Program description: Meaningful Movement for Children who are Deafblind is a 2-part series that
considers movement in Active Learning and patterns and rhythm in preparation for Orientation &
Mobility.
Guest speaker: Dr. Lyn Ayer has extensive expertise in working with children with visual impairments,
deafblindness, and/or multiple disabilities throughout her professional career of more than 48 years.
Dr. Ayer has been the director of two state deafblind projects, principal of a school for the blind, a
rehabilitation worker at an Eye Hospital, and a teacher. She is currently an education consultant with
the Ohio Center for Deafblind Education.
Session 1: Meaningful Movement for Children who are Deafblind
October 11, 2022, 3:30 – 4:30 pm (ET)
We often talk about Active Learning and associated strategies and tools that were popularized by Lilli
Nielsen. Yet, when working with children, what we must always keep in mind is that to be “active,” we
need movement. Movement, in turn, is dependent on a whole-body response to neurological impulses.
These, in turn, depend on the sensory system, which acts as a “messenger” in conveying information
from the external world to help prompt action. There are other internal systems such as the endocrine
or hormonal system that also help our bodies run like a well-oiled machine. Children who are deafblind
have some “gaps” in the messenger system, and we must always consider ways to fill these gaps. We
also tend to pay attention to a child’s hands, more than we do the feet. Both prompt movement and
both are involved in the power senses of proprioception and vestibular function. Involving both hands
and feet are critical for children who are deafblind.