In this lesson, you will learn more about concept of co-presence, and why it is so important. For a DeafBlind child to learn and feel included, it's important to create opportunities for co-presence.
0:06- [Jelica] I'm happy to be here today to present a new lesson on co-presence.
0:17 Co-presence means that you and I are working together.
0:21 When we eat, we eat together.
0:24 When we walk, we walk together.
0:27 We learn together, make mistakes together, and make good things happen together.
0:37 All the myriad examples of co-presence have one thing in common.
0:42 Shared experience through touch lies at the heart of all of them.
0:48 This is extremely important to understand when it comes to DeafBlind children who rely on touch to meet and learn about the world around them.
0:57 If they're not in touch, how can they take in this information?
1:03 Our primary learning experiences come from direct interactions and observations.
1:09 Explanation alone is insufficient.
1:12 Imagine if we only learned what we were explicitly taught.
1:16 Parents will be providing instruction to their children all day, everyday.
1:22 DeafBlind children can learn incidentally by feeling the actions of others.
1:27 A shift in perspective may be in order as parents come to realize it isn't about doing things for their child because they are DeafBlind.
1:36 As with any relationship, an act comes from a place of love and respect, valuing an individual's skillset which is unique from yours, and understanding how they take in information and learn.
1:48 Here we have built on the foundational concepts of backchanneling and reciprocity to sharing experiences in co-presence.
1:57 This puts information at a child's fingertips, increasing opportunities for language learning through childhood, into adulthood.
