Blindness and Visual Impairment Resources

“A little chameleon is distressed that he doesn’t have his own color like other animals.”

This text focuses on observations of children with Optic Nerve Hypoplasia (ONH) and related therapies.

Designed especially for the young braille reader, this tactile reference book features over 30 pages of entries on a fascinating selection of creatures, from bears and big cats to birds and bugs. DK Braille Animals is a wonderful way for curious readers to discover the animal kingdom.

Because Books Matter introduces new parents (and teachers) to the joys of reading print/braille books with blind children. The booklet shares basics about the braille code and why braille reading is so important.

“Everyone has kisses for Baby, from Mami and Papi to perro and gato. Using simple Spanish words, this charming read-aloud proves that love is the same in every language!”

This paperback book was written by children 9-15 years of age who have brothers and sisters who are blind or visually impaired.  It chronicles their stories and covers a broad array of topics including finding out, jealousy, guilt, pride, reactions of others, and lessons learned.

“The Spanish-only edition of Margaret Wise Brown’s classic children’s bedtime story Goodnight Moon! This comforting, familiar story has lulled generations of children to sleep.”

This bilingual (English/Spanish) book comprises six chapters each of Part I & II on Early Learning and Blind and Visually Impaired Children and on Activities for Blind and Visually Impaired Preschoolers.

This easy-to-use reference guide includes common braille to print and print to braille conversions, as well as punctuation, new UEB contractions, and general rules and terminology.

An alphabet rhyme/chant that relates what happens when the whole alphabet tries to climb a coconut tree.

This book uses print and braille to teach young readers to count.

This manual describes what is known about the development of infants with visual impairments and contains information based on recent research and empirically-based observations. This guidebook is helpful to professionals who work with infants with visual impairments. Professionals and caregivers will learn the sequence in which many skills develop.

Offers personal and insightful answers to children’s most commonly asked questions about blindness from a woman who lost her sight at the age of 26.

This book provides comprehensive information for professionals in such areas as vision, cognitive development, literacy, social development, motor development, and mobility. Early Focus offers tested strategies and recommended approaches to working with young children who are visually impaired or have multiple disabilities and their families, including those that are culturally diverse.

“The cadence of this adorable rhyming board book will delight readers young and old! A young boy is awake before his moms and sister. It’s too early to make a sound… but what’s that noise?! Two rumbling tummies need to be fed! Letting themselves into the kitchen, the boy and his cat finish their breakfast just in time to say “Good morning” when the rest of the family wakes up”

Other students laugh when Rigoberto, an immigrant from Venezuela, introduces himself but later, he meets Angelina and discovers that he is not the only one who feels like an outsider.  — Habrá veces en que entres a un lugary no veas a nadie como tú. Hay muchas razones por las que uno se puede sentir diferente. Quizá sea por tu apariencia o por la forma en que hablas o de dónde vienes. A lo mejor es por lo que comes o por algún motivo similar. Sea cual sea la razón, no es fácil dar ese paso de entrar a un lugar donde no conoces a nadie; pero de alguna forma lo haces.

This book offers guiding principles for early intervention with very young children who are visually impaired and who may also have additional disabilities and provides simple activities that can be incorporated easily by families and service providers into the everyday routines of a baby or child to facilitate early visual development and use of functional vision.

“A collection of poems for when the reader is feeling depression and/or sadness. Featuring poems from: Kae Tempest, Hollie McNish, Raymond Antrobus, Salena Godden, Theresa Lola, Maya Angelou, Emily Dickenson, and others.”

This book uses print and braille to teach young readers about farms and farm animals.

This resource for engaging individuals with sensory impairments in physical games, building fundamental movement skills, and having fun, includes descriptions of a number of appropriate games for people with sensory impairments. It also provides detailed information on sensory impairments and descriptions of diversified instruction techniques. Appropriate for both children and adults, the book offers strategies on how to help students of all ages to develop basic physical skills and to encourage them to be active for their entire lives. 

Jim Panzee wakes up in a bad mood one beautiful day, but he keeps denying he is grumpy even as his friends give advice for feeling better.

