Blindness and Children
An Individual Differences Approach

The book reviews and interprets the existing research about the development of children with visual impairments.

David H. Warren (Author)

9780521457194, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 26 August 1994

396 pages, 5 tables
22.8 x 15.2 x 2.4 cm, 0.54 kg

'Warren has an excellent reputation as an outstanding authority in this field.' Paul Mussen, University of California

The book is a summary and interpretation of the research literature on infants and children with visual impairments. It concludes that many aspects of 'delayed' development are not the result of visual impairment itself, but rather of environmental variables that tend to accompany visual impairment. Thus many of the typical developmental delays may be ameliorated or avoided by the appropriate structuring of the child's experiences. The book is developmentally oriented and treats all of the major areas of child development. The author makes the premise that a truly useful body of knowledge about the development of children with visual impairments must not just characterize normative development, but must account for the factors that are associated with relatively good or poor developmental progress. Existing research literature is searched for evidence of variables that may account for individual differences, particularly variables related to the child's several environments.

Introduction
Part I. Interaction with the Physical World: 1. Perception of the physical world
2. Motor and locomotor interaction with the physical world
3. Understanding the physical world
4. Spatial understanding and spatial behavior
Part II. The Acquisition of Cognitive Skills: 5. Language, concept formation, and classification
6. Executive functions: memory, attention, and cognitive strategies
7. Cognitive style, creativity, and intelligence
Part III. Adapting to the Social World: 8. Social-emotional and communicative development in infancy
9. Communication as a social skill
10. Social development and adjustment
11. Developing a sense of self
Part IV. Summary: 12. Longitudinal studies
13. Individual differences.

Subject Areas: Child & developmental psychology [JMC]