Do you have a friend or family member that is blind?

[clarabelle]

Thanks
this does make me feel better. I know it isn't really about me -but I didn't want to ask the Mom and Dad a bunch of stupid questions and I have been worrying on this for days
Thanks

 

[minkydog]

I have three cousins who have been vision-impaired from birth. They are all in the same family. All of them have a little vision, but not much truly usable vision. These women are all in their 50s now. Back in the day they went to St. Augustine School for the Blind, but today would be educated in their home school. Two of my cousins married, one to a vision-impaired man, and one remained single. None of them had children for fear of passing on whatever gene has caused their blindness and they chose not to adopt. They all travel,went to college, work for the State of Florida, they do their own shopping, pay their bills,own their homes, etc. THere lives are not remarkably different from mine other than the fact that they can't drive.

When we were little my family used to go visit them at Thanksgiving. We played all kinds of games, including bike-riding,checkers and hide&seek. If you play hide&seek in teh dark with three blind girls you better be holding your breath because they WILL find you.

 

[laurie31]

There is a couple in our church who are both blind. They raised 3 sighted children, hold good jobs, sing in the choir, and even keep the nursery.

The wife has told me how her mom made sure she had a "normal" childhood. (she was born blind). She climbed trees, rode a bike, and did all sorts of things like that. She's a great cook, she just has to have all the cans in her pantry in certain places so she knows what they are.

When they eat out at a restaurant, we read the menu to them if there is no braille menu available. When the food comes, we tell them where things are on the plate, like "your grilled chicken is at 9 o'clock and your rice is at 6 o'clock" and they don't have any problems cutting their meat and eating a bite of whatever they want.

In Alabama, the AIDB (Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind) educates a lot of students, but many remain in their local school systems.

 

[clarabelle]

Thanks!

When I was asking about "at home" earlier in the thread that is what I meant.
Do they have to go to boarding school to be educated.

I know now they don't

Thanks

 

[sunnyday123]

Sunnyday -I find this fascinating -you can work on computers without seeing?

I honestly don't know how he does it, but he does. He came over to my desk one time to help me with an error I was having. He told me to go to the blah blah screen and I said, "Oh, the one with the green bar?"

He just kind of stood there and said, "Um, I don't really know." I felt like a horses' behind. But he fixed my problem.

 

[SOnotLayuh]

I honestly don't know how he does it, but he does. He came over to my desk one time to help me with an error I was having. He told me to go to the blah blah screen and I said, "Oh, the one with the green bar?"

He just kind of stood there and said, "Um, I don't really know." I felt like a horses' behind. But he fixed my problem.

 

[minkydog]

Thanks!

When I was asking about "at home" earlier in the thread that is what I meant.
Do they have to go to boarding school to be educated.

I know now they don't

Thanks

There are still schools for the blind,but many blind students go to school in their own communities. The school I used to work at had a small resource class for vision impaired kids. They spent part of the day with their peers and part of the day in resource. As far as anyone could see they all got along and lived as normally as possible.

I honestly don't know how he does it, but he does. He came over to my desk one time to help me with an error I was having. He told me to go to the blah blah screen and I said, "Oh, the one with the green bar?"

He just kind of stood there and said, "Um, I don't really know." I felt like a horses' behind. But he fixed my problem.

My cousins have computers which have voice responders. It reads their email, helps them surf the web, and even lets them IM. They all have braille watches and they label their clothing so they know what goes with what. They do their own makeup and style their hair. None of them uses seeing eye dogs and they only use the white canes when they are in unfamiliar places. Except for the fact that their eyes don't look quite right, you'd never know they were blind. I think that's a testament to their fantastic parents, who never let them get away with anything.

 

[olena]

Legally blind here....along with brother and aunt, so we all grew up with it.....all juvenile macular dystrophy.

I think I would suggest not treating the child any differently than the others. My parents and grandparents did that and we're all pretty well-adjusted.

The kinds of services like Braille and even state vocational rehabilitation depends on the state. My aunt lives in Alabama, home state of Helen keller, and they provided amazing services, until budget cuts kicked in. She got an adaptive computer loaded with low vision tools, training for it, Braille instruction, CCTV and skills training for running her own business. She and my uncle run a very small business.

Here in Georgia? BIG difference. I couldn't even get help for adaptive technology in high school because my parents made too much money. (We were middle-class, by the way.)

The Library of Congress has a library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped that offers books on tape. My aunt even got one of their series on piano playing and was learning to play a little bit.

