VIDBE-Q Volume 64 Issue 4
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at the neuroscience of attachment, there are several things that we can do
to help attachment become secure at a neurological level including physical
closeness, eye contact, engaged positive facial expressions, and reciprocal
interactions to name a few. Looking at these factors related to attachment,
however, we notice right away that two (eye contact and facial expressions)
are difficult, sometimes impossible, for a child with a VI to access. Even
reciprocal interactions may have to be modified in order to be certain that
the child with VI is able to successfully participate. For example, the
"stilling" reaction that an infant with VI does when his mother walks into his
room is in stark contrast to the child with typical vision who wiggles and
coos excitedly at first glance.
We know that caregivers of children with VI often have difficulty
reading their infants' cues, which can lead directly into a cycle of miscues.
One father explained it like this, after learning more about his daughter's
cortical visual impairment:
Right from the start, I told everyone that my daughter was
averting her gaze – refusing to look at me. This was really hard
for me as a dad, because I really thought she didn't want to
look at me. Now, 18 months later, you are telling me that she
was actually TRYING to look at me? That she isn't able to use
her central vision so she turns her head to use her peripheral
vision? So she really did love me, even back then, only I
couldn't see it. (H. Davidson, personal communication, January
2015)
