A Blind Child S Pathway To Learning

Our intention in writing this book is to provide three distinct but closely related groups with insight into the factors required to help a blind child attain his/her maximum level of cognitive abilities. The first group consists of parents who face the day to day reality of helping their blind child deal with the challenges imposed by the lack of sight. The second group consists of beginning and future professionals who will find themselves deeply involved with providing social, psychological, and educational support of these parents. The third group includes friends, family, and others who are not and will not be on the front lines of working with blind children, but who are interested in understanding the issues for their own reasons. There are many articles and books available that discuss the various aspects of the development of both sighted and blind children from almost every possible perspective related to the factors that impact the learning and developmental processes of children. Unfortunately, the vast majority of these have been written by professionals to professionals, using the jargon of the author's chosen field of study. As a result, people who are not part of the "in groups" often find these publications hard to understand, boring, or both. In this book, we do not aim to provide any new insights to established professionals or other individuals who are knowledgeable in this area. Rather, our purpose is to translate the knowledge provided by these professionals into ideas and concepts that can be readily understood and applied by parents, teachers, and other caregivers of blind children. Throughout the book, we will be dealing with highly specialized concepts and theories of education, psychology, and human development. We have done our best to translate the professional and academic jargon into what most people would call "simple English. Throughout the text, we have provided our definitions of key terms as we have come to understand and apply those terms. We recognize that others may have different interpretations for the same terms, and we do not dispute that their definitions serve their particular purposes.

Blind and visually impaired children experience the world in unique ways. To help them learn and develop, parents and teachers need to understand how such children relate to their environment. The authors offer practical strategies for encouraging the blind child's development and interaction. Paper edition (7700-5), $17.95. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

A practical, hands-on guide for parents, teachers, and everyone involved in helping children develop the skills necessary for socialization, orientation and mobility, and leisure and recreational activities. Among the subjects covered are eating, toileting, dressing, motor development, personal hygiene and grooming, clothing selection, self-esteem, socially appropriate behavior, etiquette, management of household tasks, communication, low vision devices, and using landmarks and clues.

Packed with important information for today's parents and professionals, this new edition of a groundbreaking work presents the latest research on how visually impaired children learn and develop at different ages and in the various developmental domains: sensory development, communication, movement, manipulation, and comprehension. Clear, practical, and reassuring, and full of suggested activities, this book provides a guide to teaching young visually impaired children the important life skills they need to know--skills that other children may learn simply by observation and imitation--and preparing them to enter school ready to learn with their peers. From early intervention services to the full range of educational placements, Reach Out and Teach is the ultimate guide to helping a visually impaired child learn and grow.

Stories of blind people who use creativity and determination to live the life of their dreams. Also includes lists of resources for advocacy, rehabilitation, recreation, and support systems for the blind.

All parents hope for an independent future for their blind/visually impaired child. To turn that hope into a reality, parents need to understand the scope of skill development that must be addressed, along with the importance of equal expectations for the child's development, proper training, and opportunity to practice and develop skills. But what if expectations are low, training in blindness skills is scanty or even absent, and overprotection prevents the blind/VI child from learning and practicing skills? The idea of an independent future can remain a distant dream. The purpose of this book is to guide parents and teachers in fostering the blind/visually impaired child's skill development in such critical areas as academics, independent movement and travel, social interaction, daily living, and self-advocacy, so that he or she will truly be on the road to an independent future. A practical, easy to use guide, written in plain English, the book warns about common problem areas and provides ideas for getting and keeping the child's education and development on track. It highlights the interplay between skills and competence, confidence, self-respect, and the respect of others. Of the small number of books and videos available on the subject, most were written by professionals in the field and many begin with the supposition that blindness is at best sad and at worst tragic. Few --maybe none --have the ardent passion for independence that the parent of a blind/visually impaired child brings to the subject. Instead of overwhelming parents and teachers with the difficulty of the undertaking before them, Getting Ready for College Begins in Third Grade will inspire their confidence and enthusiasm for the task at hand.

First published in 1981, this book was written to help parents and teachers to participate in child-based mobility programmes, covering the needs of visually-handicapped children from pre-school to adulthood. It gives insight into ways in which these figures can make the world meaningful to young children, as well as making them aware of the special training that is necessary to develop the social skills of daily living that a sighted child acquires through imitation. Travel techniques must be learnt to enable these children to move independently and the book describes various methods that can be used by the blind traveller. It also examines the role of physical education and dance, both of particular importance for the visually-handicapped child at school age.