Also on February 15, 2023: “The Science Behind Blind Toddlers Walking Well and Beyond Arm’s Reach before the Age of Two”

This webinar, beginning at 4 pm ET on February 15, 2023, will demonstrate the difference in achievement and non-achievement of “essential motor milestone performance measures” in children between the ages of one to two years who are born blind. Research has documented delayed motor skills development in learners who are visually impaired. New findings, to be discussed, demonstrate the need for vision in one-year-old children to gain balance and develop independent walking. The lack of vision for balance helps in explaining why children with vision loss rely on haptic, or tactile, feedback, such as via prolonged cruising, which indicates early delays in walking. Hosted by Dr. Grace Ambrose-Zaken, the webinar will show videos of toddlers who are blind utilizing haptic feedback to gain balance by wearing a pediatric belt cane (PBC) to avoid furniture and “achieve independent walking with safety.” Dr. Ambrose-Zaken, chief executive officer of Safe Toddles, conducted research resulting in the invention of the PBC to make it possible for toddlers who are visually impaired to walk independently. For additional information and to register for the program, visit the Zoom page on The Science Behind Blind Toddlers Walking Well and Beyond Arm’s Reach before the Age of Two.