NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION

By: Carmen Willings
teachingvisuallyimpaired.com

Nonverbal behaviors provide us with a lot of information about conversations and interactions. Students who are blind will not be able to perceive nonverbal communication and students with low vision may not be able to perceive subtle nonverbal communication. 

Not being able to see the effects of their actions and how others respond can impact the students understanding of the effects of their behavior as they may not have enough vision to see people’s body language.  Students may need extra support in understanding what nonverbal behaviors communicate, both of others and of themselves. Some students will need honest, but kind, feedback to understand how others respond to their behaviors.

People who are blind or visually impaired often have visual behaviors (ex. turning their head to locate their null point and slow nystagmus, viewing materials close up, not looking directly at others, etc.) that assist them in seeing people and viewing information in ways that make them look different. Students who have significantly reduced vision or no vision will need to learn about non-verbal communication.

Almost all social skills used by sighted children and adults have been learned by visually observing the environment and other persons, and conducting themselves in socially appropriate ways based on those observations. Students with visual impairments must be taught when and how to smile, frown, nod, wink, shrug, and the many other nonverbal communication skills.

Mannerisms/Behaviors

​​Not being able to see the effects of their actions and how others respond can impact the students understanding of the effects of their behavior as they may not have enough vision to see people’s body language.  Students may need extra support in understanding what nonverbal behaviors communicate, both of others and of themselves.

Not being able to see the effects of their actions and how others respond can impact the students understanding of the effects of their behavior as they may not have enough vision to see people’s body language.  Students may need extra support in understanding what nonverbal behaviors communicate, both of others and of themselves. Some students will need honest, but kind, feedback to understand how others respond to their behaviors.

​Some students will need honest, but kind, feedback to understand how others respond to their behaviors. Students may seek comfort and stimulation through behaviors (or mannerisms sometimes referred to as "blindisms") that are not socially appropriate. Social behaviors are negatively impacted by the inability to visually observe others social behaviors. Such behaviors can alienate the student from their sited peers. 

• Discourage mannerisms. Nonverbal behaviors such as head rolling, eye poking, hand flapping, and rocking can be common in children with visual impairments. Students need to be redirected from these mannerisms, particularly from eye pressing as it can cause permanent damage and the eyes to become sunken. Some suggestions can be found on the sensory input page.

• Students with visual impairments need to be told when their behavior is appropriate and when it is not.  For example, alert students in a considerate but firm way to not scratch themselves or pick their noses in public. Point out that others are able to see them and it is not appropriate.

• Use the same form of discipline for students with visual impairments as you would for any other student. All students need to learn behaviors and actions that are acceptable in an effort to prepare them to be accepted by society. Accepting inappropriate behaviors and actions not only does not teach the student appropriate social skills, but sighted peers will sense that you are treating them differently. This may cause animosity between students.

Non-Verbal Communication

Help the student develop socially appropriate non-verbal communication by encouraging the student to:

• make eye contact and/or turn their face toward the speaker. It is appropriate to request that a student look at you or toward you (face in the direction of the person that is speaking) when you are talking to them. This is a social skill that is important for the student to learn. Keep in mind, however, that some students have an eccentric gaze (they see better when they tilt or turn their heads to the side). If this is the case, you should still encourage them to turn their body and face in the direction of the person they are talking to.

• use good posture. Some students that are blind or visually impaired tend to keep their head down with their chin resting on their chest, keep their head thrown back, or their shoulders slumped forward. Encourage the student to hold their head up (but not toward the ceiling) and to face the activity they are involved in. 
• keep an appropriate distance when standing by a person they are talking to. Frequently, students will stand too close to others in order to better see them. This needs to be discouraged as it is not socially acceptable and can cause others to be uncomfortable and avoid interactions with the student. 

Emotional Awareness

• Encourage the student to use a familiar object for comfort when tired or in a stressful situation.
• Encourage the student to communicate to another person when upset, uncomfortable, or in pain.
• Encourage the student to respond appropriately to tone of voice.

• Encourage the student to express strong emotions safely. Students who are visually impaired or blind may be more fearful of physical injury and leaving familiar areas.

• Encourage the student to identify a range of emotions.
• Encourage the student to use physical activity (e.g. jump on mini trampoline, bounce on therapy ball, pull/twist fidget toys, ride a stationary bike, weight lift, walk, run, etc.) to release negative emotions and excess energy in socially acceptable ways.
• Encourage the student to express emotions in a degree appropriate to the cause, setting, and severity of the situation. Explain how it is perfectly normal to feel sadness when things don't go your way, but it's important to control their outbursts.
• Encourage the student to demonstrate affection in socially acceptable ways, considering the person, place, and situation.

