The Development of Object Play and Classificatory Skills in a Blind Child

Abstract

Two aspects of the cognitive development of a 14-to-18-month-old blind child are reported: the development of procedures for the intentional control of objects and the development of certain classificatory skills. The longitudinal data revealed two developmental processes. The first is that a blind baby learns to control objects by devising a strategy involving the simultaneous use of two objects, one in each hand. In addition, since the child showed no preference for sound-making objects, it is argued that manual control is essential for the development of information about objects. The second is a trend in the development of classification, from grouping objects according to their differences to grouping objects based on their similarities. It was found that development of classification in the blind child paralleled that of sighted children studied in other research, with blind children displaying only a slight developmental lag.

A Systematic Review of the Literature on Parenting of Young Children with Visual Impairments and the Adaptions for Video-Feedback Intervention to Promote Positive Parenting (VIPP)

“…Exploration of functional aspects of toys starts at the average age of 15 months (Preisler 1995 ). An infant with blindness can learn to manipulate and compare objects by devising a strategy involving the simultaneous use of two objects, one in each hand (Gerhardt 1982 ). In young children with visual impairments exploratory play is their only and dominant play behavior.…”

“…When children grow older, exploration expands due to improving motor skills (Rattray and Zeedyk 2005 ; Tröster and Brambring 1994 ): children can hold and explore toys, and more active touch is seen (Parsons 1986b ). Manual control is essential for the development of the capacity to classify objects (Gerhardt 1982 ). Mobility skills seem to be related to explorative behavior; the mastery of crawling seems to advance or occur at the same time as the ability to reach for a sound cue (Bigelow 1992 ; Fraiberg 1968 ).…”

“… ( N = 11 < 4y.) Blind without and blind with additional impairments, sighted Longitudinal quantitative descriptive prevalence study 1973 and follow up in 1987 ( N = 82) Parents questionnaires, semi structured interviews, school questionnaires, psychological pediatric, neurological assessment Specific behavior 1 Gense and Gense ( 1994 ) USA Blind with and without autistic features Review Comparing stereotypic behavior in children with autism and children with VI Specific behavior 1 Gerhardt ( 1982 ) USA N = 3 detailed longitudinal info on 1 child at Age: 14, 16, 18 m. Blind, no additional impairments Descriptive design, longitudinal data ( N = 1) Video analysis of play sessions with 8 different set of tasks Focus: development of object play and classificatory skills. Exploration 1,2 Play behavior 3 Hobson et al ( 1999 ) UK Bl: N = 9 Si: N = 9 age: 5–9 y.…”

Critical Review of Setback in Development in Young Children with Congenital Blindness or Visual Impairment

“…Seven of these studies mentioned a delay in acquiring specific social interaction skills, such as communication, language, and joint attention (Andersen, Dunlea, & Kekelis, 1984;Bigelow, 2003;Brambring, 2005Brambring, , 2007bPreisler, 1991Preisler, , 1995Rowland, 1984). Nine studies described delays that were adaptations to the blindness, such as a different developmental progress in parent-child interaction, play, gross and fine motor skills (Gerhardt, 1982;Brambring, 2006Brambring, , 2007aFerguson & Buultjens, 1995;Peters, 1996;Rattray & Zeedijk, 2005;Rogers & Puchalski, 1988;Tröster, Hecker, & Brambring, 1994). Lastly, Hatton et al (1997) and Brambring (2005) described an overall delay in development for all children with blindness.…”

Assessment and Instruction of Object Permanence in Children with Blindness and Multiple Disabilities

“…The development of object permanence in children who are blind is based more on their tactile experiences of objects than on their auditory experiences. Auditory input alone is insufficient to support the development of object permanence in children who are blind (Fraiberg, 1977;Gerhardt, 1982). This is because it is difficult to distinguish one sound from another and to then develop a 1:1 correspondence between a specific sound and a specific object (Harrell, 1983) which would then motivate reaching and searching (Fraiberg, 1977;Schwartz, 1984).…”