Facilitation of visual perception through voluntary movement in elementary school children

Body Experiences of Persons who are Congenitally Blind: A Phenomenological-Psychological Study

The aim of this qualitative-interpretive, phenomenological-psychological study was to discover the essential dimensions (distinctive features) of the body experiences of congenitally blind people. The information was obtained through semi structured interviews, consisting of open-ended questions, to which the subjects could reply freely and at length. Of the various forms of body experiences mentioned in the interviews, three are discussed in this article: the functional body, the objectified body, and the identity-creating body.

Visual Refinement of Haptic Activity

48 children 3.5 to 5.2 yr. old inspected blocks supporting two three-dimensional patterns. Subjects allowed simultaneous haptic and visual exploration and those merely seeing the standard showed greater visual recognition of the patterns than children who only inspected the blocks haptically. Compared with haptic exploration alone, bimodal inspection reduced the time children spent touching the patterns and sharply lowered the frequency of palmar grasping and simultaneous exploration by more than one finger. Under bimodal conditions, haptic activity thus seemed under visual guidance.