Special Needs
Find support for parents of children with special needs. Learn how to advocate for your child, raise funds for needed equipment and find helpful organizations.
Filter by: Advocacy, Assistive Technology, Autism, Schools for the Blind, Support, Visual Impairment
Special Needs
Thomas Marshall Does It All
Thomas is visually impaired and Jessica writes about the trials and successes of raising a little boy who is blind, while always focusing on the positive.
Holiday Crafts and Ideas, Visual Impairment
10 Sensory Christmas Activities for Children who are Blind
During the holidays we are baking, decorating and spending time with family and friends. Get your kids involved by having them help in the kitchen, create Christmas decorations or make...
Visual Impairment
Teaching Students with Visual Impairments
This is a web resource designed for all teachers and related service personnel who are involved in educating students with visual impairments, but it is also full of great resources...
Advocacy, Visual Impairment
Helping Your Blind Child Transition to Adult Services
Beth Jordan from Helen Keller National Center's Kansas office shares her insights into preparing for transition to adult services for blind students.
Assistive Technology, Eye Conditions and Syndromes
National Deaf-Blind Equipment Distribution Program
The idea behind the National Deafblind Equipment Distribution Program (NDBEDP) is that people with combined hearing and vision loss should have access to modern telecommunication tools (and the training necessary...
Education, Visual Impairment
Introducing Your Blind Child to a New Teacher
When your child is visually impaired it's kind of scary to hand him off to a new teacher. Here's a solution: Create a welcome packet of materials about your child...
Schools for the Blind
Oklahoma School for the Blind
Oklahoma School for the Blind (OSB), also known as the Parkview School, offers educational services for blind and visually impaired students from preschool through high school.
Schools for the Blind
Overbrook School for the Blind
The Overbrook School is located in Philadelphia, and serves the needs of the blind and visually impaired community in Pennsylvania. They have an international as well as a local focus.
Schools for the Blind
South Carolina School for the Deaf and Blind
South Carolina School for the Deaf and Blind offers separate schools for each disability.
Schools for the Blind
South Dakota School for the Blind & Visually Impaired
South Dakota School for the Blind & Visually Impaired serves students who are blind, deafblind or visually impaired.
Schools for the Blind
St. Joseph’s School for the Blind
St. Joseph's School for the Blind serves individuals with visual impairments across New Jersey.
Schools for the Blind
Susquehanna Association for the Blind and Vision Impaired (SABVI)
VisionCorps operates under the auspices of Susquehanna Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired, serving people in Pennsylvania.
Special Needs
Caroline’s Cart: Shopping with a Special Needs Child
Drew Ann Long has developed an accessible shopping cart designed specifically for larger children and adults with low muscle tone and multiple disabilities.
Schools for the Blind
Saint Lucy Day School for Children with Visual Impairments & Archbishop Ryan Academy for the Deaf
Saint Lucy Day School for Children with Visual Impairments also has a school for the deaf on its campus.
Assistive Technology
Here Comes the Future… and it’s in Three Dimensions!
Mary McDonach writes about how her daughter, Elizabeth, who has albinism and very low vision, was able to watch (and see!) a 3D film in the movie theater! They were...
Special Needs
The Vision of Children Foundation
The Vision of Children is a California organization dedicated to curing hereditary childhood blindness and other vision disorders and to improve the lives of visually impaired children and their families.
Assistive Technology, Visual Impairment
EyeMusic: Seeing with Sound
EyeMusic is a sensory substitution device that turns visual data into music so that blind users can hear what's around them. Users of EyeMusic wear glasses with a small video...
Eye Conditions and Syndromes, Visual Impairment
Optic Nerve Hypoplasia (ONH): A Mother’s Perspective
LeAndra Lee writes about her daughter, Abigail, who is diagnosed with Optic Nerve Hypopalsia and Septo Optic Dysplasia. LeAndra explains what ONH is and how it affects Abigail.
Support
A Message for Parents of Special Needs Kids: Don’t Worry, Everything Will be OK
A new study shows that parents of children with disabilities learn to adjust over time and show little difference in well being, both physically and emotionally, from parents of typically...
Schools for the Blind
Perkins School for the Blind
Perkins provides education and services for children and adults around the world who are blind, deafblind or visually impaired, with and without additional disabilities.
Sensory Activities, Visual Impairment
Gardening with a Blind Child
Gardening is a very hands-on endeavor and children with visual impairments need the opportunity to get their hands into as many different real-world activities as possible, so how about starting...
Eye Conditions and Syndromes, Visual Impairment
Ask the TVI about Anophthalmia and Microphthalmia, Part 2
TVI Lisa LaDue answers readers' questions about O&M and TVI services and whether or not a visually impaired student should automatically be sat at the front of the classroom.
Schools for the Blind
The New York Institute for Special Education
The New York Institute for Special Education serves 300 children with visual, learning and developmental disabilities.
Schools for the Blind
Alabama Institute for Deaf and Blind
For more than a century and a half, AIDB has been investing in the lives of thousands of infants, toddlers, children, adults and seniors who are challenged by hearing and...