Author: Lorna Marquès-Brocksopp

Lorna Marquès-Brocksopp

Title: Emotional Wellbeing of Visually Impaired Children: The Emotional Intelligence Debate.

Conference theme:

Research: emotional responses to sight loss

Presentation outline:

This presentation will consider the applicability of Emotional Intelligence (EI) theory to the understanding of emotional wellbeing in visually impaired children. It will critically highlight the homogenous nature of EI, and ask if it is possible to successfully apply EI to the study of blind and partially sighted children, whose emotional and social development to date has been considered from different standpoints, with two main approaches highlighted: The first standpoint views emotional development in terms of typical development milestones achieved by other non-impaired children. Discrepancies between visually impaired children and sighted children are then attributed to visual impairment (Perez-Pereira, 1999). This “visual impairment as deficit” model tends to locate the causes of delay within the child (Webster & Roe, 1998), and adopts a homogenous view of development, according to which all children follow a similar pattern. This strongly echoes the “universality” approach of EI – emotional reactions and behaviour are the same regardless of the context. Any differences are either swept under the theoretical carpet or exposed as “deficiencies”, locating the causes of the problem in the individual. In contrast, the second standpoint proposes the possibility that children may show different routes and

1 styles of emotional development .Visually impaired children may therefore use different strategies and learning styles through which they can compensate for the absence of visual information by paying more attention to other sources of information.

Although EI is potentially an excellent framework to enhance emotional wellbeing, a shift in standpoint is needed that acknowledges the heterogeneous paths and mechanisms of emotional development in the visually impaired population. As such, any potential application of EI must first consider which EI approach it is adhering to and just how it can embrace the concept of diversity. Inherent in this analysis is the need to shift from measuring emotions and behaviours against the “healthy” norm (disease as deficit model) to a more holistic interpretation and appreciation of difference.

This presentation will conclude by drawing upon international initiatives in EI which have began to address the issues raised , and which will inform new research by Guide Dogs for the Blind concerning the application of EI to the emotional wellbeing of the visually impaired.

Conference theme and interest to VINCE members:

This topic fits into the conference theme by considering the issue of emotional wellbeing and the visually impaired from the standpoint of emotional intelligence (EI) theory. Although the concept of visual

2 impairment and emotions has been discussed at length throughout the last century, the precise application of EI to the study of disability is in its infancy. As such, this presentation and the theoretical and methodological questions it poses will be of interest to researchers, practitioners and other professionals in the field. Ultimately, it is hoped that the potential answers to these questions may help to create a paradigm shift in ways of thinking and talking about visual impairment, creating new support pathways for the visually impaired which are built upon a holistic understanding of emotional development.

Author biography:

Lorna Marquès-Brocksopp (BSc (hons) Sociology & Criminology, MSc Health Sciences Research – Northumbria University) has held previous positions as Commissioning Manager for Thomson- Reuters (Barcelona, Spain) and as a researcher for Northumbria Police and Newcastle University (UK) where she developed an interest in mental health and wellbeing. She is now involved in psycho-social research at Guide Dogs, and is studying for a Professional Doctorate at the University of Sunderland.