PARENTING

Parenting has no tried and tested formulas. Every child is unique, and so is every parent. What can help in the difficult task of parenting a child with visual impairments is sharing of experiences and applying them to your very own unique situation.

Through this section you can learn from the experiences of others and share your own experiences with others.

Parents have a big role to play in helping their child gain the organisational skills necessary for success, both at school and in later life.

Self-care
Parenthood is all about nurturing and looking after your offspring. It is never too early to start helping your child toward eventual independent decision making, be it grooming, self-care or self-image.

Signs of visual impairment
What signs do you watch out for to know that your child might be having a visual disability? Namita Jacob provides a checklist.

Namita Jacob describes the normal visual development of a child, from birth to one year.

Early intervention for children with visual impairments
Spend half an hour in a new place with your eyes closed and you will experience some of the bewilderment and irritation of your visually impaired child. Namita Jacob presents practical ways of getting your child started, and bonding with her early.

Role of parents
Research shows that every child learns visually, primarily through imitation, in the first three years of life. For parents of visually impaired children, it is important that they adapt to the disability of the child early, and innovate to orient them into the world.

Your disabled child is an opportunity
It is natural for parents to feel disappointment and resentment with the disability of their child. But one should not forget a disabled child's potential. The attitude of parents will guide the child through life - leading him to success or failure. George Abraham, Chief Executive Officer, Score Foundation talks about how to make your disabled child a champion, and not a loser.

Helping children who are blind

Serialised chapters from the illustrated book Helping children who are blind by Sandy Niemann and Namita Jacob. The book guides parents with visually impaired children to overcome the situation. Hesperian Foundation is the original publisher of this book. The Indian version of the book is published by West Bengal Voluntary Health Association and is supported by Sight Savers International.