Object Permanence, Reaching, and Locomotion in Infants who are Blind

Abstract

This article reviews research and other work that suggests that congenital total blindness during infancy retards motor functions, most notably reaching for sound-making stimuli. Since there is a correlation between when infants who are blind begin to reach for rattles, bells, and the like and when sighted infants search for hidden toys in Piagetian experiments, it has been argued that for sound cues alone to elicit reaching, infants must first develop an object concept. Problems with this formulation are highlighted, and an alternative explanation is proposed that suggests possible interventions to redress the effects of congenital blindness on development.