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Contents
Part 1: Developing play
Part 2: Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and
complex needs
Part 3: Multi-sensory Environments
Part 4: Music gets us going! Creative and Musical sessions for
children with complex needs including visual impairment
Part 5: Sensory Stories
Part 6: Further guides
the right materials to develop the child's play, provide help when it
is needed and above all, no help if it is not required.
This isn't as easy as it may appear. We have to keep a very open
mind: children with a vision impairment may have interests and
means of exploration which go against our expectations. We
should never try to guide them into ways of doing things that are
only relevant to our sighted world and may make little sense to
them. We must be very careful to base our interventions on the
child's needs and not interrupt the important developmental
process of self-discovery.
The following are really important aspects in the development of
play. Sadly, they can be missed in the atmosphere a busy
classroom.
1. Give enough time
Children with a vision impairment and complex needs, need to be
given sufficient time to explore on their own.
This may not be a simple matter of leaving a bit more response
time. A child with a vision impairment and complex needs may
need an entire afternoon to allow them to relax in the environment;
to become aware that this is their time and that they won't be being
guided by an adult in the way that they're used to during other
timetabled activities.
The child will need to bring their consciousness to the task in hand
and become familiar with an object, before feeling able to explore.
Time has to be set aside for play; it cannot be fitted in as a filler
between other "curricular" activities. For these children, play is the
"core curriculum".
2. Provide an appropriate space
Space is a very individual thing. Many children prefer a lot of space
around them, so that they can feel in control of that space. They
may feel anxious about other people acting in an unpredictable
fashion close by. Others prefer their space to be confined, so that
they know exactly how that space is defined.
The child sits or lies on this and again gains instant feedback from
his activities, feeling the effect through his whole body. Lilli
Nielsen's research found that children with visual impairment,
placed within the 'Little Room' or on a resonance board, were
considerably more active in their play.
Everyday objects
At the end of the sensori-motor period, children develop problem
solving skills. Firstly through trial and error, but later they develop
mental problem solving skills, ie the ability to work a strategy out in
their heads before taking action. For many children with complex
learning needs, this is our ultimate aim, the ability to work out their
own ideas and act upon them.
Everyday objects are excellent tools to use in the development of
problem solving skills. The objects are extremely versatile and
there are many ways of combining and using them to gain different
effects and outcomes. In playing with everyday objects, the
children are given the opportunity to find out firstly what they are
and what they can do. Subsequently they develop such concepts
as putting in and taking out, building up and knocking down, heavy
and light, large and small - the list is endless.
These children will learn what they themselves are capable of,
building a self-image with confidence and understanding. In this
way they are working towards being able to learn what others do;
being able to participate with and understand what motivates
others, coming, as they should, from a firm basis of self
knowledge.
1.9. References
2.2. Switches
Many children with complex needs using ICT, start to access it
using a switch. Switches can take many different forms, from pushbutton types of varying sizes, shapes and textures, joystick-shaped
switches, toggles, beams of light which can be broken by
movement of the hand or arm, and many more. If a child has some
level of independent movement, it is likely that there will be a
switch that can be found which will use that movement to operate
the switch.
Positioning a switch
Positioning a switch correctly can be equally as important as
choosing the right type of switch for the child. It is important to
consider the range of movements of the child, and use of any
residual vision, and to find a switch position that enables the child
to have the best control and most comfortable use of their own
movement when they access the switch.
It is also worth considering if the hand or arm is necessarily the
best body part for the child to use in accessing the switch. In some
cases head movement, or use of the feet or legs is preferable.
Switches can be positioned:
in front of the child on a wheelchair tray or table
to the side of a child or higher than table level, using a mounting
stand
in the headrest of a wheelchair
on the floor for a child lying down or using positioning wedges
near or around the feet
where they can see best. Midline, upright, facing the screen may
only be a good position for a few.
If you looked and saw a green and a red apple, well done!
That was easy wasn't it? But just think about the range of
information you had to collect from your brain's memory in order to
make sense of what you saw in the images. Your brain had to
collect information from seven sensory systems in order to
recognise the images.
The brain went to
the visual system to scan and transport the visual image to the
memory bank to identify what the image was and give it a name
the sound system held the memory of the chewing and biting
noises when eating the apple
the smell system retained the apple smell
the vestibular and proprioceptive systems( movement) recalled
how to pluck an apple from a tree or a bowl
the touch system reminisced about the textures, temperature,
weight, shape and firmness of an apple
to find stored memories of what an apple 'is'.