“Today you are you! That is truer than true! There is no one alive who is you-er than you!” Celebrate the unique person you were born to be with help from the Great Birthday Bird of Katroo – and Dr. Seuss, of course!

An easy step by step braille tutorial for beginners. Learn how to write the 26 letters in the Braille alphabet, recognize each letter and number, and know how to write them.

Eight favorite nursery rhymes, complete with tactile illustrations that portray each story element, presented in large print and braille. Includes Rain, Rain Go Away; Baa Baa Black Sheep; and Hey, Diddle Diddle. Comes with a print step-by-step tour of each rhyme.

A joyful celebration of the love between a parent and the special little person in his or her life.

“Rhyming text and illustrations assure a child that love is endless, as various animals set off on faraway adventures and return home again at bedtime.”

“Gus lives in a big park in the middle of an even bigger city and he spends his days with Ida. Ida is right there. Always. Then one sad day Gus learns that Ida is very sick and she isn’t going to get better. The friends help each other face the difficult news with whispers, sniffles, cuddles, and even laughs. Slowly, Gus realizes that even after Ida is gone, she will be with him through the sounds of their city and the memories that live in their favorite spots. Based on the real Gus and Ida of New York’s Central Park Zoo.”

This book tells the story of Iggy Peck who builds all kinds of buildings and structures. The addition of textile landmarks create a tactile experience for readers.

This book informs parents of blind or visually impaired children about the ways this group of children learns and offers specific ideas on how to nuture a child’s early development.

Packed with mind-blowing records and facts from around the world described in both large print and braille, DK Braille: It Can’t be True! also features tactile images for readers to feel what they are reading, from the largest eyeball to the biggest spider. 

Introduces human sexuality, describes the changes brought about by puberty, and discusses sexual abuse, sexually transmitted diseases, AIDS, and pregnancy.

Includes exercises in braille, flashcards, and a wall cheat-sheet.

Davey, a blind student, refuses all help from his new classmates, even while playing kickball at recess, until they find a way to help without doing everything for him.

“It’s Kitten’s first full moon, and when she sees it she thinks it is a bowl of milk in the sky. And she wants it. Does she get it? Well, no… and yes. What a night!”

A comprehensive book that addresses the systematic development of skills in listening for and interpreting auditory information. Listening skills are a crucial but often-overlooked area of instruction for children who are visually impaired and may have multiple disabilities; they relate to the expanded core curriculum for students and are essential to literacy, independent travel, and sensory and cognitive development.

This guide is based on experiences of the PAVII Project, a model demonstration project of the Handicapped Children’s Early Education Program. From 1985 to 1988 the San Francisco-based project served 27 families and their infants who were visually impaired. Learning Together contains activities which were identified as priorities by parents and accompanying strategies which were developed and used by parents and staff

Pauline and her brother John-John set up a stand to sell lemonade, limeade, and lemon-limeade one cold, wintry day, then try to attract customers as Pauline adds up their earnings.

Lisa learns about the mathematics of measuring by measuring her dog Penny with all sorts of units, including pounds, inches, dog biscuits, and cotton swabs.

“A light-hearted nonfiction picture book about the formation and history of the moon and its history in relation to earth-told from the perspective of the moon itself!”

Containing tactile features, Braille-style numbering, play elements, high-contrast images and a rhythmic rhyming text, this book is designed to create as sensory and involved experience as possible.

Introduces different ways of getting to places, using braille as well as simple text and illustrations.

This handbook brings together material from a variety of sources to guide teachers and parents in supporting a young child with a visual impairment in his/her first steps toward literacy.

Pete the cat wears his school shoes when visiting the library, the lunchroom, the playground, and more with singing his special song.

A baby kangaroo takes his first tentative hops outside of his mama’s pouch, meeting other creatures and growing bolder with each outing.

This text focuses on learning at developmental stages, expanded strategies to promote children’s skills, and preparation for early intervention, preschool, kindergarten, and beyond.

“A classic lullaby gets a fresh twist as adorable forest animals get ready for bedtime in this oversized board book that has a shiny touch-and-feel cover! Written to the familiar tune of “Rock-a-Bye, Baby,” this sweet lullaby visits adorable forest animals as they settle down for the night. Little ones will love seeing the sweet and sleepy creatures in this tender story perfect for bedtime!”

