Communication and Bonding

1. Vision is central in early communication and bonding.A normally sighted infant may have visual communication as reflexive function alreadyduring the first day of life.


2. This slide was taken during the same first day oflife when the infant tries to copy mother's smile. In this situation one couldthink that the mother copies the child's expression but actually it was the motherwho smiled first.


3. This series of pictures shows very clearly that anewborn infant can copy basic expressions. The adult to the left is an actormaking some basic facial expressions without seeing the infant. The infant sees theadult person through an one way window and quite apparently copies the expressionsof the adult. These reflex expressions are often over-interpreted and are experiencedvery rewarding by the adult persons. (From "Visionin Children - normal and abnormal")


4. The real social smile appears at the age of 6-8 weeksand at this age visual communication becomes most joyable to both the infant andthe parent.


5. If the eye contact of a child is even slightly deviantit often creates uncertainty and sadness in parents. In alternating squint whenthe infant uses both eyes in turn and therefore there is no need to patch an eye,we sometimes need to use a patch to give the parents a possibility of experiencingthat the child is looking at them. When one of the eyes looks at the parent and theother eye looks past the parent, the parent may feel uncertain about what the infantis looking at.

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