Parenting child with visual impairment/blindess?

[rachie]

My family is in the process - trying to decide what type of special needs children we think we will be able to parent - we are adopting.  We're considering a child with some medical needs but we are also considering a child who is visually impaired - almost fully blind.  But I'm sorry for being so un-informed - I have NO idea what it is like to parent a child who cannot see.  What things to we need to consider being able to provide/accomadate a child - what types of needs are different from children who can see?  Is there anyone who can give me an example of "a day in the life"?  I'm thinking most likely we cannot adopt the child without sight but then, aren't there so many families who's children are born into their family without sight and they just do what they gotta do to make it work for their family?  I watched this and it just made me wonder if it is possible and what we would need to consider if we were going to do this.  

[Birdie B.]

My daugher is visually impaired, though we thought she was blind for the first part of her life. She was born with severe eye deformities, but over the first year several surgeries were able to correct some of the problems and restore her sight. She only sees with one eye, and doesn't have a lens. Her cornea is scarred, and she is not verbal enough to tell us the full extent of her sight yet. It's been hard.  But! Children are SO amazing. She doesn't know that she's any different from anyone else, and never lets her eyesight stop her.  With lots of support from the State services for the blind, she has made huge gains.  Your state should have services for the blind, I hope they are as good as they are here.  They work with the whole family, so we are learning Braille alongside her, and learning about modifications we can make and what to expect with her development, etc.

It would be different if your child is fully blind, but we have been active in the visually impaired community here and met all kinds of children.  The fully blind kids (assuming they are NT, don't have other SN) have just as much fun and can do so many of the same things as any other child.  There are challenges, yes, and sometimes I grieve for what my daughter may never do or see.  But it is like any other SN; you adapt and soon enough it just becomes normal to you.

I would suggest getting in touch with the services for the blind in your area now, and starting to learn.  See if there are support groups/playgroups for VI kids and families.  If not, you could start one!  They are an amazing resource.

And finally, it will be hard, but it will also be easier if you know ahead of time what you're dealing with.  We had no idea when our daughter was born that anything would be wrong with her.  And honestly, I'm still kind of in shock. Preparation makes a huge amount of difference.

Good luck!

[rachie]

Thankyou so much for your post! 

I was wondering today - my kids were very noisy today - if that could bother children whose other senses might be more intense (like hearing) without sight.  Anyone know about that?  The little girl in the story/link I shared seemed fine with three older (possibly noisy/routy/rough) boys.  I'm sure not all would - unless that's all they ever knew and just adapted to life with siblings. Hmmm??

[Birdie B.]

It depends on the child, really. If you are adopting a newborn, it will be the only thing they ever know.  If the child is a little older, it might be more of a transition. But my daughter LOVES music and noise, always has.  She asks us to play music constantly, and at age 2 already asks for the iPod!  She has a variety of musical instruments and loves to play.  We have taken her to live music events more times than I can count, and she loves it. She seems to have an extraordinary sense of rhythm for a young child, and I don't know if this has to do with her low vision or not.  Some of the greatest musicians of our time are blind, and I don't think it's any coincidence;  they do use their other senses differently from sighted people.

Anyway, I guess my rambling answer is, it just depends. A blind child will probably startle more easily at loud unexpected noises, and loud crowds might take some getting used to, but we do all those things with our daughter, and she has adapted fabulously.

[beenmum]

My daughter is visually imapired.

Its not as overwhelming as it sounds. She gets services from CNIB, they have 4 different services she recieves/recieved. And they will help you and the child navigate the world.

Can I answer any specific questions for you?

My DD can see, as in acuity. But she has no depth perception, spatial awarenss and she has a motility restriction that has caused her to lose the upper right gaze in her left eye.

She is also photosensitive.

We have a liquid level indicator, whihc you put on the side of your bowl or cup so you can fill it up independantly w/o overfilling it.

We have a white cane.

We have coloured paper and overlays to cut down on reflections on her paper.

We have tinted glasses (70% grey/green) and they lens change colours.

When we walk I hold the crook of her elbow to guide her around things and say "Curb, step, stair" depending on the size of the thing she is walking over.

We have computer programs to help her and large font icons.

We have sewed in different shaped buttons to help with colour/sets

She has been taught to cut meat, cheese and spread cream cheese, tie her shoes (working on it), peeling oranges....

Is there anything inspecific you woudl like to know?

She cant do her own hair yet, she has issues getting dressed and getting food into her mouth all the time.

[beenmum]

Light. Light is really hard on VI kids. It causes shadows, reflections, squinting...etc...

Hats and glasses and tinting windows is helpful.

My daugher is very sensitive to socks, shoes, creases, long sleeves etc....

Her hearing isnt better then anyone elses. But she tends to be more sensitive to noise.

But she loves school, dance and we have 4 kids so its always noisey.

[rachie]

Originally Posted by beenmum 

Light. Light is really hard on VI kids. It causes shadows, reflections, squinting...etc...

Hats and glasses and tinting windows is helpful.

My daugher is very sensitive to socks, shoes, creases, long sleeves etc....

Her hearing isnt better then anyone elses. But she tends to be more sensitive to noise.

But she loves school, dance and we have 4 kids so its always noisey.

Thanks ladies!  This is VERY helpful!  We have three little ones - all noisy.  My biggest concern was if a child with visual impairment or complete blindness would always be stressed and startled by the loudness of his/her siblings being the routy kids that they are.  That's my main concern is if it would bother the child or if the child would actually possibly enjoy having the company of other children to play with/live with.  I know we'd have lots of resources here in California and I can teach piano and singing as well, if they like music.  So I wanted to be open to taking a child with this type of special need as we begin our adoption process but also want to make sure we could actually be a good family for them. 

[beenmum]

 Honestly the child's hearing has never been affected. They would be used to noise. Unlike a child who has just underwent a cochlar implant for example. Their hearing isnt actually better, or even more sensitive. It is very child dependant.