Building and experimenting tactile development games for children with visual impairment and co-Occurring with developmental disorders

Do Thi Thao, Nguyen Thi Tham and Tran Thi Tuyet 176 HNUE JOURNAL OF SCIENCE DOI: 10.18173/2354-1075.2017-0187 Educational Sciences, 2017, Vol. 62, Iss. 12, pp. 176-186 This paper is available online at BUILDING AND EXPERIMENTING TACTILE DEVELOPMENT GAMES FOR CHILDREN WITH VISUAL IMPAIRMENT AND CO-OCCURRING WITH DEVELOPMENTAL DISORDERS Do Thi Thao, Nguyen Thi Tham and Tran Thi Tuyet Faculty of Special Education, Hanoi National University of Education Abstract. This paper presents some study findings about building tactile development games for children with visual impairments and co-occurring with developmental disorders. The experimentations on two children with visual impairments and co-occurring developmental disorders aged 6-7 years showed their progressive results. In case 1, pre-test mean was 1.0 point and post-test mean was 2.25 points. In case 2, the means were increased from 1.25 to 2.75 points. Comparing the tactile development of the two cases after the experiment, we found that the tactile abilities of children with visual impairment and co-occurring with intellectual disability were raised more than children with visual impairment and co-occurring with autism spectrum disorder. Keywords: Building, children with visual impairment and developmental disorders experimental, tactile, tactile development games. 1. Introduction Children with visual impairment and co-occurring with developmental disorders are “Children with visual impairment and co-occurring with the symptoms of autism and or intellectual disability and or ADHD” Nguyen Duc Minh (2010) [1]. Children with visual impairment may co-occur with autism, which is a disorder caused by the brain so that the child is prone to nerve damage - Terese Pawletko, Ph.D (2002) [2]. Games play the dominant role for children in general and children with visual impairment and co-occurring with developmental disorders in particular. Tactile development games can help children with visual impairment and co-occurring with developmental disorders find out the relationship among different materials, shapes and sizes. Additionally, they can help children distinguish the names of things or phenomena and compare them together to develop language, imagination and creativity as Roope Raisamo, Saija Patomäki, Matias Hasu, Virpi Pasto (2006) [3], Nguyen Thi Tham (2014) [4]. Currently, building and using tactile development games for children with visual impairment and co-occurring with developmental disorders are not very popularly conducted in classes. This reduces the ability of the child to discover things and phenomena and also affect their cognitive and the learning process in the future. At the same time, the lack of visual stimulation will make it difficult for the children with visual impairment to visualize the surrounding environment and express appropriate social interactions. Children with visual impairment and co- occurring developmental disorders encounter even more difficulties. They often fail to use body gestures such as pulling their hands to express their desire for interaction, lack of active search to share Received: September 27, 2017. Revised: December 2, 2017. Accepted: December 5, 2017. Contact: Do Thi Thao, e-mail address: thaodt@hnue.edu.vn Building and experimenting tactile development and co-occurring with developmental disorders 177 their emotions, interests or performance with others. They also encounter many difficulties in social or emotional exchange [1, 6, 7]. Children with visual impairment and autism spectrum disorders are more abnormal in responding to sensory stimuli. They are more sensitive or more ignorant to sensory information than children with visual impairment only. Therefore, there should be different supportive measures for each and every individual [1, 6, 7]. Many children with developmental disorders, especially children with autism, intellectual disabilities co-occurring with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have unreasonable reactions to sensory stimuli or stimuli. These reactions are due to the difficulty of processing and synthesizing sensory information. This means that the information seems to be normal, but the children with developmental disorders perceive differently, Do Thi Thao (2014) [8]. Sometimes, the stimulation seems "normal" to everyone but it will be very painful and irritating for children with developmental disorders who have sensory problems. The sensory processing challenge has been documented in the first pediatric clinical description of autism and is described in the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), they affirm that sensory problems are part of the major symptoms of autistic disorder in diagnostic records [9]. In the Journal