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
Assistive Technology, Orientation and Mobility, Visual Impairment
Getting Around Using Assistive Technology when You’re Blind
Getting around keeps getting easier for blind travelers thanks to new assisistive technology. Find out about a new O&M iPhone app and an UltraBike!
Fine and Gross Motor
Merry Muscles: A Jumper for Big Kids!
Merry Muscles is a jumper that connects to a door frame or beam in your ceiling. What makes it special is that they carry ALL sizes, from baby up to...
Orientation and Mobility, Visual Impairment
Echolocation for Blind Children
Echolocation is the use of sounds to gain information about the environment and surrounding objects. Blind kids can learn to use echolocation to augment traditional orientation and mobility!
Communication
STACS: Standardized Tactile Augmentative Communication Symbols Kit
Tactile symbol systems are valuable tools that aid learners with conversations about people, places, events, and ideas.
Orientation and Mobility
Little Long Canes
This is a wonderful 18 minute video interview with Joe Cutter, renowned early childhood Orientation and Mobility instructor who pioneered the use of the cane with very young children. He...
Orientation and Mobility
UltraCane
The UltraCane is an electronic cane for visually impaired users that delivers feedback through small vibrating buttons in the handle. Its ultrasound system provides information about obstacles in front of...
Communication
Looking Deeper to Find the Person Within
Lesley Potgieter writes about reaching a child who cannot speak. Our ability to communicate via speech is the way the world accepts and interprets us, but Lesley argues that we...
Development
10 Hands-On Activities to Teach Concept Development
Teach your blind child about the world through direct interaction! This is called "concept development" and through hands-on learning they can learn about textures, sizes, nature... all sorts of things!
Orientation and Mobility, Visual Impairment
Adventure Walks: Helping Your Child Who is Blind Move Around Outdoors
Getting your blind child outside and moving around in the community can help them develop motor skills as well as Orientation and Mobility skills.
Orientation and Mobility, Toys
Go Wheelie: An Early Mobility Toy?
The Go Wheelie features an easy turning steering wheel and makes a fun clicking noise as children drive to their destination. It provides a fun, safe way for children to...
Communication
LessonPix Online Materials: Symbols & Visuals
Large pictures can be a great way to introduce concepts to children with low vision and can really help kids who need help with communication.
Orientation and Mobility
MIRA Guide Dog Foundation
The MIRA Foundation is totally dedicated to helping disabled individuals by teaming them with dogs bred and fully trained to respond to their adaptation and rehabilitation needs.
Orientation and Mobility
Free White Cane Program
NFB believes the long white cane is a means to independence and with this in mind NFB has created a program to provide free white canes to people who are...
Fine and Gross Motor
Hatchbacks AFO Footwear
Hatchbacks are shoes designed specifically for children wearing AFO's, DAFO's, and orthotics. The shoes are easy to put on and easy to keep on, but most importantly they look really...
Communication, Special Needs
American Sign Language (ASL) Browser
The American Sign Language Browser allows you to choose any word starting with any letter and watch a short Quick Time video demonstration of that word being signed.
Orientation and Mobility
Early Explorers: A Cane Travel Program for Blind and Low Vision Children
This is a program for children age birth to 7 years old. It provides a white cane, instructional DVD, and other resources to help parents assist their children with O&M...
Orientation and Mobility
Watch a Blind Baby Walking with His Cane!
Watch ten month old Alan walk around his living room with his new cane. He's totally blind, but does a wonderful job getting around obstacles!
Orientation and Mobility
Blind Teen Runs with Her Guide Dog
Sami Stoner, a teenager in Ohio, has always been a runner, but when she began to lose her sight due to Stargardt's disease, she thought she would have to stop...
Orientation and Mobility, Visual Impairment
Helping Your Blind Baby Learn How to Reach for Objects
Susan Shier Lowry, an Orientation and Mobility specialist, writes about how you can encourage your child to reach out for objects and how reaching can help develop orientation skills needed...
Orientation and Mobility
Precane vs Long Cane
Susan Lowry, Orientation and Mobility specialist, answers the question: Is my child ready for a long cane or a precane?
Orientation and Mobility
Wheelchair Orientation & Mobility
How does a blind person learn orientation and mobility skills when they are also using a wheelchair? Perkins eLearning provides a video series on Wheelchair Orientation & Mobility on the...
Communication
A Visit to Audiology
We visit an audiologist to check our blind son's hearing. What will the audiologist do? What can we learn?
Communication
Planning the Day with Object Calendars
Creating a plan and a tangible system of communication is the best way to help your child deal with transitions. Using an object calendar or a schedule box can ease...
Fine and Gross Motor
What is Aquatic Therapy?
Aquatherapy for children with disabilities improves strength and flexibility and also focuses on body awareness, sensory integration, motor planning, and learning how to move muscles in new ways. The pool...