What is it about?
Social and emotional development of infants and young children is largely based on the communicative interaction with their mother, or principal caretaker. The main modalities implied in this early communication are voice, facial expressions and gaze. This study aims at analysing early mother–child interactions in the case of visually impaired mothers who do not have access to their children's gaze and facial expressions.
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Why is it important?
This study compared early visually impaired mother–sighted child interactions with the ones of matched sighted dyads. Quantitative analyses of gaze, facial expression, vocal production and physical contacts were performed. Results suggest that visual impairment does not prevent a harmonious interaction with the child, nor his/her normal expressive development.
Perspectives
I hope this article will encourage visually impaired women to become mothers if they wish. During this study I met some fantastic visually impaired mothers and I thank them so much for the unforgettable experience!
Dr Susanna Schmidt
university of Turin
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Communicative interactions between visually impaired mothers and their sighted children: analysis of gaze, facial expressions, voice and physical contacts, Child Care Health and Development, August 2015, Wiley,
DOI: 10.1111/cch.12274.
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