VIDBE-Q Volume 64 Issue 4
41
Catherine Smyth, PhD; Director of Research; Anchor Center for
Blind Children; csmyth@anchorcenter.org
It is well known that the sense of touch is intimately connected to an
individual's sense of self (Metzoff, Saby, & Marshall, 2018) and early
attachment to caretakers. Infants who do not receive human touch early in
their development are impacted with both immediate and long term
consequences (Als, Tronick, & Brazelton, 1980; Ardiel & Rankin, 2010). As
children mature, the link between cognitive understanding and tactile
perception becomes more relevant during the early childhood of young
children with visual impairment, as this population is busy discovering the
cognitive interpretation of objects and drawings through tactual
discrimination, tactile-spatial perception, part-whole relationships, and an
understanding of the second and third dimension.
The sense of touch is unique in that it depends on physical contact and
is spread throughout the body (Hatwell, 2003; McLinden & McCall, 2002).
Touch can be receptive or "cutaneous," as when individuals feel a blanket
underneath on the bed or react to the squeeze of a handshake or a hug. It
It's More than a Touch: Early Tactual Development in
Infants and Toddlers
