Parenting a blind child - by Nicky Roos

The birth of our daughter Colette caused us to realise that much ignorance exists about blindness.
 
No-one could advise us with certainty whether we were at risk of having a blind child, but once she had been born, self-styled genetic experts were available everywhere to say 'we could have told you so.'
 
Neither the gynaecologist nor the paediatrician could summon the courage to tell us, so an ophthalmologist had to convey what was plain to see: our child is blind.  The eye specialist contented himself with making the suggestion that we should rather not have another child and we should counsel Colette not to have children either.
 
Then came yet more unsolicited advice from other doctors and occupational therapists. We should not be surprised - they told us - if Colette were to be at least six months behind other children with regard to her developmental milestones. That was the way of the world for blind children. That is probably one of the most discouraging things that a parent with a blind baby can hear! 
 
In the face of this dire prediction we knew we needed help, but where to find it? 

Services for people who are blind or partially sighted are not well-publicised in South Africa.  We had to search surprisingly hard to find that only two organisations in this country claim expertise with regard to the early childhood development of blind children and both of them are NGO's.  
 
We were encouraged to speak to Colette as much as possible, explaining what we were doing e.g. telling her that we were going to pick her up. They also explained to me how to get her into the crawling position so that she could get a feel for it.

I showed her how to find toys around her so that she would not expect to be handed things all the time. I put her on a blanket and put toys close to her. By taking her hand and letting her feel for them she learnt that she could find her own toys. Once she was used to finding them right next to her, I would move them a little distance away.  At that stage I also made use of toys which make a noise to get her to move towards them. Remarkably, Colette's milestones were basically on time.
 
Subsequently we had another child who is fully sighted, and there have been very few differences in the way that we have brought up our two children.  Parents of blind children would do well to raise them on the simple basis that whatever special needs any child may have, they all need as much love and as much attention as possible.

If you are a parent of a blind child and you would like to speak to someone who can give you first-hand advice, please call Nicky Roos at 082 921 2049.