This text uses print and braille to teach young readers about shapes.

A picture book biography of Louis Braille that includes the Braille alphabet.

Some people are blind. What does that mean? Using simple, engaging text and full-color photos, readers learn what blindness is, how it can be caused, and what daily life is like for someone who can’t see.

In rhyming text, a small girl admits she sometimes gets angry when she is frustrated, and her grandmother shows her how to cope.

“Kim and Chris Nova of Mystic Access are back with another book full of resources and tips, this time to help those with low or no vision be safe inside and outside of the home. They share their technical expertise and personal experience with home security systems, ride-share services, and much more. They honestly assess accessibility and capabilities of various apps, websites, videos, and other digital tools, as well as ways to physically and mentally fortify yourself against possible danger. This book is useful for anyone on their journey to greater physical safety!”

Lisa, who is visually impaired, explains how she finds her way around school, knows where her clothes are in her closet, and even plays baseball!

This book describes the relationships between assessments, placements, and programming are described in detail, and provide rationale for best educational practice for visually impaired learners. The text also contains a set of listening games, touch typing lessons, a list of indicators for evaluating gifted programs, lists of assessment instruments and resources, and an updated timeline of major events in the history of education for visually impaired students. 

“Your new going-to-bed routine! This classic bedtime story is just right for winding down the day as a joyful, silly group of animals scrub scrub in the tub, brush and brush their teeth, and finally rock and rock and rock to sleep”

Wanting to sail beyond its rock, a tiny snail hitches a ride on a big humpback whale and then is able to help the whale when it gets stuck in the sand.

Wee Play, Wee Learn is full of fun activities and useful information that will teach you how to effectively work with visually impaired infants and toddlers. 

Considers how our world would change and how we would feel if it lacked birds, water, plants, bugs or people-and wonders what makes our world what it is and if all we need is already here in front of us.

“Guess the sea creatures in this fun and fact filled book. Kids touch and feel their way to learning all about the different fish, reptiles, mammals, and other sea life who call the ocean home!”

Offers a list of tips for parents and families of children who are blind or visually impaired  

An article that includes advice for parents of partially sighted children that emphasizes fostering positive attitudes about blindness. 

This article is written from a parent’s point of view. It talks about blindness and what it means in the mind of a blind child.  This is insightful and can help parents to understand a different perspective on blindness.

A series of development charts for babies who are blind or visually impaired that tell parents what skills your blind or visually impaired child should have at certain age groups.

A list of play-based activities for children with visual impairment to help promote sensory and motor development.

Parents can provide interesting situations and objects to encourage a blind baby’s exploration and play.

Provides insights into the importance of explaining visually impaired children about their own body through clear language and activities to promote healthy socio-emotional development. 

This article from the Blind Children’s Resource Center suggests creative and safe use of everyday objects to encourage a child with disabilities to play.

This resource provides guidance for preschool programs on how to support and include children with vision disabilities, ensuring they learn alongside their peers. 

This comprehensive website provides information on vision development for providers and families, including milestones, screening tools, and a tool kit for providers and families. Many resources are available in Spanish.

This website provides information to assist educators and families in the quest to provide literacy experiences for children who are blind or visually impaired.

A collection of materials and resources to help educators and families in supporting children with vision impairments.

The Blind Children’s Resource Center is dedicated to providing ideas, assistance, and information that will help blind/VI children with developmental delays and additional disabilities reach their potential.

The Early Intervention Training Program (EITP) website offers a variety of national and regional resources related to hearing and vision.

Family Connect is all about getting families who have children that are blind connected to many different resources. This is a big resource website that gives parents of blind children a place to support each other.

A comprehensive guide for parents of blind and low-vision children that includes organizations, reading materials, and educational resources. 

A guide for parent who have children diagnosed with vision loss, which includes strategies for early intervention and adapting daily routines. 

A comprehensive collection of state and national resources for blind individuals including educational programs and organizations.

Offers key tips and resources to help parents support the learning and development of children with visual impairments. 

A guide to understanding DTVs as part of the Early Intervention Team for families of children with vision loss.