Something I found on the BBC Radio that I have LOVED has been a series on how blind people see beauty.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00dhkrp

Also, please don't assume that just because a person loses vision that other senses somehow get better. Most of the information the brain receives through the senses is visual and that's what the brains pays closest attention to. When there is vision loss, the brain just focuses more on other information streams. I actually had a lady lecture me and swear that my other senses were somehow superior to everyone else and that I should be able to hear or smell things better than others. I don't. I may notice things quicker but that it.

And if your friend's child does have R.P, there's a lot more out there than there ever was as far as information, support groups and even treatment. I have been affiliated with the Foundation Fighting Blindness for years and they offer support, information and even sponsor important research.

http://www.blindness.org/


I think it's great that you're curious and I hope the Mom in this situation can find some comfort in dealing with it. I will never forget the day we came home from the eye doctor with deep suspicions. My Mom went upstairs and was crying on the phone to her Mom. I was 8 years old and felt like I broke her heart. When my brother's diagnosis came in, she blamed herself and went through a very tough time. My Dad's relatives didn't help, since they also blamed her and said this wasn't in their genes. My Mom's sister also has this, but she was only correctly diagnosed after we were, but this disease is recessive, so it took both my parents having the gene. My Dad's folks are still mostly in ignorant denial and it remains a point of contention. But mostly, we are all accepting and adjusted and just live life a little differently and that takes time and coping skills.

I still hate and get lectures from strangers in public about forgetting my glasses or telling me to go get contacts or "that surgery". Gee....wish I had thought of that..... My other pet peeve are parents who let their children gawk, stare or try to grab my white cane when I have it and go so far as to give ignorant answers to their loud, curious questions about me as if I were deaf, too. I'm all for and have engaged in positive teaching moments and exchanges, but sometimes it's just pointless.

I've rambled quite a bit, so feel free to PM me if you want to know more.

 

[bumbershoot]

Thanks
this does make me feel better. I know it isn't really about me -but I didn't want to ask the Mom and Dad a bunch of stupid questions and I have been worrying on this for days
Thanks

FWIW, once they have some time to really understand their situation...I wouldn't worry about asking questions. My cousin and her kids (and her dad and her grandmother and one or two of her dad's sibs) are *legally* blind (they do have sight) b/c of congenital cataracts, and I finally asked my cousin about zoos and Animal Kingdom, and staying at the Villas at AK to make sure it might be worth it for the 3 of them. Her mom had told me that she never took my cousin to zoos, because she couldn't see the animals unless she was right up near them. And I'm GLAD I asked, because it turns out her mom was just totally overprotective, not ever wanting my cousin to feel "stupid" for not seeing something. So not only does my cousin thoroughly enjoy, say, the Safari ride, but they would love to stay at AKL villas, because they just use tons of words to describe where exactly to look, and the kids can see them.

I had wanted to ask that for a year, but felt like an idiot, and I felt ridiculous asking it, I even blushed while talking on the phone, but she was GLAD I'd asked, because it was much better than just assuming they couldn't see the animals.


So anyway, give them time to work it through on their own, and I'm sure they would be OK with caring questions. Though maybe my cousin is an anomaly?

 

[Deb in IA]

clarabelle, my kids take piano lessons, yes, piano lessons from a wonderful woman who has been completely blind since birth. She was born prematurely, and had retinopathy of prematurity. She has some light/dark perception, but that is all.

She is completely independent. She lives on her own, works, goes shopping, keeps her own apartment. She's active in her church, travels, and even goes downhill skiing with a guide! She reads, both Braille and Books on Tape and uses a computer. She takes notes at the kids' lessons on her writing machine. She is an amazing piano teacher, including teaching the kids to read the music that she has never seen.

She has had 3 devoted seeing eye dogs. Currently, she is without a dog, but uses her cane.

She is an incredible person who had never let her disability slow her down or prevent her from doing anything she wants to do.

 

[Katie's Butterflies]

I’ve had classes with several students who are blind (even online classes!). There are a few (that I’m aware of) who are graduating with high honors in May and one who has a possibility of valedictorian in her major!

Also, at my college, there are several (I think 3 or 4) professors who are blind. They get along just fine!

Blindness might make things a lot harder (especially if it’s developed) but it doesn’t necessarily have to stop a person from doing well.

 

[clarabelle]

Thanks everyone.

I appreciate your stories.