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                            THE BLIND NEWS DIGEST

                                 Issue # 1103

                         Thursday, December 22, 1994

Today's Topics:


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                       VIP Newsletter Volume 10 No. 3


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Subject: VIP Newsletter Volume 10 No. 3
From: robertj@tekgen.BV.TEK.COM (Robert Jaquiss)
Organization: Tektronix, Inc., Beaverton, OR, USA

VIP NEWSLETTER     VOLUME 10  NUMBER 3
PUBLISHED BY THE BLIND CHILDREN'S FUND
2875 NORTHWIND DRIVE, SUITE 211
EAST LANSING, MICHIGAN 48823-5040
PHONE  517-333-1725
FAX      517-333-1730


THE BLIND CHILD'S ABILITY TO LISTEN
by Lilli Nielsen, Ph. D.

The ability to listen is crucial for a child who is blind.  To a
great extent, it is through the ability to listen that a child who
is blind learns to recognize his parents, to distinguish between
them and other persons, to recognize what is going on around him,
and to talk and to move independently.

The ability to listen also enables an individual who is blind to
enjoy music and other pleasurable auditory experiences.

Without opportunity to integrate auditory experiences with other
sensory experiences, the ability to listen can be ill-fated, that
is, the child becomes more interested in experiencing the duration
and the quality of emerging sounds than in discovering and learning
about the sources of sounds.

In the beginning, an infant who is blind is ignorant of the fact
that every sound has a source.  Without learning this, the infant
can become so stereotyped in listening that he cries or screams
whenever a sound ceases.  On such occasions, he is often calmed by
being held where he is entertained by the adult singing, talking or
shaking rattles.  Or maybe the adult switches on the radio, a music
box or the washing machine.

In this way, an unsatisfactory sequence can be established.

It is often seen that whenever a sound emerges, an infant who is
blind ceases all movements in order to listen carefully.  Since
sounds are emerging every second and minute, the infant will spend
much time motionless and listening, rather than engaging in other
activities.  The result can easily be that he becomes so passive
that the passivity itself becomes stereotyped.

What the infant needs is an environment that facilitates learning
that sounds have a source, and that he can be the producer of
object-based sounds.

An environment that is especially good for facilitating this
learning is the equipment called the "Little Room".

During the early 1980's, I researched spatial relations in twenty
congenitally blind infants.  Each infant was exposed to the Little
Room.  The result of the research was to establish that a blind
infant as young as three to five months of age, is able to perceive
himself as the producer of object-based sounds.  By doing so, he
learns the position of the objects within reach and he establishes
integration of sensory modalities.  The research also demonstrated
that this learning can take place within a few days, if only the
infant has the opportunity to be exposed to an environment that
eliminates all sounds other than those produced by the infant, and
if he gets opportunity to be  active without interference from
anyone else.

The learning takes place by the infant repeating each activity
several times and by performing the repetition, with intervals of
one or two seconds.  It is by means of immediate repetition that
the blind infant becomes able to store and to recognize experiences
as they recur.  Likewise, the infant must have opportunity to
compare both his auditory and his tactile experiences, and to do so
at the time of his own choice, without interference from anyone
else.  By comparing the auditory and tactile feedback that he
experiences from his movements, the blind infant learns where to
find a specific object.  It is by comparing one object with another
one that each of them is perceived as specific.

This is the way in which an infant who is blind achieves what I
call "early object concept", From experimenting, repeating and
comparing, he learns to distinguish between the available objects.
He becomes able to remember where a specific object is placed and
this enables him to include two, three or four objects in a certain
sequence game.

If the Little Room is equipped with at least fifteen objects, the
infant also has an opportunity to choose objects for different
sequence games and thus to compare such games.

It is by experimenting with the different sounds he can make with
one object and by tactually searching for it that he learns about
the shape, weight, temperature and surface of that particular
object.

Also, it is necessary for him to learn this by his own activity.
The earlier in life this learning begins, the easier it becomes for
him to perceive himself as an active person.

The learning can hardly take place while the infant is in the arms
of an adult.  It will be very difficult for the adult to provide
the infant with, say, a rattle repeatedly, and as quickly as the
infant needs it.  While being held in the adult's arms, it will be
impossible for the infant to learn the position of several objects,
not to mention comparing different auditory and tactile experiences
at certain moments.

Like all other infants, the blind infant needs to be held in an
adult's arms now and then, but he also needs to learn to be active
without any help from others.  If he is entertained too much or
develops stereotyped listening, he may begin to perceive himself as
the one who must be passive.  This can result in stereotyped
passivity.

Auditory activities performed during sessions in the Little Room
also facilitate the infant's learning to babble and vocalize.  The
sounds he produces while pushing and grasping, letting go of the
objects, will encourage him to experiment with vocalization.  He
will commence comparing the object-based sounds with the sounds he
can make, using his voice.  His ability to vocalize will be more
differentiated and thus make it easier for him to repeat the words
he hears and to be able to talk.

