Room 2 - Curriculum Room (Section 3 of 8)
Section 3 – Social and emotional development
Description of social and emotional development
Social and emotional development is also of key importance as a foundation that underpins higher level activities. Importantly, children with visual impairment must operate in a social world, not just a spatial one. Good social and emotional development is vital to enable them to communicate appropriately, and have a well-developed sense of how they fit into their social context, and to develop self-confidence and good self-esteem.
A study by RNIB’s Annie Bearfield and her colleagues in 2003 explored some of these issues in more detail. Part of the work involved a survey distributed to all visual impairment education services, schools, and resource bases in the Midlands (UK). Respondents agreed that some children with a visual impairment are likely to require some additional support with their social and emotional development.
A list of key skills
In our research we spoke to many professionals involved in working with children who are visually impaired. Here we present a list of some of the key social and emotional skills which they felt were important. This list is a useful start, though it does not necessarily cover everything.
List: Early and foundation mobility and independence – social and emotional development
Presentation of oneself
- Overcoming habits – social acceptability
- Persuading young people to use techniques / strategies which may be considered ‘uncool’
Positive attitude, confidence, and motivation, e.g. towards:
- The way you look
- Communication with others
- Orientation and mobility
Communication with others
- Awareness of others
- Interactions with different people
- Assertiveness
- Social and non-verbal cues
- Communication with public – asking for help, and explaining how to give help
Manners
- ‘Stranger Danger’
- Making people aware of your visual impairment
- Telephone manners
- Social conventions and appropriate ‘scripts’ in different settings
- Preparation for work experience
- Sex education
- Sport – including appropriate group activities with sighted peers and specialist sports (e.g. Goalball)
- Counselling
- ‘Transferability of skills’ and ‘problem solving’
As with all parts of the M&I curriculum, this overlaps with other curriculum areas, and work carried out by other professionals. In the case of social and emotional development the following may be useful:
- Physical education curriculum
- Personal, social and health education
Good practice: Some examples of ‘social and emotional development’ activities
The following are examples of good practice carried out by services that were identified in the research project:
Social skills covered in one authority are about being aware and involved in what goes on in the community. For example, if a child wants to learn about the village/town they live in, they actually go out to the shops and buy things during an M&I lesson, learning to use money, a public telephone box, and speaking to people over the counter and asking for assistance. CAMBRIDGESHIRE
As well as traditional elements of mobility (travel, cane, etc), older children are also taught social skills including shopping skills - interaction with public and shop assistants, and preparation for work experience and post-school life. MISE
A mobility officer works with older students who need to be as independent as they possibly can be for work experience placements. Work experience is not just about finding the right bus stop - social skills are very important. About interacting in the new work place, understanding confidentiality, getting used to queuing, being polite, knowing what to say to people face to face or on the telephone without having teacher there to prompt them. Organises telephone courses, etc. MISE
Children are often not used to talking for themselves. People often ask questions/speak to the person the child is with, rather than addressing the actual child, so they may not be used to finding out information for themselves as it has always been done for them. Therefore the teaching of social skills is vital. MISE
One mobility officer believes that an important part of mobility education is about confidence, having the confidence to move. There is a need to develop the whole self, including self-worth, self-motivation and self-esteem. If you have confidence, you learn more effectively and have more respect among your peer group. NORWICH
Activity 4
Here are three different aspects of social and emotional development. Think about each, and what your feelings are about them:
- One of the most important things in our lives is making friends and feeling comfortable with our peers. Are there any reasons why visually impaired children might need help in this process? What provision might be required (if any) to help visually impaired children meet people and make friends?
- Sometimes children can become very aware of their visual impairment and the impact it may have on their life. These feelings of difference can become quite acute at certain ages – e.g. we have often spoken to visually impaired young people who felt very upset about not being able to drive, and very resistant to using a long cane as it made them stand out. How could you as a parent or professional address this?
- Children sometimes display unusual behaviours which may be linked to their visual impairment – for example ‘rocking’, or not making eye contact with people during conversations. Some people think that it would be best to teach children to avoid some of these ‘inappropriate’ behaviours, while others think it more useful to teach sighted people to understand and accept such behaviours. What do you think?
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