Mothers’ Interpretations of the Behavior of Their Infants with Visual and Other Impairments during Interactions

Abstract

In this study, seven mothers of infants with visual and other impairments identified behaviors that they considered meaningful and interpreted these behaviors. The mothers identified 14 of 22 subcategories of behaviors that a previous study of mothers with sighted infants had identified. Not only was the range of behaviors they interpreted limited, but over 65 percent of their interpretations fell into only two of the 16 subcategories previously identified (attention preference and intentional behavior: desire). The implications for early intervention and future research are discussed.