Ideas to assist visual difficulties due to brain damage
The following ideas have all been suggested by parents and carers
and patients with visual difficulties due to brain problems. Not all
the ideas will be useful to everyone. It may be that only one or two
of the ideas will actually help to make a difference. We are always
looking for more ideas and suggestions to add to this list. Please
email (Andrew.blaikie@nhs.net)
me if you wish to add any other suggestions or change some of the ideas
that you think are wrong or wish to improve upon.
Kind regards.
Andrew Blaikie
Strategies, which were described as proving helpful outside and around the home environment
| Problem | Approaches | Variations / developments |
| Difficulty going over uneven surfaces in the garden | Ensure good access to garden with handrails if required Minimize height variations or provide safe level area Ensure safe ground cover Provide coloured foot steps or hand rails to follow to different areas Have scooters (to walk with) or push toys to provide stability when moving about Allow child to hold onto one's clothing, pulling down, and when holding hands, extend arm and hold it slightly backwards (All these strategies provide the child with a tactile guide to the height of the ground ahead) |
Astro-turf. bark and rubber play mats provide
a soft but firm surface, using different colours for these surfaces
provides training in crossing outside floor boundaries Bright fencing and flush rubber flagstones can be used to 'zone' areas of the garden |
| Tripping over obstacles | Use scooter or dolls pram to push Provide safe 'storage zones' for older children to keep toys in when not using (tidy up) Encourage a policy of 'slow, look, check, go' using verbal prompts, or a tap on the shoulder when there is uneven ground ahead |
Plan obstacle courses for fun and to develop spatial awareness and observation skills. Encourage use of crawling through and climbing over toys |
| Difficulty seeing things in the distance eg; bird in tree, plane in sky | Family member takes picture on digital camera to use (can enlarge on screen), use video with zoom to locate object with the child. Re-look at pictures later |
Children can learn to use camera for themselves Use verbal prompts and large visual targets to 'cue' child to
the chosen target, eg; "look at the red roof, then the blue
road sign". Give time to process; don’t rush on to next object or give up too soon. Encourage the child to select a distant target for family members to find (the child can scan with a video camera) |