Last summer, I was elected to serve as a board member on the board of directors of the National Organization of Parents of Blind Children.  As many of you know, I am not just a blind mom, I am also a parent to a blind child.  Serving on this board has been extremely rewarding.

One of the projects I’m honored to be a part of is the Family Information Raising Expectations Teleconferences.  Since January, we have hosted monthly calls on such topics like,

What is the National Organization of Parents of Blind Children?

Transitions

NFB National Convention and the Annual Conference of the NOPBC

Educational Programs of the NFB Jernigan Institute

Low Vision

and this evening, I just hosted the call on

Blindness and Babies, Toddlers and Transitions.

Some may wonder why I spend so much of my time, energy, and passion on this organization.  Why not?  Why not be a part of change?  Why not help parents of blind children find answers to how to raise a blind child?  Why not connect experts in the blindness field with parents who have no idea where to turn since their so called professionals aren’t providing them with the answers they need?

I do it all for the same reason I put myself out there in writing this blog.  If the message only reaches a handful of people, than it was worth the work.

To the grieving parent who has just been told that your child will never see, you have nothing to fear.  Don’t treat your child any different from their sighted peers.

To the child with low vision feeling lost and confused.  You are not a broken or incomplete sighted person.  Faking it is exhausting, and the sooner you embrace non visual techniques, the less time you’ll be second guessing yourself.

To the blind parent unsure of how they will change a diaper, feed their child, keep track of a toddler, or help their kids with homework.  You are not the first blind parent!  Hundreds of thousands of blind parents all over this Earth have raised children.

To learn more about the National Federation of the Blind or the National Organization of parents of blind children, or to listen to the calls which are being produced into podcasts, visit www.nfb.org or www.nopbc.org..