Browsing by Author "Laaksonen, Roosa"

The role of vision for a child’s overall development is significant. Visual impairments have an effect on almost every aspect of a child’s early development. It has been estimated that the greatest challenges for children with visual impairments come with interaction and communication. Visual impairments exist in every age group, although only marginal among children. When it comes to children with visual impairments, there is a great need for research in the field of early childhood education, especially for providing ways to support the social skills and peer relationships among these children with special needs. Currently, there is only a meager amount of Finnish research and literature on the subject. The aim for this study is to examine the nature of interaction between a child born blind and his peers. It is as important to regard the ways teachers and other personnel support the children to build and maintain friendships. This study is a qualitative case study. The material of the study has been collected empirically observing and filming moments of interaction between 5-year old Antti, who was born blind, and his peers in daycare. After a month’s observation, each educator working in the child group was then interviewed individually. The material has been analyzed through transcription and classification. The conclusion to the study was, that there were significant challenges to interaction and play between visually impaired Antti and his peers. Adults’ support was in a key role in helping Antti succeed in binding and keeping up friendships with his peers. Over all, many social situations in the daycare’s context seemed specifically challenging for Antti. The educators gave insight to the ways they support Antti and all the other children in the group interacting with each other successfully.