Blind people, deprivation patients, hospitalized patients, autistic people, and mentally disabled people are prone to movement stereotypies, also known as blindism. Such stereotypies manifest themselves, for example, in the form of trunk rocking or head bobbing and, in addition to the urge to move, are often associated with sedation. In therapy, patients are provided with new forms of movement.
What is blindism?
Movement stereotypies are repetitive, essentially functionless sequences of movements or forced movements. As a symptom, stereotypies characterize a range of behavioral disorders. For example, hospitalized infants often rock their trunks from side to side for reasons of psychological deprivation. Movement stereotypy in most cases derives from behavioral tendencies or intentional movements that are inhibited in continuation. Blindism or blindness corresponds to such stereotyped behavioral abnormalities. The movement stereotypes of blindism are often observed in blind or otherwise visually impaired people. The characteristic movement patterns are mainly head swaying and upper body rocking. In addition, some affected individuals stereotypically poke their eyes with their hands. Besides blind and visually impaired people, autistic people and patients with other disabilities also perform movement stereotypies of this type. Movement stereotypies, especially in young children, are often interpreted as signs of mental retardation and are therefore associated with a certain stigmatization. In many cases, the affected individuals are severely impaired in their social life due to the stereotypies.
Causes
Humans, as beings, are oriented toward movement and experience. Thus, every human being has a certain need for movement and a curiosity to discover the environment in movement. For animals, this connection is even more essential. Out of these connections, movement stereotypes can so often be observed in animals in captivity due to the limited range of movement. Human movement stereotypies are also caused by a lack of alternative or more advanced forms of movement. Specifically, blind and visually impaired people, as well as autistic and otherwise impaired individuals, are more or less impaired in independently exploring their surroundings in movement. While they can theoretically move, they are still limited in moving around the environment due to their lack of responsiveness to environmental conditions. Their body thus often compensates for the unmet need for independent movement in movement stereotypies. The affected person thus wants to counteract the limited enjoyment of movement possibilities through the stereotypies. Symptoms of blindism can also be observed as a deprivation symptom in lonely and neglected people.
Symptoms, complaints, and signs
Blindism can manifest in a variety of movement stereotypies. The best-known system is trunk or head rocking by patients. However, many also drill themselves in the eyes. The technical term jactatio corporis refers to stereotypies such as swaying, rocking, or swaying of the upper body. A subtype of this stereotypy is pagoda wobbling, which is characterized by extremely slow forward and backward bending of the trunk. This symptom usually affects less blind people than children with cognitive disabilities. In this context, there is also talk of waxereotypy, which is sometimes observed in hospitalism or in autistic individuals. The term jactatio capitis refers to stereotypic head bobbing. With all movement stereotypies, affected individuals achieve either reassurance or stimulation to feel their own bodies. In most cases, these simple forms of movement quickly lose their pleasurable quality due to repetition. For this reason, the intensity, speed, and force of movement stereotypies usually increase over time. Basically, all movement patterns of blindism are uniform, repetitive movements that are essentially performed independently of any outside influences. Blindism quickly becomes problematic for the development of blind children, as learning and environmental experiences are impaired by it.
Diagnosis
The diagnosis of movement stereotypy of blindism is made by eye gaze diagnosis or by observation and history.Since the symptoms of blindism have different causes and can be associated with different primary diseases, a cause must be determined in the diagnostic process. Differentially, all movement stereotypies due to brain damage must be excluded. The prognosis for patients with blindism is relatively favorable. Complete recovery is now frequently achieved.
Complications
Blindism can result in a variety of complications that depend greatly on the severity of the disease. Usually, psychological problems occur first and foremost. Especially in children, the bizarre movements of the head and arms lead to social exclusion, bullying, and teasing. This often leads to stress, depression and other psychological limitations. The self-esteem of these individuals is greatly diminished, so that in the worst case suicidal thoughts and eventually suicide can occur. Due to the movements, the affected persons are also unable to concentrate properly, so that they disturb the learning atmosphere and need a special way of learning themselves. In many cases, patients with blindism need special care, which mainly affects children. The mental disability restricts the life of the patient in adulthood, so that it is not easy to perform any activity. Depending on how much the child’s development was affected, blindism appears stronger or weaker even in adulthood. However, the bizarre movements can also dislocate muscles, although this is rare.
When should you see a doctor?
