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Raising a Blind Teen

If you are a parent raising a blind teen, you know that it can be a challenging time.  Blind teenagers, like all teenagers, will be going through a lot of physical and emotional changes.  Consider the following tips when parenting your blind teen.

Don’t Over Parent

Your blind teen is getting older and may be eager to do more things on their own.  When your child was younger, she may have wanted you to brush her hair or button her clothes.  As blind teens seek more independence just like their non-visually impaired peers, they may want to start doing more for themselves.

Don’t Be Afraid to Punish Your Blind Teen

A blind teen is still a teen and needs to be treated like one.  If you are raising multiple teens and tweens the same rules should apply for all of them.  If your blind teen tries cigarettes, listens to inappropriate music you have banned from the house or  breaks any other family rule it is important for you to give your blind child the same punishment that you would give to any of your other kids.

Support Groups

Although it is good for your blind teen to interact with all types of teenagers, it can be helpful for your son or daughter to have some blind friends as well.  Take your teen to a blind support group or youth conference where they can make new friends.  Having someone who can relate to their situation can help a teen get through rough times with dating, school work and other youth issues.

Encourage

Encourage your blind teen to join after school activities.  These can be activities designated for handicapped students or mainstream activities that your child feels comfortable doing.  Becoming good at a hobby can lead to making new friends and finding interests that your teen may want to pursue in college.  Being in a club or sport can also raise your blind teen’s self-esteem.

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Jobs for Blind Adults

Although many people may assume that all blind people are completely disabled, that notion is just a stereotype.  Many blind adults lead full lives and can work in a variety of industries.

Masseuse

Blind adults may be interested in a career as a masseuse.  Many blind people develop their other senses, including touch to heightened levels. Blind people can use their increased sense of touch to get a job at a spa or even start their own massage business.

Transcribing

Most blind people can type perfectly fine since anyone can memorize a keyboard.  Think about it, you probably have been using a computer so long that you barely look at the keys anyway.  Blind individuals can  listen to audio tapes and type up transcripts.  This can lead to a job in medical transcription or as a court reporter.

Teaching

Blind people can make great teachers because they have had to overcome a lot of obstacles in life.  Any learning material available in books can also be found on audio tapes.  Blind teachers can be inspirational to young children.  A teacher’s aid can help the blind lead teacher to grade papers.

Reach for the Stars

Modern technology has given many blind people the opportunity to do almost any job that they want.  You will find blind people being productive in all sectors of life from law to food service to journalism to accounting.  Colleges and Universities make it possible for blind students to get an education, leading to very intelligent blind individuals eager to work.  Most companies would be happy to make a few accommodations to hire a blind person if they are the candidate most qualified for the job.

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Resources for Parents of Blind Child

Being the parent of a blind child can be a challenge.  Although daily life can be difficult, it is important to remember that you are not alone.

Online Forums

Joining online forums for parents of blind children or children with other disabilities can help you to find support and make new friends going through a similar situation. If your real life friends don’t seem to completely understand your situation, you can vent to other mothers and fathers walking in your shoes.  You do not need to be embarrassed or nervous about revealing your identity as you can post under a made up screen name.

Real Time Support Groups

Contact a local hospital or church to see if there are any in person support groups in your area.  Venting to other local parents of blind children can help you to get through the week and have someone to talk to.  If you find another parent that you connect with, you can also set up a play date for your two children.

National Association for Parents of Children with Visual Impairments

The NAPVI is a United States based organization looking to help blind children and their parents.  Parents can attend conferences where they can meet with top doctors and other parents.  The organization has seven different chapters through out the country based on region so that during the year people can participate in local charity events. Members can also subscribe to newsletters to keep up with trends in education for blind children and medical advancements.

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Games and Activities for Blind Children

It is important for blind children to play games and enjoy forms of entertainment. Simple adaptations can be made so that blind children can participate in fun activities.

Ball Sports

Blind or visually impaired kids can still participate in sports where balls or used. For safety reasons, hard balls should be replaced with light weight balls such as blow up balls, beach balls and nerf balls. Blind children can learn to play volleyball with a teacher or assistant standing by their side. Blind children can also play catch safely with light weight balls.

