Let's play together!

Abstract

The authors outline the initial findings from the first year of a study (1993/94) of how young blind children may be helped to develop exploratory skills, their own creativity, and their understanding and representa tional use of objects. This first year concentrated on the play behaviour of young educationally blind children aged sixteen months to six years. The sixteen children in the study were visited monthly and videoed at play. Preliminary results indicate that it is easy to overlook or misinterpret what is happening in a blind child's play. In fostering play, adults should have a vital, but unobtrusive, role.