While the following list is certainly not comprehensive, it is a pretty good set of guidelines for parenting a blind child. It’s based on a great many conversation with “successful,” blind adults and asking how they were raised. I think everything on this list would be good parenting practice for any child, but these are things that are especially important if this child is visually impaired.
Hearing the phrase, “When I was growing up,” at least for me, is as good as taking a sleeping pill. My mind wonders and my eyelids get heavy. If you can fight the urge to nod off, I’d like to begin by talking about when I was growing up. It was a time (in the 1950s and 60s) before any … Continue reading
What exactly does it mean “to advocate” and how do you do it? Clearly, advocacy has become one of the popular buzz words among disabled people in recent years. I’ve noticed, however, that while blind students and their parents are encouraged to advocate for their needs, very little attention is paid as to what to do and not do. At … Continue reading
People who study this sort of thing report that the most important question and the one that is most frequently asked when people first meet is “What do you do?” This is useful information when trying to quickly decide if this is someone you want to know better or whether you need to start thinking of a tactful excuse to … Continue reading
Most of the questions people are dying to know about being blind are the sorts of things you would guess. My favorite, because the answer is far from obvious, is “Do you dream?” Interestingly, at least in my experience, this is something children are more interested in than adults. Closely related to this is a second question: Do you know … Continue reading
Virtually all of us, as small children, are taught not to ask why Uncle Fred is so fat or the next door neighbor has so many wrinkles. I’ve noticed that even people whose social skills are fairly appalling have generally mastered this lesson. I clearly remember the day when, at about age six, I asked my mother why “Aunt Mary … Continue reading
Having a child with a vision problem can be an especially lonely experience. In addition to all the usual challenges of raising a child, you know you will have to take on many more, and you’re not even sure what they all are to say nothing of having little or no idea where to get the answers. If you live … Continue reading
If you, your child, or a family member are new to vision loss, the following is a brief list of several of the most widely known and best respected organizations providing assistance to people who are blind or visually impaired. This is just to get you started; we’ll suggest many more in future posts. The American Foundation for the Blind … Continue reading
If you think shopping for that hard-to-please someone is a challenge, what do you do if the person on the gift list has little or no vision? The following short list of suggestions may help get you started. Braille watch. It’s not necessary to read a word of Braille to use a Braille watch. The hours or the five minute … Continue reading
