Socialization and the Child with Low Vision

By Dr. Anne L. Corn, Professor, The University of Texas at Austin

Following is Dr. Corn's Keynote Address to the Sixth Canadian Interdisciplinary Conference on The Blind Child, October, 1987, Halifax, Nova Scotia

Did you know that in Austin, Texas, 9^th graders claim that the miniskirt is definitely "in" and that tennis shoes are a must either ankle socks or longer socks "smushed down" to the ankle: I have been told that only large, baggy skirts are to be worn with such an outfit and books are carried on the hip by boys, while girls have the option of carrying their books on the hip or in front of them. Along with the miniskirt, the word "bad" has re-emerged in the teenage lexicon; it is used to refer to events which are "good."

So, today's questions for our students with low vision are: Are you aware of the "uniform." Do you have a really "bad" identity when you wear the "uniform" or some variation of it?

Does the uniform help you establish relationships which provide for acceptance, with a result of fitting in? Finally, are your life's activities as a student related to and enhanced by your identity and your relationships?

Gerald Miller (1987), director of National Services in Rehabilitation and Employment for the American Foundation for the Blind, often ask individuals in groups such as this to describe themselves. He finds that individuals will describe themselves with words relating to these areas: their personal identity perhaps as a member of a religious or national group; their relationships, as a mother, father sister, brother; their life's activities, as a student, professional; or homemaker. Socialization incorporates the three areas of identity, relations and life activities. I'd like to borrow Mr. Miller's triad of an adult's sense of identity as we discuss the socialization of youngsters who have low vision.

As professionals we must ask ourselves whether the life experiences of youngsters with low vision result in the healthy development of these three areas--or is the experience of having low vision such that a students ware at risk of growing up with too many emotional stresses, resulting in the formation of an unhealthy identity , poorly formed or nonexistent relations, and/or life activities which are unsatisfying? I fear the latter; too many young men and women with low vision seem to be out of step with their peers and out of control of choosing their lifestyles. We might listen to the argument that they have a right to be "different." However, before one can choose to be in or out of a group, both options must be available to the individual. Would we not teach the cutting of meat to a totally blind student because she can always have a sandwich or other finger food?

Before exploring the unique aspects of identity, relations and life activities for those with low vision, I would like to address the concept of practical knowledge. I see practical knowledge as the tool set which is necessary in the construction of normal life experiences, resulting in identity, relationships and interesting life activities. Dressing in the "uniform" is but one of the applications of practical knowledge which will help a student "fit in." Since much of this knowledge is gained through the sense of vision, students with low vision are at risk for not acquiring incidental information needed for getting started on the formation of socialization processes. Practical knowledge can be described extension of daily living skills.

Although a student may know how to offer assistance to others, he may not pick up the visual cue that another person is in need of help. Although she may know how to put on earrings, she may not know the message which is conveyed when wearing a T-shirt with long pearl earrings.

Practical knowledge may be associated with personal, social or occupational information. All students acquire practical information through living, initiating, experiencing, interacting, problem solving and risk taking. It is in the realm of practical knowledge that we are able to realistically show that there are differences for low vision youngsters.

Though the questions were not related to the dress of 9^th graders in Texas, 116 visually handicapped youngsters in Texas were given the Test of Practical knowledge, an instrument developed by Larson and Wiederholt in 1983 (Corn and Bishop 1984). This test was standardized on normally seeing 8^th through 12^th graders. In addition to the fact that, as a group, these students' scores on personal and social knowledge subtests ranged between the 15^th and 40^th percentiles when compared to sighted students, the most startling finding was that students with low vision received significantly lower scores when compared with their blind peers. One may only speculate as to why this occurred. One possible reason is that we assume children with low vision are seeing children and therefore they are not afforded the information which is given to blind youngsters.

As early as the preschool years, Parsons (1986) found that children with low vision were delayed in the development of play skills when compared to normally seeing peers. They lagged behind in knowing the function of objects or how to play with them. Consider, if you will a group of 3- or 4-year-old children who are playing with a toy tea service. When handed a tea pot, one may not expect that a child with low vision will know what to do with it. If such inexperience with objects is repeated throughout the day, will sighted children view the child with low vision as one worthy of acceptance and inclusion? Here, too, practical knowledge will help a child to develop a sense of competence for her identity, cooperative play with others in her relationships and the beginning of task completion for life's activities.