of Science, Hanoi National University of Education, 62 (9AB), p. 284-294. ISSN 2354- 1075 we published a theoretical study and empirical ability of 22 children with visual impairment and co-occurring developmental disorders aged 6-7, the actual situation of building and using tactile development games for children with visual impairment and co-occurring developmental disorders of 16 teachers and 15 young parents in Hai Phong and Hanoi, the results showed that (1) The tactile sensibility of children with visual impairment and co-occurring developmental disorders has strengths and weaknesses but in general the ability to perceive by hands is weak; (2) Tactile development games for children with visual impairment and co-occurring developmental disorders are used by teachers and parents but are not yet abundant, often focusing on name games, identifying and distinguishing, the efficiency is not high; (3) It is necessary to strengthen the development and use of tactile development games for children and to have a close cooperation between teachers and parents for children with visual impairment and co-occurring developmental disorders to participate more effectively [5]. In this article, we focus on building some tactile development games for children with visual impairment and co-occurring developmental disorders and conducting experiments to test the effectiveness of games. 2. Content 2.1. Some tactile development games for children with visual impairment and co- occurring developmental disorders In order to help children with visual impairment and co-occurring developmental disorders develop more effectively, we have built a number of tactile development games with four main groups, each consisting of three games with specific purpose, forms, toys and the way to play as follows: a. Group 1: Recognition games Game 1: Where? Purpose: Children recognize basic shapes such as squares, rectangles, triangles and circles. Form: Can play with the whole class, in groups of 3-4 children or in pairs (teachers or parents play with children). Do Thi Thao, Nguyen Thi Tham and Tran Thi Tuyet 178 Toys: Each player has a basket containing some square, round, triangular and rectangular shapes. How to play: Referee (possibly teacher, parent or classmate) asks the players to pay attention to the instructions. The partner and the child have to be blindfolded (if not visually impared). Before playing, allow the children to touch and recognize the shapes in the basket. Referee says the rules: - Referee shouted: "Where is the square?" - The player replies and raised the square: "here it is" Within 1 minute, the players must find the correct shape that the referee required. The correct choice will be plus 10 points. Continue until there is no shape in the basket. The winner has the most points and receives a gift. If there are two players with the same scores, the fastest picker will win. Game 2: Yes or No? Purpose: Children recognize some familiar fruits by touching. Form: Can play with the whole class, in groups or in pairs (teacher or parent plays with the child) Toys: Some familiar fruits with different shapes sizes and tastes such as: orange, banana, cucumber, guava, dragon fruit or other fruits. How to play: Referee (possibly teacher, parent or classmate) asks the players to sit down and pay attention to the instructions. The partner and the child have to be blindfolded (if not visually impaired). Referee gives each player the same fruits. After 1 minute: - Referee asks: “Is it a cucumber?” - The players answer: “Yes” or “No” - Referee keeps asking until the players have correct answer. Each correct answer is plus 10 points. Continue until all fruits have been delivered. The winner is the one with the highest score. Losers will sing a song. Game 3: What? Purpose: Children recognize some familiar objects. Form: Can play in groups of 3, 4 or in pairs with teacher or parent Toys: A box with different familiar objects such as: a spoon, a bowl, a plate, a pen, a cup, an eraser, a book, a hat or a shoe. How to play: Referee (possibly teacher, parent or classmate) asks the players to sit down and pay attention to the instructions. The partner and the child have to be blindfolded (if not visually impaired). Each player takes turn to play. The player puts their hand in the box and pick out a thing. Referee asks “What’s this?” The player answers the question. Continue until there is nothing in the box. The player will get a star stacked on their hand for each correct answer. The winner is the one with the most stars. b. Group 2: Distinguish games Game 1: Who’s faster? Purpose: Children can distinguish some materials such as plastic, metal, rubber and fabric. Form: Can play in whole class, in groups of 3, 4 or in pairs with teacher or parent Toys: Some baskets with different familiar items inside such as: a plastic ball, a rubber ball, a