Eye health is of high importance to the general wellbeing of children and its education is of relevance to persons whose kids suffer from low vision and blindness.
Statistics show that about a 285 million people worldwide have been diagnosed with low vision or blindness and 90% of these persons live in low-income countries. An estimate of 19 million children are visually impaired through these statistics seems quite daunting, it is a fact that you will come across one or more blind persons in your lifetime. This could be a relative, friend, neighbor, schoolmate. Dealing with them might be quite strenuous for both parties, but you can ease the tension by not being insensitive.
Children with visual impairments are more fragile as they require special care to go about their daily life. Because of the impairments, they might suffer from bouts of depression and insecurity they get easily self-conscious and find it harder to stick around their peers.
Most visual impairments are hereditary, which is a situation where almost everyone in a family uses medicated glasses to correct eye defects.
As a parent or caregiver, you are responsible for making life easier for children suffering from such impairments and you can do so by:
- Always address them by name, make sure they understand that they are not any lesser. When you address them by name, it alerts them to your presence and lets them know the conversation is directed to them.
- Reduce gestures, use your words: when communicating, always use your words, use words that show positions and directions instead of general sentences. This will help them understand better.
- Use colors more around them: contrast bold enormous images, words, and toys make processing quick for them. Bigger fonts make reading easier and colorful toys are easier to play with.
- Teach them self-confidence and safety: ensure that they learn to love themselves and understand that their impairment is not a handicap, but it just means that they are differently-abled as their other senses are heightened. Teach them basic safety rules to protect themselves.
With these tips, you can very much care for a visually impaired child though there are medical corrective measures that have been set up to help these kids, so finding access to these treatment plans can also mean the difference in their lives.