[blparent] blind parent's rights for custody of blind child

[Steve Jacobson]

Virginia,

In cases like yours, the most important thing is to have people involved who can show that your blindness should not be a reason 
to give you less access to your kids.  Custody cases are often more complex than just whether one parent is blind, but it is 
important to try to get blindness out of the picture.

I would strongly urge you to get in contact with our affilliate in California for starters.  You can get a lot of information 
about our California Affilliate at

http://www.nfbcal.org

and here is the contact information shown there for the president:

Mary Willows, President
(510) 462-8575
mwillows at sbcglobal.net 

You have the right to be treated fairly.  There isn't any law that would give you any sort of preference as a parent because of 
your disability. though, and to some extent, it is going to be fair for the court to ask how you might handle things as a single 
blind parent.  Perhaps you shouldn't have to deal with that, but the fact is there is always some educating that has to happen.  
Because one is a lawyer or a judge doesn't mean they understand how we function as parents, and fair or not, there is nobody 
better able to educate them than us.  Given that these are likely tough times for you, this is an extra burden that you shouldn't 
have to be handling now, but if you connect with the right people, you at least won't have to handle it alone.  Sometimes just 
being able to tell the judge that you are not the first blind single mom can make a difference, and you can probably find others 
here who have traveled the same path before you.

Good luck, and let us know if you need additional contact information.

Best regards,

Steve Jacobson

On Fri, 19 Oct 2012 10:19:47 -0700, Jasmine wrote:

>Hi Everyone,
>My name is Virginia and I'm a blind mother in California of a 13 year 
>old boy who is also blind and learning disabled. I'm currently going 
>through a divorce, and my ex husband and his parent's are trying to 
>fight for primary custody of my son. Are there any laws or rights that I 
>can show them for disabled parent's? Is there anyone who can help me 
>fight for my rights? I've heard that the Nfb fights for custody cases 
>like this, so I was wondering if anyone in the Nfb can help me out? I 
>already have a lawyer to represent me, but she doesn't specialize in 
>disability rights for blind parents rights.
>Thanks!
>Virginia


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