Playground

Visually impaired children can enjoy swings and slides with the help of a parent or older sibling.  Obstacle course type play equipment can be beneficial for blind children as they can feel their way through tunnels.

Musical Toys

Some blind children adapt to have keen hearing.  Musical toys are a great way for blind children to express themselves.  If you can afford to give your blind child private piano lessons, with a little practice and proper training playing the piano may be an activity your child can enjoy and excel at.  Young children may enjoy dolls that they can squeeze and music and sounds will come out.

Play-Doh

Blind children can have a good time crafting with play-doh.  Play-doh has a nice texture that children will find it interesting to mold with.  Scented play-doh is also now available.  You can play a game with your child by teaching them to identify different colors of play-doh by using their sense of smell.

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Charities and Non-Profits that Fight Blindness

There are many non-profit organizations and charities hard at work everyday to find a cure for blindness and make improvements in the lives of the visually impaired.

Fight for Sight

Fight for Sight has been doing vision research for over 65 years.  This institution continuously raises money to do research to make advancements in the visual impairment world.  They continue to do experimental treatments that have helped the visually impaired.

Prevent Blindness America

Prevent Blindness America is a charity that encourages annual eye exams and blindness prevention.  The agency educates the public about vision problems in adults and children.  They continue to be a voice for the blind in hopes of getting more government support in eye care protection and research.

Sight Savers

Sight Savers fights vision loss in third world countries. Their team members travel to Nigeria to do eye exams on people who desperately need medical attention but have no money or access to doctors.  Sight Savers have saved the lives of thousands of people by healing health issues that could have eventually caused blindness as a side effect if they were not diagnosed.  They have saved 21 million people from river blindness,  common cause of vision loss in poor nations.

The Seeing Eye

The Seeing Eye is a non-profit organization based in Morristown, New Jersey.  At the Seeing Eye they train canines to be seeing eye dogs.  In addition, they temporarily house blind individuals and train them to work well with a furry companion before sending the person and the dog home together.

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Facts About Blindness

Everyone knows that blind people have little to no vision, but there is much more to this serious and life altering condition that the general public does not realize.

More People are Blind Than You May Think

There are over 15 million visually impaired and blind people in the United States alone.  21% of people over the age of 65 are visually impaired.

Blindness is Not Just for the Elderly

Over 17 million school aged children around the world suffer from blindness or another serious vision impairment.  Reasons that young people can be blind include accidents, optic nerve malfunction and retina damage during the first year of a child’s life.

Misconceptions and Stereotypes

Many people may think that all blind people see nothing but darkness.  In reality, only 10% of legally blind individuals can see nothing at all.  Anyone who has vision of less than 20/200 can be considered legally blind even if they can still see in some capacity.  On television shows and in the movies, it seems like almost every blind person can read by using braille and use seeing eye dogs to get around.  In reality, 90% of visually impaired people do not use the braille system.  Many blind people can also get around fine with a cane or walking stick and do not opt to use a seeing eye dog.

Blind People Like to Be Treated Just Like You

Since many people have never met a blind person, some people get nervous and feel like they have to treat blind people in a special way.  It is important to remember that blind people like to socialize just like you do.  Blind people want you to make jokes, tell stories and have you treat them like any other person.  Don’t assume that all blind people are completely isolated.  Many blind people hold jobs and have hobbies.  As technology continues to improve, there will be even more options available for blind people to be handi-capable.

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Regular Eye Check Up Needed To Prevent Eye Problems.

There are many diseases that can cause a person to become blind. It is very important that there is a regular eye check up done by people of all ages to ensure that the person does not become blind. As the person becomes older, it is much more important for the regular eye check up. There are many clinics that will help the person to have a regular check of the eye.
The eye check up is done to identify the presence of any damage to the eye and the various parts of the eye. Retinal damage is common in diabetes.
Since diabetes is on the rise in many countries and societies, more and more people are suffering from this problem. It is very important that the treatment of the eye is done early enough. For the treatment to be early, the identification of the problem also needs to be early. For identification of the problem, the person needs to undergo health checks and focus on eye check up.

