Babies with vision, hearing, or motor impairments may not receive as much feedback from this type of physical contact because of their impairment. Ask your Vision Teacher to help you decide how your baby uses his vision and how to adjust the lighting in his environment to maximize the use of his vision. For example, the baby might see your face better if the light came from behind him so he does not have to look into a glaring light when he turns to you. Infants with seizure disorders or motor impairments may not respond well to touching and holding. Certain types of touch may actually trigger a seizure in some children with seizure disorders because it is stressful.
Some children are tactilely defensive or they have abnormal muscle tone.
When a baby does not show a typical response to a parent's attention the parent may interpret the baby's response as rejection. The parents may begin to hold the child less often. However, the child's atypical response to touch may relate to muscle tone rather than to feelings about his parents. With these children, it is critical for the parents to learn to touch their child in a way that is acceptable and pleasurable to the child. Physical therapists and occupational therapists can help parents discover what types of physical touch their child can tolerate and learn to enjoy.