Early intervention with infants and preschoolers who are blind

Viac o knihe

This work on Early Intervention with Infants and Preschoolers who are blind comprises two volumes: the Manual and the Bielefeld Observation Scales (BOS-BLIND). It stems from the most extensive empirical study on development in children with congenital blindness, involving a 5-year longitudinal study of 10 congenitally blind children who received early intervention from ages 1-6. The Manual details assessment and promotion strategies for development in blind children, discussing both the limitations of blindness and alternative strategies for skill acquisition. It lists 600 developmental skills and 56 qualitative behavior aspects across eight developmental domains. The manual also presents developmental data categorized by cognitive abilities of the project children, allowing for comparisons of progress among blind peers. The evaluation study confirms the practical application of the BOS-BLIND in early intervention. This revised version covers all major developmental domains, focusing on blind-specific aspects, and serves as a tool for assessing development and progress. It is designed for use after each intervention, based on observations or parent reports, and is not a developmental test but an observational instrument. Observations are documented across 11 scales, making the BOS-BLIND the only systematic tool for blind-specific developmental data during infancy and preschool age.