252 chapter 30
Helping the blind child to use his hands and to learn skills
Help the child who cannot see well to do all kinds of things with her hands, including
daily care of herself: eating, dressing, bathing, and toileting. Ideas for learning these
skills are in Chapters 36 to 39.
At first you may need to
help the child feel things
by guiding his hands.
To help the child know where to look for the different foods on her plate, try
to always put them in the same place. As the child gets older and learns to tell
time, have her think of the plate or bowl as a clock. Tell her at what time each
type of food is put on her plate. Here the glass of water is at 2 o’clock. Always
put it at 2 o’clock.
Help the child learn to put in the same place glasses, cups, bottles, and other
things that can be easily spilled or broken. Teach her to remember where she puts
things, and learn how to reach out for something and find it without knocking it
over. Reaching out with the back of the hand causes less spilling. (This will take
practice and there will be accidents, but that is the way she learns. Do not hand
her everything or do everything tor her, just to avoid a mess. Making a mess is part
of learning.)
Help the child learn to recognize different shapes, sizes, and the ‘feel
of things’ with her fingers. Let her play with toys and puzzles so that
she learns to put different pieces together in a certain pattern or order.
Ideas for toys and puzzles are on pages 468 to 476.
Teach the child about things he must be careful with or
keep a distance from, to not get hurt: things such as fire, hot
pans and dishes, sharp knives, dogs and mules that might bite
or kick, deep holes, wells, cliffs, deep ponds or rivers. Do not
just tell him “No!” Help him to understand the danger.
CAUTION: Whenever possible, keep dangerous things out of
reach or put fences around them, and take other precautions
to protect the child—especially until he is old enough to be
careful.
Give the child
opportunities
to begin to
help in different
ways around the
house. This will
both increase her
skills and give her
a sense of being
part of the life and
action of the family.
Abdul helps rock
his baby brother.
Rani’s mother
teaches her
how to cook
by guiding
her hand and
explaining
each step.
Disabled village Children