Website to Connect Parents of Visually Impaired Children

 
Connecting families who have the
same needs © SXC

To help families with visually impaired children connect with each other the online community “FamilyConnect” for parents and guardians of children with visual impairments was launched.

The project is to give busy parents, grandparents and other caretakers a place to find comprehensive resources and support 24 hours a day. It is a project of the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) and the National Association for Parents of Children with Visual Impairments (NAPVI).

With only 93,600 visually impaired school-aged children in the U.S., over half of whom have additional disabilities, it's easy for families facing vision loss to feel alone.

Located at www.familyconnect.org, FamilyConnect gives parents access to message boards where they can talk to other parents, compelling videos featuring real-life families, parenting articles, a mom-authored blog, a glossary of more than 30 eye conditions, and links to local resources. The site also features sections dedicated to multiple disabilities, technology, education, and every age group from infants to teens.

"We created FamilyConnect to give parents the support and information they need to ensure their children can achieve their dreams—whether that is playing sports or music, learning to read braille, getting a first job, surfing the web, making the cheerleading squad, travelling the world, or going to graduate school," said Carl R. Augusto, President & CEO of AFB.

"When I talk to parents of visually impaired children, they almost always ask about three things: they want to talk to other parents who have children with the same eye condition as their child, they want access to the latest health and education information, and they want to know what the future holds," said Susan LaVenture, Executive Director of NAPVI.

In addition to joining a community of parents, visitors to www.familyconnect.org can create a personal profile and receive information on news and events based on their child's age, eye condition, and location.

REHACARE.de; Source: The American Foundation for the Blind (AFB)

- More about the American Foundation for the Blind at: www.afb.org

( Source: REHACARE.de )