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NARRATOR: The name Perkins carved in stone.
Below a gothic tower, a boy navigates with a cane.
A title: Developing Social Skills in Children
Who Are Blind or Visually Impaired
with Sharon Sacks.
Well, so much of what we learn is through the visual sense.
Almost 80% of what we acquire is through vision.
And if you think about how we learn to interact
and how we learn to engage socially,
we do it through observation.
Very young children, babies for example,
learn to smile by watching what their mothers do,
and engaging with them.
And that reciprocity back and forth,
that joint attention that's so critical
with very young children is encountered
through the visual sense.
And so for blind or visually impaired kids,
learning those social skills need to be taught
at a very early age.
They need to be modeled, they need to be practiced.
And many individuals believe that the social world
needs to be brought to the child who's blind
or visually impaired,
that we can't just assume that a child's going to learn them--
we have to help them learn those skills.
NARRATOR: In a video clip, two young girls
who are visually impaired sit on the floor facing one another.
Sitting behind each of the girls is a teacher.
And the teachers prompt the girls to take turns
passing a ball.
(cheers)
Oh, nice job.
The research that I've done and others have done
have demonstrated that social skills
are really the foundation upon which other skills are built.
And without a social presence, visually impaired students
may encounter isolation,
may encounter difficulty with personal relationships,
may encounter difficulty with employment
and independent living as adults.
So it's really an essential part of what we teach students
who are blind or visually impaired.
NARRATOR: Fade to black.
A graphic of the Perkins logo swoops across the screen
revealing a chapter heading.
Families are the first teachers,
and they're probably the most important teachers.
Families, siblings, relatives engaging the child
in the family milieu is so important.
It's so easy, I think, for a child who is blind
or visually impaired,
or a child who has additional disabilities,
to sort of be left alone to quiet... if they're quiet,
maybe they're not engaged, to just kind of leave them be.
But what you want to do is to get them involved
in all family activities.
So for a baby, you want to get that child in the baby seat
maybe up on the counter, talking to the child,
getting that social proximity, getting the child to...
if the child can't see, but maybe getting
that face-to-face contact
through mommy-child games or family-child games,
getting that child to look at the individual,
getting that reciprocal relationship where the...
when language begins.
It could be even a lot of goo-ing and cooing,
but it's a back and forth kind of game playing.
Doing a lot of body awareness games.
I talk about with very young child to do something like...
I did this with my own kids.
Clap the feet, and eat the toes, and tickle the tummy,
and beep-beep the nose because you're developing
that body awareness, and you're having fun with it.
Getting the child to begin to play, to engage in play,
to engage in real world experiences.
NARRATOR: In a video clip, a group of mothers
with visually impaired children gather for play time.
The mothers sing songs and encourage the young children
to interact.
Hug with Riley, hug with Riley,
hug with a joyful heart
Letting them play in the kitchen when they begin to develop
motor skills or even if they don't have that motor ability,
giving them real objects to feel, to touch, to explore.
Because by engaging in real-life experiences,
the child is learning about their social world.
Family gatherings, the extended family is so critical.
And I think siblings are wonderful teachers
because siblings allow children to just be themselves.
They allow the child to engage in rough and tumble play.
And they don't think about kind of having a hands-off attitude.
They treat the child who has a disability--
whether it's a visual impairment or another disability--
just like another child.
And they want that child to be part of the gang, if you will.
So children who have siblings
tend to be more risk-takers, I think.
And what we want for our children who are blind
or visually impaired and have additional disabilities
are really to be risk-takers, really to engage
with the world around them.
That's really key.
NARRATOR: In a photograph, a boy who is visually impaired
and wears thick glasses rolls a bowling ball down the alley.
His two older sisters stand on either side of him.
The other element I think that's really critical
is for families and professionals
to have realistic expectations for their student
who is blind or visually impaired.
Sometimes those expectations can be way too low,
and sometimes they can be way too high.
And I think it's striking that happy balance
that is so important,
and having those expectations throughout a child's life.
NARRATOR: A graphic slide provides these summary points
regarding the chapter:
Parent & Child: The First Interaction.
Provide opportunities for the child to engage
in interactive play.
Set realistic expectations.
Provide opportunities for exploring objects, et cetera.
Fade to black.
The partnership between families, and teachers
and professionals is really critical.
I think the most successful relationships are those
that have great respect for one another--
that families... that professionals are listening
to what families need, and what they really want
for their children.
Accepting their cultural differences,
accepting who they are, and then infusing the area
of socialization, for example.
It could be any area, but social skills,
and how the impact of social skills might have
on their child as the child moves into school programs.
The best environment to begin teaching social skills
really begins in the home,
and really begins in the child's own community.
In the home, taking the child to the grocery store,
taking the child to many different activities
in the child's world.
As the child maybe becomes healthier or the child
is able to move out into the world to begin engaging
in playgroups with children who have similar disabilities
or children who are sighted, depending on the child
and the family situation.
