Parenting Resource Books
By: Carmen Willings
teachingvisuallyimpaired.com When parents first learn their child is blind or has a visual impairment, they face an emotional impact and may have a difficult time trying to cope with the diagnosis. Families will typically search for support and resources to learn more about the specific diagnosis and also seek to learn how to help their child learn and provide the best support and resources for their child. I have included resources for parents specific on parenting children with visual impairments as well as books about parenting children with special needs. Please let me know if there are additional resource books you would like to see added to this page. |
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Children with Visual Impairments: A Parents' Guide 
Holbrook, M. Cay. Children with Visual Impairments: A Parents' Guide (Special Needs Collection). Woodbine House, 1995. Topics include: diagnosis and treatment; family life and adjustment; your child's development; Early Intervention and Special Education; literacy; Orientation & Mobility; multiple and visual disabilities; legal issues and planning for the future.
First Steps
Anthony, Chen, Fazzi, et al. First Steps. The Blind Children's Center, 1993. This handbook for teaching young children who are visually impaired provides a foundation and an overview of issues and concerns to families. Topics include early childhood development, professionals, the eye, the family, behavior management, speech/language, sensorimotor development, O&M skills, self-help skills, IEPs and materials and devices for children with visual impairments.
Just Enough to Know Better: A Braille Primer
Curran, Eileen. Just Enough to Know Better: A Braille Primer. Natl Braille Pr; Braille edition, 1988. This book is designed to teach parents and caregivers the basics of braille. Through sight, you will learn to identify braille alphabet, numbers, contractions, and even a few exceptions to braille rules. It includes exercises in braille, flashcards and a cheat-sheet.
Learning to Play
Recchia, Susan L. Learning to Play. Blind Children's Center, 1987. The booklet focuses on exploring toys and materials, making transitions from one activity to another and playing with other children.
The New Language of Toys
Schwarts and Miller. The New Language of Toys: Teaching Communication Skills to Children with special Needs: A Guide for Parents and Teachers. Woodbine House, 1996. A guide about using everyday toys to develop communication skills in children with disabilities and making playtime a fun, exciting and educational experience.
Orientation and Mobility Primer for Families and Young Children
Dobson-Burk, Bonnie. Orientation and Mobility Primer for Families and Young Children. American Foundation for the Blind, 1989. This book describes the skills children with visual impairments need to move safely and efficiently. Includes sensory training, concept development, motor development, and orientation skills. It also includes suggestions for encouraging a child to move, to identify the sources of sounds, to keep track of objects, and to play successfully with others.
Reach Out and Teach
Ferrell, Kay. Reach Out and Teach AFB Press, 2011. This guide teaches parents and teachers how to promote the development of young children with visual and multiple impairments.
Special Parent, Special Child
Sullivan, Tom. Special Parent, Special Child. Tarcher, 1996. In this book, parents of children with disabilities share their trails and discoveries with others, revealing their special struggles, their methods for overcoming problems, and their advice to others.
Breakthrough Parenting for Children with Special Needs: Raising the Bar of Expectations
Winter, Judy. Breakthrough Parenting for Children with Special Needs: Raising the Bar of Expectations. This book provides detailed information on how to let go of the "perfect-baby" dream, face and resolve grief, avoid the use of limiting and outdated labels and provides guidelines on working with professionals.
Different Dream Parenting
Philo, Jolene. Different Dream Parenting: A Practical Guide to Raising a Child with Special Needs. Jolene Philo offers guidance and encouragement through biblical insights and her own personal experiences. The book helps the reader find spiritual wisdom, practical resources, and tools that can help you become an extraordinary advocate for your child.
Held
Peoples, Sandra. Held: Learning to Live in God's Grip: A Bible Study for Special-Needs Parents. This Bible study is written for for special-needs parents by special-needs parents. The study can be done alone, as a couple, or in a group.
Special Children, Challenged Parents
Naseef, Robert. Special Children, Challenged Parents: The Struggles and Rewards of Raising a Child With a Disability. Written by a clinical psychologist and parent of a son with autism, the reflections and perspectives are applicable to families with other disabilities. It discusses the impact of the disability on the entire family.
Brothers & Sisters
Dwight, Laura. Brothers & Sisters. This book features siblings with a range of disabilities including visual impairment. The siblings play, squabble, and work together to solve differences.
