Blindness

Blindness General Information 

 Blindness is the condition of lacking visual perception due to physiological or neurological factors. Total blindness is the complete lack of form and visual light perception and is clinically recorded as NLP, an abbreviation for "no light perception."^[1] Blindness is frequently used to describe severe visual impairment with residual vision. Those described as having only light perception have no more sight than the ability to tell light from dark and the general direction of a light source
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To determine which people may need special assistance because of their visual disabilities, various governmental jurisdictions have formulated more complex definitions referred to as legal blindness. In North America and most of Europe, legal blindness is defined as visual acuity (vision) of 20/200 (6/60) or less in the better eye with best correction possible. This means that a legally blind individual would have to stand 20 feet (6.1 m) from an object to see it—with corrective lenses—with the same degree of clarity as a normally sighted person could from 200 feet (61 m). In many areas, people with average acuity who nonetheless have a visual field of less than 20 degrees (the norm being 180 degrees) are also classified as being legally blind. Approximately ten percent of those deemed legally blind, by any measure, have no vision. The rest have some vision, from light perception alone to relatively good acuity. Low vision is sometimes used to describe visual acuities from 20/70 to 20/200.


By the 10th Revision of the WHO International Statistical Classification of Diseases, Injuries and Causes of Death, low vision is defined as visual acuity of less than 20/60 (6/18), but equal to or better than 20/200 (6/60), or corresponding visual field loss to less than 20 degrees, in the better eye with best possible correction. Blindness is defined as visual acuity of less than 20/400 (6/120), or corresponding visual field loss to less than 10 degrees, in the better eye with best possible correction.


^{From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blindness}

^{Blindness Warning Signs} 

^{If you notice your child seems to be having trouble seeing things or struggling with his vision, it is advised to bring him to an eye clinic for a test. If your child is old enough, you can ask about the following symptoms, which are possible indicators of vision problems:}
 
Floaters: Two-thirds of the eye is filled with vitreous, a jelly-like substance which begins to contract with age. “Occasional spots, threads or webs ‘floating’ across your field of vision are actually condensed strands of vitreous causing shadows on the retinal surface,” says Branch. A sudden onset of floaters, particularly dark splotches, may signal the start of a retinal tear.
Flashers: Flashing lights, like tiny lightning bolts or strobes, in your peripheral vision indicate the vitreous is tugging on the retina and may cause it to come loose from its normal position.
Shadow Effect: A sense of a shadow, or gray curtain, rising or dropping over your field of vision could be a sign the retina is peeling away from the back of the eye.

^{From: http://checkincalls.wordpress.com/2009/10/30/prevent-blindness-learn-the-warning-signs-of-eye-diseases/}

How can blindness affect my child?

Blindness is a purely physical disability. On its own, it has no effect on a person's emotional or intellectual ability. There are many different adaptation strategies available to allow a child with vision loss to do most or all of the everyday tasks that people with normal vision can do, as well as help them succeed in school, at home, in the playground or at future jobs and careers.

Options for Children with Vision Loss

Each vision loss case is unique. Parents should weight the myriad options against factors such as their child's age and maturity, degree of vision loss, and available resources and support. Also, it is important to remember that management strategies are not mutually exclusive - for instance, a child could find it beneficial to use both a guide dog and white cane.

Guide Dogs
 The benefits of guide dogs are numerous. Moving about in snow, ice, mud and other rough conditions is easier with a dog than a cane. The guide dog can plan a clear route from a distance, which may save time because you don’t have to investigate every pathway with your cane to find the right one. A guide dog can be taught to find many things like, trash cans, open places to sit, a bus stop, a soda machine, pay phone, or anything else you feel is important. Guide dogs cost more, take longer to learn to use, require much more maintenance, are not available 100% of the time and you have to think about social considerations.
You never know when the dog will get sick. Also not every place you go will be a good place to take your guide dog. And we must face up to the fact that we are going to need to make the decision to retire our dog at some point in time. It doesn’t always work out to begin working with the next dog immediately.

White Canes
A long white cane is the tool that most blind people choose. This is probably because it is the most basic, versatile and low maintenance option. Oh and cheap too! White canes require minimal training to get started moving about independently. In an afternoon you can get the basics of arc, walking in step, a light touch and shore-lining.  After a few months you will be getting better at more complex techniques like using the sun, wind, or sound around you to keep yourself oriented. Some potential disadvantages of using a cane vs. a guide dog are: You may only have tactile information available that is within the reach of your cane. Situations that require broad route planning are more difficult, places such as construction sites, large open areas like parks, outdoor festivals, and that sort of thing. Snow, mud and other off-road conditions are more difficult with a cane as compared to a guide dog.