Free Membership

Sign up for free membership to access the FREE downloadable templates, handbooks and handouts on the Printables page. Simply click on the Log In | Register link in the navigation bar. If you haven't joined yet, you will be prompted to create a password. ​

Job Posting Service

Shop

TVI's Guide to Teaching the ECC: An Activities Based Curriculum for Teaching Students who are Blind or Visually Impaired

$50.00

Written specifically for fellow itinerant Teachers of Students with Visual Impairments (TVI’s), this book consists of over 400 activities and topic areas of discussion for instructing students in the Expanded Core Curriculum. The activities are age-neutral and multi-sensory and therefore can meet the needs of the broad range of students served on an itinerant caseload serving. The activities can be individualized to the students various learning modalities and scaffold in order to challenge students but ensure success. Select those activities that align with the student’s learning objects based on the student’s unique visual needs and academic and developmental level.

The core activities listed in the Activity section can be adapted to each thematic unit. These include:

• Object Characteristic Activities
• Quantity & Number Concepts
• Time Concept Activities
• Environment & Job Awareness Activities
• Listening Skills Activities
• Reading Foundation Activities
• Reading Fluency Activities
• Braille Basics Activities
• Writing Activities
• Tactual Efficiency Activities
• Developing Skillful Hands Activities
• Visual Efficiency Activities
• Optical Device Instruction Activities
• Recipe Activities

In addition to the core activity areas, each of the 32 Thematic Units incorporates additional unique ECC concepts and skills providing you with a years’ worth of activities. These units are cyclical and can be used repeatedly to help students build on prior knowledge and develop a deeper understanding of concepts. Each unit includes suggestions for activity adaptation associated with the unit. These include lists of objects, possible community based experiences, environmental print, poems, children & young reader books, children's songs, pop culture songs, movies, and websites.

Unique Concepts within the Units include:

• Self Advocacy Activities (e.g. advocating for safe classroom, presenting to class on visual impairment, requesting help and more)
• Social Skills Activities (e.g. Being bullied or teased, giving and receiving compliments, body language, "I" messages when upset and more)
• Recreation & Leisure Activities (e.g. exploring interest areas, getting involved in clubs and sports, playing games, and more)
• O&M Support Activities (e.g. Suggestions for community based experiences, dog guide information, locations in the school, bioptics, ride sharing, traffic signs, and more)
• Independent Living Skill Activities (e.g. chores, being responsible, using tools, recipe suggestions, hygiene, staying healthy, labeling foods and products, and more)
• Sensory Efficiency Activities (e.g. unique sensory experiences related to the unit, unique optical device activities, and more)
• Compensatory Activities (e.g. organizing materials, study habits, and many unique concepts related to the unit)
• Career & Vocational Activities (e.g. job awareness, completing applications, job task suggestions, and more)

Although the intended audience of this resource is fellow Teachers of Students with Visual Impairments, special education teachers may find these activities beneficial to the students in their classrooms as the activities are multisensory and include life skills and concepts needed by all students. This resource, however, is not intended to take the place of a Teacher of Students with Visual Impairments (TVI). Readers are advised to consult their own TVI’s regarding instruction in the ECC and the unique visual needs of the student’s served in their programs.

Note: This curriculum is a digital pdf download. Once you make your purchase you will be directed to an order confirmation page where you will find the download link. This download will also be included on the receipt sent to the email address you provide. The pdf download can be found directly under the order number.

Each download is intended for single instructor use per copyright. Thank you for helping me preserve the content and not distributing copies to third parties.

Product details

Digital pdf download: 364 pages (11 pt font)

Publisher: Teaching Students with Visual Impairments

Author: Carmen Willings

Language: English

Shop

Visual Efficiency & Magnifier Fluency Grab & Go ECC Supplements

$20.00

This workbook is a pdf download that can be printed on demand for use with students. It contains five different types of worksheets for developing visual motor skills and near magnifier fluency skills particularly with the use of a video magnifier. As a supplement to the TVI’s Guide to the ECC, the worksheets correspond to each of the 32 ECC Thematic units. The worksheets, along with a list of environmental print for each thematic unit, are designed to help students refine their visual motor skills while reinforcing ECC concepts presented in the thematic units.  

Visual Efficiency & Near Magnifier Fluency Worksheet Details:

Digital pdf download: 210 pages

Publisher: Teaching Students with Visual Impairments

Author: Carmen Willings

Language: English

Shop