Unique Needs of the Young Child Who is Visually Impaired

Early Intervention

Early vision loss affects every area of development including cognitive, social, emotional, communication, self-help, and both fine and gross motor skills. The unique educational and developmental needs of children with vision impairments can best be assessed and interpreted by qualified educators. Vision is the primary source of information for most children. No other sense can stimulate curiosity, integrate information or invite exploration in the same way, or as efficiently and fully as vision does.

A baby who is born blind or severely visually impaired experiences the world differently from typical developing children. Since 85% of all early learning is visual, the child who is blind or visually impaired is at great risk for developmental delays. Effective, intensive intervention is imperative in the early years.

When a child is born with, or acquires a vision impairment, the family is challenged to understand the visual diagnosis, the impact of vision loss on development, and to begin to bring the world to the child. Without a dependable visual system the child with vision impairment* is called upon to understand the world through incomplete messages from the other senses of touch, sound, taste and smell. The child needs to organize this incomplete information and then respond to what may be a confusing view of the world.

As well, the child cannot learn everyday tasks by observing others. As a result, the ability to understand basic life concepts, and the process of accomplishing most daily activities is seriously compromised. For example, the child who is unable to see family members going through the steps of preparing a meal at home, misses valuable understanding of how things happen in daily life.

Family members provide the link to the world for the child with vision impairment. Carrying the baby in a front pack while doing chores around the house, setting aside a drawer with interesting and safe kitchen items for play, taking a sensory walk around the neighborhood, or describing everyday noises to the child are activities that make the connection to people and events in life. The child becomes most familiar with these routines by doing them again and again with family members and friends. At first, the child may be hesitant to touch things, but gentle encouragement over time usually helps the child to place little hands on toys and real objects.

Following are some resources that may be useful in understanding the development of a young child with vision impairments:

Watch Me Grow! (in English and Spanish), Blind Children's Fund (see Links Section)
Get A Wiggle On, Blind Children's Fund
Move It, Blind Children's Fund
Learning Together, booklet from American Printing House for the Blind
(see Links Section)
The Premature Baby Book by Helen Harrison, St. Martin's Press, 1983.

Once pieces of information about the world are understood as a whole (this is a lifelong process!) developing problem solving skills can follow. Only through experience based learning, as described above, does the child gain personal validation of what the world is about in a way that makes sense to him.

Currently, the majority of children with vision impairments have additional disabilities (BBF Registry of Early Childhood Vision Impairment). Taking care of general health issues is critical in the early months of life, and appointments with physicians and therapists can often fill the waking hours of family members. Eating, communication and movement skills are the focus of many interventions and therapies.

The following resources provide valuable information about children whose multiple impairments include vision impairment:

Starting Points, a book from Blind Children's Center (see Links section)
MRI: Tool, Not Predictor, a video from Child Development
Media, Inc. (see Links section)
Books by Dr. Lilli Nielsen, from Vision Associates *
Infant Massage: a handbook for loving parents, by Vimala McClure Schneider, Bantam Books, 1982. Available at major bookstores

Choosing a program for a young child with vision impairments can require research and legwork. Each community has a different set of early childhood program options. Every child is unique and available programs provide a unique set of elements to be matched with the needs of the child.

Following is a sampling of resources that provide information on preparing for school and the program selection process: ·

Selecting a Program, a booklet from Blind Children's Center
(see Links section)
Getting Ready for School, a booklet from PAVII Project, American Printing House for the Blind (see Links section)
Children with Visual Impairments: A Parents' Guide, by Cay Holbrook, Woodbine House, 1996. Available at major booksellers.

This information provides a small measure of the valuable information available on the diagnoses and development of young children with vision impairments. We hope it will get you Off To A Good Start!

*in this document, "the child" refers to the child with vision impairment.