The common method of testing the eye is to check the visual acuity by using the Snellen’s chart. This is a test that is done by making the patient view a chart with varying sizes of numbers or alphabets and the person has to read the largest to the smallest numbers. When the person is not able to read any of them, then it denotes that the person has some kind of visual problem.

Regular eye check will also help to identify the presence of any problems earlier than usual. This is because of the fact that if a yearly eye check is done, any new problems can be treated as soon as they appear and this will prevent any lasting problems like blindness. If there are no regular eye checks done, then the person may even become blind.

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Cataract Is A Leading Cause Of Blindness

Cataract can lead to blindness in a person. Cataract is one of the most common problems that are seen all over the world. It is also the most common cause for a person to become blind. There is a lot of ignorance present in the community about cataract and the need to get it treated with surgery.

Cataract is one of the leading blindness problems in society, whether it is developed or not developed. There are various kinds of cataracts that are present in a person. A person may have age related cataract. This is in fact the most common kind of cataract that is seen in the general population. This occurs because of the normal ageing process. In this kind of cataract, the individual who is blind because of cataract has a layer of tissue on the eye. This tissue forms over a period of time and needs to be removed for the person to be able to see properly.

Vision check is done for the person with the Snellen’s chart to check the actual visual acuity. Once this is deceased, the cause of the lack of vision is identified using various diagnostic test and then surgery is performed to treat the condition, if it is cataract that has caused the blindness.

Other than the age related cataract, there are two other kinds of cataracts that are commonly seen. One of them is the diabetes induced problems. This is commonly the damage to the retina called as retinopathy. This can also hasten the process of cataract formation in   person. There are many studies that have been done to identify the link between diabetes and cataract. The other kind of cataract is the steroid induced cataract. This kind of cataract is seen in a person who is treated with steroids like prednisolone and hydrocortisone.

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All Important Information About E Books For Authors

The e book is the best kind of book because of the many advantages that are associated with the book. In spite of this, the e book also has to have a lot of hard work put into it. This is because of the fact that the book has to be written with a lot of great care. Once the book has been written on a specific topic, the next phase is approached.

This is the phase where the person has to make sure that the book is also published. In between the writing and the process of publishing is the process where the cover and all the other things for the book is designed. The person who is the author of the book should decide on the cover for the book. This can be done by a designer because the e book should have a web designer designing the cover.

Once the cover is designed, the book is ready to be published. This means that the book is ready to be downloaded by the reader after paying for the book. The person who is interested in reading the book should be able to pay on the internet though a safe and secure process and then download the book.

Once the process of publishing the book is over, the process of popularizing the book has to start. There are many people who write reviews. You can ask a friend to write a review of your book. If the review is a positive one, then you will have many people who read the review to be flocking to the book. This will help you to make a lot of money selling your book. This is the process in which people are creating and selling e books. Once you create one, you will be able to make many more.

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Problems Associated With Blindness

There are a lot of problems that a person has to face in case he is blind. The person is at a disadvantage in the society. Other than this, the person may also have complications in case he is blind. It is very important that the blind person tries to overcome the problem by trying to develop the various other senses. Some of the common problems that are faced by the blind person are listed here.

Falls is one of the most common problems that are faced by blind people. If a survey of all the blind people is taken, it is sure that each and every blind person has had more than one fall. The reason behind this fact is that the person who is blind will not be able to see what is in front and is more prone to accidents.

Fractures are another complication that can occur in a person who is blind, because of the falls. A blind person may fall because of the barriers that are present. Other than this, the person may also move around which can cause the person to fall by tripping. Even people who are not completely blind and are only partially blind are prone to falls. This is because when the person walks in an area where there is limited lighting, it can cause the person to hit against barriers leading to falls.

The blind person also needs to be alert at all times and use other senses like the hearing sense to compensate for the lack of vision. If the person is not alert, then there can be problems like falls and injuries occurring. Many of the people who are blind develop their hearing sense to a higher level so that it helps them in preventing accidents and injuries that might occur otherwise.

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