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ScienceDirect Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 237 (2017) 751 – 757

7th International Conference on Intercultural Education “Education, Health and ICT for a Transcultural World”, EDUHEM 2016, 15-17 June 2016, Almeria, Spain

The Person in a Situation of Visual Impairment and its Perception and Imagination from the Qualitative Viewpoint Hana Majerova* Palacky University Olomouc, Faculty of Education, Institute of Special Education Studies, Zizkovo namesti 5, 771 40 Olomouc, Czech Republic

Abstract The purpose of the paper is to provide an insight into the qualitative aspects of visual impairment. Perception and imagination in people in a situation of visual impairment are the main areas of our research. Visual impairment affects the perception of the target group and the way how they create their visions and inner images. We are interested in the differences in perception and imagination in people with visual impairment. We performed qualitative research and we conducted a case study aimed at individual experiences. Due to its subjectivity, qualitative research represents the attitude to the subject. As such, it does not mean the exact opposite of objectivity. A comparison of two cases brought individual characteristics; we could also see repetitive patterns. Perception in a person with visual impairment can be ensured by means of imagination, memories and past experience. While a sighted individual relies on the information perceived, a person with visual impairment uses perception in the context of imagination. This seems to be valid especially when we talk about an individual who gradually loses the sight and uses remaining visual perception. This depends on individual specifics and many factors – biological, psychological, social, and spiritual ones. Perception and imagination is dependent on the etiology of visual impairment and its progression. A loss of sight is also a stressful situation, which changes visual perception and imagination. The progression of the impairment influences the internal dimension of the person and his/her self-perception. Mental states and processes, emotions, and individual personality characteristics become part of the process of sight loss. Therefore, everything happens in the context of consciousness, unconsciousness, and metaconsciousness. © 2017 2016The TheAuthors. Authors.Published Published Elsevier © byby Elsevier Ltd.Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license Peer-review under responsibility of the organizing committee of EDUHEM 2016. (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer-review under responsibility of the organizing committee of EDUHEM 2016. Keywords: person in a situation of visual impairment, perception, imagination, qualitative design.

* Hana Majerova. Tel.: +420 58563 5342 E-mail address: [email protected]

1877-0428 © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer-review under responsibility of the organizing committee of EDUHEM 2016. doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2017.02.117

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Hana Majerova / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 237 (2017) 751 – 757

1. Introduction and background There is no unified consensus concerning the terminology of visual impairment, it is practically defined by experts who use it (Sardegna, et al., 2002). Barash (2013) highlights historical development and asks whether understanding blindness has its history, and whether the perspective of blindness changes through time. According to this author, the attitude to visual impairment depends on what people believe in, what the interpretation of blindness means to them. It should be added that an individual in a situation of visual impairment is not a technical term for us but rather a person characterized by a certain condition of the visual analyser and methods of processing information. A visually impaired person is a human being who works with information; such person is an active part of the society. The objective of the society should be to maintain an active approach in the life of each member and to provide the conditions necessary to facilitate the changes of the approach to an individual. We deliberately speak about an individual in a situation of visual impairment. Why is it that the term situation could be appropriate thanks to its periphrastic nature? Longhi (2009) defines a situation as a set of conditions in which an individual is present; in the context of education the author speaks about pupils in a situation of impairment (from the French les élèves en situation de handicap). We would like to add that a person in a situation of visual impairment is present in a certain set of internal and external conditions. These conditions may vary and need not remain stationary. As a result, the term situation does not have the touch of hopelessness, and certainly should not be a label or a stigma. A person in a situation of visual impairment is an individual characterized by specific perception and imagination. At the same time, the dimension of perception and imagination affects the existence of an individual. The significant aspects include not only the general implication of visual impairment, but particularly the way the individual works with information. Various types of conscious being represent phenomenally and qualitatively different experiences. In an individual with visual impairment we can speak about specific details concerning the depth, type, and degree of visual impairment, and the use of other sensory channels, compensatory mechanisms in relation to consciousness, unconsciousness, or meta-consciousness. 1.1 Brief summary of research design Our research efforts started with a theoretical-critical analysis of relevant sources and scientific papers. The starting point of our research was a study of neuroscientific research on perception and imagination in persons in a situation of visual impairment; let us mention some selected studies. For example, Bértolo (2005) examined dreamy activity in the blind using the EEG record, for more information on the topic see Bértolo, Paiva, et al. (in Cattaneo, Vecchi, 2011). Vecchi (1998) studied visual and spatial imagery in blind persons in comparison with sighted individuals; similarly, Vanlierde, Wanet-Defalque (2004) present mental representations and strategies of developing mental images in blind and later blinded individuals. Lewis, Norgate, Collis (2002, in Galliano, 2013) also conclude that the mechanisms of developing a mental image are similar in blinded and sighted individuals (mental images in the blind differ from those in sighted individuals in that they are based on a different perception). Other examples include cases which in detail describe a number of related phenomena according to Hull (2012) or Sacks (2011). In our study we also chose a case-based research design. The starting point was the following research question: What are the specifics of perception and imagination in visually impaired persons in terms of quality? The text below presents selected aspects of the cases of our participants Alena and Dana. In the qualitative research of the dissertation we focused on the issue of perception in the context of imagination in persons in a situation of visual impairment in domestic literature on special education (or education in general). In the following text we will take a closer look at the personal stories of the two women, who are in a situation of loss of eyesight and whose perceptual experience transforms over time. Specifically, we conducted a research study at an interval of two years, which allowed us to monitor the progression of visual impairment and the changing perception and imagination. The main research tool for collecting data was quality-based questioning including a qualitative questionnaire and depth interview. As claimed by Burke Johnson, Christensen (2013), in educational research, the qualitative questionnaire with open-ended items is commonly used in qualitative research designs. It allows the researcher to identify how research participants think about the issue in question (the participants write the answers in their own words), these statements are relatively rich in terms of content. Similarly to the questionnaire, the qualitative interview consists of open-ended items. The qualitative interview is often called deep interview because it aims at opinions, thoughts,


