Blind and Visually Impaired Resources

This webpage provides information for families and professionals about infants and toddlers who are blind or visually impaired. Recommendations about family support, the role of professionals, and considerations for administrators are given. 

The mission of the Connect Center is to empower people toward greater independence and lifelong success by providing free curated information and resources to assist children, parents, job seekers, and adults who are blind or low vision.

Audio description, also known as descriptive video or video description, is a form of audio-visual translation used primarily by blind and visually impaired individuals to watch television shows and films. This guide presents a list of broadcast television networks, cable companies, movie theaters, and streaming services that offer audio description options for their customers. It compiles sources of instructions for enabling audio description on personal devices. The guide also provides a list of training resources for creating audio description and vendors providing audio description services. 

The National Federation of the Blind offers early childhood initiatives that provide young blind children and their families with the support and guidance to master the fundamental skills of literacy and independent travel. This webpage lists these initiatives including the Braille Reading Pals Club, Early Explorers, and Santa and Winter Letters. 

This webpage gives families of infants and toddlers information about parents as teachers, the impact of visual impairment, and additional Family Connect resources.

This article offers tips for educators setting up preschool classrooms serving young children with visual impairments. 

The vision of the Illinois School for the Visually Impaired is to provide a quality comprehensive education and serve as a statewide resource to students in Illinois with visual impairments assisting them in becoming personally productive and self-sufficient citizens.

Explore a variety of fun and educational activities designed specifically for visually impaired children. In this article, find creative play ideas and resources to help visually impaired and blind children learn, grow, and enjoy playtime in an inclusive environment. 

The National Federation of the Blind of Illinois is a 501c(3) nonprofit volunteer membership organization comprised of blind and interested sighted persons of all ages, their families, and friends. Local chapters, divisions, committees, programs, projects and well-trained leaders help newly blind people adjust to vision loss, and promote the full participation and integration of blind people in communities.

This is a checklist to help facilitate the identification of a vision problem and can be a useful tool for your eye doctor to understand all of the behavioral and physical symptoms that your child may be experiencing.

During this 36-minute webinar, Perkins staff will provide tips and strategies to help parents prepare their child and themselves for a successful transition to the world of preschool. Special emphasis will be placed on building positive relationships with the child’s educational team. 

This webpage gives families of preschoolers information about school for visually impaired children from ages three through six, transitioning to independence, and connecting with other parents of children who are blind or visually impaired.

In this 30-minute webcast, Lacey Smith, a parent of a three-year-old girl with cortical visual impairments, talks about the challenges she experiences in transitioning her daughter from early childhood services to preschool. Smith talks about important topics such as developing the first Individualized Educational Program and finding the most appropriate placement, and provides advice to parents in this regard.