By: Carmen Willings teachingvisuallyimpaired.com Updated October 28, 2017
Concept development involves understanding the characteristics of an object and it’s spatial relationship with other objects. Students with visual impairments miss out on many opportunities to learn concepts incidentally as they may not be able to observe and effectively interact with their world. Students who are blind or visually impaired need to be provided with meaningful experiences and interaction with real objects that they can touch, hear, smell and see (if they have any vision).
As stated in the Impact on Development and Learning section of this website, there are three primary limitations that students with visual impairments face. These include:
A loss in the range and variety of experiences;
A loss or the restriction in the ability to get around (which influences opportunities both for gaining access to experiences and for developing social relationships); and
Loss of the control of the environment and the self in relation to it.
Students may also need guided exploration and explanations of what they are interacting with. Explanations provide the student with vocabulary associated with the experience, help the student make sense of what they are feeling and make connections to previous experiences. These experiences will help develop the students understanding of new concepts, develop their language, and motivate them to explore their environment which will subsequently lead to motor development.
To minimize or eliminate these restrictions, it is important to provide concrete and unifying experiences as well as to encourage the student to be a part of the action by "doing". When provided with concrete experiences, the student will experience many opportunities to develop concepts. Many of these concepts can be developed simply by actively participating in family and school routines. Other opportunities can be created that are fun and relevant for both students with visual impairments, but for sighted peers and siblings too. Both the Teacher of Students with Visual Impairments and the Orientation and Mobility Specialist will work with the student on building concepts.
Suggested Materials
Tactile Treasures Kit, Tactile-Color Edition, available from APH, consists of tactile graphics of thermoformed real objects. This is another great tool for transitioning students from 3D objects to raised line drawings and tactile graphics.
Picture Maker Geometric Textured Shapes, available from APH provides Velcro backed 2D shapes. This is a great transitional and versatile tool to use moving from 3D shapes toward tactual graphics.
Colors and Shapes Lotto Game by Trend is a great shape matching game this is not only good for students with low vision but can easily be adapted with the addition of textures and tactile graphics making materials in order to make it accessible to students who are blind!
Positions Lotto Game by Trend is a great position photo matching game that is great for students with low vision who are able to visually discriminate pictures. I like the simple photos on an uncluttered surface!