Activities to promote motor development in blind preschool children

In the early stages of a child's with blindness life the role of parents is crucial for his or her development. Considering the importance of parents at this stage and their various emotional reactions upon the birth of a child with blindness, the parents should be offered more professional support and help. The services offered to parents are not only rarely presented in easily understandable and professional terminology, but they also require additional time and money. The goals of this master thesis are as follows: adapting the existing activities from professional literature, which promote important milestones in the early motor development, to the family routine; presenting the selected activities in professional yet understandable language; transform the activities from professional literature to the extent that motor development and other areas of toddlers' with blindness integral development will be promoted. Descriptive method and quantitative research approach have been used for the thesis. Information has been gathered by semi-structured interviews with parents of three children with congenital blindness and an rating scale, filled in by three parents and three professionals for visually impaired. On the basis of theoretical starting points and personal experience, joined with the feedback of teachers and parents, Activities have been transformed which promote motor development of toddlers with blindness. A selection of forty-seven activities has been prepared which promote seven important milestones in child motor development. These activities can be used on a daily basis by parents of children with blindness, as they help promote motor and integral development of toddlers with blindness