PUB - Publikationen an der Universität Bielefeld

In order to study the impact of blindness on social and emotional development during the first year ot' lite, the level of social-emotional development was compared in blind and sighted 9- and 12-month-old infants. The five 9-month-old and thc 17 12-month-old blind infants were completely blind from birth and exhibited no further serious disabilities. Social-emotional development was assessed with a scale from the Bielefeld Developmental Test tor Blind Infants and Preschoolers containing three subscales on emotions, social interaction and impulse control. Compared to non-disabled infants, blind infants exhibited a more limited repertoire of facial expressions and less responsiveness. They less frequently attempted to initiate contact with their mothers (self-initiated interactions) or comply with simple requests and prohibitions than sighted infants. These differences in the social-emotional development ot' blind and sighted infants are traced back to the effects of blindness on the mother-child interaction. The lack of visual perception appears to impede particularly the acquisition ot' a dialogue concept.