[blindkid] Referring to name versus saying I want was greetings

Tue Apr 6 12:08:18 UTC 2010

We view these activities as something that gives us a window into Vinnie's
thought process, which allows us to realize how bright he is.  It allows us
a means to communicate and it is such a joy to hear him make requests for
himself, as we encourage independence.  I appreciate the suggestions and
will give it a try.  Thanks for the insight.
Blessings,
Sue H.

On Mon, Apr 5, 2010 at 8:37 PM, Heather <craney07 at rochester.rr.com> wrote:

> It is developmentally appropriate for toddlers from eighteen months to four
> years to refer to themselves with their name instead of using the parts of
> speech such as I, me and we.  This has nothing to do with being blind.  Many
> children as very young toddlers use their name first, rather than I or me,
> because that is what they hear others refer to them as.  Older toddlers may
> enjoy the novelty of calling them self by their first name, because it is
> fascinating to them that they are I and me, but also Jeremy or Todd or
> Melissa as well.  They often also go through a phase of calling their mom or
> dad or aunt or uncle by their first name, because they are playing with the
> concept of familiar and formal titles, of dule names for the same person,
> based on social context.  This is to be accepted and worked with, not
> quashed and viewed as disrespect.  Think how odd it would seem to you at
> first to realize that to you your mother is mommy, to daddy she is honey, to
> her friends she is Linda, etc.  To Sue, I wouldn't be concerned with the
> whole conversation thing.  It shows that he has a strong imagination, as he
> acts out conversations in his independent play.  That is a good thing.
> Mirroring is always a good thing.  You might also try call and response
> games, repete after me games, or games where whoever is holding the ball
> gets to talk, or try touching him on the arm or shoulder when you want him
> to respond to you, gently, to sub for eye contact.  But, I wouldn't make a
> huge issue out of it.  As long as he is communicating his needs, seeking out
> you and others for companionship, I wouldn't be too concerned about a three
> year old prefering self talk or listening.  If he is six and still isn't
> exactly thrilled about engaging in back and forth exchanges, then of course,
> start worrying, but at this stage he seems to be in a developmentally
> normative and developmentally appropriate context.
>
> ----- Original Message ----
> From: "Gerardo Corripio" <gera1027 at gmail.com>
> To: "NFBnet Blind Kid Mailing List,(for parents of blind children)" <
> blindkid at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Monday, April 05, 2010 3:52 PM
> Subject: [blindkid] Referring to name versus saying I want was greetings
>
>
> Hi listers: Is the behavior of when being a toddler referring to oneself by
>> name instead of saying I want so and so? I ask because during my
>> Psychology
>> major in Special Education class we talked about this pattern of behavior
>> being present in children with other disabilities but in blind children
>> didn't have idea of this happening until Sue Harper talked about this
>> behavior in the below mesage. also I just asked my mother if when I was a
>> toddler I did the same pattern and she doesn't remember. Is it only me
>> that
>> when I hear of blind children's difficulties I wonder if ai also had them?
>> It sounds weird but I'm not crazy; I feel that the more I know of how
>> blind
>> children develop the more I'll get to know myself.
>> Gerardo
>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Susan Harper" <
>> sueharper at firstchurchgriswold.org>
>> To: "NFBnet Blind Kid Mailing List,(for parents of blind children)"
>> <blindkid at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Monday, April 05, 2010 2:06 PM
>> Subject: Re: [blindkid] Greetings! and am I welcome?
>>
>>
>> Welcome to the list.  Your English is better than many people who speak
>> the
>> language.  I think we would have a lot to gain from hearing from your
>> mother's experience in bringing you up.  She must be one great lady to
>> raise
>> a child to a man who can speak fluently in two languages.  We will look
>> forward to your contributions!
>>
>> My son is three and one of twins.  He is totally blind from detached
>> retinas
>> from retinopathy of prematurity (25 weeks). He just navigated a walk on
>> our
>> street today using his cane with verbal prompts from me and following my
>> voice.  A new first.  This week he also has started to ask for things he
>> wants, but still refers to himself by name, rather than saying "Can I go
>> outside"; He says, "Vinnie go outside?"  But last week we were playing
>> twenty questions, so this is an incredible improvement.  He has always had
>> perfect language skills and diction, but getting the back and forth
>> conversations going has been tough.  He will have a whole conversation by
>> himself while playing with toys and the conversation will mirror something
>> that happened earlier.  So I model both sides of the conversation and then
>> tell him what to say back when he is asked a question.  We are a large
>> family with 5 children still in the home from ages 3 to 19, so he hears
>> lots
>> of give and take conversations, as well as argumentative ones too.  My
>> strategy is finally paying off.  I am open to other suggestions.
>>
>> Blessings,
>> Sue H.
>>
>> On Mon, Apr 5, 2010 at 12:15 PM, Gerardo Corripio <gera1027 at gmail.com
>> >wrote:
>>
>> Hi listers: I'm Gerardo from Mexico and hope I'm welcome on here because
>>> though blind from Retinopathy of Prematurity and 70% hearing loss for
>>> which
>>> I use hearing aids, I'm already 32 and have a psychology major, but apart
>>> from being curious as to your experiences in raising blind children (now
>>> that I'm grown I want to better understand all my parents had to go
>>> through
>>> to get to where I'm now) I hope my childhood experiences I recall might
>>> help
>>> you guys who are only starting. Even more though I know the US has the
>>> custom of the children when going to college live on their own, the
>>> perspective here in Mexico and in other Latinamerican countries is
>>> different
>>> in that children (especially blind) live at home for more years, thus I'm
>>> encountering some situations maybe some of you have already encountered
>>> with
>>> your kids or may be new experiences for you guys that may help some of
>>> you
>>> in better coping with raising blind kids I'll be sharing little by
>>> little.
>>> Hopefully I'm welcome for the before-mentioned reasons; my expectations
>>> on
>>> being on the list are very high that I'll learn new tips I may use in
>>> coping
>>> especially with my mother and I'll be able to share tips that have
>>> hellped
>>> me that mey also help you in getting your children to the point in having
>>> careers and being adults integrated into society and sorry for my
>>> english;
>>> sometimes it isn't as good as I'd like but hope I made myself understood;
>>> I
>>> know what I want to say but sometimes can't seem to find the right words
>>> to
>>> say them. And some of my questions might be very obvious to you guys
>>> already
>>> in the NFB but because until recently I've discovered myself the list
>>> might
>>> be new to me and give me new info I might not have known before so please
>>> bear with me; I'll try not to saturate the list. Again I'm very hopeful
>>> I'll
>>> get a lot out of the list. Beforehand thanks for accepting my presence.
>>>
>>> Gerardo
>>>
>>>
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