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Adapting
Play
by
Angelo Montagnino
Enhance
the play environment for a visually impaired or blind
child by structuring play activities that encourage
exploring and learning about the world through touching,
listening, tasting, smelling, and seeing. Size, color,
and distance of objects are extremely important for
the child who has very limited vision. The amount and
direction of light can be vital.
Use
sound cues, voice, or musical toys to help orient the
child during play. Provide a variety of objects and
toys with interesting textures, sounds, and odors. Balls,
rattles, musical toys, toys that make noise, nesting
toys, stacking toys, snap together toys, large piece
puzzles, brightly colored, shiny, textured toys, and
toys of varied textures and colors can be super for
blind children.
Try to present toys at or above chest level to encourage
good posture.
Help
the child learn that a toy or object exists even when
out of reach or out of sight. Encourage the child to
search and find a dropped or lost toy. Teach the child
to listen and "look" with hands in the direction of
the last sound and to examine an area.
MOBILES
Add color, add sound, tie small bells or other sound
producers to a mobile and guide the child's hand or
foot to demonstrate how to find the mobile and how to
produce a sound.
PULL
THE TOY
Tie a string to a sound-making toy or a toy with a bell
attached. Place it on the floor or at a table near the
child and help the child pull the toy nearer.
REACH
FOR THE TOY
Same as Pull the Toy but pull in front of and slowly
away. Encourage the child to reach for the toy. The
toy can be held and slowly moved at head level or above.
WHERE
IS THE TOY?
Using a rattle or visible toy, move the toy to the left,
right, or all over. Encourage the child to reach for
it, grasp it, and play with it. This can be done with
two toys. Move or shake one, then repeat with another
in a different spot. Ask, "Where is the...?" End with
"Here it is!" The game can be played with people—"Where
is Joey?" "Here I am!"
BODY PARTS
Point to or touch and name various body parts of the
child's body. Say the names, as they are touched and
have the child touch the part also. Ask the child to
touch body parts as they are said or ask to point to
or touch your nose, ear, etc. Have the child choose
and identify body parts.
Play
Say or Show Which Body Part...hears, eats, sees, walks,
etc. Play Move Your...foot, hand, arm, fingers, head,
etc.
HIDE
AND SEEK GAMES
Hide toys or objects very near to the child. They can
be on a table under a cloth, in an open box or open
paper sack, in or under your hand, under the table,
or behind an object. If hiding a person, let part of
the person be showing. Have the child hide an object
or him/herself. Hide an item that makes noise such as
a small radio, kitchen timer, music box, metronome,
etc., or easy to see colored items or shapes that stand
out.
ROLLING
GAMES
Children love to roll down, across and over things.
Wedge mats, small grassy hills, a rug, a created slope
such as a mat or large piece of cardboard with objects
under one end can be used. Rolling up and over or climbing
on and rolling down a folded carpet or cylinder mat
can be fun and a good learning experience.
If
the child needs help, start him on his back, tuck chin
to chest, stretch right arm over his head, bend left
knee, and give a little push at the hip and roll him.
Try another roll with less help. Reverse the process
and roll in the opposite direction. Roll from one side
of the room or mat to the other. Roll under tables and
over different items and textures. Roll to a sound.
CLIMB
THE MOUNTAIN
Create a ramp by slanting a mattress off the side of
a bed, low table, couch, etc. You may need extra support
under the mattress to keep it from sagging. Other materials
such as empty boxes, folded rugs, foam scraps, cushions,
etc. can be used to build up this mountain or whatever
you want it to be.
Help
the child examine the mountain, including the very top
and the area at the bottom. Crawl up and down, climb
down backwards or feet first in a sitting position,
or carefully roll down. If needed, keep hands on the
child. Later, this mountain concept can become part
of a fun obstacle course.
BOWL
WITH YOUR BODY
Place cartons, plastic pins, or other soft lightweight
targets near the bottom of a hill, your created slope,
or on the floor. Make targets visible or tap on them
or provide a sound over or behind them. The child can
roll down or across and knock down the targets.
STACKING,
BUILDING, NESTING GAMES
Build houses, forts, towers, castles, bridges, etc.
Invent/put in take out games. Reinforce by encouraging
tactile (touching) exploration and if needed, assist
by guiding his hands over the objects available for
play. Colorful objects with a variety of shapes should
be provided.
BALL
ACTIVITIES
Balls with rattling beads or bells inside are ideal
for early exploration of what a ball is and what it
does. This can begin with mobile play. Squeeze one or
more bells into a whiffle ball or attach a bell to a
soft ball or to the string that suspends the whiffle
ball, sturdy balloon or mini beach ball and encourage
or show how to push it, open hand strike it, or kick
it.
A
"bell ball" could be rolled around the tray of a high
chair or a tabletop. The child can learn to push it,
pick it up, drop it, see or hear it fall to the table
or floor. An easy-to-see ball could be used with a child
who has vision.
BASIC
BALL CONCEPTS
A child can learn to play "catch" by rolling a large
ball back and forth with an adult. It may be necessary
to have someone behind the child to show how to push
the ball away and how to receive it. This can be done
on the floor or at a table. When the child can receive
the ball by himself, try adding one or more soft bounces
as the ball is gently tossed or rolled. Show how to
drop and catch the ball on a bounce or just bounce the
ball with two hands or if possible one hand.
Eventually,
this will become stand up and catch on a bounce or catch
the ball tossed onto the palms.
BASKETBALL
The basket could be a box, wastepaper basket, etc. and
the ball could be large or small or any object. It could
be a beanbag. Show how to drop the ball into the basket.
