If you have a visual and/or hearing impairment then environmental conditions such as lighting or background noise levels are likely greatly to affect how well you can use your residual vision or hearing.
Most people with single sensory impairments (sight or hearing) learn to change their environment, or tell others how to help them, so that they can see or hear as well as possible. Most children who are multi-sensory-impaired, however, are unable to explain the conditions under which they see or hear best, or how they are affected by less-than-ideal conditions.
These issues, and others such as which activities the child prefers, usually need to be determined by observing the child's responses in a range of different situations. In turn, this information is valuable to specialist assessors in planning and interpreting their assessments.
Detailed observation can tell us many things, including
- how children use their senses in everyday situations - what motivates them and how they respond
- which factors affect their use of their senses and their abilities generally
- their likes and dislikes - giving a basis for communication
- how well they interpret information - for example, whether they anticipate steps in a familiar routine
