7. Test situations for nearly blind infants and children

Christmas decorations, like these pearls, are often the first object that an infant or a child at early developmental level may reach for. By shining light on them we create a strong moving stimulus.

Black light, UV-light, makes fluorecent surfaces glow in the dark. The strong contrast may make the infant aware of vision, which then can be used to help the infant to explore his feet as in this case. This was the only situation where the infant became visually aware of his feet. Black light is not dangerous if the tube is placed in a box so that no UV-light falls on the eyes of the infant or the adult persons. The reflected fluorescent light is usual visible light and harmless.

Slide 105.

Video

Disco Heidi is the strongest visual stimulus that I use. The diodes are programmed to be switched on and off with a small programmer used in discos, therefore the name Disco Heidi. The bright colours on black surface and visual information in motion have made infants aware of vision when nothing else has worked. Passive stimulation like this is useful only in the beginning of intervention and maybe sometimes also later, because these children have so little that they can watch as entertainment. Stimulation should usually be more active and help the child to combine information from different modalities.