This exercise takes a creative look at how early experiences in one domain of development might affect development in other domains as well. There is research evidence from an extensive study that showed children with chronic middle ear fluid were more likely to play alone and less likely to talk with their peers than control children did. There is also evidence from animal studies that an early lack of sensory experiences can have a dramatic, and sometimes irreversible, effect on developing neural connections in the brain.

In this exercise you are asked to imagine that you are advising parents who are considering whether to have their toddler Samantha s vision disorder corrected. Samantha s disorder, which can be completely corrected only through surgery, involves an uneven curvature of the lens of each eyeball. Unless the problem is corrected, Samantha s vision will be forever slightly out of focus in both eyes, even if she wears corrective lenses.

Samantha s parents, who are understandably concerned about the dangers of performing surgery on a child so young, have several questions. See if you can answer their questions. You need to refer to the book, but won't find direct answers there. It's up to you to make the connections.

1. Is there any evidence that our child s vision problem should be corrected sooner, rather than later in life?

2. If we choose not to have surgery now, could Samantha s physical development lag behind that of other children?

3. What about Samantha s cognitive and social development? Could her vision affect those areas of her life?