Development
Learn how to support your baby as they grow and develop through milestones, including gross motor and fine motor development as well as communication skills.
Filter by: Communication, Crawling, Fine and Gross Motor, Orientation and Mobility
Development, Visual Impairment
Helping Your Blind Baby Develop Through Play
As the parent of a visually impaired child, I'm sure you worry about your baby's development, both physically and cognitively. How can you be sure that you're doing all that...
Fine and Gross Motor, Sensory Activities
The Learning Blanket: Tactile Activity Blankets & Pillows for Visually Impaired Kids
The Learning Blanket creates interactive blankets and pillows for kids who are blind, each containing visual, sensory, tactile and educational activities.
Crawling, Visual Impairment
Crawling & Climbing for Blind Babies
Crawling and climbing are two very important developmental milestones for babies and children who are blind. Some babies may skip these steps or reach them later than their typically developing...
Fine and Gross Motor
Recycling OT Videos
Barbara Smith shares videos with ideas for making interesting games and toys out of basic materials that will encourage fine motor skills.
Communication, Visual Impairment
Teaching Your Visually Impaired Child Sign Language
Jennie writes about how she taught her son, Max, to sign. Max is totally blind and does have a few verbal words, but using signs to augment his early communication...
Communication, Visual Impairment
Helping your blind child develop effective listening skills
Learning to listen carefully and distinguish between different sounds is an important skill for any child, but espeically for children with visual impairments. Lesley Potgieter explains how to assess your...
Assistive Technology, Communication
Switch Play: Using a switch for communication and play!
For children who are non-verbal or have low motor coordination, switches can be a great way to augment their play. If you're just getting started with a switch you may...
Communication, Visual Impairment
You Can Say That Again! Echolalia in Visually Impaired Children
Learn why children who are visually impaired repeat back what they hear, and how parents can help minimize repetition in a constructive way.
Orientation and Mobility, Visual Impairment
Guide Dogs of America
Guide Dogs of America is dedicated to its mission to provide guide dogs and instruction in their use, free of charge, to blind and visually impaired men and women
Communication, iPad Apps and Accessibility
Adapting Signs App for Children with Vision Impairment
This app gives tips on how to adapt signs for blind children including videos and written information. It also allows you to create your own dictionary of signs.
Orientation and Mobility
ZipZac Mobility Chairs
The ZipZac 1 & 2® are great mobility chairs for kids who need assistance. The chair was originally developed for a young boy with spina bifida who could move his...
Orientation and Mobility, Visual Impairment
Hand Use While Walking: Helping Your Child Who is Blind Understand His Home
Certified Orientation and Mobility instructor Susan Shier Lowry gives tips on how to encourage young blind children to reach out and touch while walking through familiar environments. Trailing techniques are...
Orientation and Mobility, Visual Impairment
Anticipators for Young Children with Visual Impairments: Push Toys, Pre-Canes and Long Canes
Early Orientation and Mobility skills for blind children can be taught with pre-canes or push toys. Learn how to choose the best tools and when to introduce them.
Fine and Gross Motor, Sensory Activities
Hold Everything: “Stay-Put” Play Spaces for Infants and Young Children with Sensory Impairments and Other Special Needs
This guide provides you with DIY Stay-Put play spaces for infants and developmentally young children with sensory impairments and other special needs.
Assistive Technology, Orientation and Mobility
Smart Cane Recognizes Faces
The XploR cane uses smartphone technology to send vibrations to the user when it detects a familiar face.
Feeding and Eating, Fine and Gross Motor, Product Reviews
EazyHold: Grip Assist Strap
EazyHold is a simple grip assist strap that easily attaches to objects enabling kids with limited grip strength to accomplish daily living skills.
Fine and Gross Motor
Headpod keeps your head up!
Headpod keeps your head up! Revolutionary dynamic patented head support system for inadequate head control due to hypotonia of the neck muscles.
Orientation and Mobility
Learning to Navigate through Echolocation
Daniel Kish demonstrates his controversial echolocation technique that allows those who are blind to navigate using sonar in this TedX talk.
Communication
The ProxTalker Communication Board with Real Objects
The ProxTalker is a communications device that gives nonverbal kids a voice. Tags can be customized for your child's specific situation, and added and revised as necessary.
Communication
Sign to Speech to Text – The Next Big Thing for the Deaf Community
New technology translates sign language to speech and speech into text, making communication between those who sign and those who don't much more seamless.
Orientation and Mobility
These Shoes Were Made for…Giving Directions?
Ducere Tech, an Indian start-up, has created new technology whereby your shoes can tell you which direction to take by connecting wirelessly with your GPS nav system. This could be...
Orientation and Mobility, Visual Impairment
Community Trips for Little Explorers: Teaching your child who is blind about the community
Children with visual impairment learn by having direct, hands-on experiences with objects and events, including those in their community. These experiences can build important concepts that will prepare your child...
Communication, iPad Apps and Accessibility
Talkitt® Makes Unintelligible Speech Understandable
Talkitt translates unintelligible speech from any language into understandable speech through smart phones, tablets or computers. Works for people with speech disorders or diseases or syndromes that affect speech.
Fine and Gross Motor
AFO Socks
A great resource for anyone who uses AFOs, this site sells socks for both children and teens in a variety of colors. Yes, AFO socks in different colors and patterns!