Personal Identity

In a discussion of his problems related to identity, one teenager said, "it is very hard when you are not really blind or sighted because you are just hanging in the middle." (Jan, Freeman & Scott, 1977, p. 323)

Stonequist's concept of "Marginal Man" emerged in the early 1920s. The marginal man was an individual who was "caught" between two groups, two philosophies, two countries, two races. He spoke of the person who leaves one culture but never truly is assimilated into the culture to which he aspires to become a part. If we view the individual with "low vision" as the one caught between the world of the blind and the world of the sighted, we may be better able to understand this unique experience. The student must form an identity based on a group which society has yet to acknowledge. Perhaps as educators we are well aware of these students as the largest group of students we serve. But does the society accept these youngsters as seeing people or as blind people? Even the terminology remains fixed in a dichotomy. How can one be legally blind and yet see? If a legal definition must exist, why not include "legal low vision: as well as legal blindness, and base both on functional visual abilities? Why don't we have a universally accepted definition for low vision within our own field?

The child who has low vision receives too many mixed messages regarding his or her visual capabilities and therefore, his identity. As a young child, I recall "trying out" my visual ability on others. When did I look more visually handicapped? Could I make myself appear more or less handicapped to fit a perception? And, when did I look more sighted? While working with students who have low vision, I have watched them go through this "visual testing" and I believe it is a truly normal process for the low vision student.

As parents and teachers, if we wish for our messages regarding child's vision to be clear, we must think through the concept of low vision-just as we have thought through the concept of blindness to paraphrase Carroll's book, what it is, what it does, and how to live with it. Professionals may learn to notice those cues which are significant for functioning visually with low vision--the same cues which are present for all but may go unnoticed for lack of need in a normally seeing person.

Some of the basic premises regarding low vision for congenitally visually impaired students are:

Children are "whole;" they have low vision, not remaining vision or residual vision. Vision, therefore, is available and that is what the child uses to organize a visual world. To refer to the child as having "remaining vision" or as one with a "visual loss" is not appropriate and sends a negative message.
Children with low vision see the environment as" clear" and stationary. Since there is no "normal" vision to which children can compare the experience of low vision, the world appears as "clear," rather than impressionistic which an adult with normal vision may describe if looking through the child's eyes. (There are, however, visual conditions for which visual discomfort and/or "movements" of specific objects under certain conditions are episodic.)
Low vision offers a "different" aesthetic. By virtue of a different visual experience which is based on an accumulation of visual perceptions formed with low vision, the individual develops a valuable and potentially pleasurable aesthetic concept. There are many photographers and artists with moderate to severe low vision, whose work when viewed by someone who has low vision or normal vision, maintains exceptional aesthetic qualities.
20/20 acuity is not needed for visual function for most tasks or environments. I am amazed at how many eye care professionals make assumptions regarding visual function based upon clinical measurements. Can a person with 20/400 in their best eye after correction, play table tennis, see a doorknob on the far wall of a room when there is good contrast? These and other similar questions receive mixed responses when presented to ophthalmology and optometry students. And we still see requests for braille on children's eye reports when print is accessible and speed for visual reading is attainable.
Clinical evaluations don't dictate visual functions. While #4 dealt with how much acuity, or other organic visual ability is needed to perform a task, this item deals with the translations of specific acuities and measurements into expectations for visual function. Once we know that a child with 5/200 can perform a specific task it does not indicate that all children with that acuity can do the same task or that it can be accomplished with the same comfort level or the same level of efficiency.
Those with low vision can enhance visual functioning through the use of optical aids, non-optical aids, environmental modifications and/or techniques. Here we accept that the student, if motivated, can, to some extent, improve his own level of functioning through using a repertoire of strategies. The individual with low vision also takes on some of the responsibility for employing these approaches.
The use of low vision isn't in all circumstances the most efficient or preferred method of functioning. It is difficult for some people with low vision to "let go" of their vision in order to perform some tasks which may be accomplished with their other senses, or in combination with vision. With a healthy identity as one who has low vision, the student must learn when she can choose to use or not to use available vision. I recall one student who, in seventh grade, would place a key in a keyhole when he had his eye approximately 3 inches from the keyhole. He believed that people who are sighted look at keyholes and therefore, he would look more sighted by accomplishing the task in this way. We observed how people opened doors and I shared with him an approach which combined using his vision for locating the doorknob and then switching to a tactual approach for placement of the key. This method allowed for more graceful movements and a more efficient method for opening doors.
Instruction in the use of vision may help some but not all children who have low vision. To date, we cannot say with certainty that all children with low vision will benefit from instruction. Also, we must be cautioned that children not view their visual achievements as "poor" or "bad" in relation to their formation of self-esteem. We may be pleased or disappointed that a child has or has not learned a new visual skill. I have known of children who felt that they could please, or disappoint, their parents by being able or not being able to see. This burden should not be placed on a child.
There are unique psychological aspects to having low vision. This will be discussed in a few minutes.
All children who have low vision may develop a sense of visual beauty, enjoy their visual abilities and use vision for purposes of learning. We've already discussed the aesthetic. Here we am interested in the child's development of desire to obtain that which is beyond "visual reach" and to choose and enjoy visual approaches to learning and fun.