The brain needed more information than just an image of the
apple. The visual system also relied on all the other senses
sending pertinent information to make sense of what was being
viewed. By just isolating vision and working on this one sensory
area is a mistake, vision must be seen a part of a complex multi
sensory network of sensing, perceiving, learning and
understanding for any learner. The brain needs many connections
using all the senses in order to make sense of the world around.
you read this page..........now check with your eyes that the sound
you heard are in context and belong to an object, such as a ticking
clock or a humming fan.
Here are some sound activities linked to vision, a combination of
sensory learning for the learner:
Take a cup of rice and pour onto a tin lid, watch as the rice
moves downwards and then hits the lid with a strong tinkling
sound.
Hide a set of bells in a bag, shake the bag and encourage eyes
and ears to seek out where the sound is coming from.
Crumple a piece of paper near each ear in turn, encourage the
eyes to turn to seek the crackly noise.
Use a hairdryer (on cold) to make a strong wind sound for the
listener to hear and turn towards the sound. Perhaps the sense
of touch will also help as the air hits the body!
Place a tambourine under bare feet, encourage feet to bang
and eyes to look down to see what is making such a noise.
Without coordinated movements you could not even reach out and
maintain balance as you tried to grasp the object . Without these
movement systems linking to vision, the eyes could not move and
accommodate what they are seeing, or focus as the object comes
close to the face or body.
Here are some activities that incorporate movements with vision
for a child with a vision impairment and complex needs, in a multi
sensory way:
Make some red sticky spots that will stick to the skin. Put one
on a hand and the other on a knee. Use vision and movement
to match the spots together, going across the body midline.
Try the following 'Patting Story' which is very multi sensory, as it
incorporates movements with touch and vision. You can pat the
child as they face you, so they can see and perhaps mirror your
actions back to you .
Story Line: The tiny ladybird ran up the hill to hide in the flowers on
one side.
Patting Action: Strum fingers on one side of the hair
Story Line: and then on the other.
Patting Action: Strum fingers on the other side
Story Line: The spider followed into the flowers
Patting Action: Thump thump all over the hair
Story Line: When suddenly!
Patting Action: Stop and hold up arms and hands
Story Line: The tiny ladybird spread her wings and flew down to
find happiness in a warm heart!
Patting Action: Flutter hands over the heart
So, we have looked at all the sensory systems and begin to see
how it is essential for them all to work in harmony with vision. A
multi sensory approach is the way to learning to look with success.
Now all we need to do is see how can we find out what will
motivate the learner. How can we encourage them in a sensory
way, to learn actively and with pleasure? The most sensory way is
to do a 'Happiness Sensory Test' .You will soon pick up their
communications that indicate 'wow! I really like that!'
Here are two simple Happiness Checklists for your use:
1) Happiness Checklist
Happiness is
The touch I like from humans:
The tastes I like:
Smells that make me happy:
Sounds I like to hear:
What I like to see best:
Vibrations I like to feel:
2) Happiness Checklist
What makes me happy to look and learn
My Immediate Environment:
My Preferred Sensory Input:
My Preferred Style of Learning:
Preferred Friend(s):
Preferred Grouping:
Preferred Materials and Equipment:
Preferred Style of Interaction:
Preferred Personal Leisure Activities or Obsessions:
printer. All these sounds from one particular place help a child who
cannot see know where they are. Some are linked to smells as
well. Mum's voice sounds different in the bathroom to the living
room. Preparing for a meal might have a whole sequence of
musical sounds - shaking the cornflake packet and putting it down
on the tray top, getting the spoon from the drawer and then playing
a rhythm on it as it comes closer to the tray, having a little song for
the milk ending with "pour, pour, pour".
Sounds purely for fun that move around, or moving around sound
yourself, can get you going more than sound that comes from
playing a tambourine at waist height in front of you or hearing a
song from the speaker high on the wall.
6: Further guides
The full Complex Needs series of guides includes:
Special Schools and Colleges in the UK
Information Disclaimer
Effective Practice Guides provide general information and ideas for
consideration when working with children who have a visual
impairment (and complex needs). All information provided is from
the personal perspective of the author of each guide and as such,
RNIB will not accept liability for any loss or damage or
inconvenience arising as a consequence of the use of or the
inability to use any information within this guide. Readers who use
this guide and rely on any information do so at their own risk. All
activities should be done with the full knowledge of the medical
condition of the child and with guidance from the QTVI and other
professionals involved with the child. RNIB does not represent or
warrant that the information accessible via the website, including
Effective Practice Guidance is accurate, complete or up to date.
Guide updated: July 2014