Do You See Me?

The book is inspired by the author’s own experiences, in part from her daily work with preschool children with blindness at Synscenter Refsnæs, and in part from an inclusion project where three children with blindness were observed in their respective mainstream kindergartens. In parallel with these observations, various interventions adapted to the situation of the individual children were tested. In the book the author’s practice-based insights are supplemented with the extensive use of research results and other practitioners’ insights.
Although the book is focused on the social competencies of 4-to-6-year-old children with blindness, the author emphasizes the importance of having knowledge about the typical development of social skills in children in order to understand the similarities and differences that may be observed between sighted and blind children’s social development and behavior.
Hence, the book does not focus exclusively on the social skills of children with blindness. Typical behaviors and skills of children with blindness are continuously related to the corresponding development in sighted children.
The book, therefore, is not intended exclusively for parents of children with blindness and professionals working with this group. It will also be relevant to students, educators and teachers working with children in preschool and in the younger classes as well as other professionals who are interested in children’s social interaction. The book may be of interest to anyone working to prevent the marginalization or social isolation of children from being part of a community with other children.