Blindism
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Blindisms, also known as restricted or repetitive behavior (RRB) in visually impaired children, and stereotyped behaviors in blind children are a set of stereotypies (stereotyped, habitual and characteristic movements) in visually impaired children. These appear most often in those who are congenitally blind. Frequent movements include body rocking, repetitive handling of objects, hand and finger movements, eye poking, pressing and rubbing. Causes are not well understood, and treatment outcomes tend to be highly variable but generally positive.
Blindisms, also known as restricted or repetitive behavior (RRB) in visually impaired children, and stereotyped behaviors in blind children are a set of stereotypies (stereotyped, habitual and characteristic movements) in visually impaired children. These appear most often in those who are congenitally blind. Frequent movements include body rocking, repetitive handling of objects, hand and finger movements, eye poking, pressing and rubbing. Causes are not well understood, and treatment outcomes tend to be highly variable but generally positive.
Causes
The causes of RRBs in visually impaired children are not well understood. Two distinct theories for causes are that it is compensation for sensory and/or social deprivation, and that it is a regulatory function in response to overstimulation and/or anxiety. However, as of 2021 such theories do not have empirical support. The lack of visual sensory feedback in blind people is known to affect the calibration process for body movement. It is also suspected that reinforcement of behavior plays a role in the development of RRBs. There are a variety of other theories drawing from neuroscience.
Treatment
Early intervention is often helpful in preventing children from displaying blindism behaviors. In most cases, a qualified teacher arranges an early education program to help develop accurate and effective use of the child's senses. The parents are often included in such programs alongside their visually impaired children. Overall success rates for treatment ranges from 88.9% to 68.4% depending on risk factors. However, these results have questionable reliability due to the lack of recent treatment studies for RRBs in visually impaired children, and many such past studies using punishment as opposed to reinforcement which featured highly variable efficacy.
References
External links
Blindness, mental retardation and – or autism
Text derived from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1312280265 under CC BY-SA 4.0; modifications have been made.