Where to go for answers

When you have a parenting question about your blind child you may not know where to go for helpful answers. Your friends with kids may have no experience with the situation you have.

A sleepy baby Tom

For example, Thomas has never been a good sleeper. He slept in a co-sleeper attached to our bed, and in our bed for the first eight months. (He was very small then so it took him a while to hit that 15 pound weight limit for the co-sleeper.) His crib looked really nice in his room but it never got any action. I read all those sleeping technique books but we failed with every attempt we made.

I know they say that kids gradually accept sleeping in their own bed if you let them cry it out. Well Thomas would cry until he threw up. They never covered that in their books! Plus he constantly had surgeries and had an eye patch on to protect his eye while it healed. This meant he needed to sleep in the bed with us so we could make sure he didn't rip the patch off and bother his eye.

You see what I mean about unique challenges, right? Well, when we were trying to transition him to sleeping in his crib he would inevitably move around and hit his head on the wooden crib. It was a disaster and no one was sleeping. So finally I decided to pose the question to the BVI parents group, a Yahoo group for parents of blind and visually impaired children. I posted our issue and asked how other parents were dealing with sleeping issues. I got a bunch of helpful responses including the suggestion to let him sleep in his pack n play. Genius! He sleeps by himself and can't hurt himself on the soft sides. We are all sleeping better.

Dreaming

My point is, go to the experts- other parents of blind and visually impaired children. You can find them online or call your local school for the blind and ask for suggestions. I like using the BVI parents group on Yahoo. You can post questions or even just brag a little about your child to some parents who understand. They are a great resource and one that international people can take advantage of.

It's important to network with the blind community. You can get so much information and support from people that have truly been in your shoes. While doing some searching online I found that the president of Pennsylvania Parents of Blind Children lives 20 minutes from my house so I started corresponding with her via email. I took my son to meet her and her family. We met her young daughter who is blind and got so much information about what the next couple years will be like for us. She also informed me of some of the challenges we will face and what is available in our area. It was a great experience and we continue to stay in touch.

So don't be afraid to reach out and ask a question.