Although there isn't an accepted curriculum for growing up with a disability, we can incorporate some of these premises into goals for children who have low vision.

Brandy, an 11-year-old who lived in Austin, seemed to be very comfortable with who she was and how she used her vision. She readily worked with optical devices in the classroom. Her teacher thought that Brandy's self-concept was one of her strengths and that she was comfortable with her low vision. Brandy, however, had a very negative map of her own eyes. The eye is a very small target and, with low acuity, Brandy had not been able to see what her eyes and her nystagmus "looked" like. She had had to accept the descriptions of other children, many of which were unkind. When she was given a hand magnifier and was shown to place it directly on a mirror, Brandy stared at her eyes for a good ten minutes. When she had completed her viewing, she gave a big smile, and said matter-of-factly, "Is that all?" We must give children who have low vision a chance to feel comfortable, even with their own appearance.

And even when the youngster has developed a positive identity, his sense of self may be misinterpreted and others may react to him based on these misinterpretations. A psychologist's report included the statement "John is very shy; he kept looking at the wall during testing." In fact, John had a condition which did not allow for direct eye contact if he was to also pick up facial expressions.

In a study of the perceived factors leading to success in mainstreaming, Bishop (1986) found that motivation or an internal locus of control was a major and uniformly accepted indicator among students, parents, teachers and administrators. One cannot underestimate the importance of a healthy sense of self for a utilitarianism student who has low vision.

Throughout one's life experiences, certain decisions need to be made. Of course this is true for all children. However, for the child who has low vision, his decisions will include those which are related to experiences associated with having low vision. The teacher of the visually handicapped must accept as one of his roles the monitoring and facilitating of decision making experiences.

Imagine if you will, a Monopoly board on which the events and rituals of having low vision are placed in strategic positions. In addition, there are "Chance" and "Community Chest" cards. The events are those spots at which new and often one-time occurrences take place--the first time a child uses an optical device in public or a time when a substitute teacher accuses him of looking at someone else's paper. The rituals are easy to list: they include the repetitive occurrences which come with low vision. A few examples--having to explain to a bus driver that although she can see, she cannot see street signs; trying to explain to a person who offers help (assuming blindness) that actually he can read the menu without assistance. Community Chest and Chance cards will take the form of those actions initiated by the student who is conveying something about herself and her visual abilities. Perhaps she has just sold a teacher that she can't participate in an activity because she can't see well enough when truly she can --"go back three spaces. Perhaps he will pass as a normally seeing person so that a new girl won't know that he has poor vision"--this may be a forward move of at least five spaces but may also land him in a spot for which he will pay at a later turn. Whether the player on this game board moves ahead or back one or more spaces will depend upon how each decision results in a positive and realistic identity, or one which will create low self-esteem. By completing the game, the youngster with low vision should develop a healthy identity, one clearly that is for him and also place the visual impairment in perspective in his life.

We will now leave the identity to the formation of relationships. Of course as Cooley's concept of the "looking glass self" as it is related to low vision, the youngster will further form his identity based on others' reactions to him, reflecting that which others view of his being.

Relationships

Huebner (1985) said that acceptance by one's peers is important for mental health. However, the relationships which are formed with peers in childhood may be different for those with low vision. Hoben and Martin (1980) provided data on the differences among normal and visually impaired youngsters regarding the quantity and quality of their interactions in regular classes. Why these differences occurred and which came first, a different identity or a different interaction with peers, is probably as elusive as the question regarding the chicken and egg cycle.

Relationships with those who have low vision may be established with "different" expectations than when two individuals meet who have normal vision or when one is totally blind. I find that there are 10 distinct differences. Some of these differences relate to the "hanging in the middle" phenomenon; others relate to the unique visual experiences of low vision. As I review the ten areas, please consider how these experiences may actually be related more to those with mild to moderate non-visual disabilities than to those who experience blindness. It is my premise that those with low vision may have more in common with mild moderately hearing or physically disabled individuals than those who are functionally blind.

