Playing, narrating and drawing

a study on the creative activities of the child with visual impairment

Abstract

This work seeks to understand the creative activities of blind or low vision children, from the relationship between language, imagination and image production, based on the Cultural-Historical Theory. We intend to problematise the following question: which aspects characterise the imaginative and creative process of blind or low vision children? To explore this issue, we present an episode played in a public school in the Center-West Region of Brazil, focused on children with visual impairment assistance in a class composed of four children aged six years old. The methodological procedures were: a) field diary observations of the classroom context; b) video recordings of creative workshops previously organised by the researchers; c) video recordings of creative activities (playing, narrating and drawing). The data constructed were transcribed and analysed from the microgenetic approach. In the scope of the results, we highlight: 1. The complex integration between playing, narrating and drawing in the composition of the imaginary situation; 2. The emergence of different chronotypes that show temporal and spatial tangents (between the real and the imagination) that constitute the flow of the imaginative elaboration; 3. The importance of the mediation of the adult in the creative process of the child with visual deficiency.