[blindkid] More than just blindness

[empwrn at bellsouth.net]

You are not alone. My son also has delays not related to blindness. Of everything, communication was and is our primary concern because that's how you connect with others and that's how you learn. At 9, our son's communication has vastly improved. He understands (and actually follows) directions. He listens to short conversations and he is able to participate in short exchanges on topics of his choosing. He also is able to communicate his needs. 
 
We have arrived at our current parenting and learning philosophy/standards/practices through a variety of support groups including this one that has encouraged us not to allow our son to be limited from doing things just because he is blind. What most clicked everything into place for our current way of doing things was when a therapist introduced me to the work of Dr. James D. MacDonald of Ohio State University who has a drastically different approach to helping a child learn to speak than other things we tried. He published a book called Communicating Partners and then Play to Talk and he has a website with additional resources as well as a yahoo group that he directly participates in. 

When we began to see ourselves as our son's communicating partners and that we had to get into his world before he could join ours everything changed. I highly recommend his materials.

You mentioned looking for social opportunities for your son. As tiring as it can sometimes be, my husband and I remain our 9 year olds best playmates. Other children as big as he is are far more advanced than he is in their social skills. Children at his social skill level are far too small for him to play with unsupervised. I continue to trust that this will change as he continues to develop and also remind myself that when he is more ready to be out in the world with others, he will continue to have a strong attachment to our family. Far too many small children don't even have that these days. 

Good luck in your hunt for support!

I hope that I've given you some hope and consolation that you are not alone.

Marie