Video: & Websites: Visual Impairment
In order to help you to obtain more information regarding multiple disabilities in children, we have provided you with web links that will lead you to websites containing relevant and important information on this topic. Website links are below.
American Academy of Pediatrics: Visual Impairment
American Foundation for the Blind
Adapting the Environment:
Making adaptations to the environment where a child with a
visual impairment lives, works, or plays makes evident sense, but it may be difficult for families, daycare providers, or school personnel to decide what kinds of adaptations are necessary to ensure the child’s safety while also encouraging his or her ability to do things independently.
Three resources you can consult, depending on your role in the child’s life, are:
Family Connect | Adapting Your Home
http://www.familyconnect.org/parentsite.asp?SectionID=75&TopicID=340&DocumentID=3829
IRIS Center | Offers a professional development module for teachers called Accommodations to the Physical Environment: Setting up a Classroom for Students with Visual Disabilities.
http://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/v01_clearview/chalcycle.htm
National Eye Institute | Visit the Institute online for a diagram of the eye, what different parts are called, and what aspect of vision each part is responsible for.
http://www.nei.nih.gov/health/eyediagram/index.asp
Accessing early intervention (EI)
To identify the EI program in your neighborhood, consult NICHCY’s State Organizations page for your state, online at: http://nichcy.org/state-organization-search-by-state
Early intervention is listed under the first section, State Agencies. The agency that’s identified will be able to put you in contact with the early intervention program in your community. There, you can have your child evaluated free of charge and, if found eligible, your child can begin receiving
early intervention services designed to address his or her developmental needs associated with the visual impairment.
Resources of More Information:
In alphabetical order, here’s a starter list of organizations providing info on visual impairments, including blindness. Explore the sites below and the wealth of material they offer to families, services providers, and educators. We also include helpful resources and accessible materials for those with visual impairments.
Organizations to Consult:
American Council of the Blind
800.424.8666 | http://www.acb.org
American Foundation for the Blind
Find services in your state right on the home page.
800.232.5463 | http://www.afb.org
American Printing House for the Blind
800.223.1839 | http://www.aph.org/
Association for Macular Diseases
http://www.macula.org/
Family Connect
http://www.familyconnect.org/parentsitehome.asp (English)
http://www.familyconnect.org/parentsitehome.asp?lang=esp (Spanish)
Foundation Fighting Blindness
Find your state chapter right on the home page.
800.683.5555 | 800.683.5551 (TTY) http://www.blindness.org/
Lighthouse International
800.829.0500 | http://lighthouse.org/ (English)
http://lighthouse.org/espanol/ (Spanish)
National Braille Association
http://www.nationalbraille.org/
National Braille Press
888.965.8965 | http://www.nbp.org
National Federation of the Blind
http://www.nfb.org/
National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, Library of Congress
http://www.loc.gov/nls/
National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health
http://www.nei.nih.gov/ (English)
http://www.nei.nih.gov/health/espanol/index.asp (Spanish)
Prevent Blindness America
800.331.2020 | http://www.preventblindness.org
Accessible Materials:
Bookshare | For those with print disabilities, including visual impairments or blindness. Offers free membership to qualified U.S. students and schools, and makes more than 169,000 titles available digitally. https://www.bookshare.org/
Learning Ally | For those cannot read standard print. Offers more than 75,000 digitally recorded textbooks and literature titles for download. Formerly Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic. 800.221.4792 | http://www.learningally.org/
LOUIS | Database of info on more than 386,000 titles in accessible formats, including braille, large print, sound recording, and electronic files. http://louis.aph.org
National Center on Accessible Instructional Materials (AIM) | Excellent info for educators and families on getting AIM for students with visual impairments, blindness, or other print disabilities. http://aim.cast.org/
Other Helpful Resources:
Resources for Living | Entire section of NFB’s website that includes state and local connections for areas of life such as: aids and appliances, Braille, closed circuit TVs, guide dog schools, low
vision, and technology. http://www.nfb.org/living
Education for Students with Blindness or Visual Impairment |
Entire section of Perkins School for the Blind’s website. http://www.perkins.org/resources/scout/education/
Are You the Parent of a Blind Child? http://www.acb.org/node/392
Educator’s Guide to Getting Accessible Materials for Your Students
http://aim.cast.org/learn/aim4families/school/accessible_textbooks