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Join FamilyConnect
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Customize FamilyConnect and receive content tailored for you,
including parenting tips related to your child's age,
information about upcoming events, and more. New Social
Networking Tools! Create and manage your own personal profile,
upload a photo, share your news, and become friends
with other parents like you.
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Community
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Sometimes no one can relate to you as well as another parent of a visually impaired or blind child.
Connect with parents who are sharing your experience through our
message boards and blog posts. Watch
videos featuring parents, siblings, and children with visual impairments.
Or, learn about events in your area where you
can meet with each other in person.
 "FamilyConnect: A Parent's Voice" Blog
"Raising a Child Who is Blind and..." Blog
"Raising James: Multiply Disabled, Low-Vision, Adorable" Blog
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Infants & Toddlers
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Babies are wonderful, but they don't arrive with a set of instructions! Like all parents, parents of babies who are blind or visually impaired have a lot to learn. But there are many services and sources of help. Find out about them—and much more—here.
 Message Boards
 Hot Topics
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Preschoolers
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As the parent of a preschooler, you're facing a whole new set of questions: How can I help my child socialize? How can I prepare him for a classroom environment? Find the answers to your questions here, and connect with other parents of preschoolers who are blind or visually impaired.
Message Boards
Hot Topics
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Grade Schoolers
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It's an exciting time in your child's life. Your child is growing more independent, but she still relies on you. Learn how to advocate for your blind or visually impaired child as a student, a medical patient, and an individual.
Message Boards
Hot Topics
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Teenagers
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From dating to discipline to college preparation, the teenage years bring a whole new set of issues. Get tips and information about raising teens who are blind or visually impaired and preparing them for a full and independent future.
Message Boards
Hot Topics
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After the Diagnosis
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Whether your child is a newborn, a grade schooler, or a teenager, learning that she has a visual impairment can be a shocking event that affects you and your entire family. If you're feeling a wide range of strong emotions, and confusion as well, you're not alone.
Hot Topics
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Education
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When a child has a visual impairment, learning and development may need to be helped along the way. Intervention, encouragement, and special educational planning therefore become an essential part of the school years.
Message Boards
Hot Topics
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Technology
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Technology is everywhere in today's society—learn more about the assistive technology that helps children who are blind or visually impaired read, learn, and increase their independence.
Message Boards
Hot Topics
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Multiple Disabilities
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A child with multiple disabilities has more than one diagnosis, in this case a visual impairment and at least one other disabling condition. Depending on your child's abilities and needs, you may find articles here that give you ideas on many topics including communication, socialization, orientation and mobility, and transition, to name a few.
Message Boards
Hot Topics
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Toy Guide
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Let's Play: A Guide to Toys for Children with Special Needs offers a comprehensive guide to the best toys for children of all ages with all types of special needs and interests. Toys included in this guide were tested by over 100 "toy experts"—children with a variety of special needs.
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About FamilyConnect
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FamilyConnect is a web site created by AFB and NAPVI to give parents of visually impaired or blind children a place to support each other, share stories and concerns, and find resources on raising their children from birth to adulthood.
Hot Topics
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2013 Families Connecting with Families Conference
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The 2013 Families Connecting with Families International Conference will be held from July 19-21 in Boston, Massachusetts. This conference is designed to meet many goals that support the growth and lifelong skills needed by children and youth with visual impairments. It covers all aspects of raising and educating a child with a visual impairment. Join us for outstanding panel discussions and workshops targeting families, infants and toddlers, school children, and youth to age 22 years.
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raising a child who is blind and...