convictions, knowledge, reflections, motivations, and feelings about the issue in question. As a result, the researcher can enter the internal world of another person. Due to the fact that data collection was performed repeatedly, we not only received more detailed information, but also valuable statements after a certain period of time. During the first stage we collected data by means of qualitative questioning, in the second stage we used the depth interview. The same procedure was also used during the repeated data collection after two years. For more efficient data handling (systematization, coding, comparison, searching for associations), we used the RQDA programme (http://rqda.r-forge.r-project.org/). It turned out to be useful to project the data using Adele Clarke maps (Clarke, et al., 2015), for details see the original text of the dissertation (Perception of an individual with visual impairment in the context of imagination specifics: Dissertation, Majerová, 2016) or the outcomes of the project implemented at the Faculty of Education, Palacký University in Olomouc, Czech Republic, IGA_PdF_2016_013. 2. Comparison of cases from a holistic perspective and in the context of current research At the beginning of a brief comparison we will outline the biological-health dimension, etiology of a visual defect, visual impairment, and progression of the state of the optic analyser. Then we will focus on the social and psychological dimension with a reference to selected associations. 2.1 Ordinary life timeline The age of adulthood and visual impairment from birth with a gradual progression in the course of life – these are the basic features of Alena’s and Dana’s cases. The cause of the current situation of Alena’s visual impairment dates back to the prenatal period, when her mother suffered from scarlet fever infection. The cause of Dana’s visual impairment is a genetic defect in the form of the Stickler syndrome. This syndrome is also accompanied by other health complications than visual impairment, although Dana admitted that she had not suffered from all these symptoms. We were particularly interested in the visual experience of the participants. It should be stated that due to the progressive development of the visual impairment, the main visual reminiscence in both women is associated with the period of childhood. Dana experienced a significant deterioration as a result of progression after 14 or 15 years of age, whereas in the case of Alena, when she was 21 years old, her vision changed from moderate vision loss to severe vision loss. At the moment Dana’s vision equals 30 dioptres with tunnel vision, according to Dana the progression sometimes comes from day to day, often by 2, 3 or even 5 dioptres. According to Alena, her right eye equals 13 dioptres and vision of 2/60; she uses a contact lens. Her left eye is capable of light perception; however, she is not much aware of that because her binocular vision was not developed. In addition, during the questioning she mentioned a narrowed visual field. Alena (now 31 years of age) lives with her family in a house with a garden. On the other hand, Dana (now 37 years of age) lives is a nursing home. Despite the differences in their living environments, during the interviews both women admitted that they often felt isolated; according to them the transformation of perception and loss of vision were associated with a number of emotions, including despair, sadness, etc. The process of adapting to a change always brings numerous emotions, which significantly influence the mental processes of an individual. The transformation of perception in the context of imagination in the mental and spiritual dimensions is analysed in the text below. References must be listed at the end of the paper. Do not begin them on a new page unless this is absolutely necessary. Authors should ensure that every reference in the text appears in the list of references and vice versa. Indicate references by (Van der Geer, Hanraads, & Lupton, 2000) or (Strunk & White, 1979) in the text. Some examples of how your references should be listed are given at the end of this template in the ‘References’ section, which will allow you to assemble your reference list according to the correct format and font size. 2.2 Transformations of perception and imagination The reminiscence of the participants’ childhood became the testimony of previously perceived reality. The reminiscence played a very significant role in developing internal images, as documented by Alena: “I think I learned