spoon, a shirt or a shoe. How to play: Referee (possibly teacher, parent or classmate) asks the players to sit down and pay attention to the instructions. The partner and the child have to be blindfolded (if not visually impared). Referee gives each player a basket and asks “Give me a plastic object”. The players have to choose the Building and experimenting tactile development and co-occurring with developmental disorders 179 correct one. Continue until there is no object in the basket. The player will get a star for each correct answer. The winner is the one with the most stars. Game 2: Heavy or Light? Purpose: Children can distinguish the heavy and the light Form: Can play in whole class, in groups or in pairs with teacher or parent Toys: Some bottles with the same shapes and sizes, some filled with water and the others are empty (Can use other things like a pumkin or a bunch of vegetable). How to play: Referee (possibly teacher, parent or classmate) asks the players to sit down and pay attention to the instructions. The partner and the child have to be blindfolded (if not visually impaired). Referee gives each player two bottles, the full-filled one on the left hand and the empty one on the right hand and asks them not to change their hands. - Referee asks “Left hand heavy or light?” - Players answer “Left hand heavy” or “Left hand light”. - Referee gives comments Continue with the other hand. The winner is the one who has both correct answers, and will receive a gift. Game 3: Wearing clothes Purpose: Children can distinguish the in and out sides of clothes Form: Can play in whole class, in groups or in pairs with teacher or parent Toys: Children’s shirt. How to play: Referee (possibly teacher, parent or classmate) delivers the instructions. The partner and the child have to be blindfolded (if not visually impaired). Within 3 minutes, the players have to identify which are the in and out sides of the shirt, and put it on correctly. After 3 minutes, referee asks each player. The winner is the one with the right answer. Note: Before starting the game, children need to be taught how to identify the in and out sides of the shirt by touching the inside with the edges of fabric, and the outside without the edges of fabric. c. Group 3: Games for senses Game 1: Who’s right? Purpose: Children can feel sour, sweet and salty food. Form: Play in whole class, in groups or in pairs with teacher or parent Toys: Some fruits like mango, lemon, watermelon, and some spices like sugar and salt. How to play: Referee (possibly teacher, parent or classmate) delivers the instructions. The partner and the child have to be blindfolded (if not visually impaired). The players taste the same fruits or spices at the same time and say its name and how it tastes. Each correct answer gets 10 points. The winner is the one with the highest score. Game 2: Find house for Pebbles Purpose: Children can identify warm and cold. Form: Play in pairs with teacher or parent Toys: One cold water bottle, one warm water bottle, one pot of cold water, one pot of warm water, 5 cold pebbles (put them in the fridge) and 5 warm pebbles (put them in warm water before give them to the players). Do Thi Thao, Nguyen Thi Tham and Tran Thi Tuyet 180 How to play: Referee (possibly teacher, parent or classmate) asks the players to sit down on the ground and listen carefully to the instructions. The partner and the child have to be blindfolded (if not visually impaired). The players touch the warm and cold water bottles and put their feet in each pot to feel the heat and cold. Put all the pebbles together. - Referee says: “All the cold Pebbles and the warm Pebbles are playing together, time is over, let’s bring them home.” - Players have to put the warm pebbles in the pot of warm water, and the cold pebbles in the pot of cold water. The winner is the one who finds the correct home for the pebbles quickest. Game 3: Hand drawing Purpose: Children can feel the draw on their hand. Form: Play in pairs with other children or teacher or parent. Toys: Pencils with erasers on top. How to play: The player asks their partner to put his or her hand forward, draw on the back of the his/her hand and ask him/her to determine the shape (circle, line, triangle, rectangle ...). After drawing, erase the mark on their hand and then draw the next shape. In reverse, the child draws on the back of the player's hand and asks to guess. The winner is the one with the most correct answers. Note: Capital letters or numbers can be used if the child is able. d. Group 4: Tactile development game combined with fine motor Game 1: Making shapes Purpose: To develop the child's sense of touch and develop the hand muscles. Form: Can play in whole class, in groups or in pairs with teacher or parent Toys: Clay How to play: Referee (possibly teacher, parent or classmate) asks the players to sit down on