The focus here is safety, with specific suggestions for when a child starts to move around independently.
Source: FamilyConnect for Parents of Children with Visual Impairments
Family Resources
Having a family member who is blind or visually impaired can affect many areas of family life. Parents and relatives face a variety of challenges when making decisions about education, rehabilitation and other services. Older adults may want information on resources, tools, or ways to learn new skills they need to live independently. These websites for families include information on workshops, services, education, and many other resources.
Many people with visual impairments also have undiagnosed autism characteristics. Nancy Duncan discusses the importance of identifying and delivering appropriate rehabilitation services for individuals.
Source: VisionAwareThis site provides a good overview on the effect of visual impairments on learning, types of assistive technology, and the kinds of accommodations provided at colleges. Includes a list of scholarships and grants.
Source: Affordable Colleges OnlineA useful guide through the alphabet soup of educational terms and abbreviations. (requires Adobe Acrobat Reader)
Source: Community Crossroads NHChecklists of signs and symptoms of vision impairments in children.
Source: Optometrists NetworkTreasure Baskets are collections of real objects that encourage a child to explore different sensory characteristics. This article offers suggestions of items to include in the baskets and discusses some of the educational benefits for young children.
Source: Nursery WorldThe author describes her passionate advocacy for her daughter and all blind children, particularly for braille literacy.
Source: National Federation of the Blind (NFB)Some of the visual skills that need to be evaluated as part of a child's comprehensive vision examination.
Source: Optometrists NetworkBookmark this page for job listings, many of which ask for experience within the blindness community, or services to people with disabilities.
Source: American Council of the Blind (ACB)A selected list of museums with exhibit consideration for people who are blind or visually impaired, such as touch-tours and multi-sensory exhibits
Source: New York Public LibraryIn this webcast, Perkins science teacher Kate Fraser outlines teaching strategies and adaptations to make science lessons and activities accessible to students who are visually impaired. Find even more resources more at the Perkins Accessible Science website.
Source: Webcast, Perkins School for the BlindAimed at parents, this page provides a brief overview of the challenges facing teenagers with visual impairment who are studying geography and history.
Source: Family Connect for Parents of Children with Visual Impairments"The AccessSTEM website is a space where K-12 teachers, postsecondary educators, and employers learn to make classroom and employment opportunities in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) accessible to individuals with disabilities, and share promising practices."
These suggestions are aimed at families, but are equally valuable to other caregivers and teachers. Adaptations include strategies to optimize a child's use of vision, using textures and touch to provide clues, enhancing safety, and maximizing organization.
Source: FamilyConnect for Parents of Children with Visual ImpairmentsBarbara Cheadle's child-rearing advice for parents whose children have visual impairments.
Source: Future Reflections, 2004, National Federation of the Blind (NFB)This article suggests bringing a buddy to an IEP meeting, and also lists strategies for parents to try if it appears that the meeting will be stressful; also available in Spanish.
Source: Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired (TSBVI)In this webcast, Diana Autin presents family companion guides that include fact sheets, mini-guides and an IEP Meeting Checklist. These materials provide a framework to support the development of meaningful, appropriate programming for students with deafblindness.
Source: Perkins eLearningA program for children with visual impairments and additional disabilities shares its objectives, activities, methods, information on financial resources, and its impact on families; also in Spanish.
Source: International Council for the Education of People with Visual Impairment (ICEVI)AAAS publishes the journal Science, as well as other publications. They have a large number of programs designed to bring science literacy to all. They have resources for businesses, scientists, teachers, and students. One of their many endeavors, Project 2061 has developed highly regarded science curriculum benchmarks. The AAAS signature program is called Entrypoint, providing internship opportunities in science, engineering, math, computer science and some fields of business for students with disabilities. Many program alumni are now working in the science fields.
Stacy Shafer outlines some of Dr. Lilli Nielsen's recommendations for designing a learning environment for a child with visual impairments and multiple disabilities.
Source: Future Reflections, 2005, National Federation of the Blind (NFB)