Integration of children with visual impairment in regular preschools

Brambring M. Integration of children with visual impairment in regular preschools. CHILD CARE HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENT. 2001;27(5):425-438.The current practice in Germany is to integrate children who are blind or partially sighted into regular preschools providing they exhibit no further severe impairments. The present study asked 72 regular preschool teachers about their experiences in integrating 24 children who were blind and 16 who were partially sighted. Results showed that integration seemed to be unproblematic except for greater emotional difficulties in children who are partially sighted. According to preschool teachers, integrating children who are blind is far more complex and difficult than integrating the partially sighted. One fifth of the blind exhibited marked to serious problems in 10 out of 28 preschool activities surveyed. Most of these difficulties involved manual, cognitive, interactive and daily living skills. When asked about difficulties that had not been anticipated before integration commenced, preschool teachers emphasized four domains: the increase in their own workload; the children's problems with concentration and motivation; fixation on one preschool teacher; and difficulties in the fine- and gross-motor domain as well as in daily living skills. Findings indicate the need for improved preparations and support when integrating the blind into regular preschool

Divergent development of gross motor skills in children who are blind or sighted

Brambring M. Divergent development of gross motor skills in children who are blind or sighted. JOURNAL OF VISUAL IMPAIRMENT & BLINDNESS. 2006;100(10):620-634.This empirical study compared the average ages at which four congenitally blind children acquired 29 gross motor skills with age norms for sighted children. The results indicated distinct developmental delays in the acquisition of motor skills and a high degree of variability in developmental delays within and across the six subdomains that were analyzed

THE PLAY-BEHAVIOR AND PLAY MATERIALS OF BLIND AND SIGHTED INFANTS AND PRESCHOOLERS

TROSTER H, Brambring M. THE PLAY-BEHAVIOR AND PLAY MATERIALS OF BLIND AND SIGHTED INFANTS AND PRESCHOOLERS. JOURNAL OF VISUAL IMPAIRMENT & BLINDNESS. 1994;88(5):421-432.Parents' answers to a survey of their children's play behavior revealed numerous differences between the play behavior of children who are blind and children who are sighted. The main findings were that the sighted children engaged in more complex levels of play at an earlier age than did the blind children, the blind children interacted less frequently with other children than did the sighted children, the blind children preferred tactile-auditory games and toys and rarely engaged in symbolic games

Implementation and effectiveness of a home-based early intervention program for blind infants and preschoolers

Beelmann A, Brambring M. Implementation and effectiveness of a home-based early intervention program for blind infants and preschoolers. RESEARCH IN DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES. 1998;19(3):225-244.This article presents results from a comprehensive evaluation of a home-based early intervention project for congenitally blind young children. Five full-term and five preterm blind children, who had a mean age of 12 months at the beginning of the project, were visited at horne with their families every 2 weeks over a 2-year period. Results showed that art individualized, handicap-specific early intervention using different types of parent involvement (cotherapist, parent counseling) could be implemented successfully. Compared with controls, developmental test data from the ages of 12 to 36 months showed nn accelerating impact on the full-term children. However, no intervention effects could be found in the preterm children. This finding was mainly due to methodological limitations (e.g., selection bins). The best results among full-term children were found on blindness-specific scales (e.g., orientation and mobility). Ir is concluded that the outcomes in full-term children confirm the success of this type of early intervention

INTERRATER RELIABILITY OF A GERMAN VERSION OF THE INTERNATIONAL CLASSIFICATION OF IMPAIRMENTS, DISABILITIES, AND HANDICAPS (ICIDH) OF THE WORLD HEALTH-ORGANIZATION

BEHRENS E, Brambring M. INTERRATER RELIABILITY OF A GERMAN VERSION OF THE INTERNATIONAL CLASSIFICATION OF IMPAIRMENTS, DISABILITIES, AND HANDICAPS (ICIDH) OF THE WORLD HEALTH-ORGANIZATION. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF REHABILITATION RESEARCH. 1987;10(4):391-404

ON THE STABILITY OF STEREOTYPED BEHAVIORS IN BLIND INFANTS AND PRESCHOOLERS

Brambring M, TROSTER H. ON THE STABILITY OF STEREOTYPED BEHAVIORS IN BLIND INFANTS AND PRESCHOOLERS. JOURNAL OF VISUAL IMPAIRMENT & BLINDNESS. 1992;86(2):105-110.Parents of blind and partially sighted infants and preschoolers were surveyed at two points in time to determine the frequency of occurrence and stability of the children's stereotyped behaviors and the conditions that elicited the behaviors. The stereotyped behaviors that are frequently observed in blind children proved to be stable, while less frequently observed stereotyped behaviors generally remained in the children's repertoire only for a short time. The age of the child and the frequency of the occurrence of stereotyped behaviors proved to be relevant criteria for predicting whether stereotyped behaviors would stabilize

THE ASSESSMENT OF COGNITIVE-DEVELOPMENT IN BLIND INFANTS AND PRESCHOOLERS

Brambring M, TROSTER H. THE ASSESSMENT OF COGNITIVE-DEVELOPMENT IN BLIND INFANTS AND PRESCHOOLERS. JOURNAL OF VISUAL IMPAIRMENT & BLINDNESS. 1994;88(1):9-18.One goal of the Bielefeld Developmental Test for Blind Infants and Preschoolers was to try to reduce the difficulties in comparing cognitive development in blind and sighted infants and preschoolers by developing ''blind-neutral'' items. The results showed that even this test did not permit a fair comparative assessment of cognitive development, but the scale provided a suitable within-group rating in blind children

The Role of Sound in Encouraging Infants with Congenital Blindness to Reach for Objects

Ihsen E, Troester H, Brambring M. The Role of Sound in Encouraging Infants with Congenital Blindness to Reach for Objects. JOURNAL OF VISUAL IMPAIRMENT & BLINDNESS. 2010;104(8):478-488.Reaching for sound-producing and silent objects was assessed in seven infants who had been blind from birth. Objects were presented while they were in tactile contact with their bodies, immediately after withdrawal, or without prior contact. The study found that sound elicited reaching earlier than did antecedent tactile contact. These findings are compared with those of previous studies

Academic achievement and personality in university students who are visually impaired

Klinkosz W, Sekowski A, Brambring M. Academic achievement and personality in university students who are visually impaired. JOURNAL OF VISUAL IMPAIRMENT & BLINDNESS. 2006;100(11):666-675.This study compared academic achievement by sighted versus visually impaired students at Polish universities and analyzed potential between-group differences on various personality traits and their impact on academic grades. Although there was no main effect of visual status on academic achievement, there were some significant differences between the personality traits of the visually impaired and sighted groups