the ground and listen carefully to the instructions. The partner and the child have to be blindfolded (if not visually impaired). Give each child a clay, ask them to knead, mold the clay thoroughly. Instruct them to roll the clay to make funny things like bracelets, rings, snakes, worms or candy. Using fingers to clamp small clay to make marbles or grain. Start playing: After the referee says "Start", the players quickly mold the clay into different objects and animals. After 5 minutes, whoever molds more objects and animals will win. Game 2: Which seed, which pot Purpose: Train the flexible coordination among fingers, dexterous hands. In addition to training memory and tactile sense of the hands. Form: Can play in whole class, in groups or in pairs with teacher or parent Toys: 1 set of 10 seeds made of different materials (plastic, wood, rubber) or different nuts (beans, peanuts, corn), the number of the pots is equivalent to the number of the types of seeds. Each player has one set. How to play: Referee (possibly teacher, parent or classmate) asks the players to listen carefully to the instructions. The partner and the child have to be blindfolded (if not visually impaired). Give each child a set of toys. Ask the child to pick up the seeds of the same type into a pot (the pots are placed horizontaly from left to right, and numbered). The winner is the one who finishes the game right and the fastest. Building and experimenting tactile development and co-occurring with developmental disorders 181 Note: It is possible to increase or decrease the number of seeds depending on the child's ability. Game 3: Sand artist Purpose: Practicing skills to coordinate hands, rhythmic movement. Form: Can play in whole class, in groups or in pairs with teacher or parent. Toys: A wide sandy beach or a large container of moist sand. How to play: Referee (possibly teacher, parent or classmate) asks the players to listen carefully to the instructions. The partner and the child have to be blindfolded (if not visually impaired). Bring the players to the beach or give them a sandbox. Instruct them to use the index finger to draw the shape on the sand (square, round, triangle, rectangle, straight line or zigzag line), make sandcastle. Start playing: After the referee say "Start", the players quickly draw on the sand or make shapes or blocks that they like. After 5 minutes, who drew or made more correct shapes or picture will win. Note: This game can be combined in the extracurricular activities for children. 2.2. Experiment on some tactile development games for children with visual impairment and co-occurring developmental disorders 2.2.1. Experimental method We conducted experiments at children’s house and afternoon classes. The empirical process consists of the following steps: Step 1: Choose a child: Based on the results of the senses assessment and based on the individual profile of each child, we selected two children with visual impairment coo-occurring with signs of autism and mental disability to participate in the experiment. Step 2: Build an Experimental Program: The experimental program is a set of games developed in three areas: recognition games, tactile sensory games and tactile development games combined with fine motor. Each area consists of 3 small games to develop tactile for children with multiple defects. Step 3: Prepare the furniture: The furniture is square, round, rectangular, triangular, baskets, plastic fruits, items familiar to children (spoon, bowl, plate, caps, sandals, water bottles), pot of water, pebbles, pencils with eraser, clay, seeds made of different materials (wood, plastic, rubber), sand. Step 4: Prepare the Environment: We conduct experiments at the children’s house and afternoon classes. Before we start experimenting, we have time to get acquainted and give children psychological comfort and the most willing. Step 5: Conduct the experiments: With the agreement of the children and their parents, we conducted experiments for a period of 3 months. This is the most important stage in the experiment. Step 6: Compare, comment and evaluate the experimental results and draw conclusions: This is the final step of the empirical process. The results after the experiment will be integrated, processed, analyzed to make conclusions, assessments and evaluation. Scoring for visually impaired children with multiple disabilities: To assess the child's tactile ability, we have designed a scoreboard that includes the following criteria and scoring: Criteria for sensory evaluation of children with visual impairement co-occurring with developmental disorders: - Requirement 1: Identify shapes, objects and fruits - Requirement 2: Distinguish the shapes, sizes and materials of the objects - Requirement 3: Feeling heavy - light, hot - cold, feeling through the skin Do Thi Thao, Nguyen Thi Tham and Tran Thi Tuyet 182 - R