Blindness creates emotions in the family that will affect the cognitive development of the infant. Blindness disrupts postural tone function, executive function and representational function, leaving the child in a waiting posture, which slows down the sequence of the different stages of their motor development, while depriving them of most of the stimuli in their environment. No perceptual mode equals vision in the quantity and quality of data provided, particularly in terms of environmental features. Hearing is perceived from a distance, while touch, which is done by contact, has a small perceptual field.
How can a baby who is born into the world blind or with very low vision learn to “see”?;
The answer is found in this book, The development of the blind child from 0 to 3 years old, where the culmination of the scientific work of the two French specialists at the therapeutic center “La Pépinière”, near Lille, is presented. Their speech is imbued with a spirit of deep understanding and respect for all factors, children, parents and experts, who face such a difficult problem. The text is organized into three large thematic sections, where the baby-child’s educational possibilities in the communicative, motor, tactile and nutritional areas, are monitored month by month. These areas, thanks to special education, will cover as well as possible the disadvantage of lack of vision. It is now internationally established that the earlier the education starts, the better and more qualitative the path in the life of these children and their wider environment.
The essence of such a project is its evolution.
Our path stops at the threshold of preschool and school education, that is, at the time when another great adventure begins, also full of uncertainties and battles, obstacles and successes, laughter and tears. But that is another story to be written by other parents and other professionals, those who do not forget that all children have abilities and that it is up to adults to find the way to express these abilities and that from the expression blind child, the word Child is the one that should prevail.
Particular mention
We would like to wholeheartedly thank the authors Nathalie Caffier and Catherine Panien for granting the copyright of the book, Kaleidoscope Publishing for the excellent collaboration, Dafni Godika for the non-profit translation of the book from French to Greek and the company HOMED for her kind sponsorship for the publication of this book.
Buy the book here
