Assessing Motor Skills in the Visually Impaired Child

Assessing Motor Skills in the Visually Impaired Child

Future Reflections Spring/ Summer1989, Vol. 8 No. 2
(back) (contents) (next)
ASSESSING MOTOR SKILLS IN THE
VISUALLY IMPAIRED CHILD
by Doris Willoughby
[PICTURE] Doris Willoughby, teacher and author, regularly volunteers
to work at the NFB literature table during Federation
National Conventions.
Editor's Note: A couple of years ago I received
a letter from an occupational therapist who wanted
some suggestions about methods for assessing
motor skills in blind or visually impaired children.
I didn 't know anything about it, so I referred the letter
to Doris Willoughby, who knows a great deal
about many things relating to the education of
blind children. Mrs. Willoughby did, indeed, have
some excellent suggestions to make. Most of all,
however, she demonstrated in her response to that
letter an attitude we should all develop. Mrs. Willoughby
has faith that there is usually a way to
adapt materials and tasks so that blind people can
engage in almost any activity. She is also thoroughly
familiar with the alternative techniques of blindness,
but she doesn't make a big mystery out of the
techniques. She just assumes that others can learn
and understand them, too.
In any event I share this correspondence with
you for its own intrinsic value and because it is such
a good example of how to approach the "How do
blind people do such-and-such?" type of question
that every blind person and parent of a blind child
have to routinely answer- both for themselves and
for others.
October 14, 1987
Dear Ms. --:
Thank you for your letter about methods for
assessing motor skills in visually impaired
children.
Barbara Cheadle has asked me to answer your
letter.
In general, I would suggest using your usual
assessments but adapting them to make them appropriate.
I also suggest observing the child in
his/her regular daily activities.
Here are some specific ideas:
1. Many kinds of evaluations are appropriate "as
is," if the child is old enough to understand and if
the task does not involve vision. A good example
would be "hop on one foot times."
2. If you would ordinarily show the child (visually)
what you want him/her to do, find a way to explain
verbally or tactually. Suppose, for example,
that you want the child to squeeze a small ball as
hard as he can with one hand and that ordinarily
you demonstrate while the child watches visually.
With an older blind child, a verbal explanation
may be adequate. But especially if the child
is young, it is important to have him/her feel the
ball in your hand while you squeeze. Also, take
the child's hand and help him/her to squeeze as desired. Then say. "Now you do it by yourself."
3. If the task requires space, and the child may not know whether there are obstacles, provide
plenty of space and assure the child that there are
no obstacles.
4. If a visual cue or aid is typically used to guide the task, provide a non-visual guide instead. (Example:
If a ball is to be thrown toward a target,
provide a sound at the target.)
5. Consider the child's experience and techniques
which he/she would ordinarily use. Test appropriate
tasks, and avoid making evaluations
based on inappropriate tasks. A good example is
paper-and-pencil work, which tends to figure
prominently in evaluation of fine-muscle control.
If a child reads Braille, he/she may have had little
or no experience with a pencil or crayon--at
most using only a few symbols. A blind child
should be evaluated on reading and writing
Braille and on other appropriate tactual tasks.
6. It may be obvious that a totally blind child cannot
be expected to use visual cues. We also need
to remember that a partially sighted child should
not be evaluated based on vision which he/she
may not have. In examples such as those above,
if the child does not clearly have enough vision to
perform the tasks visually, an alternative should
be used. (Example: A partially sighted child may
not see obstacles until he/she is quite close. As
in number three above, make sure he/she knows
what space is available and whether obstacles are
present.)
With children of first grade age and above, I
believe you will find that your usual evaluations,
adapted as above, will generally work for the
visually impaired child (including the child who
is totally blind). Probably you have more than
one evaluation list or scale at your disposal, and
you may find some more easily adapted than
others.
For very young children it may be helpful for
me to name some developmental skills or guides
which have been especially easily used with blind
children of preschool age. It is not meant to be
an exclusive list, and some of the items on these
scales may still require adaptation; but I believe
this list might be helpful to you. (I apologize for
the fact that I'm not certain of the spelling of all
of these scales. In some cases I have not used the
materials myself but have heard them recommended
by other professionals whose opinion I
respect.)
CallierAzusa
Koontz
The Oregon Project
Hawaii Early Learning Profile (HELP)
Brigance Inventory of Early Development
I
hope that these thoughts have been helpful
to you. Please let me know if I can be of further
assistance.
Sincerely,
Doris M. Willoughby
NOTE: If you are interested in obtaining any of
the scales above, contact the following:
CallierAzusa:
Callier Center for Communication Disorders:
1966 Inwood Road
Dallas, TX 75235
Koontz:
Western Psychological Services
12031 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90025
The Oregon Project:
Jackson Education Service District
101 N. Grape Street
Medford, OR 97501
Hawaii Early Learning Profile (HELP):
The Vort Corporation
P.O. Box 60132
Palo Alto, CA 94306
Brigance Diagnostic Inventory of Early
Development:
Curriculum Associates
5 Esquire Road
N. Billerica, MA 01862-2589
(back) (contents) (next)