VIDBE-Q Volume 65 Issue 2
22
One of the foundations of knowledge required to develop higher-level
thinking skills is the development of an in-depth understanding of basic concepts
(Bishop, 1996), we must ensure that we introduce them to our students at an early
age. Comprehension will not occur because we simply introduce basic concepts to
students with visual impairments, we must ensure that they understand these
concepts.
Bishop (1996) provided this description of how essential it is to focus on
basic concepts' development with young children with visual impairments:
Concept development may be the most critical cognitive area for young
visually impaired children, since such concepts will form the basis for all
further cognitive growth. Intelligence measures are heavily concept-based,
and absence of concepts can give a depressed view of a visually impaired
child's cognitive ability. Since the foundations of intelligence are laid in the
first three or four years of life, it is essential (and perhaps urgent!) that basic
concept development be begun as early as possible for visually impaired
children. (How Does A Visual Impairment Affect Early Development
section, para. 7)
We must overcome the concern that complex concepts may be too difficult
for students with visual impairments to learn in the early grades. I had a preschool
child that was legally blind that was presented a diagram of how a pumpkin seed
grows. We used real seeds and pumpkins to demonstrate parts of the growth
