Blind Childrens Center

4120 Marathon Street, Los Angeles, California 90029 (323)664-2153

A family-centered agency serving children with visual impairments

Program Description

The Infant Program serves infants and toddlers, from birth to age three, who are blind or severely visually impaired providing professional intervention, training and a variety of services to help the infants successfully overcome barriers to appropriate development. The program also provides education, training and support to parents and family members, including in-home assistance, to optimize their children’s success. The children who participate in this early intervention program are more likely to succeed in preschool and build a solid foundation for achievement throughout their school years.

The Blind Childrens Center is the only program in Los Angeles County to provide center-based and home-based specialized infant and preschool education and training for the children and extensive educational and social programs for the families.

Additionally, the Center’s publication program reaches families and professionals worldwide with information they would not otherwise have available. The Center also supports medical and applied research associated with early childhood vision loss.

The demand for Blind Childrens Center’s services continues to increase. The increase in the number of babies needing our services is primarily due to the improved survival rate among very low birth weight babies (under 3 lbs.), 23% of whom are severely visually impaired.

Need
Research has established that up to 80% of all learning in the first years of life is acquired visually, primarily through imitation and exploration of the immediate surroundings. These are accomplished automatically by sighted children. Without special training, fully capable infants who are visually impaired may not learn to crawl or walk at an appropriate age and gross and fine motor skills will not properly develop. They may not learn to accept solid foods or to feed themselves. Their language development may be delayed. These children and their families need intervention and training in order for the children to progress through normal developmental stages and grasp basic concepts upon which future learning depends.

Goal and Objectives of Program
The goal of Blind Childrens Center is to provide a comprehensive program of specialized education and training which will optimize the blind or visually impaired child’s development and consequent opportunities to lead a meaningful and productive life. The goal of the Infant Program is to maximize an infant’s potential and lay the foundation for future development. The program further seeks to empower parents to build skills that enhance the child’s mobility, independence and self-confidence. To these ends, the program has the following objectives for infants: 85% will develop gross motor skills; 70% will begin to develop fine motor skills; 85% will have a reduction in feeding difficulties; 90% will demonstrate early language development; and 85% will develop age-appropriate social and communication skills. The program objectives for parents are: 75% will strengthen parenting skills which enhance their child’s development; 70% will demonstrate increased knowledge of childhood development; and 85% will utilize additional supportive resources.

Program Activities
Class sessions are held at the Center Monday through Friday from 9:00 A.M. to 12:30 P.M. A minimum of one parent must be available to participate regularly. Most infants and parents attend classes a minimum of two times a week. Classes operate under the guidance of a teacher and an assistant. Parent classes are held to offer training and support to parents.

Blind Childrens Center’s specialists and therapists also work with the infants and parents regularly. The Center’s parent mentor provides peer support and professional family service providers offer crisis intervention and individual and family counseling.

The Center’s home-based component offers home sessions to children/families who are already enrolled at the Center; to new clients who may be unable to participate at the Center due to a child’s fragile health, lack of transportation or geographic distance; and to those who may not come to the Center due to emotional or cultural barriers.

Mothers and fathers are their children’s first teachers. Blind Childrens Center staff build upon this crucial relationship by teaching parents how to motivate and encourage their children in a number of ways, such as using voice, music or a noise-making toy to encourage infants to initiate independent movement (reaching, crawling or walking). While the Center’s specially trained teachers work with the infants and toddlers in the classroom, parents watch and soon gain the confidence to participate. Parents also learn to use specific techniques at home to reinforce the gains the child makes at school. Because the classroom setting is designed to simulate a home environment with furniture, carpet and a kitchen area, the transition from school to home is nearly seamless. Seemingly simple tasks for a sighted child are tremendously challenging for the child who is blind and the parents. Activities include: placing the infant on her stomach and having her lift her head and upper body to strengthen back, arm and neck muscles; letting her practice sitting up with support to prepare her for sitting independently; and practicing care giving techniques (such as abundant touching/holding and feeding on demand) which nurture trust and confidence. Parents are also taught how to help the infant overcome an exaggerated fear of sudden noises and the tendency to reject new tactile textures, including solid foods.

Emotional support and training for the parents of blind and visually impaired infants are equally important elements of the Infant Program. Activities for parents include support groups where parents can express and understand their feelings about their child, learn to empathize with the special needs of their child, gain information about how the absence of vision affects the child’s development, and have access to professionals and other parents who share their experience.

Home-based support and training provides comprehensive services to children/families. Home sessions allow professional staff to assess the family’s progress and needs within the context of the home. Intervention and training are customized using this information. For example, a mother may be having problems bathing the infant. The teacher will show the mother how to position the baby on a towel in her lap and to offer ongoing contact and soft talk for reassurance. If the teacher discovers that the mother is watering down the formula because of limited funds, the family will be connected to resources that will provide nutritional supplementation, e.g., Women, Infants & Children (WIC) Program. During the home session, the teacher helps parents create a stimulating and safe environment. Blind Childrens Center’s parent mentor and family service providers also make home visits.

Evaluation
Upon enrollment at Blind Childrens Center, each infant/child is evaluated by a team of professionals which may include the Center’s Director of Education and Family Services, a specially trained teacher of the blind, a nurse, a clinical psychologist, family workers and specialist-consultants. The evaluations are used to determine the appropriate course of training and the developmental goals for each child. Additionally, at the beginning of every school year, the Center’s interdisciplinary staff develop an Individual Family Service Plan (IFSP) for each child which identifies the family’s issues and goals, and details the services to be provided through the Center. Having participated in the development of the IFSP, the parents must approve and sign the plan.

Evaluation of the Infant Program is the responsibility of the Center’s Director of Education and Family Services. Outcomes are measured through the ongoing and year-end review of the IFSP. The plan includes objectives for each child which are monitored and modified as appropriate, through sessions with the Center’s interdisciplinary specialists assigned to work with that child and the family. If the infant/toddler is not making expected progress, further assessment follows and additional services may be added at any time. At the end of the school year, all information on each child’s progress is collated and reported to the Director of Education and Family Services. Using the year-end information, the Director of Education and Family Services reports to the Executive Director and the Blind Childrens Center Board of Directors.

Budget
The annual cost of the Infant Program is $390,013 or $15,601 per family.

Funding
Blind Childrens Center is a private 501(c)(3) organization which receives no city, state, county or federal funding. It is not a United Way agency. Blind Childrens Center relies on private donations from individuals, foundations, corporations, special events and earnings from our investment account. One hundred percent of donor contributions directly support Blind Childrens Center programs. Administrative costs are supported through earnings on investments. Blind Childrens Center provides center-based educational and family services free of charge to the families of children with visual impairment. All services are available in English and Spanish.

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