Unique social and behavioral needs of students with visual impairments
Children with visual impairments (VI) often have trouble making and keeping friends among non-impaired peers because (Paynter, 1998):
- They don't make appropriate eye contact; staring off or away from the speaker causes other children to think they are not paying attention to the conversation or activity.
- They have a tendency to focus on themselves and talk too much about themselves.
- They have difficulty with multilayered conversations; if too many people or too many topics are introduced, they may not be able to keep up.
- They make too many demands on others; this is not necessarily intentional, but their blindness means that others must show them where to set, restrict activities if they cannot participate, explain what is going on to them in detail, and so on.
- They appear unresponsive to others. Often, children with VI are unsure when to smile, nod, shake their head, or even that those are appropriate responses during a conversation.
- They may touch themselves inappropriately in public, especially young children. Because they cannot see others, they may be unaware that others are present and may scratch an itch or adjust a piece of clothing in a manner that is unacceptable in public.
- They may violate personal proxemics because they need to know where everyone is during conversations.
To help students with VI make friends at school and in the inclusive classroom, teachers may:
- Use a volunteer peer mentor from a higher grade to help the student with VI get the scoop; this may need to be repeated frequently so that the student with VI is up-to-date on dress, dance moves, and other important facts for the social season.
- Work collaboratively with parents on the skills that will work in both school and community social settings; this will maximize the effort.
- Teach as many skills as possible to the entire class; "Mr. Clark," a Disney Teacher of the Year (but probably more famous for his appearance on Oprah), noted that many students in his general education class did not know how to answer a phone correctly, shake hands, or complete many other adult behaviors, so he taught them all (Clark, 2003).
- Once a week, replace the opening journal time with a conversation time; assign a topic much like the journal-writing topics, but have small groups of two or three converse about the topic.
- Help the student and family find appropriate clubs and after-school activities where they may be involved in, as well as practice, important skills in a safe, supervised environment-for example, Scouting; church youth groups; YMCA; Special Olympics training; and even the school music, drama, and art clubs.
Sources:
Clark, R. (2003). The essential 55. New York: Hyperion.
Paynter, K. (1998). Beyond Ms. Manners' Preferences: Improving social behavior patterns. AER International Conference Poster Session. Retrieved on February 23, 2007. http://www.tsbvi.edu/Education/manners.htm.
