What are the symptoms of Visual Neglect?
Reduced awareness of people or objects to one side
Being easily startled by things appearing from the side or a tendency to bump into things that were not seen.
Neglecting to eat the food located on one side of the plate
Neglecting to shave one side or apply makeup to one side of the face.
Visual Neglect explained:
Visual Neglect, also known as Unilateral Spatial Neglect (USN) refers to the condition that occurs when you are unable to perceive one side of your world. This is a loss of awareness of things on one side, frequently the left side. For example, after injury to the right hemisphere of the brain, you may neglect to eat the food located on the left side of the plate. Visual neglect is difficult to compensate for or adapt to as you may be totally unaware of the problem. It is almost as if one half of the world no longer exists. This condition can be both temporary and chronic, lasting from days after the trauma to a lifetime.
What can we do?
Most treatment involves neuro-visual rehabilitation and occupational therapy, the main goal being to adapt to the neglect symptoms. Therapy consists of finding ways to bring attention toward the neglected side, usually done incrementally, by going just a few degrees and progressing from there.