Contents
Chapter 1: How Can I Help My Child?..................................................................... 1
How children develop.................................. 4
How you can help....................................... 8
How vision problems
affect development...................................... 6
What about my child’s future?.................... 9
Chapter 2: Getting Started........................................................................................ 11
How can this book help?........................... 11
Which activities should I do first?............. 12
Fitting activities into your daily life.......... 13
Chapter 3: General Guidelines for Learning Activities......................................... 15
You are the expert about your child......... 15
Let your child take the lead....................... 15
Adapt activities for your child .................. 16
Let your child know what
is happening around him......................... 19
Remember how children learn.................. 20
Chapter 4: Finding Out What Your Child Can See................................................ 23
Is my child totally blind,
or can she see a little?............................... 24
Helping your child
use the sight she has................................. 28
What does my child see?........................... 25
Will my child’s sight get worse?................ 30
.......................................................................
Chapter 5: Activities for the Young Baby (Birth to 6 Months)............................. 31
Birth to 3 months old................................ 32
4 to 6 months old...................................... 40
Chapter 6: Communication..................................................................................... 45
How vision problems
affect communication............................... 46
Communicating before
your child can talk.................................... 48
Preparing to talk........................................ 50
When your child begins to talk................. 52
Common problems
when learning to talk................................ 54
Chapter 7: Thinking Skills....................................................................................... 59
Understanding objects............................... 60
Solving problems....................................... 64
Doing the same
things others do (imitation)...................... 62
Understanding why
things happen (cause and effect).............. 63
Matching and sorting objects.................... 65
Counting.................................................... 67
Increasing your child’s thinking skills...... 68
.......................................................................
Chapter 8: Teaching Everyday Activities................................................................ 71
Taking care of himself............................... 71
Dressing..................................................... 78
Helping with your family’s work............... 72
Being well-behaved................................... 73
Eating......................................................... 74
Using the toilet or
latrine (toilet training).............................. 82
Keeping clean............................................ 84
Chapter 9: Safety....................................................................................................... 85
To help your child
move about the house............................... 85
To make the area
outside your home more safe ................... 87
helping children who are blind