Vision impairment can range variedly from complete blindness to not being able to see specific colors. Regardless of the severity of vision troubles, it deteriorates the overall development of a child. If you have a visually impaired child but do not want to see them lagging behind others in development, you need to provide extra care. For providing extra care to your child, you certainly need to have at least basic knowledge, if not profound, about visual impairment. Here’s everything you need to know:
What is vision impairment?
As already mentioned, visual impairment is a loss of eyesight ranging from mild loss to complete blindness. It can be present in your child right from birth or caused due to a medical condition at a later age.
What are the causes of vision impairment?
There are several causes of vision impairment; however, some of the common ones include:
- Neurological conditions affecting the part of the brain that controls eyesight
- Cataracts or pediatric glaucoma conditions
- Conditions such as conjunctivitis
- Injury to the eye or the part of the brain that controls eyesight
- Inappropriate eye structure
What are the symptoms of vision impairment?
Most children with vision impairment have completely normal eyes. This can make things challenging for you because you might not find out whether your child is experiencing trouble seeing things, especially with newborn babies. But there are a few signs and symptoms that will give you an idea of getting your child diagnosed. Some of these common signs and symptoms are:
- Eyeballs start moving quickly
- Inability to follow an object with eyes
- Eyes become less sensitive to bright light
- Holding things close to see clearly
- Rubbing eyes frequently
- Better visibility during daytime than at night
How is vision impairment diagnosed?
As soon as you see any of these signs in your child, visit a doctor to get them diagnosed. Early diagnosis can help in early and better treatment for vision impairment. You can see a children’s eye specialist who can test your child’s eye.
How to raise a visually impaired child?
You don’t have to worry even if you find out that your child is visually impaired. Due to the technological and medical advancements, your visually impaired child can lead a healthy and beautiful life. But you will have to raise them accordingly. Here are a few tips for raising your visually impaired child:
Early intervention services
These can play a crucial role in your child’s development. They can provide assessments for your child to learn new skills. Also, they can help you learn how to support your visually impaired child.
Early intervention services also have doctors who have a specialty in treating children. Some of these doctors include therapists, orthopedists, and mobility specialists. You can get help from these doctors to learn some necessary treatment procedures that can help you take care of your child at home.
Using the right tools
Having the right assessment tools can mean the difference between leading a normal and stressful life for your child. With aids for the visually impaired such as magnifiers, sunglasses, reading accessories, reading glasses, and many more, your child’s daily life can become a lot more cheerful and less stressful for you.
The right tools can help them quickly learn and develop new skills. They can also provide your child with some ease in reading and writing for simplified education.
Educate yourself
Read as much as possible about visual impairment and other eyesight problems. Knowing the condition will probably help you get out of any situation that you might encounter while raising your child. You don’t have to read everything, but try to learn at least something such as how to support your child and make them feel familiar.
Find moral and financial support
You will surely need any support that you can get. Socializing will get you the moral support that you want. It will also help your child become more socialized by looking at you. You can join some organizations for help or even volunteer yourself to provide support to the needful.
There are also many organizations out there who would be happy to provide you with some financial support. It is a known fact that treatment for visual impairment can cost a considerable amount of money. So if you can find any financial support, it will come in handy.
Vision impairment can affect your child’s overall growth, but not if you can give them proper care. By following the suggestions mentioned in this post, you can raise your child to lead a normal life just like anyone else. There are several organizations out there that would be happy to help you raise your child. All you need to do is to look after your child and never let them feel that they are suffering from any problems.
