These materials are from the archive of the SSC Website and may be outdated.

 

University of Edinburgh
 

Development and Supportive Interventions for Babies and Young Children with Visual Impairment

Presented on Thursday, 11 November 2010

Play - The Close up Approach

Mary Dallas, RNIB
From Bartimeus

Commenting, Connecting and Creating

Commenting

  • Putting into words the events and experiences that are happening.
  • Describe your own and other's actions, interactions, expressions and feelings - what the other children are up to!
  • Verbalise the child's feelings and expressions
  • Tell the child what she/he looks like each day and also what everyone else looks like

Connecting

  • Pointing out links and providing structure.
  • Making connections in her world, where people and toys are.
  • Linking previous experiences with what is happening now and what will happen next.
  • Explaining why children are behaving the way they are.
  • Explaining appropriate social behaviours and the consequences of inappropriate behaviours eg; not 'looking' at a friend/adult or turning her back on other children.

Creating

Creating opportunities to maximise social interaction.

  • Create secure and manageable small groups.
  • Encourage children to interact directly with the child and not through an adult.
  • Where children are able, encourage them to tell vi child what they are doing.
  • Allow child to play on her own - allowing space for peers to approach her.
  • Encourage lots of functional play - using toys or objects for pretend play and dramatic role play.
  • Prompt child to verbalise preferences, share toys, choose friends to share activities with and put feelings about other children into words.
  • Encourage child to imitate her friends by describing their actions and helping her to copy them - modelling of actions may be needed.
  • Be one of the kids - get involved, when appropriate, in role play by way of prompting/supporting child.
  • Create more opportunities to learn about feelings, expressions and gesture
  • Encourage child to feel expressions on yours and her face - mouth and eyebrows are important.
  • Use dolls with facial features/expressions that are feelable.
  • Undertake tactile art work to create expressions.
  • Draw attention to feelings of others in role play, books and stories.

Social Skills

Teach non-verbal skills and manners such as:

  • Waving
  • Shaking head and nodding for yes/no
  • Say "excuse me" when bumping into friends.