Introduction
In this world, many parents have children who have some diseases, require more attention and care than people without special needs. Blind children are among them, since they cannot explore and study the world through visual perception. However, modern teaching methods and computer technology allow blind children to master the school program successfully as well as their peers, although they need the special assistance of adults.
Main body
The reasons for children’s blindness can be different such as eye diseases, accidents, or congenital conditions in which the visual perception is entirely or partially impaired. Such disability limits the child’s exploring of the world, his or her communication, and interaction with other kids and society. Most of the information at an early age a person receives through the construction of connections between visual, auditory, and kinetic sensations, and also through reactions of adults to some situation. UNICEF also notes that children with visual impairments may have developmental delays as they have a lack of predictions for transitions between actions (Tichá, Abery, Johnstone, Poghosyan, & Hunt, 2018). For this reason, kids with blindness need special assistance from adults to obtain both primary knowledge of the world and the school program.
However, it is worth noting that children at an early age are susceptible to any method of learning; hence, the underestimation of expectations for kids with blindness is the wrong approach. Sanchez (2019) notes that babies with and without visual impairment have practically the same set of abilities and capabilities at birth, and in the first years of their lives, they only adapt to the outside world. Understandably, children who can visually perceive the environment can adapt and learn a little faster. However, learning with the help of hearing and touch only is equally natural for children if they do not know how to rely on their vision. For example, Sanchez (2019) says that when a baby has pieces of food in his or her hands for the first time, it is likely will be on the floor, regardless of the child’s visual abilities. For this reason, parents should not lower their expectations for their kid, but rather contribute to his or her cognition of the world and the establishment of logical connections through his or her ability.
Children with visual impairments also often face social barriers and communication difficulties, since many outdoor games and activities are not accessible to them. However, parents should understand that isolation of a child from the dangers of the outside world or misunderstanding from other kids negatively affects the development of his or her communication skills. Kapur (2018) notes that children have the opportunity to get used to the outside world and create a social circle by walking in parks with their parents. Moreover, children at an early age most often do not have a stigma about other people, and it is easier for them to accept the peculiarities of a blind child and play with him or her some joint games. This gradual adaptation helps to ensure that the kid will be able to socialize in school without the help of a parent. In addition, in specialized schools, children most often do not have problems communicating with each other, since they are in the same conditions and can easily understand each other.
Another difficulty faced by children with visual impairments is the acquisition of basic school knowledge since standard studying programs do not take into account the peculiarities of their perception. For example, such standard skills as writing, reading, counting, and listening require an individual teaching approach, since people use visual perception to learn these skills. Furthermore, a verbal description is not enough for children to understand the differences between animals, natural phenomena, or the structure of the human body. For this reason, it is essential to use special techniques and additional materials to teach children the necessary skills. The standard set for specialized schools includes textbooks and articles printed in Braille, some tactile materials, and audio recordings. Teachers also use special techniques that help students better understand the topics and memorize them. For example, Kapur (2018) distinguishes among teaching methods collaborative learning, constant verbal communication, sound projection, the use of adapted texts, audio, devices, and tactile materials, as well as providing additional time to complete tasks. Such methods help children understand the essence of concepts and objects and create logical connections between verbal explanations and tactile sensations.
Furthermore, modern technology can significantly accelerate the learning process and provide new opportunities for a future career. For example, children can tactfully remember the location of letters on the keyboard and use it for writing, and a voice synthesizer helps them hear whether they spelled a particular word correctly. Moreover, today, most books have audio versions, and those texts that do not have adaptation can also be reproduced using computer programs. However, the problem of access to modern technology still exists in many countries of the world, since some schools cannot even afford Braille books, and modern equipment is only a dream for them.
It is also worth noting that although most of the child’s education at school age relies on professional teachers, parents play a significant role in the child’s life. Psychologists and scientists recommend adults to be a part of their children’s educational process skills through communication and joint games. McLinden and MacCall (2016) also emphasize that support and explanation of adults are essential for the children who explore the world with their close feelings as they might receive inaccurate information through their experience or misinterpret it. Consequently, the main recommendations for adults in raising a child with visual impairment are to provide assistance in studying the world and encourage the child’s communication.
At the early age of children, parents’ help is expressed in simple explanations as for all babies but taking into account the characteristics of sensory perception. At school age, parents must also interact with their children by teaching them, playing games, or using technical devices. For example, parents can install on the smartphone, computer, or tablet games designed for people with visual impairments to develop a child’s sensations, skills, and knowledge. Also, if the kid has difficulties with Braille, parents can use enlarged versions of the letters because, according to the study of Barlow-Brown, Barker, and Harris (2018), this method contributes to faster learning. Other games and exercises also can help to develop the skills of children with blindness, but the main recommendation is to participate and help kids to study new things and adapt to the environment.
Conclusion
Therefore, children with visual impairment belong to the category of people who require additional assistance in learning and understanding the world; however, they can acquire knowledge successfully by using the other available sensation for them. The role of parents in this process is to explain to children things that they cannot realize without visual perception and also to contribute to their socialization. Apart from this, the main task of adults remains to bring love to their children and ensure their exclusiveness from the positive side.
References
- Barlow-Brown, F., Barker, C., & Harris, M. (2018). Size and modality effects in Braille learning: Implications for the blind child from pre-reading sighted children. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 89(1), 165–176.
- Kapur, R. (2018). Challenges experienced by visually impaired students in education.
- McLinden, M., & MacCall, S. (2016). Learning through touch: Supporting children with visual impairments and additional difficulties. New York, NY: Routledge.
- Sanchez, E. (2019). Structured discovery learning and high expectations: The ultimate equalizer in the early childhood development of blind children.Journal of Blindness Innovation and Research, 9(1). Web.
- Tichá, R., Abery, B., Johnstone, C., Poghosyan, A., & Hunt, P. (Eds.) (2018). Inclusive education strategies: A textbook. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota.