Everyday Experiences

Children learn so much about the world just by experiencing it. Since Thomas is blind, he can't just watch and learn like other children. He needs to have hands on experience and we must describe our actions and why we are doing them.

For example, I have had Tommy help me make iced tea. We filled up the tea kettle with cold water and put it on to boil. I let him feel the stove as it was getting warm to explain that it was warming up the water. We got fresh mint from the yard to flavor the tea and tasted the sugar we put in too. Then we poured the hot water into the pitcher and stirred it up. He loved feeling the steam from the water.

Sure, it would have been a whole lot faster if I didn't have Thomas helping me make the tea, but he would have missed out on a lot of information. He might not be able to boil water on his own safely anytime soon, but now he understands a bit about the stove and what it is for.

Last weekend we went to a local farm to visit the pumpkin patch. We got to pick out some pumpkins and bought some apple cider. Honestly, Thomas was grumpy and didn't smile the whole time. But that doesn't mean that he didn't learn anything from his visit. He was out in a new place that was filled with loud people and laughing children but he didn't have a meltdown. And that's a big deal!

After reading an article written by a woman with bilateral microphthalmia on wonderbaby.org, I am even more convinced that these excursions and teaching moments will make a big impact on Thomas. She says that her family made her participate in everything around the house and never treated her any different than her sisters. Her mother took every opportunity to stimulate her (tactile, visual, auditory.)

Off-roading in the mickey truck

It is written as a "letter to new parents," but I have to say that it gave me so much comfort that everything I do will pay off one day. Because some days I feel like I push him too hard or I wonder if he is really getting anything out of our little trips around town.

Thomas spends most of his days at home with me since he is an only child and I am a stay at home mom. Four therapists from Early Intervention come to our house to work with him weekly.

However, we recently started therapy at the Children's Institute and Thomas is having a difficult time. I think he is having a really hard time having therapy in a new environment. In less than a year he will be in full time pre-school so I think this is good experience for him. I'm going to try to take him to some story times at local libraries to get him more comfortable outside of the home.

So I'm going to keep pushing him and trying to expose him to new things every day. It may not always be easy but it will benefit him in the future.