Any of these, Visual thinking is one of the ways people prefer to think. They may recall pictures of things they have seen or seen pictures of, for example elephants, a dog, favorite film, their children, a house they lived in, the local supermarket. And they may create pictures in their mind of things they have never seen, using their imagination, for example a rainbow colored elephant doing Ninja dancing, an imaginary dragon, a helicopter landing in the sea. The picture above is mine, with credit to Quinten Blake’s “Drawing for the Artistically Undiscovered” book.
It has occurred to me recently that some adults are not good at thinking in pictures and may even not know what visual thinking is. It is simply the ability to create a picture in your mind’s eye. When children are young you may hear them talking about imaginary friends, places they would like to go on holiday, a dragon they have invented or who takes them to ballet on Fridays. They have pictures for all these things and that is how they primarily think. Remember these are the pictures they have created in their head and not necessarily the ones they have been shown. Of course, they may use their other senses as well for thinking it is a personal preference.
The critical part is that we are born with diverse thinking skills which are underpinned by good visual skills for maintaining and creating mental imagery. At 6 weeks old we can recognize our mother and according to Dr. George Land, by 4 years old 98% of children are creative geniuses. Their heads are literally full of pictures. As we grow up we may lose these strengths if we don’t use them, which is a pity as they are invaluable for learning, creativity, problem solving, critical thinking, intuition, etc: much needed in adult life. Neurodivergent students have normally developed these skills into strengths.
Many adults may have lost some of these skills but others may just be creating images as an unconscious habit out of their conscious awareness, including recognising their own children when they come out of school. Just read through the following common expressions, known as visual predicates, and notice whether they trigger an image for you, albeit fleeting:
- My failure shed light on a better way to do it
- The grass was a vivid green
- My resilience enabled me to bounce back
- That illuminates the whole process
- I can see where the last jigsaw piece fits
- What a brilliant idea
If you are interested in this topic, the next class on exploring mental imagery, would be particularly helpful for you or your child.
Here are the list of our classes to help support visual thinkers, and they are free for anyone to join in.
Monday 13th May 8pm or Monday 3rd June at 9:30am Mathematics and numeracy – How to better use your visual skills for all aspects of Maths. Click here to book for free
Tuesday 14th May 8pm or Tuesday 4th June at 9:30am: Clearing Energy when Exhausted – For those who are lacking energy and would like some skills to improve their energy banks. Click here to book for free
Monday 20th May 9:30am: Exploring Mental Pictures, for those who feel they are not as creative as they used to be. Come and explore with us. Click here to book for free.
Tuesday 21st May at 9:30am : Neurodivergent Strengths and Challenges – there are many neurodivergent strengths that are well worth exploring to give you different perspectives on neurodiversity. Click here to book for free
Monday 27th May at 9:30am: Easy Literacy for Dyslexia: Learn the vital skill of visualising words for reduced anxiety and developing fluent spelling and reading. Click here to book for free
Tuesday 28th May at 9:30am: Thriving with ADHD: Many tips to learn about improving ADHD for your child and you without medication. Click here to book for free
To explore more of the tips and tricks we have for neurodivergent children and adults, do click here. There is even a free introductory video there
My name is Olive Hickmott, I am a health and learning coach, specializing in working with neurodivergent students. I would be pleased to support you in any way I can.
You are welcome to contact me olive@empoweringlearning.co.uk
Here you will find my learning platform for some of my training programmes and free live webinars www.visualkids.co.uk
You will find other useful information and Practitioner Training at http://www.empoweringlearning.co.uk
Here is my YouTube channel for more free resources: https://www.youtube.com/c/OliveHickmott
My latest books are:
The Elephants in the Classroom: using every student’s natural power of Mental Imagery to enhance learning: Neurodiversity through the lens of mental Imagery.
Bridges to Success – How to transform Learning Difficulties
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Olivehickmott 