mediating experiences through touch:

Identifying and reducing potential barriers to learning and participation

Mike McLinden

School of Education

University of Birmingham

UK

• Hearing?

•Sight?

•Touch?•Taste?

•Smell?

• Other?

Children with multiple disabilities and visual impairment

1. What do we know about MDVI ?2. How important is ‘VI’ in ‘MDVI’ ?

3. Development of effective learning experiences

4. ‘Hands on’ experiences5. What did we find out ?

Child’s Joke

What do we know …?

What do we know …?

‘Situation’

???

What do we know …?

Situation characterised by barriers to learning/ participation including:

•Restrictions in use of vision as integrating sense : ’impaired vision’ vs. ‘visual impairment’

•Increased reliance on others to structure learning experiences (e.g. routine)

• Restrictions in development of ‘appropriate’ learning experiences

• ?

How important is ‘VI’ in ‘MDVI’…?

Functions of vision include:

• alert

• anticipate• confirm

• explore

• learn incidentally

• co-ordinate/ integrate

How important is ‘VI ‘in ‘MDVI’…?

Provides opportunities to:

• Take…

•Establish…

• Have…

• Ensure…

How important is ‘VI ‘in ‘MDVI’…?

Control

Development of effective learning experiences

• Distortion quality/ quantity sensory information• Distance/ close senses-increase in significance in close senses

• Imprecise information through close senses/ different ways of processing

• Role of adult partner in mediating learning experiences

Distortion quality/quantity sensory information

? ?

• Imprecise information through close senses• Different ways of interpreting information

‘Distance/ close senses – increase in significance in close senses’

?

‘Role of adult partner in mediating learning experiences’

Which way shall I go next?

???

Hands on experiences

Sensory task planner

• Illustrates role of vision in relation to other senses

• Can consider how we can ‘transfer responsibility for learning’ to other senses in relation to these functions through range of practical activities.

What did we find out?

?

Where shall we go next?

And the punch line is …

Baby elephants!