For a person without any vision problems, blindness is just an inability to see and vision impairment is having trouble seeing even with glasses. For a growing and developing child, however, blindness or vision problems are not just the inability to see clearly. For a developing child, blindness or vision impairment are significant factors that affect their mental development.
Cognitive Processing
Cognition is the act or perceiving, knowing and understanding something. It comes from the result of a mental process. One of the most important elements of cognition therefore is the concept of self. A blind or visually impaired baby is more dependent on another person than a normal baby. Such dependence becomes a major factor in his mental development. A visually impaired child depends on the other person and has very limited control of the external environment. It will take him longer to realize that a world outside of himself exists. That this world is something which is separate from him and that he must make sense of it. Everything else in his life in relation to this external world has connection.
Mental Processing and Development
With such a delay in self-concept, a blind child or visually impaired child may take more time to make sense of the external world. Moreover, compared with a child with normal vision, a visually impaired child has an abstracted environment. He does not have visual information to process and verify the information. As a result, a blind child creates his own reality. He defines things differently and he is constantly engaged in problem solving or trying to make sense of things without seeing them. He uses his other senses to create reality which may be quite different than a visual person’s, but works for him.
Learning simply things such as the permanence of objects, classifications and casual relationships can be more difficult for a visually impaired child. For example, unlike a child with adequate vision, a visually impaired child will have no reference when it comes to permanence of objects except in their mind. Similarly, he has no visual reference when it comes to cause and effect and will have to become taught through touch. It will take him longer time to learn how he can cause things in his surroundings. When it comes to classifying things, he does not have the sense of sight which allows a normal seeing child to see and classify things according to shapes, color, and sizes. Although he can sense size and shape using his hands, it will take him longer to learn it and classify it because he lacks the visual cues. Often classifications for the blind happen with the nuances of sound.
Language Development
A child learns a lot of things by imitating others so a visually impaired child may imitate words and sounds sooner than that of a normal seeing child. However, when it comes to language as a tool for communication, the child may be delayed because it will take him longer to make sense of things around him.
Visual impairment may cause developmental delays in children. If you think your child has vision problems, you can visit Sugarland Eye & Laser Center, the leading LASIK or laser eye surgery center in Houston. They use the latest technology in vision diagnosis and treatment and may be able to offer the right treatment for your child’s vision problem.
Sources:
http://www.tsbvi.edu/infants/3293-the-impact-of-visual-impairment-on-development
http://www.babycentre.co.uk/a6476/milestone-chart-one-to-six-months
Sugarland Eye & Laser Center leads in providing premium LASIK technologies to Houston, Sugar Land, and the surrounding region. The Center’s award-winning medical director introduced revolutionary technologies such as iLASIK to the region. This technology is used by NASA astronauts, Navy SEALS and Air Force fighter pilots. At Sugarland Eye & Laser Center, you can now receive the same treatment. For more information, please call (281) 240-0478 or visit us at www.houston-lasik.com.
About the Author
Amjad Khokhar, M.D. is Chief LASIK Surgeon at Sugarland Eye & Laser Center. Add Dr. Khokhar on Google+ here.
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