LEGO companies have become very popular for children who are visually impaired. They are using LEGO toys as braille bricks by forming them into a letter, number, or punctuation mark of braille writing. A normal LEGO block has the same arrangement as a typical braille letter with 6 raised dots in a 3X2 pattern. 

 

The Danish Association of the Blind pitched this idea of implementing Braille Bricks to the LEGO foundation in 2011. Even though technological advancements have lowered Braille literacy, it is important that audio books and screen-readers do not replace braille. Sean Randall, an IT instructor at New College Worcester, a school for the blind, explains that those who have no sight use their sense of hearing, but lack the ability to spell and lose their grammar and punctuation skills. 

 

Guided play involves teaching students in a way that is actively engaging and interactive. Children need to see the importance and purpose of what they are doing in order to better learn and grasp the skills. LEGO’s Braille Bricks uses guided play to help with phonetics, spellings, and mathematics. It can even promote motor coordination and tactile skills. 

 

The benefit of using braille bricks versus a braille machine is that it doesn’t highlight your mistakes. It lets children learn from their mistakes and try again. It is highly convenient to be able to move letters around and be more hands on. A simple block of lego has become a form of play while maintaining the importance of braille literacy. This will help so many children in the blind community have better opportunities in the future. 

 

 Gayoung (Jessica) Lee

Research Assistant, UCONN K.I.D.S.

 

Article Link: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-sensory-revolution/202101/lego-braille-bricks-help-blind-children-learn-read

The flag that represents our world right now is the face mask. It has become embedded into our everyday lives and a required fashion accessory. It has become habitual to put on a face mask in order to protect ourselves and those around us from spreading the virus. Although the vaccine has started to be administered, face masks will still become a staple piece in our wardrobe for a while. This raises a question for parents wondering if face masks will become a barrier for children’s emotional learning. A lot of information that children gain are from facial expressions. Babies are able to look at their parents and see their reaction when interacting with an object or a person. If a child sees an adult be fearful of an animal, the child may pick up on the facial cues and gain information from it.  

 

Although facial expression is a crucial part of improving emotional intelligence, there are other ways that children pay attention to gain information, such as body language and tone of voice. A recent study showed that 7-13 year old children were able to accurately determine the emotion of the adults who depicted a variety of emotional expressions while having their face be covered. Another study focused on seeing if adults and children were able to identify emotional expressions soly from their eyes, a task in which they called “reading the mind in the eyes”. Children from the age of 6-7 were highly capable of determining most emotions, like anger and sadness. 

 

Children are very adaptable and flexible in their learning abilities. Researchers studied deaf children from Nicaragua who ended up developing their own sign language in order to communicate with each other. Children are able to find other ways to communicate and learn due to their young age and developing brain. 

 

With all the worries that this pandemic has brought, we can take a deep breath and not stress about the toll it will take on a child’s emotional learning. Their flexibility in what and how they learn will allow them to gain a strong emotional understanding and pick up on social cues. 

Gayoung (Jessica) Lee

Research Assistant, UCONN K.I.D.S.

Link to Article: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-baby-scientist/202101/face-masks-and-children-s-emotion-understanding

As winter approaches each year we often look forward to special moments such as snow days, cozy fires, sledding, the holidays, and more. However as the holiday season ends and the cold weather stays we face “The February blues”. This time of the year is associated with feelings of sadness, depression, or loneliness and even more so after a tumultuous year that was 2020.

Now, as we hit the “The February blues”, it is important to note that it is something that can affect all of us, even children. We often see people demonstrate symptoms that can be associated with “Seasonal Affective Disorder”, and even more so now after a global pandemic that has made it even more challenging to fight off the depressive symptoms. The CDC reported that symptoms of depression had a threefold increase in 2020 compared to the previous year due to the pandemic. Surveys also showed that children and adolescents were also experiencing higher levels of depression and anxiety. 

 

Knowing all this, What are ways for children and adults to not be as affected by the February blues?

 

1. Prioritize Socialization
   1. Even though we are unable to see our friends and family, it is important to stay social. The effects of social isolation on children and adults can lead to an increased risk for depression. There is a lot of research on the toll that stressful life events can cause, but luckily social ties have been known as a way to prevent symptoms from rising. Maintaining social relationships improves overall happiness and can lower the intensity of depressive symptoms. Even if it seems impossible to socialize in the midst of covid, there are many ways to keep in touch with your friends and family. You can have a virtual play date, movie night, or happy hour for the adults. It’s important to continuously put in the effort to surround yourself with positive people and positive energy. 
2. Increase play time
   1. Play time is an important part of childhood development. It increases their physical, cognitive, social, and emotional intelligence. Currently, children have limited interaction with their peers and are unable to play and learn. Despite not being able to spend time with their peers, the most important play time interaction is between the parents and the child. It promotes a stronger bond and a healthy attachment. Ever since COVID hit the world, puzzle sales have skyrocketed for those dreadful days during quarantine. Legos, blocks, and puzzles are amazing toys for kids to play with as it improves their spatial skills. Play time doesn’t necessarily mean playing with toys, music can be a fun contribution to play time. Music has beneficial qualities such as reading skills, vocabulary, language ability, and math skills. Study has found that musical training can increase a child’s IQ. Playing music in the house can uplift the parents’ and the child’s spirit. 
3. Exercise
   1. Research has shown that exercise can decrease symptoms of depression, even if it’s just a 20 minute walk a day. Being stuck at home can be dreadful during the winter months, so it’s a nice change of scenery to go outside and get some fresh air. It may seem difficult to incorporate your kids into your exercise routine, but many Children platforms have come out with workout routines designated to provide your child with a fun exercise routine. Exercising together can be another way to bond with your child while improving your physical and mental health at the same time. 
4. Communication
   1. It is difficult to start up a conversation about your feelings, especially if it is negative. Parents encourage their children to express their good feelings, but it is hard to address the negative emotions. It may be uncomfortable, but encouraging children to talk about negative emotions is important for helping them address it and learn how to express it. If your child bottles up their negative emotions, it can make them less expressive and prone to developing emotional problems. 
5. Mental Breaks
   1. There is nothing wrong with admitting that you need a break. As parents, it is best to take care of yourself mentally before caring for your children. Parents’ mental health can be passed onto their children and cause them to develop anxiety and depressive symptoms. This pandemic has caused a lot of fear and anxiety in adults and children, and sometimes we all just need a break from reality. 

 

Article Link: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-baby-scientist/202102/fend-the-february-blues-your-kids