VIDBE-Q Volume 64 Issue 4
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master the environment and learn – all in the context of
family, community, and cultural expectations for young
children. (pp. 1) Essentially, infant mental health focuses
on the optimal social and emotional development of
infants and toddlers within the context of secure, stable
relationships with caregivers. (pp. 2)
An IMH lens is an important and valuable way of looking at how we provide
EI services and supports to children with visual impairment (VI) and their
families. In school based settings, the student is the client; however in EI,
the family, including the child, is the client. Additionally, in an IMH approach
to EI, both the child and the family are still the client, however it is
specifically the relationship between the child and the family where we
essentially focus. For teachers of children with VI (TVI) providing support
through an IMH lens, we would think deeply about the impact VI has on the
relationships within the family. We would look at how the child and the
caregiver are experiencing each other and the world around them
considering one participant of the relationship is a visual learner and the
other is not.
Why does it matter so much? Early experiences, including early
relationships, can and do influence the physical architecture of the brain,
literally shaping the neural connections in the infant's developing brain
(National Scientific Council on the Developing Child, 2005). When we look