Keeping the basket near to the child, move it from in
front of him to his left and right. Encourage him to
have his arm cross midline (right arm crosses over to
left side and vice versa) to drop the ball in. Gradually
move the basket away from the child so the ball will
have to be tossed into the basket. Eventually the basket
will be placed higher.
KICKING
First attempts at kicking may be best done from a sitting
position. Use a low chair and a large ball. Have the
child kick to a person. Gradually, the person will back
up and ask the child to "Kick it all the way to me."
The child may need help with the kicking action. If
so, hold his foot and lower leg and guide the leg swing
and kick. For a standing kick or a walk up kick, the
child may need to hold hands or hold a chair for balance.
KICK
TO A PERSON OR TARGET
Stand and kick to a person. Then have the person or
target move back or to the left or right. Gradually
increase distance. Try kicking a ball that is being
rolled to you from the front, from the side. Try to
kick as far as you can. The child may have to lean on
a sturdy object or hold hands.
RAMP BOWLING
Create a ramp with a large piece of cardboard, plywood,
old shelf board, etc. Have fun placing a ball at the
top of this slanted board and letting it roll down.
Stand up milk cartons, shoeboxes, plastic pins at the
bottom and aim the ball at them. Have the child help
place the targets.
FLOOR OR TABLE BOWLING
Create an alley or lane by placing boards, broomsticks,
boxes on the floor or a table making two straight lines.
The lane can be as wide or narrow as needed. Arrange
plastic pins or milk cartons, etc., as the targets on
one end of the lane. Roll a ball down the lane to knock
down as many pins as possible. Make "pins" visible or
help with sound.
TETHERBALL
Can be played sitting or standing. Tie or attach a balloon,
small beach ball, or lightweight ball to a string or
cord and suspend it in front of the child about chin
level. Show how to push or strike the ball back and
forth to each other.
Possibly
use lightweight plastic mesh paddles, cardboard flaps,
or tubes from wrapping paper to bat the tetherball back
and forth.
PARACHUTE
BOUNCE
A small four- to six-foot parachute would be great but
an old blanket or sheet will do. All players make a
circle around the "chute" and hold the edges. For only
three or so players, use a very small blanket or large
towel. Place one or more foam balls, balloons, small
beach balls, etc., on the chute, lift the chute up and
down at the same time and have fun bouncing the ball
or balls up and down. See how long the balls stay on.
Try to bounce them as high as possible and keep them
on.
PASS
THE BALL GAMES
All players sit or stand in a circle. The object of
the game is to pass the ball around the circle, carefully
handing the ball to the next person. A large lightweight,
colorful, perhaps jingling ball should be used. A timer
could be used to determine how many times the ball was
passed around the entire circle. Try again to surpass
the original total. Try passing the ball clockwise,
then counter clockwise.
Pass
the ball to music and have someone control the radio
or tape deck. When the music stops, the person holding
the ball has to stop. Begin passing when the music starts.
Perhaps see who got "caught" the most or who never got
"caught".
JUMP
OFF
Stand the child on a piece of rug, pad, mat, etc. Have
him feel the edge then stand and if help is needed,
help the child jump forward, jumping off the surface.
Start with feet on the edge or half off, if needed.
The child may need hand support. Stand the child on
a low obstacle, a phone book, block, or bottom step
of a stairway and jump off.
HIGH
HOPS
Hold hands with the child and encourage jumping up and
down on both feet trying to jump higher and higher.
Try hopping on one foot several times, then the other.
Have one or two people hold a broomstick or small piece
of rope. Have the child face the support, hold on with
two hands and hop.
ANIMAL
HOPS
Demonstrate how various animals hop, such as a frog,
rabbit, kangaroo, and try to imitate. Have the "animals"
hop to music.
HOP
OVER
Place very low items such as horizontal milk cartons
and hop over them. Give the child support if necessary.
Tap the object or provide good color contrast.
FOLLOW
THE LEADER - OBSTACLE COURSE
Play follow the leader and travel around obstacles:
go under; climb over; go to a wall and turn left or
right; step onto and off objects; jump over; go into
and out of objects such as a big box; or go through
a tunnel made of a long box or a blanket draped over
two benches, etc. Be careful, help guide, if needed.
Show where objects are or give sound cues, if needed.
Use a wide variety of obstacles, such as old tires,
tables, benches, boxes, a ladder on its side, etc.
MATERIALS
Almost everything can be used in a way to facilitate
safe, enjoyable, beneficial play. Large blocks of styrofoam
can be slabs of rock, building blocks, or part of a
mountain. An old card table can be a crawl under obstacle
or, with an old blanket, rug, etc., draped over it,
a tunnel, cave, or wigwam is created. A small cardboard
box can be a car, bus, or train. A huge box can be a
clubhouse. Carpet sections, or a length of carpet can
be a base, stepping-stones across a stream, or a "balance
beam." A laundry basket or medium-sized cardboard
box can be used to step in, sit on, toss objects in,
or get in and be pushed. An old, even bent hula-hoop
can be an obstacle to walk around, step in, or jump
into and out of, or be passed over the entire body,
head to feet, or feet to head, or person to person while
holding hands.
A row of benches can be step or climb over hurdles.
Old tires and inflated inner tubes can be walked on,
stepped into, rolled, stacked, climbed on or through,
and of course, jumped on or off.
Beach
balls can be kickballs or volleyballs. Large whiffle
balls can be table tennis balls. Balloons can be badminton
shuttlecocks or tether balls.
A
rolled-up blanket can be climbed on or rolled over.
Pieces of foam used for filling cushions and sofas can
be cut into Frisbee saucers of all sizes or be shoved
into sacks or old pillowcases to be used as jump on
or jump into pads.
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