[blindkid] feelings of blind children

Carol Castellano carol_castellano at verizon.net
Mon Mar 4 21:45:53 UTC 2013


Hi Alison,

I think a gradual approach is a good idea, just the way you might 
deal with other complicated issues children might ask about--where do 
babies come from, etc..  Give enough info for the stage he's in.

We found being matter-of-fact was helpful.  "Hey, Serena, do you know 
how Mommy reads the book?  I do it with my eyes.  Sighted people read 
with their eyes.  Blind people read with their fingers.  Remember Mr. 
Ruffalo?  He's blind and he reads with his fingers, just like you 
will some day."  That sort of thing.

As time goes on and as various situations crop up, your son will get 
more and more information about how eyesight works and where it's the 
same and where it's different from seeing with the fingers.

I also second Sally's advice to get to know lots of blind 
people.  This normalizes the situation for everyone in the family and 
also gives you a built-in group to get tips from on how blind people 
accomplish various tasks.

Best wishes,
Carol

Carol Castellano
President, Parents of Blind Children-NJ
Director of Programs
National Organization of Parents of Blind Children
973-377-0976
carol_castellano at verizon.net
www.blindchildren.org
www.nfb.org/parents-and-teachers



At 01:35 PM 3/4/2013, you wrote:
>I wanted to say, Arielle, I appreciate your comments about how you 
>felt as a child regarding how your parents reacted to your 
>blindness.  It provides some good perspective for me as a sighted 
>parent of a blind four year old.
>
>Right now my son does not know that he is blind, but I can see the 
>wheels turning in his head.  He asks me about the paper I read 
>stories from and yesterday he asked what was the purpose of some 
>piano sheet music I was using.  The other day, a boy ran up to him 
>and grabbed his cane ignorantly, and asked several questions about 
>its purpose and about Nate's blindness.  I was very aware that Nate 
>was listening to what I said.  I try to answer in an honest and 
>non-judgmental way.  I often say to other kids that he can't see 
>with his eyes but that he uses his hearing, cane and touch 
>instead.  When asked why his eyes don't see, I say they formed 
>differently when he was a baby.  I don't know if these are the best 
>answers, so if anyone has any suggestions please let me know.
>
>And in the future when Nate asks me about it, I want to be honest, 
>yet not make him feel bad about it in any way.  Do I tell him that 
>most people see with their eyes, or do I let him figure this out on 
>his own?  I feel that telling him that fact might make him feel bad, 
>but should he know?  I would think the gradual approach might be 
>better.  As in some other topics with bringing up a child, maybe I 
>should match the complexity of the answer to the complexity of the question?
>
>Thanks for any thoughts,
>Alison
>_______________________________________________
>blindkid mailing list
>blindkid at nfbnet.org
>http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindkid_nfbnet.org
>To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info 
>for blindkid:
>http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindkid_nfbnet.org/carol.joyce.castellano%40gmail.com





More information about the BlindKid mailing list