Resources
Where to Start – Some Basic Resources for Parents, Guardians, Other Family Members of Children with Vision Loss, Teachers and Other Professionals
Here is a list of some helpful resources for any parent, guardian, family member, teacher or other professional who wants to do their best to support a child or youth who is blind, low vision or deafblind. Write to us at opvicfeedback@gmail.com to let us know of any other resources for supporting children with vision loss.
Online Advocacy Videos
Visit David Lepofsky, visiting professor at Osgoode Hall Law School’s YouTube page for tips for parents of students with disabilities on how to advocate for their child’s needs at school, as well as for an introduction to the duty to accommodate people with disabilities.
Books
- Reach Out and Teach: Helping Your Child Who Is Visually Impaired Learn and Grow by Kay Ferrell.
- Seedlings Braille Books for Children
- For braille transcriptions check out the CNIB Brailleroom.
Web Resources
- American Foundation for the Blind (“AFB”) provides literacy resources for teaching children who are blind or who have low vision to read and write. The many excellent resources can be found on the AFB’s website
- Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB) founded in 1918 is a non-profit organization driven to change what it is to be blind or to live with vision loss today. Their work is powered by a network of volunteers, donors and partners from coast to coast to coast. OPVIC is the association representing Ontario parents at CNIB. You can find some relevant supports for children, youth and families found on CNIB’s website.
- Paths to Literacy is a website that provides educational resources for literacy for children and youth with visual impairments, including those who are deafblind and/or have multiple disabilities.
- The Hadley School for the Blind provides information for braille on their website.
- The W. Ross Macdonald School for the Blind in Brantford, Ontario has day-school and boarding-school programs for blind and deafblind students in Ontario, including short-term programs available to all children in vision loss programs in schools across Ontario. Visit their website.
- The Ontario Resource Services Department is located on the grounds of the W. Ross Macdonald School for the Blind and provides a range of services to families and school boards in support of students who are blind, deafblind, low-vision, Deaf, hard of hearing or who have a severe learning disability. Where school boards do not have the capacity to do their own vision assessments, they will also do consultative visits to students who are visually impaired who are attending publicly funded elementary/secondary schools in Ontario. For more information, see their website.
- The National Federation of the Blind provides distance education resources here.
- The American Council of the Blind provides educational information here.
Built Environment and Orientation/Mobility Resources
If your visually impaired child might need one or two artificial eyes, check out Ontario’s network of professionals in this field: https://artificialeyes.net/ocularists/canada/ontario/
For supports available to families of pre-school children who are blind, deafblind or low vision, check out Ontario’s Blind Low Vision program. Visit https://www.ontario.ca/page/blind-low-vision-early-intervention-program
The CNIB Foundation developed the first edition of Clearing Our Path in 1998, to address the need for information on creating accessible environments for people who are blind.
- Design Basics for Visually Impaired and Blind Individuals (Layout, Lighting, Colour and Brightness, Acoustics)
- Exteriors and Interiors, including:
- Paths of Travel
- Protruding Objects and Other Obstacles
- Tactile Walking Surface Indicators
- Stairs
- Ramps
- Platform Edges
- Signage
- Information and Communication Systems
The CNIB also provides resources on how visually impaired and blind people navigate the built environment:
- Getting around with a white cane
- Information on Guide Dogs
- GPS and Navigation Applications
- Sighted Guide Techniques
The Hadley School for the Blind provides resources for Navigating Unfamiliar Places and Spaces Series
Technology
- Smartphone Apps and Resources for People with Vision Loss or Impairment
- ABC’s of iOS
- New Tech for People with Low Vision or Blindness
- Literary Services for People who are Blind
- Screen Readers
- Magnification for Windows Operators
- How to Save Money on Adaptive Technology
Health and Medical:
- Ontario Government Blind-Low Vision Early Intervention Program
- Ontario Government Assistance Paying for Visual Aids
- Ontario Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services – Special Services at Home Program
- Information for Physicians Blind-Low Vision Early Intervention Program
If your child has CVI (cortical visual impairment) there are resources available to you, such as CVI Now and the CVI Fact Sheet sheet-families-professionals.
Sports
There are many sports opportunities for children, youth and adults with vision loss. For example, check out:
Recreational Activities
- Halloween crafts for visually impaired and blind children
- 20 Outdoor Activities for Blind and Visually Impaired Children
- Tips to Adapt Games for Children with Vision Impairments
- Yoga and How Can It Benefit My Child with a Visual Impairment
- Crafts that Engage Sensory Play
- Hadley School for the Blind Sports and Exercise Videos (Running, Biking, Skiing, Boating and Open Water Swimming, Exercise Classes, Home Workouts, Working out at the Gym)
- Hadley School for the Blind Playing and Adapting Games
- CNIB Foundation Children and Youth Programs