In this book, Dr. Warren summarizes and interprets the research literature on infants and children with visual impairments. He concludes that many aspects of delayed development are not the result of visual impairment itself, but rather of environmental variables that tend to accompany visual impairment. Thus, many of the typical developmental prdelays may be ameliorated or avoided by the appropriate structuring of the child's experiences. The author makes the argument that the goal of research in this area should be to understand the causes of variation within the population of visually impaired children, rather than making direct, developmental comparison with sighted children. Thus, the existing research literature is searched for evidence of variables that may account for individual differences, including particularly variables related to the child's multiple environments
Introduction -- pt. I. Interaction with the physical world. Perception of the physical world -- Motor and locomotor interaction with the physical world -- Understanding the physical world -- Spatial understanding and spatial behavior -- pt. II. The acquisition of cognitive skills. Language, concept formation, and classification -- Executive functions: memory, attention, and cognitive strategies -- Cognitive style, creativity, and intelligence -- pt. III. Adapting to the social world. Social-emotional and communicative development in infancy -- Language as a social skill -- Social development and adjustment -- Developing a sense of self -- pt. IV. Summary. Longitudinal studies -- Individual differences -- Conclusion