Early patterns of interaction between blind infants and their sighted mothers

Abstract

In a longitudinal, descriptive study of blind infant-sighted mother interaction during the age period 3 to 12 months, 10 infants, seven blind and three severely visually impaired, were video-recorded in natural interactional settings with their parents. The objective was to describe which communicative expressions the infants, as well as their mothers use in interaction and how they respond to each others' communications. Detailed analyses of the infants' and mothers' communicative behaviours were carried out. The blind infants exhibited a variety of communicative expressions in interaction with their mothers; they took an active part in proto-conversations and dialogues with their mothers. The blind infants had difficulties in sharing their opinion about objects with their mothers during the age period studied. Comparisons between the blind and the severely visually impaired infants showed that even very low vision improves the infant's opportunities to take part in interpersonal communication and to share meanings. The results are discussed in relation to Trevarthen's view of the infant having an innate motive for intersubjectivity--for communication--and Stern's theory of the development of the self.

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