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Fun Activities For Blind Adults – You are here: Home 1 / Children’s life 2 / 20 Outdoor activities for blind and visually impaired children
Almost all children with retinoblastoma have some degree of vision loss resulting from the cancer and its treatment. Identifying outdoor activities in which they can fully participate can be difficult for families. Bilateral Rb Survivor, Abby White, shares 20 classic and creative activities that engage blind and visually impaired children and help them connect with the natural world.
Fun Activities For Blind Adults
What do you have planned this summer to help your kids explore the natural world? This is a perfect time to engage the senses, get a bumper dose of Vitamin N, and develop new skills and confidence through play.
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A little creativity and thoughtful adaptations will ensure that children with vision loss are included in toys and can connect deeply with nature. They nurture curiosity, opening up worlds of knowledge and exploration that sighted children absorb without even realizing it. We hope some of the following suggestions will help you and your children enjoy a deeper connection with nature this summer.
Growing shrubs, flowers, herbs, vegetables and fruits such as tomato plants is a great way to learn about nature, and where food comes from. Gardening is a wonderful tactile learning activity for blind and visually impaired children.
Involve your children in choosing the plants, bulbs or seeds, and deciding the best place to plant them, explaining the options and reasons for each. Children can participate in every step of the gardening process, including digging, planting and watering. Explain each step verbally, and guide your child’s hands as needed to help them understand.
A super active place to learn about plants and animals. Many farms have summer open days with family-friendly activities. Some have year-round local attractions where children can get hands-on experience of the animals, large tractors and farm processes.
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Pick-your-own farms are a great option for hands-on learning about seasonal fruits and vegetables. Children with some vision may be able to use visual cues to identify ripe produce. Other children may need to learn tactile techniques, such as firmness or smell – ask the farmers or pickers for guidance on multi-sensory cues for the particular produce on offer.
Different wind speed and direction can be seen from inside as the wind moves through greenery and blows over items. People with vision loss miss this information. A wind chime can be a wonderfully relaxing and fun way for children to learn about wind, and how it changes over the course of a day and throughout the year.
There is a wide range of carefully crafted and perfectly tailored options available. Understanding the structure, and how different materials and sizes produce different sounds, will help you find the perfect carillon for your child and family. This is a super watch buying guide with some top suggestions, including audio samples.
Place a wind chime near the door or window that you open the most. This can be used as an auditory signal to locate the area, but it will be silent if there is no wind. Explain to your child that the clock can stop, and ask them to explain the reason why, to demonstrate their understanding of action and reaction.
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How do children learn the scientific concepts of flight if they will never see a bird or plane take off, land or fly through the sky? The simple joy of flying a kite is one wonderful way to connect with and explore the world, understand some of these processes and nurture a sense of awe.
Build your own kite as a family, or buy a pre-made one with an easy-to-manage reel control. Making the kite with your child gives them the opportunity to learn about its structure and aerodynamics, but you can also explore and discuss the structure of a purchased kite with your child before flying it. Look for kites with audible tails, or add your own to help your child keep track of the kite in flight.
Review kite flying safety with your child. Make sure you choose a safe open area, away from electricity and phone lines and other dangerous obstructions – reinforce to your child why this is so important; children with sight loss who want to fly their kite independently will not be able to see power lines and judge that an area is safe.
Together with your child, set the kite flying, then guide your child in how to control his flight. Gradually let go of control until your child is in confident full control. Encourage your child to focus on the experience of managing the controls, the sensation of the kite pulling against the reel, and the sound of material buffing and the tail jingling in the wind . When your child is familiar with the action of flying the kite, or later when they need to focus on the controls, talk together about what your child experienced, and how their concept of flight has evolved .
Pairs Compass Walk Trust Building Exercise
A classic summer activity that all children can enjoy, regardless of visual impairment. Take special care to orient your child around the area, and specify safety rules to all children present. Ask the children to explain the rules to you so you know they are understood. Use long-handled toasting forks that allow all children to stay well away from the fire, and help when needed.
The bright lights set against a dark sky make firework displays especially visually stimulating and fun when children have some eyesight. However, without comment, the loud hiss, whizzes, crackles and bangs can be disorientating and distressing for a blind or visually impaired child, or simply boring.
A quality description of fireworks will help bring the spectacle to life for children with visual impairments, and give context to the potentially frightening soundtrack. Think about the language you can use to describe different fireworks, including their colors, movement and changing shape, and where they are in relation to the familiar environment.
Young children with limited or no vision often have a hard time understanding that water in rivers, lakes and oceans is constantly moving. Being “on” the water allows them to feel the movement that others can see. From paddling or rowing on a city lake, to sailing on the open ocean, there are so many ways to experience the ebb and flow of water under the boat.
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Providing different sailing opportunities in different environments allows the child to compare and contrast their experience. For example, punting or riding a gondola on a still, shallow river feels very different from canoeing in a sheltered bay, which in turn feels different from taking a fast ferry across open water.
Orientation and safety education is especially important for children with vision loss – refresh general water safety with each new experience, and learn rules specific to that activity. However, there is no reason why blind and visually impaired children cannot participate in boating activities. This is a great time of year to take an aquatic adventure. Look for hands-on opportunities that maximize their experience.
On hot summer days, an aquatic obstacle course can be a wonderfully fun way to cool off, especially if infection control restrictions mean you can’t visit water parks and swimming pools. Brainstorm with your child all the materials you can use, such as garden sprinkler, wading pool or very large bowls, face cloths, plastic cups for skins, clean spray bottles or water guns, sponge balls, hula hoops, pool noodles, garden furniture and toys.
Help your child use their imagination to plan, and set up the obstacle course, then orient and support them around the entire course as needed. This video can give you some activity station ideas for the obstacle course.
Blindness Awareness Month October 2023
In our June 2018 article on our blog, child life specialist Jocelyn Leworthy describes how playfully engaging the senses helps development in babies and young children:
“As children grow, they also acquire more complex skills through sensory experiences. For example, when playing with sensory materials such as water, toys, blocks; sand, etc., they begin to develop fine motor skills – use of the small muscles in the hands. This is achieved by forming, manipulating, stacking, gripping, casting etc.
“Children learn about concepts such as cause and effect when their play involves full actions such as pouring, mixing, stacking and moving. They also learn about physical properties (shape/size/color/texture), and conservation. By exploring with the materials they develop they also develop basic math and science skills, including measurement, observing physical changes when materials are mixed or changed, and making comparisons. Sensory experiences also promote imaginative play and encourage social development such as turn taking, sharing and perspective taking when other children are involved.
“In summary, the senses play a critical role in a child’s holistic development, and their ability to make sense of the world around them. As a parent or caregiver, there are endless opportunities to engage the senses through fun, stimulating interactions and experiences. Take time today to try some new approaches.”
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For a simple sensory play experience, fill a sink halfway with water and provide a selection of silicone or plastic utensils and containers for play. Encourage your child to experiment with the
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