Hand under Hand approach

This is a video on the use of the hand under hand approach for interacting with children, to help them explore their environment and communicate with them while reducing the possibility of anxiety and stress.

We all know how useful our hands are and the many tasks they can perform. e.g:

• Communication - waving hello

• Expressing feelings - thumbs up

• Completing tasks - opening doors

They are our multi-tool that we always have with us. Now imagine someone with a vision or multi-sensory impairment (deafblind). The importance and use of their hands increases considerably. Their use in communication increases and for many multi-sensory impaired individuals, touch compensates for other senses. In addition to their usual role as tools, they become “useful and intelligent sense organs, allowing people without sight and hearing to have access to objects, people, and language that would otherwise be inaccessible to them” (Miles, 2003).