[blindkid] Blind Children with Additional Disabilities

[Deborah Kent Stein]

As editor of Future Reflections, I would like to add my thoughts to the 
"More than Just Blindness" discussion.  I try to include at least one 
article about kids with multiple disabilities in every issue.  Since at 
least half of all children with blindness and visual impairment have 
additional disabilities, I am well aware that one or two articles per issue 
is not nearly enough.  I am always on the lookout for articles by parents 
and teachers that will be relevant to the concerns of families with blind/MD 
kids.  If anyone on this list would like to contribute, please contact me 
off list!  Here are some of the topics I'd like to cover:

Social/recreational opportunities that have been helpful
Encouraging exploration
Building language skills
Using technology
Inclusion at school
Summer activities
Developing interests into productive hobbies
Parents' reflections on raising a blind multiply disabled child
Teachers' experiences finding innovative teaching methods
Stories about or by blind adults with additional disabilities: careers, 
family, living arrangements, recreation

I realize that articles about kids with additional disabilities aren't easy 
to identify by looking through the table of contents.  I have been reluctant 
to create a heading called "ADDITIONAL DISABILITIES," because I don't think 
stories about these children should be separated from stories about other 
blind/VI kids, any more than the children themselves should be separated and 
isolated.  Unfortunately, though, some articles might get missed.  For 
instance, the article "Frequent Flyer: Preparing Your Child for Independent 
Travel with the Airlines," by Faith Rosenshein Young, which appeared in the 
Winter 2014 issue, is listed under TRAVEL in the Table of Contents.  The 
author writes about teaching her son, who is deafblind and has cerebral 
palsy and autism, to fly independently back and forth to residential school. 
Anna Wallis's article, "Finding Our Way with Grace," about raising a child 
who has low vision and Down syndrome, is listed under PARENTS' PERSPECTIVES 
in the special issue on low vision.

Future Reflections is a magazine for parents and teachers of blind and 
visually impaired children.  That includes kids with disabilities in 
addition to blindness.  Please let me know how the magazine can better serve 
this very diverse population.

Debbie Stein
Future Reflections
dkent5817 at att.net
773-203-1394
 


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