The needs of those with low vision can be the same as for those who are blind but are often unnoticed. Two examples: both individuals will need to have a street sign announced when traveling on a bus but the one with low vision will frequently be forgotten; blind children may be told that they are being called on in class, but the unknowing teacher will nod her bead, expecting that the child with low vision will see that it is his turn to respond to a question.
The needs of blind and low vision children may be different but assumed to be the same. Some children with low vision are able to play in a game of volleyball but may not be invited to join the game because it is assumed that they can't see the ball. Those with low vision also tell of WMIs (well meaning individuals) who will take their hand to show where a signature should be when, in fact, they are able to identify the signature line and, by the shape of the word, confirm that "signature" is printed below the line.
Some needs of those with low vision are unique to the experience of having low vision but will be unnoticed by those who have normal vision. For example, visual discomfort may exist when in the presence of spaced lights in a restaurant or ceiling fans under certain lighting conditions. Visual fatigue and postures associated with reading may need to be monitored.
Vision may be vague or changing. Because of the nature of some visual conditions, one may not always be able to count on a level of visual efficiency. Personal expectations for function can affect messages to others regarding the need for assistance.
The environment may be vague or changing. Although someone with low vision may easily locate a flight of stairs on a sunny day with clear shadows, the same flight may be difficult to discern on a cloudy day without the needed shadows. On the other hand, curbs may be easily found on cloudy days but irregular and moving shadows from trees may confuse the person trying to locate a low contrast curb to the macadam line of demarcation.
Significant environmental cues may exist for visual function which will confuse onlookers. A child may have no difficulty playing a game of table tennis when the lighting is good and the clothing of the opponent is solid. (or at a distance creating a solid image). The child may be considered to be malingering when, in the classroom, she states that she cannot read a stationary textbook which is held a few inches from her eyes.
The child with low vision may derive pleasure from visual experiences but not be given the opportunity. A parent once told me how emotionally laden a recent trip was into the countryside with her 3-year-old daughter, Patty. She worried that if she were to point out cows and horses for her daughter, as she had done for Dan, her normally seeing older child when he was 3, she would frustrate Patty who has low vision. She believed her daughter might not see cows and therefore would be upset This parent hadn't considered the different aesthetic experience as picturesque or the information about the existence of animals in certain locations as needed.
For some, the vision which is available is so dose to "normal" that expectations for visual function and its impact on others may be unrealistic. The youngster who moves easily in social circles may be confronted with rejection when the parent of a date finds him unacceptable. The elementary school child who can see his workbooks may be frustrated with a computer class when the screen has print which cannot be read. And the possibility of driving by teenagers who can ride bicycles is frustrating and elusive.
Society has yet to accept those with low vision as an identified group of people. Children still need to explain their visual differences to those who expect poor vision to come only with old age. Rude comments are often the result of misunderstanding.
Those with low vision may risk emotional stresses by being "in the middle," passing as fully sighted, or making a choice to appear more disabled than one actually is (to assure that emotional or physical needs are met), present emotional stresses.

Although these differences from society may be facts of life for those with low vision, we must also become attuned to the ways in which students separate themselves from their peers. One itinerant teacher was concerned that Jody, a fourth grader with low vision, was choosing to be a loner. At the same time, he claimed that no one liked him. When the teacher observed Jody in the classroom, she found Jody making decisions regarding his visual needs which were having social implications. Rather than join other children for a reading circle, he took his book to the back of the classroom where a closed circuit television was available. Upon questioning, his teacher learned that Jody could, in fact, read with a hand-held magnifier and join the group. Jody admitted that the additional "level of comfort" when using the closed circuit television was not really necessary; instead the decision had been made to "save face" regarding his concept of his friendlessness.

In the field of rehabilitation, there is the "competency-deviancy" hypothesis by Godl (1975). It explains that for a person to be accepted who is deviant, he must make up for his deviancy through a higher level of competency. The more competent a person is, the more deviant they may be. The extent to which children with low vision are, or choose to be, deviant should be our concern. What form this deviancy takes cannot come only from the thoughts of adults. Rather, we need to explore the culture of the age group to which our students want to join.

I'd like to share excerpts from the writings of a parent of a child with disabilities other than visual. Her letter was published in Parent to Parent, a newsletter from a coalition for persons with disabilities.

