Visual Impairment

Information, support, and resources for families raising children who are blind or visually impaired, with or without additional disabilities.

Ivan playing with Bead Maze

Toys, Visual Impairment

10 Questions to Ask When Purchasing a Toy for a Child who is Blind

The next time you're in a toy store or department store looking for toys for your child who is blind or visually impaired, keep these 10 questions in mind!

Rainbow activities for blind kids

Math and Science, Visual Impairment

Rainbow Activities for Blind Children

How do you explain a rainbow to a child that has never seen one, let alone never seen colors? It may seem complicated to talk about colors with your blind...

Ivan hunting for beeping eggs

Holiday Crafts and Ideas, Visual Impairment

Buyer’s Guide to Beeping Easter Eggs

We've sifted through the web and browsed our local stores to bring you this list of where to find beeping and noise-maker Easter eggs for your blind child.

Ivan with his father on father's day

Advocacy, Visual Impairment

Person First Language: “Child Who is Blind” or “Blind Child”

Have you thought about how you refer to your child? Do you say, "my blind baby" or "my baby who is blind"? Does it matter?

Madilyn finding light switch

Math and Science, Visual Impairment

Accessible STEM: An Introduction to Light for Blind Children

Introduce the scientific basics of light to your child through hands-on activities like exploring your home and other familiar places, along with tactile worksheets.

Ivan swimming

Visual Impairment

Making Swim Lessons Accessible for Blind Children

Find tips on how to make a swimming lesson accessible for kids who are blind or have other disabilities. Great ideas for parents or swim instructors!

melted bead suncatcher

Light Play, Visual Impairment

Suncatcher Activities for Kids with Visual Impairments

Suncatcher art projects make great hands-on activities for children with visual impairments considering their tactile traits including different textures and raised-line graphics.

Roberto family

Adoption and Foster Care, Visual Impairment

Adopting a Visually Impaired Child from China: Our Story

MaryAnne Roberto shares her story of adopting two boys who are blind through Bethel China. Shane and Vincent have different stories, but they are all part of one big family!

collage of eyes

iPad Apps and Accessibility, Visual Impairment

Be My Eyes App: Lend Your Eyes to the Blind

This iPhone app allows visually impaired users to connect with sighted users in real time in order to receive assistance with simple tasks.

Advocacy, Visual Impairment

Awareness T-Shirts for Kids who are Blind or Visually Impaired

Check out these childhood blindness Awareness T-Shirts from Eye Power Kid's Wear! Express yourself and raise awareness for your cause!

cells, DNA, retinal implants montage

Health & Nutrition, Visual Impairment

Top Medical Breakthroughs in Vision in 2014

There have been a lot of medical advances in curing blindness in the past 12 months. Read about the most exciting breakthroughs in gene therapy, stem cells, artificial retinas and...

Top 10 Accessible Toys

Toys, Visual Impairment

Top 10 Accessible Toys for Blind Kids

We recently ran a contest asking families to share their favorite toys for their kids who are blind or have other special needs. Here are the top 10 as voted...

smartphone held over menu shows text being read

iPad Apps and Accessibility, Visual Impairment

Breakthrough App Reads Print for the Blind

This cool new app lets you use your smartphone to translate printed material into spoken words, letting the user "read" virtually anything. The app is available on iTunes and was...

Woman's face wearing sunglasses

Assistive Technology, Visual Impairment

Seeing Through Sound

This technology takes sound to create "images" in the brain, by using a camera, special software, and headphones.

Visual Impairment

Lenz Frenz

These very cute stuffed animals have a hiding spot in their backs where children can safely store their glasses.

Magnified vision of cell

Health & Nutrition, Visual Impairment

3D Printing Cells is a New Step in Finding a Cure for Blindness

Researchers are using 3D printers to create artificial retinal nerve cells. They hope this will lead to using this to replace damaged retinal cells and ultimately cure retinal blindness.

Man wearing headgear-like glasses

Assistive Technology, Visual Impairment

Cool New Glasses to Help The Blind See

University of Oxford and RNIB have teamed up to create glasses that can help those with even a small amount of vision to identify objects and images. They're planning a...

Ivan and dad at the lake

Math and Science, Visual Impairment

7 Science & Nature Activities for Young Children who are Blind

Touching leaves, twigs, rocks and trees is a great way to introduce the world to your blind child. Here are 7 simple ideas to get you thinking about science and...

Front cover of iBook Reach for the Stars

Math and Science, Visual Impairment

Reach for the Stars: Free iBook for Visually Impaired Students

This free iBook, available on iTunes, is compatible with braille refreshable displays and VoiceOver on iPads, and is accessible to anyone with a visual or print impairment.

Perkins Playspace

Play, Visual Impairment

Make Your Own Play Space for Your Blind Baby!

Blind babies may need help learning how to interact with and be actively involved in their environment. You can build your own active learning play space so your baby can...

Ivan at the grocery store

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...

Nancy Shugart on stage for her TED talk.

Advocacy, Visual Impairment

Learning to Overcome Fear and Not Give Up When Growing Up Blind

Nancy Shugart talks about growing up with vision issues and how that affected the choices she made going into adulthood. This TED talk is about learning to live without fear.

Eye health

Health & Nutrition, Visual Impairment

New Developments in Treatments for Blindness

There are several exciting new technologies designed to improve vision. Retinitas pigmentosa, macular degeneration and other eye issues have new treatments.

Pinterest for parents of blind children

Visual Impairment

21 Pinterest Boards All Parents of Blind Kids MUST Follow!

Pinterest is one of the best ways for a parent of a child with special needs to find what they need on the internet. Here are my favorite Pinterest boards...