Visual Search

About the Visual Search exercise

Finding one jar on a crowded shelf, the right key on a ring, or every place a form asks for a signature means sweeping the whole scene without skipping a patch. After a stroke or a brain injury the sweep can become uneven: one side of the page gets less attention, items are marked twice, or the search stops before it is done.

Visual Search puts that sweep on a board. Targets are spread among distractors, the person taps each one they find, and they decide for themselves when the search is finished. The results show how many were found, how many were missed, any false marks, and a separate count for the left and right halves of the board.

What Visual Search practices

Visual scanning

Targets are placed across the whole board, with as many on the left half as on the right, so a complete search has to cover every corner rather than the middle.

Selective attention

Conjunction rounds hide the target among distractors that each share one feature with it, the right shape or the right color, so nothing pops out and each item has to be checked.

Systematic search

The grid layout lines items up in rows, left to right like reading, for rehearsing a set route. The scattered layout is closer to a real shelf or desk.

Knowing when to stop

The round never ends itself. The marked count is shown, but not how many remain, so deciding that the search is complete is part of the exercise.

How the tool works and what it records

Three search types. Feature: squares among circles, so the target pops out. Conjunction: an olive square among olive circles and plain squares, or a large square among circles and small squares (size is the colorblind-safe option). Cancellation: one letter, number, or symbol to cross out in a mixed field, with a new target every round. Free presets: sparse shapes (5 targets in 20 items), dense shapes (8 in 45), and a letter grid (10 in 54). Pro unlocks the dials: search type, scattered or grid layout, 4 to 15 targets, 20 to 80 items, and item size. Large-print mode is free.

The timer starts on the first tap; tap to mark, tap again to unmark, then choose Finish round. The panel shows time, found of total, false positives, and the left and right sides as hits over targets. Missed targets are ringed in red on the board and false positives in amber. Free accounts get 5 rounds per tool per day; Pro adds unlimited rounds and a PDF worksheet with an answer key, and accounts with the session log feature have each round saved.

Screen or paper?

The screen suits timed rounds with instant scoring and the left and right split worked out for you, plus a fresh board every time with no printing. Paper suits sessions where crossing out with a pen is part of the practice, where a large sheet on the table is easier to scan than a screen, where there is no wifi, or where a marked sheet needs to be kept.

The printable version is the Letter Cancellation worksheet set on rehabworksheets.com, and there is a free letter cancellation worksheet to try first, with no email required.

Using it well

• Start sparse, then dense. The sparse shapes preset, 5 targets in 20 items, shows whether the sweep covers the whole board before density is a factor. Move to dense shapes when a few rounds in a row come back with no misses.
• Read the left and right tiles before the time. A finish with every target found on one side and half of them on the other says more than the total. If one side keeps coming up short, keep the grid layout and agree a spoken route: top row, left to right, then the next row.
• Use the grid for a set route, scattered for real life. The grid lines items up like text so a steady left-to-right, top-to-bottom sweep can be rehearsed out loud. Switch to scattered once the route is automatic, since shelves and desks are never in rows.
• Let the person call the finish. Resist pointing at what is left. The round only ends on Finish round, and deciding the search is done is the skill. Missed targets are revealed afterwards, which makes a better talking point than a hint during the round.
• Adapt for hand and vision. The tap area around each item is larger than the item itself, so a slightly off tap still counts. Large-print mode is free, and in conjunction rounds the size option avoids relying on color.

Common questions