being missed.
Visual Performance System™
One clinical system for visual performance.
A child can pass an eye exam and still struggle to read, write, and pay attention. This system helps you find out why, and what to do about it – step by step.
Sign in / create accountSignature tools
Learning Lab
Check what you see across vision, sensory, motor and focus. Get a live performance map, cross-system patterns, and a hunch to test.
Open the LabPediatric OT Service Intensity Scale
Explore a service range to discuss with your team. Score five clinical factors for school, outpatient, early intervention or home health.
Open P-OSIS™How it works
See it
Check it
Do it
What it looks like
Start here
Most people start with one screen and one student.
Assessment tools
Intervention tools
More
Free · No sign-up
Loses his place. Can't copy from the board. Writes off the line.
Everyday tasks, not a specialty topic. Pick what you're seeing and get what it may mean, two or three supports to try tomorrow, and a clear line for when to refer.
Helping professionals see learning differently.
When 20/20 vision isn’t enough.
The Visual Performance System™
A child can pass an eye exam and still struggle to read, write, and pay attention. This system helps you find out why, and what to do about it – step by step.
The Visual Performance System™ helps occupational therapists identify visual performance barriers, assess functional impact with the VPA™, generate intervention plans, and improve participation in learning.
Jeff Foster, MS, OTR/L, BCP, EdD(ABD) · 26+ years in school-based, neuro-rehab, retina, home health, and telehealth practice · AOTA Approved Provider.
Clinical Record
- 01Over 26 years as a licensed OT practicing in schools, retina practice, home health, neuro-rehab, community practice, program development, telehealth, and academia.
- 02300+ workshops on vision & handwriting since 2018
- 03AOTA Approved Provider
- 04MOT & OTA faculty · guest lecturer at multiple colleges
- 05EdD in progress (ABD) · Valdosta State
Vision isn't a subspecialty. It's the foundation of every occupation we ask a child, or an adult, to perform.
Jeff Foster, MS, OTR/L, BCP, EdD(ABD)
Founder · Visual Minds Learning
AOTA Approved Provider · Pediatric vision & performance
Choose your path
For individual OTs
AOTA-approved CEU courses
Start free with Course 0. Course 1 ($49) is open now; Course 2 ($79) opens this week.
See coursesFor clinics & districts
Team training packages
Seats for your whole team, in-service materials, and invoice or purchase-order billing.
Team optionsFor evaluation
VPA™ & Classroom Screens
A free 5-minute Classroom Screen and the full Visual Performance Assessment™.
See assessmentsThe Performance Cascade™
One child. Four systems. Find where it starts.
Vision, posture, sensory regulation and attention work together. A classroom symptom is often where the breakdown shows, not where it begins. We look at vision first, then follow the chain.
- 1 · Start with vision
Visual efficiency
Pursuits, saccades, convergence and focusing at near. When these aren't automatic, near work costs more effort.
Looks like: Loses place, rubs eyes, avoids copying
- 2 · Then check the body
Posture and motor control
The body adapts to help the eyes: head tilts, chin props, slumping, heavier pencil pressure.
Looks like: Slumps, tilts head, writing falls apart
- 3 · Then regulation
Sensory modulation and arousal
Rising effort shows up as movement-seeking, chewing, or shutting down to keep going.
Looks like: Rocks, chews, wanders, withdraws
- 4 · What the teacher sees
Attention and task behavior
Less capacity is left for starting, holding and finishing the task.
Looks like: "Won't start," "off task," "looks like attention"
A clinical reasoning guide, not a diagnosis. The chain can start at any level; checking vision first keeps it from being missed.
Free · No sign-up
Loses his place. Can't copy from the board. Writes off the line.
Everyday tasks, not a specialty topic. Pick what you're seeing and get what it may mean, two or three supports to try tomorrow, and a clear line for when to refer.
Free · No login
Not sure if it's a vision thing?
A 15-question checklist for parents, teachers, and OT practitioners. Answer honestly and get an instant plain-language report. It shows which of the five visual domains have concerning behaviors and what to do next. This is an educational screening tool, not a diagnosis.
Who's behind this
Jeff Foster, MS, OTR/L, BCP, EdD(ABD)
I've been a licensed OT for over 26 years, most of it in school-based practice. I built vision rehab programs inside a retina surgery practice and a home health agency, worked inpatient and outpatient neuro-rehab, and delivered telehealth. I've taught at four colleges and still guest lecture for OT and OTA programs. More than 300 workshops on vision and handwriting. The VPA™ framework and Visual Minds Learning grew out of one simple question: why do some children with "normal" eyesight still struggle to read, write, and participate in school?
Trusted by clinicians
What OTs say about Jeff's work.
Testimonials reflect the individual experience of each clinician and are not typical or guaranteed. Contributors received no payment or free product in exchange for their comments. Per FTC guidance (16 CFR Part 255), any material connection (e.g., past consulting engagement, workshop participation) is noted on the contributor's byline where applicable.
The System in Action
Four ways to put the Visual Performance System™ to work.
Each pathway is an entry point into the same framework: education, assessment, organizational implementation, and direct support.
Learn the framework
AOTA-approved courses, workshops, and certification that teach the Visual Performance Framework from screening through progress monitoring.
Explore courses
Use the VPA™ assessment engine
A 5-minute classroom screen, the 30-minute Full VPA™, and built-in clinical decision support that turns scores into priorities, goals, and recommendations.
Explore the VPA™
Deploy across your organization
Site licenses, team training, and implementation support for districts, clinics, healthcare systems, telehealth providers, and universities.
For Organizations
Get direct clinical support
Consulting, speaking, and team training for districts, clinics, and universities that want hands-on guidance from the framework's author.
Explore consulting
Assessment Engine
The VPA™ powers the assessment step of the Visual Performance System™.
The Visual Performance Assessment is a five-domain clinical framework that gives OTs a shared language for how vision supports real-world function. Built on 26+ years of school-based practice and clinical experience across retina surgery, neuro-rehabilitation, home health, and telehealth.
Visual Access
Visual Efficiency
Visual Processing
Visual-Motor Integration
Functional Integration
Free Clinical Tool
The 5-Minute Screener every OT should know.
Run it right in the browser. 5 tasks, PASS/FLAG scoring, and clear refer-out triggers. Prefer paper? Grab the PDF companion on the free resources page.
The whole picture
One System. One Workflow. Better Clinical Decisions and Meaningful Outcomes.
Explore the SystemThe Visual Performance System™ brings together everything a practitioner needs to move from "something looks off" to defensible documentation — without switching tools, vocabularies, or frameworks along the way.
Education teaches the framework. Screening and the VPA™ assessment engine quantify what's happening. Clinical decision support turns scores into recommendations, goals, accommodations, and referral flags. The intervention library supplies the treatment. Telehealth keeps it usable in virtual delivery. Progress monitoring closes the loop with reassessment — one integrated workflow.
Visual Minds is growing
Vision doesn’t work in isolation. Neither should our assessments.
What we’re ultimately interested in is performance — how the visual, sensory, and motor systems work together so a child can participate in school, play, self-care, and everyday life. Visual Minds is the first pillar of that larger system.
Signature tools
Learning Lab
Check what you see across vision, sensory, motor and focus. Get a live performance map, cross-system patterns, and a hunch to test.
Open the LabPediatric OT Service Intensity Scale
Explore a service range to discuss with your team. Score five clinical factors for school, outpatient, early intervention or home health.
Open P-OSIS™Clinical Insights
Join Clinical Insights.
One list, one email. Evidence-informed notes on vision, handwriting, and literacy. Plus new resources and VPA™ updates. One or two emails a month, from Jeff.