Impact on Development & Learning

By: Carmen Willings
teachingvisuallyimpaired.com
​Updated June 15, 2025
When a visual impairment is congenital (present from birth), it generally has a more significant impact on development and learning than if the impairment is adventitious (acquired later in life). Loss of vision can affect all areas of a child’s development—social, motor, cognitive, language, and independence.

​Areas of Impact

  • ​Social Development. Children with visual impairments may struggle to pick up on non-verbal cues such as facial expressions or body language. A lack of eye contact can be misinterpreted as disinterest, potentially reducing the frequency and quality of social interactions. These challenges may hinder the development of peer relationships and effective communication skills.
  • Motor Development. Vision motivates movement. When children cannot see their surroundings, they may be less inclined to explore. Fear of the unknown can lead to hesitancy and decreased physical activity. This inhibition affects gross and fine motor development and may delay important physical milestones.
  • Cognitive Development. Environmental exploration is critical to cognitive development. Movement allows children to actively interact with materials and people, helping them build concepts and make sense of the world. Without sufficient exploration, concept development may be limited or misunderstood.
  • Language Acquisition. Language development depends on social interaction and sensory experiences. Children with visual impairments may have reduced incidental learning opportunities, such as watching people speak or observing routines and objects being named. This can lead to delays in vocabulary acquisition and conversational skills.
  • Independence and Daily Living Skills. ​Children with significant visual impairments often miss out on learning by observation. As a result, they may not automatically acquire skills for dressing, grooming, or other self-help tasks. When caregivers consistently perform tasks for the child—out of concern or for convenience—it can lead to learned helplessness, where the child becomes overly dependent on others.

​Berthold Lowenfeld

Berthold Lowenfeld, a psychologist, researcher, and advocate for individuals who are blind, identified three primary limitations imposed by blindness, often referred to as the Lowenfeld Losses:
  1. Loss of range and variety of experiences
  2. Loss of the ability to move about freely
  3. Loss of control over the environment and one’s relationship to it
Lowenfeld emphasized that many everyday experiences that are easily accessed by sighted children are either impossible or much more difficult for children who are blind. He advocated for intentional, hands-on learning experiences to support concept development through touch, sound, and movement.
“A great many experiences which are taken for granted with seeing children are either impossible or much more difficult for blind children.” – Berthold Lowenfeld
Educators can help bridge this gap by providing direct instruction, concrete materials, and guided exploration. Learn more about Berthold Lowenfeld at APH's Hall of Fame

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and Vision Loss

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is a motivational theory often depicted as a pyramid. It outlines a progression of human needs, beginning with the most basic physical needs and culminating in self-actualization—realizing one's full potential. This model can help us understand the unique challenges faced by individuals with visual impairments:
  1. Physiological Needs (Survival): Includes physical and sensory functioning, such as tactile and auditory input in place of visual cues. Vision loss can impact orientation and mobility, feeding, and sleep routines.
  2. Safety Needs: Includes both physical safety (e.g., safely crossing a street without sight) and emotional security. Students must feel physically and emotionally safe before they can focus on higher-level learning.
  3. Love and Belonging: Requires trusting relationships. Students need encouragement and positive reinforcement to feel connected and understood.
  4. Esteem: With support, students build confidence in their abilities and learn to trust their decisions.
  5. Cognitive Needs: Once the above needs are met, students can focus on learning, transferring knowledge, and solving problems.
  6. Aesthetic and Motivational Growth: Students begin to seek meaning, appreciate beauty, and pursue personal interests. Motivation grows when students are encouraged to take risks and explore.
  7. Self-Actualization: At this stage, the student becomes independent, confident, and capable—able to set and achieve personal goals.

​Final Thoughts

Understanding how vision loss affects development helps educators, families, and service providers better support students. By intentionally addressing gaps in experience, promoting independence, and providing emotionally supportive environments, we can empower students to reach their full potential across all areas of development.
 "If you plan on being anything less than you are capable of being, you will probably be unhappy all the days of your life."
-Abraham Maslow

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