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 Helpful
Hints for
Parents of Blind Infants & Toddlers
by
Christine Faltz
Reprinted in Future Reflections from Stepping
Stone, the newsletter of the Long Island Chapter
of Parents of Blind Children.
Editor's
Note: Blind herself, Christine is the mother
of a beautiful little girl, Samantha, who is also legally
blind. Christine is a former NFB scholarship winner,
and an attorney who has chosen to stay home to be a
full-time mom. Like so many full-time moms, Christine
has taken on other volunteer jobs. She is the president
of the NFB Long Island parent's chapter and editor of
the chapter's very fine newsletter, "Stepping Stone."
Here is an example of some of the excellent advice and
information Christine shares with her chapter's members:
When
a blind or visually impaired child is only a few months
old, most parents are still trying to cope with the
fears and uncertainties of having a disabled child.
Conflicting information and advice is especially overwhelming
at this time. This is often compounded by the unfortunate
attitudes of many in the medical profession and, worse
yet, by those who work with the blind. We have come
a long way but, even today, an alarming number of professionals
working with blind children and adults have low expectations
for their clients and such negative attitudes that they
act surprised when confronted with successful, self-sufficient
visually impaired men and women.
Despite
these attitudes we must remember that our attitudes
are the ones which will affect our children the most.
Even in the face of deeply entrenched stereotypes and
professional misinformation and biases, we must hold
fast to the idea that if we pay our dues now, our children
will reap priceless benefits in self-esteem, self-advocacy,
and the knowledge that we believe in their individual
potential.
Positive
attitudes and matter-of-fact adaptation of the world
for our blind and visually impaired children starts
at birth. As far as basic needs—holding, feeding,
dressing (assuming no medical complications)—there
is nothing extra or special that must be done for the
blind infant. There are, however, very simple techniques
that can be employed to give your baby as much information
as possible about his or her environment.
When
a baby is only a few months old, her ability to hear
you does not necessarily mean your location is known,
and she has no way of knowing that you are, perhaps,
about to pick her up or fix her blanket. Before you
pick up the child or move something nearby, state what
you are going to do, or at the very least say the child's
name before touching her. There is no need to handle
a blind child more carefully than you would a sighted
child; she is not more fragile and is not predisposed
to being extra anxious or fussy. Keep in mind that for
the first few weeks of life, sighted babies are only
able to see people and objects very close to their faces
anyway.
When
you take your child from room to room, outside to the
car, or into the store, to the extent that you are able
to do so under the circumstances (time, who's with you,
etc.), you should state simply where you are going and
what you are doing. Hearing everyday speech is good
for all babies' language development, but the blind
child will be able to use your verbal cues to begin
distinguishing, with her other senses, a change in location.
For example, my 20-month-old daughter was able, at about
one year, to go to the kitchen or the bathroom when
told to do so. I spent a lot of time telling her: "We're
going to go into the kitchen so Mommy can clean up.
We're going out of your room," (putting her hands on
the door) "and we're going straight. Mommy and Daddy's
bedroom, where we sleep in the bed at night, is on the
right. The bathroom, where you have your bath, is on
the left. After the bedroom are the steps going downstairs
to outside. Now here's the living room, with the television
and the stereo. We turn left, and here's the kitchen."
I
tried to use the same descriptions as often as possible.
When I had the time, I showed her the furniture in the
room, spoke its name and its purpose. Even when very
young, Samantha was very attentive when I spoke, and
though she obviously didn't understand most of what
I was saying in the beginning, repetition eventually
led to absorption and understanding.
An
older baby and toddler will often attempt to do what
Mommy and Daddy are doing: fold laundry, clean the table,
wash the dishes. When it is safe to do so, I show Samantha
what I am doing and explain: "Mommy is giving the dirty
dishes a bath. They have food on them. Then we'll dry
them with a towel, just like you after your bath."
Don't
take anything for granted. If your child is curious,
show whatever it is safe to show him. Then, when your
attention is desired at an inopportune moment, "One
minute, sweetheart; Mommy's cleaning the table" will
actually have a concrete meaning; it will not merely
be a jumble of words that he has heard but doesn't understand
because he cannot see what it is you are doing. Eventually,
he will put together your location, the sound of the
water on the rag, the sound of the rag on the table,
and will know on his own what you are doing. But until
you give meaning to the sounds and smells and textures
in his world, your blind baby cannot learn the function
of the objects in his environment. Do not feel foolish
describing every little thing and activity to your baby.
It can only help him.
I
personally don't like playpens, especially for totally
blind infants. Put your child on the floor with some
toys; place a noisy toy out of his reach to entice him
to move to find it. This way he can learn that his environment
is far more than what he is readily aware of. When he
begins to creep or crawl, show him the boundaries between
rooms, the extent of rooms, how he can move around tables
and chairs, but not around walls. Expose your child
to everything: show him the steps, the trees in your
yard, the grass. Take him to the beach and show him
the sand, how the water moves, sea shells. Show him
the inside and outside of the car his car seat is in.
Show, show, and show some more—hands on whenever
possible—with constant explanations using simple
statements. Teach care providers to do the same. Place
toys on accessible shelves and show him where they are
in relation to other objects in the room. As he begins
to show understanding of words and begins to use words
to express needs and desires, you will see that these
efforts have paid off. By the time he is walking, your
child will know "right" and "left" and will have no
trouble moving about familiar surroundings with ease.
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