"Some social problems our children face are truly heartbreaking. We as parents (who are supposed to be able to 'fix' everything are helpless. "...He does average (or better) school work, dresses in the latest styles (demanding high-top Reboks even though velcro meant independence), loves MTV and Garbage Pail Kids, is well liked by his teachers and the office staff, and...doesn't have one friend at school. No one to "spend the night with," eat lunch with or even walk down the hall with.

The isolation takes its toll in many ways...he begins to lose interest in bringing home the good grades he is capable of. Who cares, anyway? Everyone else at school is talking about "so and so's" party last week and he wasn't invited, or worse, was invited and ignored.

If I thought it would work, I would run this ad:
Wanted: just one friend, must love music, dogs, swimming, biking, Cosby, Garfield specials. Approximately 11 years old."

Is there anything we can do to help children form these, relationships? I believe we can. We can provide incidental visual information and structured social learning activities.

For two years I worked with Blair, a seventh grader with bilateral cataracts and measured acuity of 20/60 under controlled lighting in an ophthalmologist's office. In natural lighting, however, he was experiencing moderate difficulty and often cupped one hand over an eye to view that which was on the chalkboard. Nevertheless, Blair's other teachers and I viewed him as a seeing child who could read regular print and with accommodations read the chalkboard. He was a friendless, quiet, and serious boy who would speak if another child initiated conversation. I tried on numerous occasions to interest him in nonsensical conversation. One day in the corridor, we were discussing the pros and cons of bubble gum, a topic I had overheard being discussed in the student cafeteria. Another teacher approached us with a quizzical look and I asked if she was for or against bubble gum. Blair became very upset with me and said that I shouldn't have spoken to her. I replied that she was interested in our conversation, knew both of us, and that we had been speaking in a conversational tone which implied that it was not a private conversation. Blair's retort was, "How did you know she wanted to know about our conversation?" I then realized that Blair did not see or interpret facial expressions or observe the body language which sighted people assumed he could see. Initiating or entering into ongoing conversations was difficult.

Asher, Renshaw and Hymel (1982) present data supporting three basic areas which promote peer acceptance and popularity in normal kindergarten and elementary school children. They found that initiating action with peers, and the ability to use alternative entry methods, involves gaining entry into ongoing activities. To maintain relationships, children must cooperate in games and reasonably comply with others' activities. The third area, conflict management, must be successfully handled. There is also some evidence from the work of Ladd (1979), Oden and Asher (1977) that low levels of peer acceptance by the age of 9 or 10 may result in an enduring situation.

In a recent speech at the International Council for Education of the Visually Handicapped, Cary (1987) stressed that it is the interactions between people and information about how the human body moves that are useful to visually handicapped individuals on a daily basis. He pointed out, however, that those are the areas which occupy the least amount of the educator's time.

I propose a study whereby the values of children with low vision and values of children who have normal vision are examined in relation to initiation of friendships.

I would further like to propose the blending of the academic and social experiences for our students. An independence matrix may be used as a structure through which we can assure social skills as they relate to the relationships which surround life activities as a student.

Life Activities

The matrix is made up of the academic and nonacademic tasks which a student must learn or experience. Since children don't learn in a vacuum, socialization must be part and parcel of the school day. Perhaps a sixth grade class is assigned a book report. While the rest of the class must locate a book in the library, the child with low vision may expect that a large type book would be made available for him. By receiving a book in this way the student is deprived of the opportunity to go through that which other students do to retrieve a book as well as all of the incidental information and interactions that naturally occur. By using the matrix there are four basic steps to the book report or other assignment.

Rows down the side of the matrix will be associated with the tasks, the top column headings will say: Resources, Problem Solving, Self-Advocacy, and Social Skills. First, the student will need to determine what her resources are for obtaining and then reading the book. Next, she will have to consider which of her resources are the most time efficient or preferred approaches. In this process of problem solving the wisest choice may not be the best choice. Asking for an extension of time, in most cases, is not an acceptable approach. However, in order to develop a repertoire of coping strategies, it is the student who must choose the methods to be followed and assess their value. Next comes self-advocacy, in which the student must independently carry out the plan of action and explain it to whomever would be involved. If a request is made of another child, it may be followed by some form of appreciation or reciprocation. Social skills are then needed to benefit from the interactions. In advocating for herself can she respect another's personal body space, a problem often associated with having low vision? Also, does she have good eye contact with the librarian who will offer assistance? Does she know if she has traveled to the school or elsewhere with children who are not her friends to not wear out her welcome by tagging along to the next activity? In this way, students begin to take over the responsibility of providing for their own disability-specific needs, developing positive identity and the formation of new relationships. Anything we do for students which gives them or their classmates the message that the student is specially privileged or incapable of using their own devices to do comparable work, or solve their own problems sets he student apart.

