Berthold Lowenfeld, a 20th century pioneer of the field educating visually impaired students, suggested that lack of visual information during early childhood interferes with the development process for blind and severely visually impaired children in three primary ways: the range and variety of experiences, ability to move about, and control of the environment. All of these areas pertain to the lack of incidental learning that is constantly available to those with clear and accurate vision. Sighted children start right away to build concept understanding of how the world is structured, they can instantly learn about their surroundings as soon as they enter a space and figure out a lot simply from watching others interact. Children who must learn without vision are not able to benefit from these experiences without directly facilitated exposure.
Firstly, the range and variety of experiences refers to the amount and quality of interactions the child has with people, objects, and places. Blind children must use the senses they have to acquire the same information that sight typically provides. Vision is the sense that is able to provide accurate and detailed information from a distance. Therefore, those that use hearing and touch to learn about the world are at a significant disadvantage in terms of the speed and extent to which they can obtain information. While hearing is a distance sense, the hearer must have prior knowledge of the thing making the sound in order to recognize it. Otherwise, the noise is not meaningful or useful. This is one reason why it is so helpful to teach these children to recognize common sounds, so they can become useful for gaining environmental information, like a vacuum cleaner, lawn mower, paper shredder, doorbell, or a neighbor’s dog barking. Touch on the other hand, requires one to go right up to something and explore it all over, then put the mental pieces together in a part to whole sequence. Rather than being able to know right away what the whole is like and then consider the parts as sighted individuals can, learning from touch means feeling each part separately and realizing how they form a whole when considered together. Think about the old parable about the blind men examining an elephant and trying to figure out what it was. This limits both the amount and quality of learning experiences a blind child can obtain because they must actively pursue things to directly interact with and they often need gaps filled in about what they are feeling when the thing is large or parts are not in reach. In some cases, the child cannot use touch to learn when the thing in view is too large, dangerous, or dirty. For example, you would not be able to allow a blind toddler to explore a toilet (unsanitary), or a blind elementary schooler to touch the outside of an airplane. Concepts like tornadoes or fires are not accessible to feel either. In these instances, verbal or written descriptions must suffice, so it is important for TVIs and other teachers to ensure the student has background knowledge to understand explanations, like referring to fire’s heat as much greater than the heat one feels when opening an oven door.
Secondly, the ability to move about relates to the ease and frequency that the child navigates different environments. Visual stimuli is often what motivates children to approach and explore an object, animal, person, or place and it is also what gives them the confidence to move around naturally. Those without vision may not be aware there is something worth exploring near them and cannot move through their space as seamlessly, due to lacking precise information about what is around them and how the space is laid out. Because of this, these children may only move around in the same few familiar environments such as their room at home and their classroom at school, considering novel areas out of their comfort zone. For example, they may prefer not to try a new restaurant and go to the same old familiar one again out of anxiety that they will either bump into things and get hurt or embarrass themselves trying to find their way around where others can see them. Though the latter is more common in older children and teenagers. Starting orientation and mobility instruction early is key to equipping these kids with the tools and skills to navigate safely and with increased confidence, as well as to ensure they get the chance to experience the community more fully by visiting multiple types of environments like parks, stores, theaters, restaurants, work sites, and transportation.
Thirdly, control over the environment has to do with the information individuals receive about their surroundings and who or what is around them. It is not always appropriate to explore every place a child visits, especially when this requires excessive tactile examination. Exploring a play area in a doctor’s office is quite acceptable but detailed exploration of the examination room is probably not, especially if there are others present. While sighted individuals can walk into a space and immediately notice the layout of the area, where the exits are, where the furniture is, and who else is there, the blind individual has to work much harder to gain this awareness. They may travel through certain places often but never be motivated or not have the opportunity to find out what they are passing by. For example, imagine a blind middle schooler walking through the media center to the reading room, without ever noticing the art on the walls, the bookshelves, the computers, or people sitting at tables.
It cannot be overstated how crucial the provision of regular and diverse orientation and mobility training experiences are for these individuals. Social interaction instruction is another important area of the Expanded Core Curriculum pertinent to this area. Students with visual impairments lack the ability to pick up facial expressions and body language cues such as gestures when attempting to interact with sighted peers or adults. Misunderstandings can occur between both parties that can leave the blind individual confused. Many struggle to read social situations due to these gaps. Lots of non-verbal (visual only) information helps us determine when and how to approach and involve ourselves in an interaction, then interpret the other person’s reactions. Students that cannot access this information may be much less comfortable initiating an interaction and feel less prepared to participate. Guidance and practice can help in gaining confidence and competence. Some blind students with strong so0cial skills may miss out on opportunities to interact due to not being able to locate where others are in a space or not knowing how to navigate the space to get to them.