Secure parent-child attachment may help children to overcome the challenges of growing up with a visual or visual-and-intellectual impairment. A large literature exists that provides a blueprint for interventions that promote parental sensitivity and secure attachment. The Video-feedback Intervention to promote Positive Parenting (VIPP) is based on that blueprint. While it has been adapted to several specific at risk populations, children with visual impairment may require additional adjustments. This study aimed to identify the themes that should be addressed in adapting VIPP and similar interventions. A Delphi-consultation was conducted with 13 professionals in the field of visual impairment to select the themes for relationship-focused intervention. These themes informed a systematic literature search. Interaction, intersubjectivity, joint attention, exploration, play and specific behavior were the themes mentioned in the Delphi-group. Paired with visual impairment or vision disorders, infants or young children (and their parents) the search yielded 74 articles, making the six themes for intervention adaptation more specific and concrete. The rich literature on six visual impairment specific themes was dominated by the themes interaction, intersubjectivity, and joint attention. These themes need to be addressed in adapting intervention programs developed for other populations, such as VIPP which currently focuses on higher order constructs of sensitivity and attachment.

A presumed setback in development between 16 and 27 months of age was studied by reviewing the literature on setback in development and longitudinal studies of children with blindness or visual impairment. The results showed that the period around the second year of life is a vulnerable period for these children, in which about 25-33% of the children who are blind show a setback. Setback is far less common in children with less severe visual impairments (±3%). Important risk factors are profound visual impairments, neurological abnormalities and social adversity. Individual differences in maturation and development and methodological issues complicate conclusive statements about the existence and the nature of this setback. Alternative explanations for a developmental setback are described, such as measurement error and an over-diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder. The main suggestion for future research is that in order to be able to capture the phenomenon of developmental setback and to pinpoint moderating and mediating factors, children with congenital blindness and visual impairment need to be monitored prospectively in a longitudinal research design.