Social Interaction Skills for Students who are Blind or Visually Impaired

Teaching Students with Visual Impairments

SOCIAL INTERACTIONS

By: Carmen Willings
teachingvisuallyimpaired.com

Social bonds between children who are blind or visually impaired and their caregivers can be affected when there is lack of eye contact, possible lack of smiling, and frequent passivity or constant tactual exploration in less than ideal locations.

Providing students with fading assistance in social circumstances is key. Talking with the student about who is involved, what they are doing and why can help the student understand the social context. Although it may be difficult to provide, students need honest and sensitive feedback about their behavior and the impact it may have on social interactions. You can then talk with the student about how they can make judgments about how to change their behavior.

Students must learn to communicate effectively with different people. They must also learn to accept and respond appropriately to suggestions and corrections (ex. show respect for their teachers and others in leadership positions). The strategies identified here may help the student develop appropriate and positive social skills. Help a student learn appropriate social skills by encouraging the student to:

identify conventional gestures used in social contexts.
use nonverbal behaviors to indicate interest in speakers and to communicate more effectively.
respect personal space of others.
make contact according to cultural norms.
turn face to speaker and maintain social interaction. Explain that this behavior shows you are interested in what the other person is saying.
discuss facial expressions (ex. smiling, frowning, etc.) as feelings that occur throughout the day. Help students understand that their facial expressions convey to others how they feel.
use a tone of voice that is appropriate to the setting.
recognize behaviors that can cause social isolation.

Adult Interaction Tips

Students need to learn respect adults and to interact and respond to them differently than they would to a peer. Help the student have positive interactions with adults by encouraging them to:

respond to an adults attempt to interact.
initiate interactions with an adult.
address parents or other familiar adults by name. (But by all means do NOT play the guessing game! It is unfair for the student to "Guess who it is.")
comply with simple directions and limits from adults.
demonstrate the ability to differentiate between familiar adults and strangers.
identify situations in which an adult should not be obeyed. Sadly, we live in a world where not all people can be trusted and not all people have good intentions. The student needs to be taught that it is OK to not listen or comply with some requests.

Peer Interaction Tips

It is important for students to learn how to interact appropriately with their peers. The following are strategies to use in order to help the student develop positive peer interactions:

When the student enters a new area, make certain that the student understands what other students are doing.
Particularly with younger students, describe the students present and the activities in which they are engaged.
Remind the students to take a moment and listen to groups at play before they jump in with an intrusive question or comment.

Be prepared to answer questions about blindness simply and naturally. The other students will probably ask questions about a student with impaired vision.

Remind sighted students to express their feelings with words. Remind them that the student that is visually impaired may not see their smile, frown, or other facial expressions.

If the student is learning Braille, consider having the student demonstrate reading and/or writing in Braille to the other students.
Encourage the student with visual impairments to use the names of others when talking to them.
Don’t be afraid to let students with visual impairments know that they are expected to answer their friend’s question or respond to their comment.
Talk about the importance of turn taking. This applies to game play as well as in conversations. Discuss the importance of listening to discussions and waiting for an appropriate time to comment or ask a question.
Assist the student in developing the important skill of initiating, continuing, developing and concluding conversations.
Encourage the student to demonstrate affection in socially appropriate ways, considering the person, place, and situation.

Courteous Behavior

Students who are blind or visually impaired may not be aware of conventional courteous behaviors as they may be unable to visually observe them. For this reason, students will need to pay extra attention to environmental cues in order to know how to act in various situations. Modeling and practicing the behaviors including greetings, farewells and introductions in comfortable, familiar settings, will help the student in use the skill in new environments.

In order to help the student develop courteous social behaviors by encouraging them to:

respond to farewells and greetings.
apologize to others when appropriate. A student may need support from an adult to help them understand the impact of their actions and how it offended or hurt others.
use people's correct names and titles when addressing them.
introduce self to others and introduce people to each other.

give appropriate compliments and praise to others.
use acceptable language with consideration for the person or people present, the setting, and the social situation.
differentiate socially acceptable and unacceptable behaviors in a variety of situations. The student will obtain information from others about appropriate behavior in unfamiliar settings.
recognize sarcasm, and respond in an effective manner.
use appropriate manners (e.g., please, thank you).
follow classroom and school routines and procedures.

Phone Skills

Students need to be able to make telephone calls, use a phone directory, take written telephone messages, remember phone messages, and use a pay phone. Instruct students directly in these areas and also provide opportunities for students to practice the skills naturally throughout the day and embedded in the units.

Material Suggestions...

Getting to Know You: A Social Skills and Ability Awareness Curriculum, available from APH, is a social skills/awareness curriculum for grades K-12 in which students who are blind or visually impaired interact and get to know each other. It provides tools to interact and play effectively, develop and maintain friendships, interpret non-verbal cues, and successfully seek and maintain employment and independent living opportunities as adults.

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