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Early Childhood Services
Special education services are customized to meet the unique needs of infants, toddlers and children of all ages who are blind or partially sighted. Boys and girls learn basic life skills, gain opportunities for social development and acquire literacy, study and computer skills to help them build the bridges they'll need on the road to an independent life.
Teachers work closely with family members, schools and other specialists, providing expert evaluations, instruction and support to prepare for a child's school years. Early Childhood Services include Early Intervention Programs and Preschool Programs.
In Early Intervention Programs, professionals work with parents and caregivers to plan and implement a goal-oriented family centered program to enable an infant with impaired vision between the ages of 0 and 3 to develop all abilities and potential. The early intervention service provider assists the family in attaining appropriate resources and making the necessary adaptations in order to facilitate their child's growth and development. Even these earliest of goals are set to help babies take those all-important first steps toward independence.
Early Intervention Programs can include:
a vision evaluation by a pediatric optometrist specializing in low vision;
a functional vision assessment by a teacher of the blind and visually impaired;
individual or group instruction from a specially trained teacher of children who are visually impaired;
special education services, physical, occupational and speech therapy as needed, to foster skills for adapting to impaired vision and, eventually, for succeeding in future school settings.
Early Intervention Programs are generally funded and regulated by the New York State Department of Health and, in New York City, by the NYC Department of Health & Mental Hygiene.
Preschool Programs
During the preschool years, children between the ages of two years and nine months to five years play and learn together in classes with low student:teacher ratios. Preschool programs are increasingly conducted in an integrated setting, where boys and girls who are visually impaired are taught alongside children with full sight. Children who have more intense special educational needs may need the extra support provided in a self-contained classroom.
Lessons are often designed to build pre-reading skills -- in either print or Braille -- and to provide a head start on computer literacy. Fundamental to these early years for children with impaired vision is learning the necessary skills to accommodate for their vision loss and to acquire new information using these skills. Preschool programs can enable children to master skills through alternative methods using touch, sound and other senses -- and help them meet developmental milestones at the same age as children who are fully sighted.
Preschoolers can also learn how to move around their environment independently, dress and feed themselves and socialize. Children can participate in adaptive physical education and develop art and musical abilities.
Families of all preschoolers are integral to the learning process as well. The school social worker and the Parent Coordinator discuss issues with parents and family members and offer practical advice. Parents also learn and benefit from workshops and classes set up by the Parent Coordinator in the school's Parent Center
In addition to certified early childhood educators, staff members of preschool programs for children who are visually impaired may also include other services providers, such as orientation and mobility specialists, teachers of the visually impaired, and speech, language, occupational, physical therapists and music teachers.
Learn more about the services offered by Lighthouse International by calling (212) 821-9200.