[blindkid] Notes on Eye Poking

Brian Hatgelakas brian.hatgelakas at verizon.net
Tue May 1 15:28:39 UTC 2012


Why does it happen?  What censessations do the blind inphants get?
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Deborah Kent Stein" <dkent5817 at att.net>
To: "Blind Kid Mailing List, (for parents of blind children)" 
<blindkid at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Tuesday, May 01, 2012 10:39 AM
Subject: Re: [blindkid] Notes on Eye Poking


>
>
> Interestingly, eye-poking only seems to occur in children who are blind 
> from birth or very early infancy.  To my knowledge, it does not develop in 
> children who become blind in early childhood, such as those blind from 
> retinoblastoma, and it does not develop in people who lose their sight 
> later in life.  Dr. Lilli Nielsen and others observe that eye-poking 
> generally starts at about eight months of age, at a time when sighted 
> infants are becoming physically active and are relating to their 
> environment very proactively.  My sense is that there is a neurological 
> window when the behavior appears and that it is a substitute for other 
> kinds of stimulation that are needed.  The questions are how to reduce the 
> pattern once it is established and how to help blind infants past that 
> window so that eye-poking doesn't develop in the first place.
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Arielle Silverman" <arielle71 at gmail.com>
> To: <blindkid at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Monday, April 30, 2012 9:45 PM
> Subject: [blindkid] Notes on Eye Poking
>
>
>> Hi all,
>> To address the questions about eye poking: Over the years I have
>> conversed with several parents dealing with eye poking as well as
>> several blind teens and adults who are recovering pokers themselves
>> (in different stages of recovery). Unfortunately despite all this
>> discussion and sharing of ideas I don't know of any easy solutions. I
>> do, however, believe that eye poking is quite a different animal from
>> rocking, spinning and other such "blindisms" even though it often gets
>> lumped in with the others. Rocking, etc. often serves as a form of
>> expression as it appears when one is excited or aroused in some way,
>> but eye poking tends to be a more constant habit and is done when one
>> is bored or even while sleeping. It also appears to be much more
>> common with certain eye conditions and in fact, a majority of eye
>> pokers i've met or talked with have LCA (aka Lebers) although I admit
>> my sample is biased and it may very well be part of other eye
>> conditions too. Based on my nonscientific observation, it seems like
>> eye poking has a much more primitive basis and that it satisfies some
>> neurological need within the eyes or between the eyes and brain. It
>> also appears very early in infancy, before movement patterns are
>> developed and certainly before a baby is capable of much learned
>> behavior. Because of its primitive nature, the habit is extremely hard
>> to completely and permanently get rid of, which is why there are so
>> many "recovering" pokers out there (including myself).
>> It is definitely possible for children to learn to reduce the
>> frequency of poking or to stop it in certain kinds of situations, such
>> as in public. This happens through old-fashioned parenting, reminding,
>> rewarding good behavior, etc. just as kids can learn to sit still and
>> to say please and thank you. However, as with rocking, rewards and
>> reminders don't address the underlying need that's driving the
>> behavior. Unfortunately we haven't really figured out what that need
>> is or how to address it. I do know of one young man who figured out
>> that he could stop himself completely from poking by pressing on a
>> certain spot on his brow, and I have also heard of people teaching
>> themselves to squint or flex their eye muscles instead of poking. I
>> suspect the real solution will be a special pair of glasses that puts
>> pressure on the nerves that are craving stimulation. We need an
>> inventor among us who is really motivated to tackle this problem. :)
>> In the meantime, I do think glasses may be a wise deterrent attempt
>> even if a child reaches under them, because they can help encourage
>> awareness of the behavior and make it easier to consciously stop in
>> certain situations. Even if not eliminating the poking completely,
>> reducing the frequency will help keep eyes healthy. While I think the
>> claims that years of poking will lead to grotesquely sunken eyes are
>> old-wives' tales, I am pretty sure that too much can increase the risk
>> of certain kinds of eye complications in adulthood (such as corneal
>> shape changes) and, in my own experience, can cause plain old
>> irritation.
>> Finally, I think it's important to address the issue, but to do it in
>> a positive and nonemotional way whenever possible. Sometimes parents
>> can get really emotionally worked up about their children's eye poking
>> and their inability to stop it. Sometimes I worry that these extreme
>> reactions come from the fact that poking reminds them of their
>> children's blindness and the fact that their children's eyes are
>> "different". We should teach children that eye poking is not a good
>> idea both because it's not good for their future eye health and
>> because it looks weird to sighted people around them. However, we also
>> want them to learn to accept the fact that their eyes are different
>> and to perceive their blindness as a positive part of their identity.
>> Although I think my parents handled my own poking well for the most
>> part, there were a few times when I felt their reactions to my poking
>> were really reactions to my blindness itself. As adults we understand
>> the difference between rejecting a child's blindness and rejecting a
>> child's blindisms, but a young child with a concrete mind won't
>> necessarily see that distinction. It's important not to take it
>> personally if you and your child don't find an easy or consistent
>> resolution to the poking. I also don't think it's productive to make
>> kids feel ashamed of something that is at least partially out of their
>> control. I remember reading a story written by a blind woman whose
>> mother made her write "I will not poke my eyes" five hundred times in
>> a row and she felt like a horrible person but didn't understand what
>> she had done or how she could avoid doing it again. We don't want kids
>> to feel inadequate because they are unable to control a behavior they
>> don't understand or are even aware of most of the time. Start slow,
>> explain why the poking is bad, offer alternatives and eventually
>> empower your child to gain more and more control. This won't happen
>> right away and they may never gain full awareness or full control, but
>> they can definitely develop a healthy ownership of their eyes and be
>> motivated to make an effort to keep their fingers out of them. If you
>> can be patient enough to wait for this to happen, then eye poking will
>> eventually become a manageable issue without being a source of shame
>> or contention.
>> Best,
>> Arielle
>>
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