Fantasy and reality distinction of congenitally blind children

40 congenitally blind and 40 sighted children were tested for fantasy-reality distinctions of real and imagined objects and the development of concepts of darkness, hidden objects, space, dreams, emotions, facial expressions, size, and height. Analysis indicated that the blind children distinguished between contents of fantasy and reality, although they were less sure about the reality status of the objects. The sighted group gave more reality responses than the blind group for the concepts of dreams and hidden objects, but the remaining concepts were somewhat the same. Cognitive development explained in terms of theory formation may not explain the development of young blind children completely. Their knowledge that contents of fantasy are not real may be obtained through interpersonal experiences that are publicly shared.