Active and exciting experiences result in it becoming meaningful to
talk.  Since the blind child is unable to share visual experiences
with others, he can only know what an adult is talking about if he
has had a sensory experience that he can relate to language.  For a
child who is blind, such sensory experiences are often of auditory
quality.  In the very young infant, they can, however, be of
kinesthetic quality.

In Cannero, Italy, I exposed a five month old girl to the Little
Room.  She became very active, and was especially interested in a
nail brush positioned near to her left hip, and a key ring with
four keys that was positioned to the left side of her chin.  She
started to grasp and let go of the nail brush and became interested
in the tactile qualities of it.

Then she became aware of the keys and began to grasp them, leading
them to her mouth.  She then began to explore them using her lips,
gums and tongue.  Although she was also manipulating other
available objects it was obvious she preferred the nail brush and
the keys.  When she had been playing for 45 minutes I took her away
from this sensory experience.  Before taking her in my arms I
talked to her about what she had been doing and she replied by
making the movements she had displayed whilst being active with the
brush and the keys.  At this stage, she was of course unable to
understand the words but by talking to the infant about what she
has just been doing, she will gradually begin to relate the words
she is hearing to her own actions.  However, it is important to
refrain from talking while the infant is experimenting; otherwise
the infant would be interrupted.  It is better to talk just after
the infant has finished her activity - and to talk about what she
has been doing instead of only talking about what is going to
happen with the
infant.

After a few more sessions in the Little Room, this baby would
probably learn that she was the producer of object-based sounds,
and thereby gain even more experiences to share with an adult.  She
would gradually learn that a sound that is different from the sound
of language probably means that there is an object that maybe can
be reached for.

Having had several experiences of producing object-based sounds
with many different objects, she will achieve the basic knowledge
that a sound has a source, and then be able to reach for an object
on the cue of sound only.

She will begin to experiment with making different sounds and she
will compare the auditory results she experiences from handling one
particular object in different ways, and also from handling several
other objects in the same way.

Soon she will begin to use objects for playing banging games and so
experience the relationships between the quality of sounds and the
quality of the materials that the objects are made from, as well as
the quality of the muscle strength she is using while playing the
different banging games.

A few months ago, I was asked to play with a four year old blind
girl who had developed slowly.  She was able to walk while her hand
was held.  She was unable to talk.  She did not play with toys.
Whenever I gave her an object, she let it go immediately without
paying much attention to the auditory result gained from letting go
of the object.  In front of her, I placed a tray with ten table
tennis balls.  She grasped one of the balls, only to let go of it
immediately.,  Then she grasped one more ball, letting go of that
one too.  When she had repeated this activity six or seven times, I
placed a small plate among the balls.  When she happened to grasp
the plate, she did not let it go immediately.  Instead she moved it
from hand to hand a few times before letting it go.  I replaced the
plate among the balls.  During the next few minutes, she either
grasped a ball or the plate.  She let go the balls immediately
while the plate was handled for a longer and longer period of time
before she let go of it.  After fifteen minutes, she began
to play banging games with the plate, paying much attention the the
different sounds she produced.

Observations of blind infants' ways of playing show that by
experimenting, exploring, comparing and repeating, the infant
learns about the relationship between sounds and objects, and this
learning enables him to relocate the toy that he has thrown beyond
his reach.  Having had the opportunity to repeat, the toddler's
intention to pick up rather than only to throw toys is already
present.

As he experiments, the infant will perform more finger and hand
movements and so develop the fine motor skills necessary for later
learning daily living skills.

References

Nielsen L. (1992): Educational Approaches.
Nielsen L. (1992): Space and Self.

FUTURE CONFERENCES WITH LILLI Ph.D.

The dates for upcoming Conferences with Lilli Nielsen have been set
for 1995 and 1996.  The locations have not been finalized.  If you,
an acquaintance or your agency are interested in attending, please
write to make sure you are on the mailing list to receive
information.  If you have a newsletter please help us to spread the
word by printing an announcement.  The dates for the conferences
are:

June 19-23, 1995 - Basic Course
November 13-17, 1995
June 17-21, 1996
September 23-27, 1996

Please write, call, or fax:

Blind Children's Fund
2875 Northwind Drive
Suite 211
East Lansing, MI 48823- 5040
Phone 517-333-1725   Fax  517-333-1730


POINT OF VIEW
WELCOME TO HOLLAND

I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with
a disability - to try to help people who have not shared that
unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel.
It's like this...

When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous
vacation trip  - to Italy.  You buy a bunch of guidebooks and make
your wonderful plans:  the Coliseum, the Michelangelo 'David', the
gondolas in Venice.  You may learn some handy phrases in Italian.
It's all very exciting.

After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives.  You
pack your bags and off you go.  Several hours later, the plane
lands.  The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland".

"Holland?!?!" you say.  "What do you mean, Holland?  I signed up
for Italy!  I'm supposed to be in Italy.  All my life I've dreamed
of going to Italy."