Two possible reasons why blind and visually impaired people use white canes are safety and identification. A cane, used properly, can help you find curbs, stairs, stuff parked in your way, things you want to find and so much more. The visual presence of a cane helps other people realize that you are blind or visually impaired. This can help a lot with getting good directions or avoiding hurt feelings when you don’t wave back at people waving hello to you.

Enviromental management 

There are many, many different adjustments that can be made in environment that a blind person frequents such as their own home or their favorite spots that help them move around and interact with those environments smoothly and safely. Some examples include tactile labeling and organizing, never moving furniture or other objects, and so on. There are many online resources with information and tips on making your home a safe and secure place for a blind child.

Taken from and adapted from http://www.livingblind.com/

Blindness in the Classroom

As with any other child, the most important goal with a blind student is to help them become a competent and independent person. They must receive the same education, information and experiences as any sighted child so that they have the best chance to succeed. The child must know all that is going on in the classroom, and be included on the same level as other students. The following information is a small sampling of strategies and tips that can be used with blind children in the classroom. More exhaustive listings and details can be easily found elsewhere online.

What teachers and education assistants can do:
 

• Keep expectations high.
• Provide the same or equivalent information, experience, and education for the blind child as for the sighted children in the class.
• Build in the expectation, the instruction, and the practice time for independence in all areas-academic, social, and personal.
• The classroom teacher will assume the same responsibility for the education of the blind child as he or she assumes for the education of the sighted children in the room, i.e. speak directl to the child at all times, grade the child's papers, know the child's work, interact with the child daily, discipline the child, and so forth.
• Understand and respect the alternative skills the child will be learning, i.e. the use of Braille, cane, sound, touch, memory, various special tools, and so forth. 

Some specifics for the classroom teacher:
 
After you work with a blind child for even a little while, you will probably find these simple adaptations have become second nature to you. Many classroom teachers report that they enrich the classroom experience for all the children. Here are some specifics:
 

• Be more verbal. Verbal description will help the child interpret what is going on in the classroom.
  --Use names when calling on children.
  --Provide precise verbal description in place of vague statements and/or motions when modeling an action. "Fold the paper lengthwise" instead of "Fold the paper like this."
  --Explain your routine a bit to help the blind child interpret situations which he/she cannot see. "I'm so glad you're all being quiet as I get the snack ready."
  --Verbalize what you write on the board or on overheads; spell out words when appropriate.
  --Add a few words of explanation when the illustrations in a storybook carry the plot (the blind child will not have access to the picture).
  --When referring to objects, think about attributes other than color, such as shape, weight, texture, size, and location.
  --Use normal language such as "look" and "see." 
• Help the child learn the workings of the classroom. Blind children in the early grades, like all children, have much to learn about classroom routine. You may need to teach the child:
  --to focus on the teacher;
  --to respond quickly to instructions;
  --how to respond (raising the hand, answering aloud, answering in unison, etc.);
  --when and where to move in the classroom;
  --how to determine what others in the room are doing; and
  --to work at an appropriate pace (please see the section on pace at the end of this list). 
• Organize the child's desk area and materials storage area for maximum independence.
•  Adapt materials or parts of the lesson when necessary. 
• Provide hands-on opportunities. These will make experiences more meaningful for the blind child.
• Model movements for songs, fingerplays, etc. that you want the whole class to learn by moving the blind child through the motions. Sighted children get the benefit of watching and the blind child can learn by experiencing his/her own movement. 
• Offer information instead of help. Instead of getting an object for the child, for example, give the child a chance to find it by describing its size, shape, and location. Then give the child enough time to explore and correct mistakes before you give more prompts.
• Understand and respect the skills of blindness. Learn the general sequence of the skills, provide opportunities in the class for the child to practice, and offer appropriate support as the child is working toward mastery.
  --Braille reading and writing is the equivalent of print reading and writing.
  --Information can be reliably perceived through the sense of touch.
  --The blind child should be moving about more and more independently as time goes on using orientation and mobility skills.
  --The child will learn to use sound, memory, mental mapping, and various special tools and will learn to ask for information when needed.

 From: https://nfb.org/images/nfb/publications/fr/fr15/issue3/f150302.html

 

Resources 

Living Blind Blog
http://www.livingblind.com

Blind Children's Resource Center
www.blindchildren.org  

National Federation of the Blind
www.nfb.org