NARRATOR: In a photograph, a young boy
who is visually impaired sits in a sand box
at a community playground.
The boy, who wears glasses, is playing with a younger boy
and an older girl who are sighted.
Early on, giving the child chores around the house,
whether it be just putting something in the trash can,
or putting their toys away, or throwing their socks
or clothes into a hamper for dirty clothes.
Maybe taking their dishes to the sink.
So having those expectations are really, really critical
and expectations for social behavior.
That it's not okay to tantrum in the middle of a grocery store.
It's not okay to throw your food on the floor.
It's not okay to... as kids get older,
to do inappropriate social behaviors
and knowing where there's a time and a place to do, you know,
maybe inappropriate stuff,
like poking your eyes, or rocking back and forth,
or self-stimulatory behaviors, we call it.
Like, you know, ***, or picking your nose
or things like that.
Those kind of things can happen in private
so teaching your child the difference
between public and private, again so critical.
NARRATOR: A graphic slide provides these summary points
regarding the chapter: Widening Social Circles.
Teaching social skills begins at home.
Engage in playgroups when possible.
Teach the difference between appropriate public
and private behavior.
Fade to black.
In an elementary school classroom,
there are lots of opportunities for students
who are visually impaired or students who have
additional disabilities to engage with one another.
It's critical that the teacher of the visually impaired
or the orientation mobility specialist
work closely with the general education classroom teacher.
The best environment is one in which students can have
opportunities to be part of small group activities
and where the classroom is structured in a way
so the child knows where everything is in the classroom.
Some classrooms change every two weeks
or there's lots of...
there are lots of physical obstacles in the classroom,
or it's over-stimulating.
And for many of our students, that's not a good environment
to access social opportunities.
So we want classrooms to be structured somewhat,
we want teachers to... general education teachers
to emphasize affective or character education
within their classroom.
We hope that they're collaborative
with the special education staff,
that they have opportunities for children to work together,
as I said, in small groups.
Cooperative learning activities within the classroom
where the child who is blind or visually impaired
can play a significant role.
Not just sort of be a passive member of a group,
but be an active member of the group.
Maybe being a scribe if they're able to do that.
Maybe being the one who can access technology.
Maybe the one who can be the helper in a building activity.
Maybe the student can be the... the leader of the group
and facilitate the group activity.
It's critical though that the teacher of the visually impaired
or the general education classroom teacher
set it up so that the child who is blind or visually impaired
really engages with another... engages with the peers
in the classroom environment or in that small group activity.
NARRATOR: In a video clip, a young boy who is blind
is shown in an inclusive classroom.
The boy has been given the task of placing the date
in the correct position on a calendar that is on
the classroom wall.
The boy uses Braille to identify the correct number
and then finds the appropriate position
for the date on the raised calendar grid.
If there's not a level of training
or a level of skill development in the area of social skills,
particularly related to social interaction skills,
there's a greater chance or risk of social isolation
as students become older, particularly.
You see the gap widening.
There's greater acceptance when kids are younger.
Even though kids are aware of social differences
during preschool and early elementary,
you see that gap widening as children get older
into intermediate middle school, and high school
and into adulthood.
NARRATOR: A graphic slide provides these summary points
regarding the chapter:
Learning Social Skills in the Classroom.
Provide opportunity to be part of small group activities.
Emphasize character education within the classroom.
Provide cooperative learning activities where the child
can play a significant role.
Fade to black.
As children get older and they move into adolescence,
it's important to understand that that's a rough time
for individuals... for any individual.
But it's, I think, even rougher for students
who have disabilities and those who have visual impairments.
People are trying to establish...
these young people are trying to establish
their own identities, and figuring out who they are
as individuals and developing individual levels of competence
in academics and maybe other talented areas
like music or technology or... I don't know, mechanics,
whatever it might be.
And it's really true for a student who is blind
or visually impaired.
The difference I think is that for a child or a young adult
who is visually impaired
or might have additional disabilities,
they have to really put themselves out there.
Again, it gets back to that risk-taking
of getting out in the environment,
putting yourself out there, and trying really hard to engage
and be part of that group.
Or finding groups that the student
might feel comfortable engaging with.
NARRATOR: In a video clip, a young boy who is blind
plays an electronic keyboard in music class.
The boy, who wears sunglasses and an orange shirt,
has an enthusiastic audience of classmates
who are also visually impaired.
Some sing while another boy plays a drum.
(music playing)
But I do believe that there is a correlation
between social isolation, and a sense of well-being,
self-concept and self-esteem.
So that if a student is able to engage with others
and feels good about engaging with others,
they're going to feel more socially competent,
they're going to have better self-esteem
or better self-concept about them.
They're going to have... students are going to have
an attitude of "I can do this, I'm included."