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TVI’s Guide to Teaching the ECC: An Activities Based Curriculum for Teaching Students who are Blind or Visually Impaired The TVI’s Guide to Teaching the ECC is a digital pdf available for download. It is designed specifically for fellow itinerant Teachers of Students with Visual Impairments (TVI’s), and consists of over 400 activities and topic areas of discussion for instructing students in the Expanded Core Curriculum. The activities are age-neutral and multi-sensory and therefore can meet the needs of the broad range of students served on an itinerant caseload serving. The activities can be individualized to the students various learning modalities and scaffold in order to challenge students but ensure success. Select those activities that align with the student’s learning objects based on the student’s unique visual needs and academic and developmental level. In addition to the core activity areas, each of the 32 Thematic Units incorporates additional unique ECC concepts and skills providing you with a years’ worth of activities. These units are cyclical and can be used repeatedly to help students build on prior knowledge and develop a deeper understanding of concepts. Each unit includes suggestions for activity adaptation associated with the unit. These include lists of objects, possible community-based experiences, environmental print, poems, children & young reader books, children's songs, pop culture songs, movies, and websites. In addition to the book, the following two supplements are included: ·      TVI’s Guide to the ECC Concept Checklist ·      TVI’s Guide to the ECC Activities Checklist For complete product details and additional images, visit the TVI's Guide product page. TVI's Guide to the ECC Product details ·      Digital pdf download: 346 pages (11 pt font) ·      Publisher: Teaching Students with Visual Impairments ·      Author: Carmen Willings ·      Language: English Visual Efficiency & Near Magnifier Fluency Worksheets: TVI's Guide to the ECC Grab and Go Supplements The Near Magnifier Fluency Worksheets is a Grab and Go supplement to the TVI's Guide to Teaching the ECC. This workbook is a pdf download that can be printed on demand for use with students. It contains five different types of worksheets for developing visual motor skills and near magnifier fluency skills particularly with the use of a video magnifier. As a companion to the TVI’s Guide to the ECC, the worksheets correspond to each of the 32 ECC Thematic units. The worksheets, along with a list of environmental print for each thematic unit, are designed to help students refine their visual motor skills while reinforcing ECC concepts presented in the thematic units.  For complete product details and additional images, visit the Visual Efficiency & Near Magnifier Product Page. Visual Efficiency & Near Magnifier Fluency Worksheet Details: ·      Digital pdf download: 210 pages ·      Publisher: Teaching Students with Visual Impairments ·      Author: Carmen Willings ·      Language: English Thematic Keyboarding & Braille Fluency and Maintenance Worksheets: A TVI’s Guide to Teaching the ECC Grab & go Supplement The Thematic Keyboarding & Braille Fluency and Maintenance Grab and Go ECC worksheet packet is a print on demand workbook that contains worksheets in print and simulated braille to use for data collection. Present the student with a hard braille copy and use the worksheets to document accuracy and fluency in reading braille. As a companion to the TVI’s Guide to the ECC, the worksheets correspond to the ECC Thematic activities presented in the curriculum guide. These word lists and sentences will help the student refine their keyboarding or braille reading skills while bridging ECC concepts presented in the thematic units. Although the lists and passages can be produced using a manual braillewriter, you may also copy and paste the passages into any braille translation software for quick production on an embosser. They may also be entered into a typing program such as APH’s Talking Typer to build keyboarding fluency. For complete product details and additional images, visit the Thematic Keyboarding & Braille Fluency & Maintenance Product Page Thematic Keyboarding & Braille Fluency Worksheet Details: ·      Digital pdf download: 338-page print and simulated braille worksheets ·      Publisher: Teaching Students with Visual Impairments ·      Author: Carmen Willings ·      Language: English Thematic Vocabulary Cards and Checklists: Grab & Go ECC Supplement The Thematic Vocabulary Cards and Checklists Grab and Go ECC supplement is a 446 page pdf downloadable print on demand workbook that includes 2940 vocabulary card on 3 1/2" x 2" templates divided by each of the 32 Thematic Units along with a checklist of each unit words in print and simulated braille. As a companion to the TVI's Guide to the ECC, the vocabulary cards correspond to the ECC Thematic activities presented in the curriculum guide. Additional Use: Teachers of Students with Visual Impairments can have a extremely varied caseloads. It is possible to go several years without having a student on your caseload who requires braille instruction. Like other skills, if you do not practice your braille regularly, it is easy to lose those skills. Use these checklists and cards to maintain your braille skills. Fold the checklist along the line dividing the print from the braille. Choose to either read the print and produce the word in braille using a braillewriter or read the simulated braille and decode it. Finally, these vocabulary cards and checklists may be used with family members or peers who are interested in learning and practicing the braille code. For complete product details and additional images, visit the Thematic Vocabulary Cards & Checklists Product Page Thematic Vocabulary Cards and Checklists Details: ·      Digital pdf download: 446-page print on demand resource ·      Publisher: Teaching Students with Visual Impairments ·      Author: Carmen Willings ·      Language: English BONUS! Lotto Cards The LOTTO Cards Grab and Go Supplement includes 37 theme related unit cards along with activity suggestions that support activities within the TVI's Guide to Teaching the ECC. On My Way File Folder Cards Print and use these cards to represent locations the student may visit that are related to the current thematic unit. Use these with the On My Way File Folder Game outlined in the TVI's Guide to Teaching the ECC p. 27. NEW! Access to TVI's Guide Bonus Membership Pages Note: All products are digital pdf downloads. Once you make your purchase you will be directed to an order confirmation page where you will find the download link. This download will also be included on the receipt sent to the email address you provide. The pdf download can be found directly under the order number. If you encounter any difficulty, please let me know and I can assist you. |
