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 Educational Preschool Program serves children age three through five years. It provides comprehensive, individualized education and training in sensory development, the utilization of low vision, orientation and mobility, occupational therapy (physical development), speech/language development and literacy preparedness. Classes have a ratio of one staff member to three students and class size is limited to six students.

Need For Educational Preschool
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 tasks are accomplished automatically by sighted children. Without special training, fully capable preschoolers who are visually impaired may not develop age appropriate gross and fine motor skills. Their language development and their reading readiness (Braille skills) will be delayed. These children and their families need specialized intervention and training in order for the children to progress through normal developmental stages and to grasp basic concepts upon which future learning depends.

Imitation is the basis for much of a child’s development in such things as learning to feed or dress oneself, toilet training, play, speech, spatial concepts and appropriate social behavior. Children who are blind cannot take this path without nonvisual stimuli and activities to build muscle strength. They must also be helped to overcome an innate fear of falling, of sudden noises and of new textures. Without such intervention, it is extremely unlikely that these capable children would be prepared for entry into public school or for future success in life.

Demand for the Center’s services continues to increase. This demand is created in part by the increased survival rate among low birth weight (less than 3 lbs.) infants, 23% of whom are severely visually impaired or blind. Other factors which lead to an increase in infant blindness include: birth to teenage mothers, lack of prenatal care and alcohol/drug exposure in-utero.

Goals & Objectives
The goal of the Educational Preschool Program is to maximize a student’s potential and prepare him/her to be kindergarten-ready. The program further seeks to empower parents to support their children’s development and to advocate on their children’s behalf. To these ends, the program has the following objectives for students: 95% will improve their gross motor skills; 95% will increase fine motor skills; 90% will enhance the clarity of their speech/language; and 85% will develop appropriate social and communication skills. The children’s progress is measured annually using The Oregon Project the standard assessment tool for visually impaired children. The program objectives for parents are: 95% will strengthen parenting skills which enhance their child’s development; 95% will utilize supportive resources; and 95% will demonstrate increased knowledge and advocacy. Parents’ progress is measured through interviews and questionnaires conducted on a regular basis.

Methodology
Upon enrollment at the Center, each child is evaluated by a team of professionals which may include the Director of Education and Family Services, teachers, nurse, clinical psychologist, family workers and specialist/consultants. The evaluations are used to determine the appropriate classroom assignment, the course of training and the developmental goals. Additionally, at the beginning of each school year, the Center’s interdisciplinary staff members develop an Individual Educational Plan (IEP) 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 IEP, the parents must approve the plan before it is complete.

Preschool class sessions are held Monday through Friday from 9 A.M. to 3 P.M., with extended day care available for working parents. Class size is limited to six students to ensure personal attention and a ratio of one adult to every three children. Classrooms operate under the guidance of a teacher and an assistant who specialize in the area of childhood blindness. In the classroom, teachers use nonvisual sensory stimulation to help children conceptualize their world, for example the smell, feel, and taste of an apple or orange or the tactile dimensions of a table or doorway.

An important part of the Center’s strategy is to have sighted children as students in each classroom (called reverse mainstream). Research at the Center has proved the benefits are numerous. They include: learning spatial concepts such as “behind,” “in front of,” and “over here,” through daily interaction rather than from adult instruction; acquisition of appropriate social and communication skills as demonstrated and practiced with their sighted peers; reduction of "blindisms," such as rocking and other self-stimulating behaviors; decreases in the blind child’s tendency toward isolation; improved language development; and a significant enhancement of the potential to function in mainstream schools.

Functions that sighted children take for granted, such as finding their way to the bathroom or using their hands in front of them for protection, need to be taught to our students. The classroom teacher and the assistant work with students daily until the child has the self-confidence to move independently and safely around the classroom, to the bathroom or the playground. Periodically during the week, as determined in each child’s IEP, additional support is offered to the children by specialists such as the Occupational Therapist, the Orientation and Mobility specialist, the Speech Therapist, the Adaptive Services Specialist/Teacher of the Visually Impaired, family workers and others.

While children are enrolled in the Center’s Educational Preschool Program, parents simultaneously build their skills. With the assistance of the family worker, orientation and mobility specialist and others, parents learn specific techniques to use at home to reinforce the gains their children make at school. Individual and group/classroom instruction further teaches parents to: use Braille; work within the public school system to advocate for their children; create a home environment which is safe and conducive to their children’s mobility; and access additional community resources. Parent groups enable family members to share experiences with their peers and to give and receive emotional support.

Evaluation
Evaluation of the Educational Preschool 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 all students’ IEP (Individual Educational Plan). The IEP includes objectives for each child which are monitored and modified as appropriate through sessions with the Center’s interdisciplinary staff and specialists assigned to work with that child and the family. If the student is not making expected progress, further assessment follows and additional services may be added at any time.

Budget
The annual budget for the Educational Preschool Program is $787,965 or $17,510 per student and family based on an average of 45 students per year.

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. The 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 the Center’s programs. Administrative costs are supported through earnings on investments. The Center provides center-based and home-based educational and family services free of charge. All services are available in English and Spanish.

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