Blindism should definitely be treated by a doctor. The earlier the treatment of this disease takes place, the higher the probability of a complete recovery of the affected person. In many cases, the disease is not directly noticeable to the affected person himself, so it is mainly outsiders who must make the patient aware of the symptoms. A doctor should be consulted if the patient sees his or her upper body bobbing or swaying or if the head is constantly moving. These complaints are most common in blind people. Stinging of the fingers in the eyes can also indicate blindism and should be examined by a doctor in any case. Even in children, a doctor must be consulted at the first signs of this disease. This can prevent further complications and subsequent damage. As a rule, a psychologist can be consulted for this complaint. Furthermore, however, treatment or therapy with a specialist who can care for blind patients is necessary. This can limit the discomfort in the long term.
Treatment and therapy
The symptoms of blindism are treated depending on the cause. For example, different measures are required to treat blindism after deprivation than to treat blindness in blind individuals. In many cases, it is sufficient to provide the affected person with movement opportunities in the form of rhythm, sports or games and to guide him in practicing new forms of movement. Rhythmic acoustic, visual, but also tactile and motor stimulation are often used for stimulation. It is important that the patient trusts the supervising therapist and can at least partially open up to him. Often the treatment is supported by remedial education. Patients without designed actuation possibilities are strengthened in their ability to achieve individual effects. They also receive help with movement differentiation and encouragement of further interest in learning new forms of movement. Blind and visually impaired people sometimes suffer from blindism only because they feel insecure in the environment and thus do not dare to move appropriately in it. In such a case, the affected persons are taught safety in therapy so that they learn to navigate better.
Outlook and prognosis
The prospects of recovery from blindism can be considered good if adequate and optimal therapy is provided. Therapy options have improved significantly in recent years and have been increasingly tailored to the individual needs of blindism patients. In cooperation with relatives and the patient, doctors as well as therapists can therefore contribute a great deal to alleviating the symptoms.Under the self-responsible compliance and implementation of the instructions, training and benevolent tips, a significant improvement in the quality of life is achieved. Freedom from symptoms is possible, but the goal of treatment is to optimize the existing possibilities. The treatment plan for blindism is considered extensive and should be implemented by family members as well as the patient for an optimal result. In addition, the patient usually suffers from other underlying diseases whose therapies must be integrated. This poses a great challenge to all involved. Exercise sessions for movement, therapeutic support and stimulating training to improve sensorimotor function increase the chances of recovery. In addition, methods to support the development of existing cognitive performance are applied. In addition to movement exercises, these are particularly important in alleviating symptoms. As visually impaired patients are affected by blindism, psychotherapeutic support improves their well-being. In this, the patient learns how to deal with the disease.
Prevention
Blindism cannot be fully prevented. Because movement stereotypies can have a wide variety of causes, possible prophylaxis is limited to preventive measures for each cause.
Follow-up
Blindism can be successfully treated with therapy. Recurrence of many symptoms is possible but not likely if learned preventive strategies are followed. It is essential to implement the training and behavioral tips on one’s own responsibility. It is advisable to involve relatives in the ongoing exercise. A loving environment has been shown to reduce symptoms. Especially the parents of children have a responsibility at this point. An initial successful treatment by no means implies lasting immunity. On the contrary, complications can recur again and again. As the child grows up, it is exposed to exclusion with increasing age. Some scientists even assume that a certain mental disability inevitably sets in. As a result, treatment becomes necessary on an ongoing basis. The doctor orders therapies for movement differentiation. It seems to be problematic that the affected persons suffer from the basic disease during their whole life. Thus, a visual impairment is permanent. A constant uncertainty accompanies the life, because the perception is weakened in comparison to other persons. The aftercare therefore provides therapy offers that are intended to guide everyday life in an orderly manner. Behavioral problems are thus minimized. The patient and his or her environment must independently assess the actual condition and request assistance from the physician.
What you can do yourself
Blindism is a phenomenon that visually impaired children with autism, hospitalism but also mental retardation show from birth. Meanwhile, there are new successful therapy methods. It is very important for blindism children to have a secure and loving home environment. Therefore, in terms of self-help, parents should work together with therapists and doctors to create a treatment plan for the benefit of the child and his or her needs. The earlier affected children learn to cope in their own homes, the sooner they will be able to function in unfamiliar environments, as they often live in assisted living facilities as adults. In the home, parents can use sensory stimulating play materials to train and sharpen the sensory-motor and cognitive skills of the blindism child. If parents possess musical skills, the child can be introduced to the world of sounds by means of a musical instrument or undergo musical movement therapy. In this way, acoustic perception can be specifically promoted. At the same time, it is advisable for the child to attend a remedial education center as early as the toddler stage. This reduces movement insecurities and stereotypical movement patterns. If the parents support the child in everyday life with therapeutically mediated exercises, the child can experience new movement patterns and learn to live with its visual impairment.
