x-post anyone hs'ing a partially sighted child?

[mykdsmomy]

I am going to x post this on the homeschooling board as well but here's my scoop. I have an almost 6 year old ex 26 week preemie that has ROP and is legally blind. He also has CVI and deals with severe nearsightedness. His distance vision is basically non existant......but here's the kicker....he doesnt wear glasses because they dont help at all and he gets around very well.....if you were to look at him, you wouldnt suspect he had a vision problem.....
Anyway.....recently at a dr's appt (and for a long time now) we were advised (and we are in total agreement) that he will need to learn braille.
I have planned on hs'ing him the whole time (even though my two daughters are in school) but now i'm having doubts.....I'm getting a lot of "if he was in school, they could offer him more services, etc".....
I guess I'm wondering if anyone out there has visually impaired children and if so, do you homeschool them? Thanks mamas

[simple living mama]

My children are not visually impaired so I hope it's OK to post here. I was trying to put myself in your shoes and I have to think what more can the school offer than you?

You will be able to go anywhere with your child and learn in a fantastically unique and real way but in school your child will learn, most likely, in chaos with limited access to the world and limited attention.


I think it would be an absolute joy to learn with your child by your side. The patience you will have can't be beat by any teacher because your love is so much stronger than any teacher.

As far as the experience the school will have over what you have is a non argument in my eyes. YOU can learn how to be an expert by reading, by asking questions, by learning braille, and taking classes yourself.

When people mention ways in which he will benefit over homeschooling, those will be the things you will have to find to bring in to his life. Maybe he could take classes part of the time. Classes that you may not be able to offer him for one reason or another.

I vote for homeschooling. I think the rewards will be great for both of you. Heck, I even vote for homeschooling your six year old as he may become envious of the attention baby #2 is getting. I really think it can be done and be joyful for all of you. Challenging at moments but joyful.

[mykdsmomy]

simple living mama, your post actually made me cry.....(in a good way) I need to print out your post and stick it to my fridge.....I have so many doubts as to whether or not I can really give him everything he needs but your post made it sound much simpler than I had thought.

I keep getting "socialization" thrown at me too and I've started to buy into it : I fear that because he's already "different" that if I keep him home, I'm going to keep him from learning how to "deal" with other children his own age. Do you think I can accomplish this by putting him in Boy Scouts or something? Thank you.....you've really helped!!!!!

[alegna]

I have worked with children with assorted special needs and let me tell you- the schools just like to THINK they're the experts. YOU are the expert on your child. As long as you're willing to get out there and learn what he needs (which clearly you are ) then what you can give him is a million times better than the school can. Socialization? What socialization is there in sitting in a room (not allowed to talk) 8 hours a day with 24 kids his age? Bah. Find some play groups, some homeschool groups, let him take classes in whatever he's interested in, play sports that he can etc.

good luck!

-Angela

[Leav97]

I would be afraid that he would find the classroom to be utter chaos. I guess it would partially depend on how good your local schools are but, I don't think they can provide anything you can't.

The big S word. Unless you are going to stay home every single day and never interact with people outside of your family, not an issue.

[simple living mama]

Originally Posted by mykdsmomy

Do you think I can accomplish this by putting him in Boy Scouts or something? Thank you.....you've really helped!!!!!

Thank you. You made me cry right back as I didn't know how you would respond to my post.

Yes. I think Boy scouts would be as good as the leader is. Someone who is gentle, willing and enthusiastic to welcome and work with your child. I would explore every avenue there was.

You have plenty of time to find places that would be willing to work with him. Even if they never have worked with visually impaired children, I believe it's the enthusiasm you should be looking for. They may need your guidance as well so to feel comfortable taking on this new experience.

I would look for a great homeschooling group with folks that are open minded and friendly. I would look into rec. and art classes that have small groups of kids. Classes like hiking, chess, pottery, guitar, singing.

Have you seen the Ray Charles movie called Ray? He was playing chess in one scene. He played piano better than most. Have you found any good forums for parents of V I kids? I bet the love and support you will get there will be fantastic.

I would make mental notes of fun places to take him in. And I mean everyday places where you can set up field trips and do some really cool stuff.

One of the many beauties of homeschooling is that you can set up tours and field trips for any kind of situation and many people are willing to go out of there way for homeschooled kids.

Mention to your local baker that you are setting up future tactile field trips and at some point would he/she be willing to let your son come back and "feel" the dough and the feel the equipment. And ask him if he have any other suggestions of great places for your son to visit.

Talk to a bird breeder and let them know you are constantly trying to find fun field trips for your son who needs to use all his senses besides his eyes. Can he not only listen but feel the birds and the warm eggs and so on. I bet you will find people that can't wait to share their interests and passions with your son.

It will be a new way of looking at the world for you. I bet you will start to look at the world through his ears, smell, touch, and taste. And stay connected with us homeschoolin' mamas here so we can hear about your wonderful adventures and we will pass on ideas if/when we come across some.

Best, SLM

[UlrikeDG]

Strangely, I was reading about braille earlier this week, and one thing that I read was that braille is starting to fall by the wayside in favor of electronic texts. That's the kind of thing I'd want to discuss with people "in the know", however.

I'd also want to know exactly what resources your DS would have access to in school. Sad as it is, many schools would just stick him in a "special needs" class and not teach him any of the skills he needs! (Yes, even in the 21st century!!!) If that's the case, you really don't have much of a decision to make. You should also look into what resources would be available to you (through the school or otherwise) if you were to homeschool.

I would think that it would be possible for you to homeschool and homeschool well; it will just take a little more research to find some of the information you need.