Security & Discovery
Vision is one of the senses that motivates infants and toddlers to reach toward a person or object, and discover what’s there. A young child with a visual impairment will discover movement, interact, and begin to memorize his world—if we help provide him with the motivation to move.Before a child will creep or crawl across the room, he needs lots of practice with his head, shoulders, knees and toes. He learns about the movement of his arms and legs when being dressed or having baby lotion put on after a bath.What does moving through space feel like? Dancing with Daddy? Reaching out with hands or feet to touch a metal bowl? Let him discover the toy–or discover you!–just out of reach.
When a child moves his head, hands, feet or his whole body, he tells us what he’s interested in, or what he is cautious about touching. We need to set up safety zones where little hands and feet have a chance to discover how things work, again and again, until the child is confident in his own abilities and the predictability of what’s around him.
DIG DEEPER!
Check out the research page for information on:
Watch the video clips for demonstrations of OSEP outcomes:
- Positive social relationships with adults
- Remembering, problem solving
Reaching
Discovering
Manny
Liam
Movement and Young Children
Movement and Young Children
By Carla Hannaford
Movement is essential to learning. Movement integrates and anchors new information into our neural networks. (Teaching Values.com)
Orientation and Mobility: The Early Years of Infancy through Preschool
By Tanni Anthony
Within the past five to ten years, an emphasis has been placed on the early O&M skills specific to infants, toddlers, and preschoolers who are visually impaired. Discussion of physical readiness, cognitive connection, and motivation invitation. (Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired)
Secure Infant Attachment
Effects of Secure Attachment
By Allan Schore, Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California at Los Angeles School of Medicine
Details the neurobiology of a secure attachment.
The Importance of Touch
By Gigi Newton, Teacher Trainer, TSBVI, Texas Deafblind Outreach
Reading their Signals / Mutual Attention
Using Tactile Strategies With Students Who Are Blind and Have Severe Disabilities
By June Downing and Deborah Chen
Wait Time
The Ever-Important “Pause”
By Lyn Ayer, Director, Oregon Deafblind Projec
The importance of “wait time” as a strategy to encourage communication and participation when interacting with individuals with deafblindness or multiple disabilities. (Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired)
Building Concepts
Dad, Where’s the Plunger?
By Richard Holloway, from “Future Reflections: A Magazine for Parents & Teachers of Blind Children, Summer 2011, Vol. 30, No. 3,”
Deborah Kentstein, Editor
In this article, Richard Holloway describes how he helped his blind daughter,Kendra,fill in some important information gaps.
Tactile Strategies for Young Children who are Deaf-Blind: A Teacher’s Perspective
By Patty Salcedo, M.A.
Patty Salcedo, a Teacher of the Visually Impaired (TVI) and the mother of a child who has a visual impairment, describes how the infant’s home or young child’s preschool setting can be set up for optimal learning. She emphasizes ways to help young children build new concepts.
Following the Child’s Lead
About Floortime
The “Greenspan Floortime Approach” is a system developed by the late Dr. Stanley Greenspan. Floortime meets children where they are and builds upon their strengths and abilities through creating a warm relationship and interacting. Video instruction and workshop links.
Children with Complex Medical Needs
Conversations without Language: Building Quality Interactions with Children Who are Deaf-Blind
By Linda Hagood, Education Specialist, TSBVI Outreach Department
Article based on information from Dr. Jan van Dijk, regarding conversations with children who have limited language skills.
Lily Neilson’s site – Active Learning
Children with multiple disabilities often respond favorably to a different strategy for addressing their learning needs. Lili Neilson’s “ Active Learning” is designed for and reaches learners with visual impairment and other disabilities.
