Characteristics of children with visual impairment

Children with vision problems are significantly different from their peers, they require more attention to themselves, a different approach to learning different skills than peers with good eyesight. As a rule, they have more developed other sensitive organs, through which they will know the world. Compensation is due to excellent hearing and touch. Knowledge acquisition and teaching techniques vary, and depend on the individual degree of impaired vision.

The visual organs play an important role as a way of their own perception and development, as well as ideas about the space around. All movements that a person performs are controlled by sight. For a child, this is the most important aspect, since his training, orientation in the environment, depends entirely on visual acuity. Mastering the alphabet, numbers, ability to navigate by certain signs and designations, help from the earliest childhood to adapt first in kindergarten, then in school and further in life. There is such a thing as tiflopedagogika, which helps children with poor eyesight to learn and receive a full-fledged education on a par with their peers. A child should not feel injured, only because he is deprived of acute sight.

Types of infringements of children's sight

Children's visual impairments are functional and organic.

With the first changes you can fight as an independent way, and with the help of specialists. They can be adjusted and give in to treatment, up to a complete cure. Such disorders include:

• Nearsightedness or myopia.This is a very common disease, in which the child due to the lack of refractive power in can not clearly see objects that are in the distance, for example, what is written on the blackboard. Their behavior and habits differ from healthy children by the fact that they screw up their eyes, trying to make out objects, strongly tilt their head and bring the textbook or book closer to the very eyes.
• Hyperopia or hypermetropia.Here, on the contrary, the opposite effect is observed, when, after refraction of the rays, the focus is beyond the retina. Such patients do not see close subjects, and their vision is focused on distance. Very often, with the strain of the eyes, the child with hyperopia develop headaches, heaviness and pain in the eyes, strong and frequent fatigue from the fact that you have to strain to see the text of the book or nearby lying subject.
• Strabismus.This disease has a characteristic of the deflected fixation point of one of the eyes. In children with such a disease, the acuity of perception of the eye with pathology decreases, and the sensitivity of both eyes is generally disturbed. The ability to see the image as a whole becomes impossible. The causes of this disease can be heredity, mental trauma in the form of fright, infectious diseases, eye anomalies and many others. The signs begin to appear, as a rule, already at the age of two.
• Astigmatism is a very common disease in children.There is a similar change due to injury, surgery, corneal diseases. There are three main types: simple astigmatism, complex and mixed.
• Nystagmus or trembling of the eyes.With this disease, spontaneous fluctuations of the eyeballs are observed. It happens that the eyes rotate horizontally, vertically, or in a circle. This ailment is difficult to treat and is considered difficult, as the causes lie in the lesions of the pituitary gland, the cerebellum or the medulla oblongata. When nystagmus, children have poor vision, and see objects as fuzzy.

Organic visual impairments are caused by morphological changes in the structures of various departments, such as the conduction of visual pathways, nerves or vessels. Most often, these disorders are associated with concomitant malformations or lesions. Here you can list various congenital malformations of the nervous system, cerebral palsy, mental retardation or hearing loss.

Congenital

Visual impairment at birth is evidence of the damaging factors that acted during intrauterine fetal development, such as infectious lesions or metabolic disorders properties.

Hereditary injuries transmitted by pedigree. Here, the most common are cataracts, glaucoma or color blindness.

Purchased

Such violations occur only after the child was born, and the causes are infections, injuries to the visual organs, serious illnesses.

All types of violations can have any character of occurrence.So, for example, myopia is often both congenital and acquired, it largely depends on the signs of the disease.The same is true for other types of weak vision.

Features of development

It is known that thanks to eyes and sharp vision, a person is able to get up to 90 percent of all information about the world around him.When this important organ falls out of the complex of perceiving systems, those that are capable of replacing sharp eyes are included in the work with special acuity, this is hearing and touch.Smells and sounds for a weakly seeing person become the main guides and helpers in the world. The formation of the environment begins, the snake and nose work, the world begins to acquire its own appearance and significance.

Due to the decrease in vision, the child begins to limit the scope, the world is cognized in a smaller volume. This can adversely affect the development of many skills, such as speech, memory and attention. A blind child has a disconnect between words and objects in reality.

Nevertheless, for visually impaired children, vital and physical activity plays a huge role, in the form of mobile activities, games or entertainment.This allows you to develop coordination to the desired level, due to it, the child will be able to navigate well in the surrounding space.The feeling of muscle strength, tone, stimulates the movement, and also helps improve vision. But, do not strongly zealous with physical exertion, as an overdose in this sense can also negatively affect the condition of a small person.

During the training of life skills and any specific actions, it is very important that the child has a "right hand" next to it. Action or movement must reach the automatism, this is achieved by repeated repetition.

The selection of toys for visually impaired babies is also of particular importance.Objects should be bright, large-sized and have a textured surface. This helps to simulate the development of tactile senses and residual vision.Musical or noise toys will be especially attractive and interesting, they will allow the child to remember the subject and create a certain image.

If the family has a child with a visual defect, do not limit it to communication, intrafamily close contacts and connections will only help him and not morally and psychologically become a recluse, do not feel himself an outcast.

Psychological development of children

The development of a blind or visually impaired child is much different from the full development of normal children.It should be remembered that there are patterns that can not be changed for known reasons.Three provisions concerning the preschooler, which need to be taken into account, and approach it especially:

• There is a backwardness in development, both physical and mental. This is due to the limitation of activity and the inability to catch up anywhere and everywhere, since children with acute eyesight.
• Certain periods and stages of development of a blind baby can not be at the same time as the rest. There must be some compensation for other senses, and until there is a replacement or compensation, backwardness will be observed.
• In the life of a blind child, there is a certain disproportion in the development of personal aspects, this concerns speech, thinking, and movement.
• There are also problems with coordination of movements, impulsiveness and sharpness of movements is characteristic for blind children, since walking skills are also acquired much later.

Prevention

From the very first period of the birth of a child, it is worth paying a visit to the eye doctor to determine visual acuity. Already at the age of 1 month, the mother should show the child to the ophthalmologist.

After a diagnostic examination, possible problems of a congenital nature are identified. Very important recommendations for preventive actions from a very early age, if pathologies are revealed. Early diagnosis is an opportunity to avoid many problems in the future, especially in the school period.

In the event that the violations are serious enough, the doctor suggests that parents consider the possibility of visiting specialized childcare facilities for the training of the child.There are special kindergartens and boarding schools in which blind or visually impaired children can be educated with special tools and equipment for adaptation.

Useful literature for parents

If the child does not have significant deviations from the norm, and changes are possible for the better, then parents should be sure that he follows the following rules:

• Lying not to read, to make the necessary pauses for resting the eyes for 2-3 minutes.
• Do special gymnastics for the eyes.
• Do not sit for a long time at the TV screen or monitor.
• It's more to be out in the open air and exercise.
• There are vitamins in the form of fresh vegetables and fruits.

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conclusions

Certainly, for any parent, a healthy baby is happiness. You should do everything possible to ensure that the child was born strong and healthy, with excellent hearing and vision. Diagnosis in the early period of life will allow to determine pathologies of a different nature, and attention and care will help your baby to successfully prepare for life and become a full participant in it.

Also read about how a vision is handicapped and what is the defocus of the eyesight.