One of the issues I think that students who are blind
or visually impaired really face is sort of ego-centrism,
that the world kind of revolves around me.
And so I don't need to move out and expel a lot of energy
to develop those relationships.
Nor do I see the need to develop those relationships.
So helping students to develop that understanding
of why is it important to engage with other people?
Why is it important to have good social etiquette?
Why is it important to develop appropriate social behavior
in various situations?
Because it all leads
to inclusion in the world around us.
And the hope is that all our students want
to be part of the world, and want to be included,
and want to feel needed and want to feel accepted.
NARRATOR: A graphic slide provides these summary points
regarding the chapter:
Developing an Appropriate Self-Awareness.
Social competence leads to better self-esteem
and self-awareness.
Find groups or shared interests
that the student can engage with.
Foster understanding of the importance
of social interactions.
Fade to black.
Self-advocacy skills are certainly a part
of teaching students social skills.
They... self-advocacy begins again early on,
where the child is making choices and decisions
for himself or herself.
It can be as basic as a child choosing a cracker
versus a cookie.
For maybe older children it might be choosing
what they're going to wear to go to school.
You know, even though the outfit may not match,
they're advocating for themselves
for what they need and what they like.
So giving students choices, making decisions.
Often, we find with children who are blind or visually impaired,
and particularly students who have additional disabilities,
it's easy for adults to do way too much for the child,
to sort of allow the child to make those choices
or those decisions on their own.
And so what happens is we do a lot for them.
Without knowing it, we may tell the child
to go into the classroom, put your things away
in your cubby, sit down, put your lunch away.
So instead, maybe we need to help the student
develop a routine where they're doing most of that
or those activities on their own.
NARRATOR: In a video clip, a boy who is blind
navigates the hallway of an inclusive school
using his cane as well as trailing his hand
along the wall.
Where maybe there's a schedule board,
and the student goes into the classroom
and they know without the teacher even telling the student
to put the backpack in the cubby,
to go to the bathroom, to... maybe put their lunch
in the refrigerator and then go sit down and look at what
the next steps will be for the daily routine in the classroom.
For older students, particularly students
who are in inclusive situations, it's letting people know
what they need or what they want.
"I need to sit in the front because I can't see very well."
"I need this read to me because I can't read the menu
at a distance."
Giving students opportunities
to explain their visual impairment
or their other disabilities.
"I can't see very well, I was born prematurely,"
or "I can't see well,
can you please read the menu to me?"
So all those opportunities give students a better understanding
of who they are, and it helps them to be
better self-advocates for themselves.
And gives them greater opportunity
to be successful and to feel better about themselves
because they're taking control of their lives.
NARRATOR: A graphic slide provides these summary points
regarding the chapter: Self-Advocacy as a Social Skill.
Self-advocacy begins early on.
Allow the student or child to make choices on their own.
Encourage the child to articulate their specific needs.
Fade to black.
Well, the research shows that a person who...
a student who is blind or visually impaired
who has good social skills
will, one, be accepted by their peers,
be included with their peers, will have opportunities
for employment and be successful at employment,
will be able to live independently,
will have a repertoire of friends
and a good group of friends and be engaged with others,
will feel good about themselves, will have control
over their lives...
over the life that they may want to lead.
Will be able to make choices and have options
in what they can do in their lives.
NARRATOR: In a video clip, we see a teenage boy
who is multiply disabled at his job in a grocery store.
The boy, who wears glasses and hearing aids,
is shown exchanging an enthusiastic greeting
with a co-worker.
We've seen over and over again with students who may be blind
or visually impaired who have good academic skills,
but have less... but are less capable
in the area of socialization having a more difficult time
with employment.
Employers will tell you that they can train a person
on the job, they can teach a person job-specific skills,
but if they have poor social skills,
if they're not able to engage with their colleagues,
if they're not... if they don't have the skills
and knowledge about taking a break and kind of hanging out
with their colleagues,
if they're not able to take the role or understand
how to work with a supervisor,
those are all social skills.
If they can't do those things, they're going to have
a more difficult time being successfully employed.
On the other hand, we've observed students
who have maybe great difficulty with academic skills,
but they're excellent workers,
and they just have a social presence about themselves.
Those students may have a range of disabilities,
may have complex disabilities, but if they're able to smile
at their colleagues, and look at their colleagues,
and they look sharp, and they just know how to take turns,
they're going to be very successful
in a job placement
because they have that presence about them.
People want to be with them, they want to engage with them.
So social skills are really the foundation
upon which other skill areas are built.
And without good social skills, students and young adults
are at greater risk for that social isolation
later on in life.
NARRATOR: A graphic slide provides these summary points
regarding the chapter: Social Skills and Satisfaction.
Social skills are the foundation
upon which other skills are built.
Students who are less socially capable
have a more difficult time finding employment.
Good social skills lead to peer acceptance
and inclusion, and greater personal satisfaction.
Fade to black.