When do blind kids start going to school?
Submitted by Anonymous on Mar 27, 2012 - 6:16pm
I would love to know at how old are blind kids ready to start going to school?
I have a partially sighted baby who is 1 year 4 months old. I would love to know when she can start going to school.
And how I can get the best toys for her since in our country we can hardly find any.
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Posted by Amber Bobnar on Mar 27, 2012 - 6:20pm
In our case, my son (who is totally blind) began receiving services in the home when he was an infant (about 4 months old). We had a physical therapist and a couple other therapists coming to the house to work with him. It's not school, really, but he was certainly old enough to learn new things.
When he was about 2 years old we started going to a group where he would stay with the teachers for two hours once a week, but many parents had their young kids (1 year olds, 2 year olds, and up) in programs where they were with a teacher in a school setting every day, but usually only for a couple of hours a day.
When he was three years old he began preschool. This is where he started going to a real school for four hours a day, five days a week. When he turned 5 he started going to school 6 hours a day, 5 days a week.
This is just our experience and every family has to make their own decision, but if you think your daughter is ready for some school now, then I would say go for it. My recommendation would be that you work up to it. Have her in school once a week for a couple hours, then slowly increase the amount of time she is in school. This will probably be best for her and for her teachers.
Your other question about toys: Here are some articles about how to make some of your own toys:
http://www.wonderbaby.org/articles/scented-rattle.html
http://www.wonderbaby.org/articles/can-puzzle.html
http://www.wonderbaby.org/articles/toy-basket.html
Toys can be really simple, as long as your daughter enjoys them. There is also a really good book, Helping Children Who Are Blind
, that you might want to read. At the end of the book it has a whole bunch of suggestions for simple toys you can make yourself that are perfect for blind babies.
Posted by Kris on Mar 29, 2012 - 2:09am
Hi,
Which country are you in? I live in Germany myself and buy/order toys from all over. Most things come from a regular toy store.
As for school, expect that your daughter will start Kindergarten/school whenever is the normal time for your country. My totally blind daughter started Kindergarten (more like pre-school really) at 3 which is the regular age here in Germany. She went for 6 hours (including lunch time) per day. She loved playing with the other kids! Following the normal 3 years of Kindergarten, she began elementary school this year at age 6 and is doing great. She is learning Braille and mathematics at the same speed, with the same assignments, that her sighted classmates are learning print.
Posted by Amber Bobnar on Mar 30, 2012 - 1:49pm
From our Facebook page:
"My son started at 2 1/2 but he was adopted and had only been home for 4 months at that point."
"My son (completely blind) started a PRE-k ESE program at an elementary school last September when he turned 3. He goes 5 days a week for 6 hours a day (basically a full school day). It is still hard for me to get used to but he has grown so much in the past six months b/c of being there. He's getting o&m services (finally!) and has his TVI there an hour every day. He's on consult with a physical therapist and speech therapist (and occupational as well, I believe). He participates in art, music and PE and eats in the lunch room. A lot of people disagree with him being there all those hours every day as young as he is, but I know it's the best for our situation. I'm very involved with his teacher and her aide, so that helps too."