While the academic tasks of a student are prescribed by the regular or modified curriculum, the student with low vision must also prepare for work after his school years. His ability to place his visual impairment in perspective and to adapt the disability-specific strategies which helped him as a student to work experiences are crucial. If a monocular assists him with the chalkboard, can he use the skill in locating boxes stored high above eye level on a shelf? If she was able to explain to a new teacher her visual needs, can she do the same in a job interview?

The inclusion of disability-specific social skills is a must in the curriculum. Whether a student is attending a regular day program or residential school, the teacher of the visually handicapped must place socialization as a priority for students who have low vision.

When we are doing well in any one of the three areas identity, relationships, and life activities, the other two are affected positively. Similarly, if we are hurting in one of these areas, the other two may be adversely affected. For the student with low vision, we must monitor each area and be concerned if the child's overall socialization seems to be going well or faltering. Is he able to initiate interactions in small and medium sized groups? Is he able to understand mixed messages which low vision conveys? This doesn't mean that a child shouldn't be allowed to fail socially; we all learn and benefit from the social failures in our lives.

In summary. I'd like to highlight four areas of responsibility for teachers of the visually handicapped, parents, and other adults who work with children who have low vision:

Acknowledge that there are possible differences in the formation of the identity for those who have low vision.
Acknowledge that there are possible differences in the social interaction for those who have low vision.
Be concerned about the child's level of success as a child. Provide possibly missed information related to practical knowledge which is associated with the child's age and culture and remember that as adults, we may miss that which is pertinent to success in the minds of children who are looking for friends.
Facilitate the child's ability to make decisions and take responsibilities regarding his vision; encourage generalization of learned coping strategies to other life activities.

With reference to the children's story, "The Ugly Duckling," I heard the parent of a young woman with low vision say, "I wish someone had let me believe that my child would grow up to be a swan." Our expectations that "swanness" is possible must be conveyed to our students and to their parents.

Above all let's not forget that some children with low vision do just fine socially. We need to learn from them. The young woman who became a swan is now making her own way, she makes her own living, participates in community theater, and is delightful to know.

My final questions to you are: Does each of your students with low vision fit in? Do they know about the "uniform?" If not, I know a ninth grader in Austin, Texas who will give lessons.

References

Asher, S. R., Singleton, L.C., Tinsley, B. R., & Hymel, S. (1979). A reliable socioeconomic measure for preschool children. Developmental Psychology, 15, 443-444.

Bishop, V.E. (1986). Identifying the components of success in mainstreaming. Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness, 80, 939-946.

Carey, E. (1997). Keynote address: 8th Quinquennial Conference of the International Council for Education of the Visually Handicapped, Wurzburg, Germany.

Corn A.L. & Bishop, V.E. (1984). Acquisition of practical knowledge by blind and visually impaired students in grades 8-12. Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness. 78, 352-356.

Gold, M.W. (1975). Vocational training. In Wortis, J. (Ed.) Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities An Annual Review, 7, New York: Brunner/Mezel, 254-264.

Hobert, M. & Linstrom V. (1990). Evidence of isolation in the mainstream. Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness, 74(8), 289-292.

Huebner, K. M. (1986) Social Skills. In Scholl, G. (Ed.), Foundations of Education for Blind and Visually Handicapped Children and Youth: Theory and Practice. New York: American Foundation for the Blind.

Ladd, G. W. & Oden, S. (1979). The relationship between peer acceptance and children's ideas about helpfulness. Child Development, 50, 402-408.

Miller, G. (1987). Personal communication.

Oden, S. & Asher, S. R. (1977). Coaching children in social skills for friendship making. Child Development, 46, 495-506

Parsons, S. (1986). Function of play in low vision children (Part I): A review of the research and literature. Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness, 80(3), 627-630.

Parsons, S. (1980). Function of play in low vision children (Part II): Emerging patterns of behavior. Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness, 777-784.

Additional Reading

Swallow, R. M. & Huebner, K. M. (1997). How to Thrive. Not Just Survive: A Guide to Developing Independent Life Skills for Blind and Visually Impaired Children and Youth. New York: American Foundation for the Blind.

NAPVI is most grateful to Dr. Corn and to the Canadian National Institute for the Blind for permission to reprint this article.

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