Gross Motor Development in Infants Blind from Birth

ADELSON, EDNA, and FRAIBERG, SELMA. Gross Motor Development in Infants Blind from Birth. CHILD DEVELOPMENT, 1974, 45, 114-126. Longitudinal study of patterns of gross motor development in a group of 10 infants, blind from birth and otherwise intact, showed: (1) neuromuscular maturation and postural achievements appeared within the Bayley age ranges for sighted infants; (2) self-initiated mobility and locomotion were delayed. From our related prehension studies we understood this delay to be associated with the normally late adaptive substitution of sound for sight as incentive for mobility. An intervention program that focused on human relationships, adaptive hand behavior, and coordination of tactile and auditory schemas resulted in advances in mobility for this group in comparison with another similar blind group.