Play is an important part of DJ's daily life. We have learned to be more creative and vary his environment to stimulate his senses. As DJ's vision diminishes, we have come to rely on his other senses.

hearing

DJ loves music. His father plays the guitar for him and we both sing to him daily. We encourage him to participate vocally and we often clasp his hands together in time to the music. I help him bang on empty coffee canisters and boxes.

Sometimes, we play children's tapes in the background softly to screen out distracting noises that exacerbate the startle reflex.

We continue to read out loud to DJ and tell him stories using different voices.

smell

DJ loves certain scents that he associates with people he knows - his grandmother's perfume, freshly brewed coffee, flowers. He likes to smell the tomatoes we pick off the vine from our backyard. He even likes to smell the animals at the zoo.

DJ also loves fruit, especially lemons, grapefruit, oranges, bananas, and strawberries. We often peel fruit next to him and rub a little scent on his wrist. I put a grapefruit lip balm on him at night to keep his lips moist. I use a cherry-scented antibacterial lotion on his hands. We use scented massage oils, especially jasmine.

touch:

DJ likes the feeling of different textures in his hands, against the soles of his feet, against his cheeks. He likes to feel soft textures like silk, velvet ribbon or stuffed animals. He also likes rough or uneven textures like the bristles of a hairbrush or terry cloth bath towels. DJ loves to feel sand and grass under his toes. He likes to feel warm things like bread, and the laundry as it comes out of the dryer. He likes the feeling of running water over his hands.

DJ likes to squish things between his fingers. We let him put his hands in finger paints and pudding.