Parent Resources
From NFB and NOPBC:
Braille Storybook Resources: Sources for Braille books for children.
Blindkid ListServ: Want to talk about your blind kid with other parents? Would you like tips from knowledgeable blind adults who have "been there, done that?" Ask questions, get and give advice, vent frustrations, brag about your kid, share resources, and make new friends on this NOPBC sponsored listserv. To subscribe, visit the blindkid website at: www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindkid_nfbnet.org and fill out the form provided on the page. The NFB also sponsors many other listservs, including one for teachers of blind children; to subscribe, visit: www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/teachvib.
Good Toys for Blind Kids: Parent-recommended toys grouped by age.
Helpful Books: These books are endorsed by NOPBC and available through the NFB.
I Want to Learn About: NOPBC's information resources grouped by topic.
New Parents: Stories and inspiration from parents of blind children.
Parenting Without Sight: What Attorneys and Social Workers Should Know About Blindness:
This publication provides introductory and commonsense advice and information to those potentially involved in assessing the competence of blind parents to care for their offspring or other children in their charge. The pamphlet promotes the simple view that blind parents are, with proper training and opportunity, equal to this responsibility. Detailed in this pamphlet are statements of blindness philosophy and practical examples of ways parenting as a blind person can be managed successfully.
For Sighted Children: Sighted siblings and classmates are curious about blindness, too. When sighted children have access to positive and interesting information about Braille and other aspects of blindness, they are more likely to accept blind kids as friends and equals. NFB resources for sighted children include:
Braille Is Beautiful: A diversity awareness curriculum program developed by the NFB especially for sighted students aged 9-12 or older. The program can be used with one child as an individual project or a group of children in a classroom or in a youth organization such as Scouts or 4-H.
Questions Kids Ask about Blindness: A great Q&A resource for curious sighted kids aged 6 and up.
Other Resources:
Good Books for Children:
Touch the Universe: A NASA Braille Book of Astronomy: Print/Braille tactile-image book about astronomy. Recommended for students 5 and up.
Sadie Can Count: Print, Braille, and raised tactile image book for early readers.
Pop-Up IEP: Have you ever left an IEP meeting kicking yourself because you did not have a good comeback to a statement made by one of the team members? Maybe you said nothing at all, maybe your response was too emotional or too weak, or maybe you didn' t have facts to support your position. Finally, there is a Web publication especially for parents and educators of blind and visually impaired students that addresses this very need. It's called the Pop-Up IEP for Parents/Advocates. Sponsored by the National Center on Low-Incidence Disabilities, a project of the University of Northern Colorado, the Pop-Up IEP lists sixteen specific problematic comments with an explanation of why the comment is a problem, sample responses, and specific legal references. The Pop-Up IEP for Parent/Advocates was developed by the National Center on Low-Incidence Disabilities in collaboration with the National Organization of Parents of Blind Children.
Future Reflections - A Magazine for Parents and Teachers of Blind Children published by the American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults in partnership with the National Organization of Parents of Blind Children