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to see in this way.” At the age of 29 years, when from an ophthalmological point of view Alena was practically blind, she speaks about a significant share of the visual component. “Alpha and omega” of all her visual perception were colours, lights and shades. In case of dazzling or a small amount of light her vision is made difficult and sometimes it is difficult to identify a visual perception. Now, at the age of 31 years, Alena is able to see “under certain circumstances”, the decisive aspects are light refraction, angle of vision; colour, subject, person, event. She described her current vision as follows: “I have light perception in my left eye. If there is a window to my left, I perceive light from that side, sort of stripes... in the right eye I have a narrowed visual field from the nose to the front”. As her impairment progressed, she was hardly able to realize the fact of gradually deteriorating vision; she thought she would be able to see things somehow, but then she realized the seriousness of her impairment. As in the case of Alena, most Dana’s visual experiences date back to her childhood; when she was 15 years old her vision rapidly deteriorated. Based on previous experience she was able to see slightly inaccurate outlines, landscape at a distance, houses, poles, lamps and known people at a few metres. According to her, the impairment progresses all the time, sometimes by 2, 3 or even 5 dioptres at a time. When she was 35 years of age, Dana managed to read at a very close distance; at a distance of 1 to 2 metres she was able to recognize a table in the room. Her current visual perception (37 years of age) is variable and depends on the weather, her mood, and fatigue. Dana gave an example of an activity when she goes shopping: sometimes she is able to do the shopping herself, sometimes she has difficulties with orientation outdoors and indoors. Overall, her need for personal assistance increased. The progression of the impairment brings everyday problems, as she describes: “When we have ergotherapy, it is more difficult for me to find things on the table. At home, in my room, I know where I have my things... I know where things are.” As far as visual perception is concerned, both Alena and Dana suffer from gradual deterioration. Loss of vision as a difficult life situation influences not only the visual perception and its transformations, but also changes the internal dimension of the person, including the perception of oneself. Mental conditions, qualities, processes and emotions are by far not the only aspects influencing the process of vision loss. Everything takes place in the context of consciousness, unconsciousness, and meta-consciousness. On the one hand there are modalities in the consciousness of an individual, on the other hand there is awareness of vision loss (consciousness and awareness are by far not identical terms). Perception is related especially with the issue of approaching consciousness. Subjective quality can never be reduced to the nervous system and a mere scientific description. A sensory approach to consciousness must be taken into account; from a comprehensive perspective consciousness equals a global diffusion of information in the cortex of the brain. To the foreground come the current contents of consciousness, which transform, change from one to another, and may relate to the external or internal environment of the body and the psyche. Neuroscience examines the issues of visual, hearing or tactile consciousness; in our participants we can speak about specific details concerning the depth, type, and degree of visual impairment, and the use of other sensory channels and compensatory mechanisms (Perception of an individual with visual impairment in the context of imagination specifics: Dissertation, Majerová, 2016). This part of the paper describes an analysis of the cases with respect to other compensatory mechanisms and remaining vision. As far as compensatory senses are concerned, Alena prefers hearing and remaining vision, followed by touch, echolocation and olfaction, the last is taste. The perceptions of the senses are linked with spatial orientation and usual everyday activities. To her, hearing is primarily an orientation sense; she uses it for spatial orientation (macro-space, streets, shops). However, if there is an obstacle to her olfactory perception, such as disease, it is very uncomfortable. Conversely, touch is for Alena an essential sense in micro-space or during her activities in the kitchen, bathroom, but even walking up the stairs (touch by her feet). Apart from preferred information channels, an important sense is smell, which is used for orientation and safety (exhaust fumes from cars, gas in the household). The taste analyser is used primarily for food rather than “tasting objects around.” In terms of other senses, also Dana prefers remaining vision, followed by hearing and olfaction, which is her exceptionally developed sense, as she says: “much more developed than in other people – it might sound funny but I managed to smell out a dog pound by the smell of dog granules, when we wanted to get a dog and couldn’t find the pound...I’m able to distinguish even between slight scents.” Other preferred senses include touch and hearing. It is obvious that remaining vision, albeit very limited, significantly helps an individual with orientation and self-care activities. When it is impossible to create a high-quality perception by means of vision, other senses take its position, especially hearing, touch and also imagination. The information perceived is the central unit, which creates images, words, and other new perceptions, mental representation in general. Sensations and perceptual experience form the basis for imagination. And what is more,


