Are you a parent of a blind/visually impaired child living in Nevada?  Do you know a parent of a blind/visually impaired child in Nevada?  Are you a teacher of a blind child, or a medical professional who works with blind children?  If  so, than I am looking for you.

Allow me to introduce myself.  My name is Terri Rupp.  My almost 5 year old daughter and I both have Optic Nerve Atrophy.  I wrote about the discovery of our daughter’s diagnosis earlier this year in my blog, “Marley and Me Musical Chairs.”  I feel fortunate to have my own experiences of growing up as a blind child, the opportunity to attend the Louisiana Center for the Blind where I learned Braille and other blindness skills an where I was introduced to the positive blindness philosophy of the National Federation of the Blind.  The foundation has already been laid for my daughter through my own blindness for her to grow up knowing that blindness isn’t anything to be ashamed of.  It will NOT hold her back from a bright future, rather it will  give her strength to overcome any and all obstacles if given the proper training and opportunity.

My husband and I want to share our positive outlook on blindness with other parents.  In all honesty, we both went through our own grieving process upon the diagnosis.  However the self pity, anger, guilt, and tears quickly tried up, and we both realized that this is just another mountain for us to conquer as a family.  During our frequent visits to the pediatric ophthalmologist, we have observed countless distraught, lost, and grieving parents of whom we just want to shout at, “YOUR CHILD IS FINE!  YOUR CHILD IS NORMAL!  YOUR CHILD HAS A BEAUTIFUL FUTURE!”

My dream is to get this message to every single parent in Nevada.  You are NOT going through this alone.  There are so many us out there just like you.  We are dealing with understaffed and underfunded school systems.  We live in a state with very limited resources for equal opportunities for the blind.  We CAN change this!  With the resources and support of the National Organization of Parents of Blind Children (NOPBC) and the National Federation of the Blind (NFB), we can change what it means to be blind, and give your children the future they deserve.

Please join us in organizing the Nevada Organization of Parents of Blind Children.  You can reach me at terri.rupp@gmail.com or join our Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/653738258066532/.

Sincerely Yours,

Terri Rupp

Oh, and PS, did you know that October is National Meet the Blind month?