Behavioral Issues in Children with Visual Impairments and Blindness: A Guide for Parents

As a parent, you have hopes and dreams for your child who is blind or visually impaired. The hope of most parents is that their child will be healthy and happy and continue to grow and thrive, learning the skills that will prepare him or her for an independent life as an adult. And as a parent of a child with limited vision, you know there will be times when you have questions, and you are not sure what to do. It is a common saying that a baby doesnât come with a handbook. However, there is extensive information to read about child development and how to support your visually impaired childâs learning. You will have expectations of next steps and, hopefully, your child will have a team of âexpertsâ to help guide you along the way. The most important expert on that team is you! You are the expert because you know your childâand your childâs behaviorâbetter than anyone else.
Observing Skills Development
As a parent, you began observing your childâs behavior from the moment he was born. You touched his hair or sweet bald head and counted his fingers and toesâjust to be sure that they were all there. Then, as you cuddled him, you might have reached out and touched his little hand and watched him grasp your finger. This was one of the first behaviors you observed in your newborn. As you watched your baby, you thought about his needs. Was he hungry, cold, or wet? What could you do to help calm him? As the first days and then months passed, you observed changes in your childâs behavior. He couldnât tell you what was needed, but his behavior gave you the clues you needed to take care of him.
Your skills as the âparent expertâ grew by watching your child develop new skills and adapt to his world with limited vision. As you noticed each new skill emerge, there was probably an announcement and a celebration!
- âHe lifted his head up!â âHe rolled over!â
- âShe turned her ear to my voice!â
- âHe cooed!â âHe babbled!â âHe said his first word!â
- âShe smiled!â âShe shared a toy in the sandbox.â âShe patted her sister when she was crying.â
Missing or Delayed Skills in Children with Visual Impairments
All of the new skills you observed were behaviorsâskill behaviors. As you also learned what to expect next, you might have noticed some missing or delayed skills. You learned many developmental milestones occur later in children with visual impairments, likely due to decreased motivation to move without sight and due to a lack of learning through observation (incidental learning). If you were worried, it is likely that you shared your observations with family, friends, his pediatrician, or other professionals on your team.
- âWhy isnât she paying attention to me when I talk to her?â
- âWhy wonât he eat solid foods? How can we help?â
- âWhy hasnât he started talking? He babbles but no words except âmamaâ.â
- âWhy canât she sit up by herself?â
- âWhy isnât she crawling? Is this normal?â
With a renewed focus on teaching in a way visually impaired children learn, possibly using new techniques such as hand-over-hand or hand-under-hand, receiving early intervention services, and intentionally helping your child who has a visual impairment develop good motor skills, your child could begin to move forward to the next steps. Small steps were celebrated! Your âexpertâ observation of his delayed or different skills helped to make a difference in his development.
Difficult but Expected Behaviors in Children with Visual Impairments
As your child moves into the toddler years, you might observe new behaviors, but these do not fit the description of developing skills. Whatever they are, they are becoming a problem! At first, the behaviors might not seem too important and, in fact, some of them might be noticed for a short time and then disappear. It seems that relatives, neighbors, other parents, and the daycare staff are not surprised by these new âproblemâ behaviors, and you are likely to hear these comments.
- Â âOh, itâs just the âterrible twosâ.â
- âHeâll outgrow it.â
- âSheâs just trying to be independent.â
- âShe just enjoys playing alone.â
- âSheâs protective of her belongings.â
âProblem behaviorsâ might be familiar or expected, but that doesnât make them any less frustrating nor cause you to worry less. Behaviors like pushing, throwing, grabbing, yelling, or even biting might be observed at daycare or at home. You might ask, âWhere did this behavior come from? He was such an easy baby!â It turns out that the reason for the sudden appearance of these behaviors is that they are clearly linked to developmental changes. As a toddler, the push for independence and the frustration of wanting to âdo it myselfâ and experiencing âbigâ emotions that seem to change in just moments often result in âproblemâ behaviors. You might have experience with toddlers and have some strategies that work, or you may seek help from your team to learn some of the best ways to respond to your child when these behaviors occur. Some days it will be hard to âcelebrateâ this stage of growing up, but you are the expert. You try to let your toddler know that you understand that itâs hard to be twoâor three or fourâand you want to help them get through it! And, at the end of the day, you probably are thinking that it may be just as difficult to be a parent of a toddler!
What about ârepetitive behaviors?â You might have observed some other behaviors that are not unusual in children with vision impairments. She might âpokeâ or press on her eyes, rock her body, shake her head, flap her hands, or gaze at lights. These repetitive behaviors have been described as stereotypical behaviors or mannerisms and are likely self-stimulatory. As with other behaviors, it is important to understand why they are occurring and what to do about them.
Challenging Behaviors in Children with Visual Impairments
As the âparent expert,â you expect changes in development and changes in behavior. You learn to help your child manage the behaviors related to new skills and development. Sometimes, however, a parent may observe behaviors that are unexpected, confusing, and quite concerning. A word that might describe these different behaviors is âchallenging.â To use a metaphor, this is a whole new ballgame.
With challenging behaviors, there isnât necessarily a clear link to developmental skills, though delays may play a part. These behaviors may be similar to the problem behaviors, but most are very different. The effect of the challenging behavior is often described as follows:
- Interferes with learning
- Disrupts daily lifeâat home and in the community
- Sometimes causes harm to others or himself
- Sometimes causes damage to objects or belongings
- Causes significant stress in your childâs life as well as yours and your familyâs lives
Your understanding of your childâs development as a young child with visual impairment or blindness didnât prepare you for this. Strategies youâve used before are not working. Not only might you share your observations with family, a close friend, or the pediatrician, it is likely that your childâs teacher, therapists, or specialists will report their observations and concerns to you.
You are the âparent expert,â but now you are challenged to become the âbehavior expert.â Remember, you know your child. You are the expert. But you may not know the answers. You will need help and support. Now, you will need to have others observe, describe, and explore possible reasons for the behaviors. Your goals will be to find ways to reduce the occurrence of the behaviors and find appropriate replacements for the behaviors. A new phrase will become familiar as you seek answers: All behavior is communication. And you will become the expert on your child again and help others to understand what he is trying to tell you.