imagination, as it turned out, is a very important part of the ability to perceive and use the perceptual system for everyday activities. The process of perception provides an opportunity to complete the perception by an image or picture from the past. A sighted individual completely relies on the current perception, while a visually impaired person (with remaining vision) uses perception in the context of imagination. This system works as long as the person has some remaining vision. Then the development is individual, the visual cortex might be activated together with an ability to create adequate images, or might be completely suppressed without a possibility of creating visual images in the mind. This is obvious from examples provided by Sacks and Hull (see below). 2.3 Comparison in the context of other studies and professional literature Sacks (2011) mentioned a case of a Frenchman by the name Jacques Lusseyran, who lost his sight as a result of an accident before he was eight. As a result, he had visual experiences that he could use. In spite of this, there was a gradual change in the previously perceived. According to Lusseyran, very shortly after had lost sight he forgot the faces of most people, the mother, the father, and stopped worrying about whether they were dark-haired or blue-eyed, all of a sudden, it appeared to him that sighted individuals fiddled around details too much. Sometimes, in his mind, men and women appeared without their heads or fingers. Eventually however, his vision was started, firstly as light, a shapeless flood of blaze. According to Sacks (2011), the visual cortex was denied the supply of visual perceptions, and subsequently was spontaneously awakened (similar to the phenomenon of tinnitus or phantom limbs). In this case it was not just shapeless light but a capability of visual imagination, in which the visual cortex was activated. The internal vision and mind of Lusseyran constructed a kind of “screen”, which projected all thoughts and desires – the screen was always unlimited in space and was present in every moment, everywhere...names, characters, and objects appeared in all colours of the rainbow. The question that we could ask is whether there is something that could be identified as a typical experience of a blind individual (Sacks, 2011, p. 175). As opposed to the above, in his autobiography Hull (2012) states a different experience. Hull, being himself in a position of visual impairment, was losing sight gradually and became blind in adulthood. About a year after he had lost vision, he experienced very lively images, which appeared to be rather hallucinations. These images were often false, eventually his tendency to project the images started to disappear. An interesting fact is that people, who he had known before he lost sight, retained their faces in his imagination. Those people that he met after he had gone blind did not have such face. According to Hull, visual perceptions resembled glitter; they were not black, but grey, sometimes pink-brown to blue-grey, uneven, spotty. Contrary to the previous case, Hull describes his consciousness as an experience with internal darkness, dealing with what he touches and hears, while details and complexity disappear in his mental representations. Here, we could manipulate with the concepts of consciousness and unconsciousness versus visual experience, as noted by Perry, et al. (ed., 2010). Literature also includes a reference to the concept of meta-consciousness, which is understood as the third level of consciousness, in which consciousness focuses “on itself” (Chin, Schooler, 2009). It should be added that various types of conscious being represent phenomenally and qualitatively different experiences, as documented above. 2.4 Development of participants’ imagination: what is next? The structure of visual perceptions consists of the current visual perception and previous experience, or new perceptions relating to the image of the future. Let us now have a look at some differences related to imagination. As mentioned at the beginning, when Alena was 29 years old, she described her images as lively, rich in colours, sounds, or movement perceptions. According to her, images are linked with emotions, and it is easy to imagine everything she came into contact with, read about, heard about, everything that evokes reminiscences. In developing images, it is helpful for Alena to receive a description by a sighted individual, to touch the object, to use fantasy, remaining vision, experience from childhood. She is rather a visual type, first she recalls a sort of visually conceived “film”, then other sensory modalities come at once. If Alena creates an image of a person, she uses her remaining vision and hearing, or an idea/notion about how the person looks like. Again we come to the fact that if a perception is missing, it is completed by an image. When a person speaks from an inconvenient distance, or is dressed in an indistinctive manner, the process is compensated by an effort for a full fantasy image irrespective of any perceptions. It is complicated for

