Motor Development and Characteristics of Students with Visual Impairments
Based on
Impact of Vision Loss on Motor Development
By
Chris Strickling
Holistic vs Sequential Learning
Seeing the whole picture vs. “stringing beads” of experience to get an approximated
understanding of the whole.
“Vision helps interpret sound and movement experiences, build motivation and
anticipation, and fix the world spatially so that sensory information makes sense.”
(Strickling, 1998)
Questions to be asked:
What are the common characteristics in the motor patterns of persons with visual
impairments?
How are they related to visual impairment?
Why are they important?
What techniques and strategies can TVIs/O&Ms use in working with these problems?
Decreased Postural Tone
Especially in the shoulder girdle and pelvis.
Caused by impact of vision loss on early sensory experiences and the development of
reflex activity.
The trunk and extremities are also often affected.
How is decreased postural tone related to visual impairment?
Optical head righting
Labyrinthine righting (righting of head and neck based on gravity)
Equilibrium responses
Why is decreased postural tone important?
General muscle weakness and the inability to establish stability.
Stability of the neck and shoulder girdle especially impacts visual efficiency.
Decrease of endurance in performing complex motor skills ---such as reading braille.
Sensory Integration
Learning to use all of the senses together to form a meaningfully whole interpretation
of the environment.
Decreased or inaccurate interpretation of proprioceptic information.
Proprioception – the ability to perceive and interpret the influence on gravity or
pressure on one’s body and awareness of body parts.
Learning the connection between the “feel” of a position and the visual appearance of
that position is critical.
Decreased or inaccurate interpretation of vestibular information.
Vestibular understanding of the movement of one’s body through space.
Perhaps THE single most important motor area for persons with visual impairments.
Problems with understanding vestibular input contribute to problems with muscle tone,
bilateral integration, and midline orientation.
Problems with tactile processing:
Tactile defensiveness
Avoid tactile contact with novel objects
Perform perseverative and non-purposeful actions on objects
Reject specific textures and temperatures
Others
Thought to be caused by lack of integration of early protective tactile defenses.
Insecurity with environmental exploration.
Avoidance of prone positioning.
Over protection
Problems with gait:
Feet wide
Pelvis rotated forward
Often exhibit exaggerated weight shift because of proprioceptic problems.
Deviation of the head from midline.
Shoulders, Arms, and Hands
Poor proximal control
Weakness of arms and hands
Decreased grasp strength
Delayed development of pincer grasp
Problems crossing midline
Poorly developed arch of the hand due to lack of arm weight bearing and manipulation
of objects
Limitation or late development of wrist rotation
Inefficient hand manipulation
Legs and Feet
External rotation from the hip
Widened base of support
Positioning
Stability is critical to efficient visual functioning.
Especially true of the shoulder girdle.
Flicking
Causes EEG changes that either calm or excite the central nervous system
Those with injuries or disease processes closer to the brain exhibit more mannerisms.