But there's been a change in the flight plan.  They've landed in
Holland, and there you must stay.  The important thing is that they
haven't taken you to a horrible, filthy place, full of famine and
disease.  It's just a different place.  So you must buy new
guidebooks.  And you must learn a whole new language.  And you will
meet a whole new group of people you would never otherwise have
met.

It's just a different place; it's slower-paced than Italy, less
flashy then Italy.  But after you've been there a little while, you
look around and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills,
Holland has tulips, Holland even has Rembrandts

But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy and
they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there.
And, for the rest of your life, you will say, "Yes, that's where I
was supposed to go.  That's what I had planned."

The pain of that will never, ever, ever go away, because the loss
of that dream is a very significant loss.  But, if you spend your
life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never
be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things about
Holland.  from IMFAMA   8/93



BOOK REVIEW
EARLY LEARNING STEP BY STEP

Anyone who has attended a Lilli Nielsen lecture will know, from
watching her mimic the antics of toddlers, that she has a great
insight into the learning processes of the 'normal child.'

This coupled with an extraordinary empathy for the needs of
visually impaired children, forms the basis of her new book; Early
Learning - Step by Step.

In it she explores the concept of 'active learning' and how, by
examining and exploring the world about them, a child is able to
acquire new skills that are meaningful to them and will therefore
be used by them to fulfill their own needs and also their
interactions with others.  "A child learns by 'selecting'.  This is
precisely what I see them doing when they are learning to grasp, to
experiment with balance games, to play sequence games and so on.
The child can only select if he has something to select from -
something to compare."

To all those who have read Lilli's books this may all sound rather
familiar but, as the title suggests, this one heralds a welcome
progression of her work with the "Little Room" by suggesting how
environmental intervention can be used in the world beyond.

She begins by looking at normal motor development, before and after
birth, and goes on to relate this to those children with a visual
impairment and/or multiple disabilities and suggests how missed
developmental stages hinder the child's progression and therefore
further development.

Alongside this she gives many suggestions on how to encourage a
child to explore and to move and therefore to experience those lost
stages that are the prerequisites for progress onto the next
skill.

For those children with little signs of mobility she describes how
kinematic, or unintentional movements, can be 'harnessed' to
produce those that are intentional and therefore meaningful.

For those children who are more able she suggests ways of
encouraging independent sitting, crawling, walking and dressing.

It is interesting that nowhere in the book does Lilli explore the
use of 'high tech' equipment but constantly introduces the 'tools'
which are her 'stock in trade' - spoons, cups, plates, brushes,
buckets etc. - all of which can facilitate learning whilst enabling
a visually impaired child to make sense of the world in which they
live.

This is particularly so with feeding and Lilli devotes two chapters
to this topic - Learning How to Chew and Learning How to Eat. Again
she suggests activities for a great range of abilities including
marbles in the mouth for the more able pupil
. . . definitely not for the faint hearted tutor!!

In the chapter that is given over to Toys & Materials, Lilli
describes specific pieces of equipment that were developed in
unison with the 'active learning approach.'  These include the
Essef Board, the Support Bench and the Net Hammock 'Poten' all of
which were designed to encourage movement.  Throughout the book
there is a great deal of useful material that describes their
functions and ways of using them.

To conclude, rather than examining toys and methods in detail,
Lilli looks at learning to play constructively as she outlines the
developmental steps and looks at the significance of the sequence
of learning required to manipulate toys and to play games.

This book stands alone as a source of information and suggestions
for those who are new to caring for, and to teaching, those
children with multiple disabilities and/or a vision impairment.  It
would however be enhanced by having first read Lilli's other work.

For those who are already in the field this is the practical book
that follows the theory.  From Information Exchange - July '94


Complexion Brushes   If you are having difficulty finding the
rotating complexion brushes, they can be ordered from the Blind
Children's Fund.  The cost is $15.00 plus $3.00 shipping and
handling.

VIP NEWSLETTER    VOLUME 10 NUMBER 3       SEPTEMBER 1994

THE VIP NEWSLETTER  (ISSN NO. 0738-7091) IS PUBLISHED QUARTERLY BY
THE BLIND CHILDREN'S FUND

EDITORIAL OFFICES:  2875 NORTHWIND DRIVE, SUITE 211 EAST LANSING,
MI 48823-5040 EDITOR:  SHERRY RAYNOR    ASSISTANT:  YALE COHEN

Contributions, including business and personal news, information
about parent activities and membership, or questions to the editor
may be submitted to VIP Editor at above address.

THE BCF NEEDS YOUR HELP (NOW, MORE THAN EVER!) Your contributions
play an important role in supporting the many programs and services
provided by the Blind Children's Fund.

I want to help blind children learn to live in world they cannot
see.  Enclosed is my tax deductible contribution of $______ .
Name:   Address:  Please make your check payable to the Blind
Children's Fund.





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                 End of Issue # 1103 of the Blind News Digest

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