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Alena to imagine everything without previous experience – activities, work procedures, stances, movements, facial expressions, and other “visual situations”. Everything she is not interested in usually takes a form of empty, hazy, grey-brown perceptions. Just as in the case of Alena, also for Dana it is easier to imagine something based on previous experience. When developing images, it is important for her to use remaining vision, albeit blurred, hazy perceptions and hearing. As far as an image of a person is concerned, the important aspect is current perception: “If the person is close to me, I can see the figure, but since my vision deteriorated, I haven’t thought about imagining a sharper picture. It is more important for me to hear the voice and tone.” Similarly to the other participant in the research, Dana has difficulties creating an image without previous experience. Sometimes she feels as if she “stayed in the past”, as she was unable to visualize for example modern clothing, modern hairstyles, some technical conveniences. As a result of the fact that visual impairment is of a progressive nature, visual experience makes our participants use strategies of a visual type. Another interesting area is dreams, whose content was confirmed by the participants, who were awake (cf. research study by Bértolo, 2005). The form of the participants’ dreams depended on the emotional aspect, but also changed in accordance with the gradual vision loss. For example Alena’s dreams usually included visual, hearing, verbal and tactile images, while the emotional aspect of the dream was very important. Although she describes her dreams as visual, she adds that the pictures are “shrouded by haze, but they are not impassable and this haze does not detract from their colour variability.” During the research, Alena’s descriptions of her dreams did not significantly differ between 29 and 31 years of age. Perception was quite different, as it changed as a result of the progression. We could only guess the degree to which her dreams include the visual nature of images and to which this is the wish of the participant affected by emotions. By contrast, in the case of Dana it was obvious that her imagination worsened in sleep. According to the participant, her vision in dreams is now less sharp, sometimes she even struggles with orientation. Sometimes she sees as before, sometimes she sees through her current perception, which transforms. Imagination further includes mental representations; these are classified into verbal representations associated with the language and non-verbal representations associated with perceptual experience. The language and mental images represent the two biggest systems of mental representations; however, they do not work separately. Symbolic information can be transformed into analogue information and vice versa – in this way the mental image can take the form of a verbal description. In addition, there are representations of consciousness, which are neither picture-like nor verbal, but are rather in the area of meta-consciousness and meta-cognition (Cataneo, Vecchi, 2011; Thomas, 2010; Galliano, 2013). Alena and Dana also spoke about verbal representations. For Dana, this concept represents an image of a word. Alena specified the concept in a very original way, which resembles a meta-cognitive approach: “for me it is a sort of energy waiting in the air, and it is given a specific charge only through an interplay of letters...I see it as a universe, which consists of energy and ideas...I see darkness, space, stars, colourful lights flashing – they give the concept a charge and meaning. For me, words have meaning only when they are pronounced.” The nervous system adapts to a new situation, the plasticity of the brain is actually a great opportunity of neuronal networks to create new connections, build feedback and maintain active functionality at a high level. In an individual with vision loss the activity of the visual cortex is not weakened, on the other hand it is more sensitive and active. The visual cortex, which is denied visual perceptions, requires new functions – in some individuals space is provided for imagination with rich visual elements, in others perception is shifted to other than visual perceptions and images. The world of persons with severe visual impairment might be rich in inter-sensory meta-modal states, i.e. certain “inter” states, which cannot be described by any common language. As a result, a person in a situation of visual impairment might have the “ear of mind”, “nose of mind”, and perhaps even “vision of mind” (concept by Sacks, 2011). This experience could be rather captured by the language of the mind, symbols and representations, which may correspond to how things appear in the consciousness (unconsciousness, meta-consciousness). 3. Conclusion The issue of perception in the context of imagination is frequently analysed in psychological and neuroscientific literature. On the other hand, little is found in literature aimed at education or special education designed for teachers, special educators, social workers, and other professionals working with persons in a situation of visual impairment. A situation of visual impairment can be generally considered a phenomenon of perception, which need not specifically be visual perception. It is only perception in the context of imagination that implies a need for a deeper understanding.


