So the bandages were a smash of a gift because they helped Susan to pretend to do something important that grownups do. And every bandage big, medium, or small became a source of fun and a learning experience. That s the very best gift of all. Ms. Story a is teacher of the visually impaired and a member of AER Division 8, Anchorage, Alaska. This article is reprinted from The National Newspatch , November 1997.
Independence is emphasized in much of the literature concerning young children who are blind.
It has often been observed that many children with visual impairments, especially those with additional impairments, are much more passive than their sighted peers. They seem to think of themselves not as a doers, but as people who must wait for assistance or a prompt. Literature on young children with blindness often mentions the fairy godmother syndrome. The adult holds the back of the child s hand, the child is guided to the objects to be explored, and guided through the motions of the activity to be learned. Some have begun to question and reject this method.