Objective: To describe the concept of orientation and to suggest basic methods for improving it in blind children

• Orientation is the state of the relationship between the person and the environment; disorientation is the existence of no relationship, or a false relationship to the environment.
• Proper orientation in a three-dimensional environment involves an orientation competence as a foundation stone in the self-reliance and necessary autonomy of the blind child. Whereas the child may (and usually should) negotiate assistance with getting around in the wide world, orientation in confined spaces is foundational.
• Understanding of: here; there; right/left; compass; clock; up/down:
• While “here” can be sourced to the voice, “there” is a useless concept for a blind person who does not know where you might be indicating or pointing.
• Right/left MUST ALWAYS be expressed in terms of the child’s orientation which, when you are facing him, is precisely the opposite to yours.
• Understanding two-dimensional space in terms of the compass (North, South, East, and West) is particularly helpful in the open air when the sun is shining; it can also solve confusion about left and right.
• An even more detailed map of space can be obtained by using the clock, which establishes positions of landmarks relative to the person standing at the base of the hour hand.
• Up/down relates to the vertical, at right-angles to the horizontal. If you lay a blind child on the floor and ask him to point “up,” he may retain the arm continuous with his flat body, rather than turning it through a right-angle.
• Orientation also involves understanding the relationship of body mass, in various configurations, to external space, both so that the child does not bump himself or invade the social space of others.
• Good orientation depends on landmarks that are frequently mistaken for dangerous obstacles; the most difficult space for a blind child is a uniformly flat area with no landmarks or environmental cues.