As a result, we propose for the Czech Republic (not excluding foreign countries) the inclusion of the following themes into the system of training future teachers, who will work with persons in a situation of visual impairment: perceived content as part of a conscious, unconscious or meta-conscious experience (current research in this area, practical examples, psychological context); illustrative selection of neuroscientific research studies relating to perception and imagination (including case studies); process of development of mental images – from sensory information to mental images; compensatory aspects and remaining vision with respect to the above; intervention areas relating to the issue (training of self-care, spatial orientation and independent movement, mental mapping of space, tactile graphics for persons in a situation of visual impairment). The items mentioned above should be conceptually and in more detail incorporated into special education courses concerning visually impaired persons, teaching sensory education for visually impaired persons (including training of compensatory aspects); training of spatial orientation of visually impaired persons; publications concerning spatial orientation and movement of the target group; training of typhlographics etc. It is education that provides an opportunity for human development. Education of an individual in a situation of visual impairment and continued training of professionals who work with the target group, is an experiential process, expansion and personal transformation. Creativity in lifelong learning in conjunction with cognitive and perceptual learning skills of an individual should be understood as a body-mind experience with the mind and the body as a single integrated unity. References Barash, M. (2013). Blindness: The History of a Mental Image in Western Thought. UK: Routledge. Benedetto, A. (2014). Dreaming New Schools: Inspiring Lifelong Learning through Conscious Creativity. USA: Balboa Press. Bertolo, H. (2005). Visual imagery without visual perception? Psicológica, 26. 173–188. Burke Johnson, J., Chrisensen, L. (2013). Educational Research: Quantitative, Qualitative, and Mixed Approaches. USA:Sage. Cattaneo, Z., Vecchi, T. (2011). Blind vision: The neuroscience of Visual Impairement. Massachusetts: Institute of technology. Clarke, A., E., et al. (ed.). (2015). Situational Analysis in Practice: Mapping Research with Grounded Theory. USA: Left Coast Press. Corbin, J., Strauss, A. L. (2008). Basics of Qualitative Research: Grounded Theory Procedures and Techniques. London: Sage. Galliano, A-R. (2013). Psychologie cognitive et clinique du handicap visuel. Paris: Bibliotcheque nationale. Hull, J. M. (2012). On Sight and Insight: A Journey into the World of Blindness. Prague: Triton. Chin, J., M., Schooler, J., W. (2009). Meta-Awareness. 2: M–Z. UK, USA: Academia Press. Kantor, J. (2015). Benefits and difficulties in educating of pupils with severe multiple disability and possibilities of professional support of their teachers. Journal of Exceptional People, 2(7). 41–58. Longhi, G. (2009). Dictionnaire de l’éducation: Pour mieux connaître le systéme édicatif. Paris: VUIBERT. Ludíková, L., Finková, D. (2012). Improvement in Education of People with Visual Impairment. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 55. 971-979. Majerová, H. (2016). Perception in the Person with Visual Impairment in the context of Imagination: Dissertation. Olomouc: Palacky University. Majerová, H. (2015). The Aspects of Spatial Cognitive Mapping in Persons with Visual Impairment. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 174. 3278–3284. Perry, E., K., et al. (ed.). (2010). New Horizons in the Neuroscience of Consciousness. USA: John Benjamins Publishing. Regec, V. (2012). Assistive Technologies for Pupils with Visual Impairment Based on Information and Communication Technologies. Journal of Technology and Information Education, 4(1). 21-25. Sacks, O. (2011). The Mind’s Eye. Prague: dydbuk. Sardegna, J., et. al. (2002). The Encyclopedia of Blindness and Vison Impairment. New York: Infobase Publishing. Tonini, G. (2009). An Integrated Information Theory of Consciousness. In Encyclopedia of Consciousness 1: A–L. UK, USA: Academia Press. Vanlierde, A., Wanet-Defalque, MC. (2004). Abilities and strategies of blind and sighted subjects in visuo-spatial imagery. ActaPschologica. vol. 116 (2). 205–222. Vitásková, K., Říhová, A. (2012). The Current Role of Speech-Language Therapists in the Diagnosis and Complex Intervention in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder in the Czech Republic. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 69. 1973-1982. Vecchi, T. (1998). Visuo-spatial imagery in congenitally totally blind people. Memory, 6(1), 91–102.

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