Tag: children

A surprising number of kids fail their eye exams and that could be a sign of serious problems. Dr. Bruce Rosenthal explains the warning signs and also suggest solutions for your children.

He also promotes Enhanced Vision’s Amigo as a great solution for your children’s low vision and how the device can help in the classroom.

Please click this link to view the clip:  http://wcbstv.com/video/?id=91151@wcbs.dayport.com&cid=4

Past program participant and current coach Travis Sherrill considered the ones taking part in this summer’s First Tee of Lake Norman’s Golf Clinic for the Visually Impaired at an advantage.

“You’re lucky,” noted Sherrill, of Mooresville, to as many of the golfers attending the mid-morning into early-afternoon session at the Mooresville Municipal Golf Course that could hear him. “You don’t have to see the ball to hit it. That’s great.”

Sherrill was one of the number of coaches and other volunteers on hand to help provide guidance to those participating in the affair that is part of the local-based First Tee program’s regular calendar of events.

“These kids really look forward to it,” beamed Michael Abate, the youth-oriented organization’s Director of Golf. “They’re excited about being here. We weren’t about to let a little rain spoil it for them. It’s really a joy and a pleasure to watch them all participate.”

Rain tried its best, with no avail, to put a damper on the scheduled affair. Some surrounding areas received nearly two inches of rain during an early morning storm system. But only a slight cloud cover and even a few streaks of sunshine were in place during the four-hour long gathering.

A number of visually impaired participants help make the affair complete, with those on hand primarily representing Camp Dogwood. Staff members there as well as those from the host MMGC along with a handful of first Tee of Lake Norman youth all served as volunteer coaches and supporters while also providing some helpful golfing tips.

The crowd spent most of the morning session attending various areas of skills related to the game of golf. In groups, golfers participated in putting, chipping, full swing and driving drills all designed to get a better feel for the game.

After spending a designated amount of time as each of the sites, they took turns at the locations in order to get a handle on all the aspects of the game.

After lunch that was provided to the field, the afternoon session was filled with games and contests that enabled all campers to put to use what they had learned during the morning sessions.

Source for complete article: http://www2.mooresvilletribune.com/content/2009/jul/24/first-tee-lake-norman-hosts-golf-clinic-visually-i/

With more than 20 million Americans experiencing significant vision loss, dealing with the disability can result in severe hardships in daily life. But if you take a look into the only sports camp in Alaska designed for blind and visually impaired kids, you’ll see some truly inspiring feats where although there is sight loss, the actual vision is still greater than ever.

When talking about confidence, Helen Keller said it best when she said, “Never bend your head. Hold it high. Look the world straight in the eye.” And when you look at the kids of Camp Abilities that’s exactly what they are doing. With every day a challenge in being vision impaired, at Camp Abilities, kids get the chance to be just like everyone else. “There are sports camps all over for every kid so there is no reason, not to have sports camp for a child who’s blind or visually impaired,” said Jenna Sticken, who is a counselor at Camp Abilities.

The camp has adapted sports like track and field, biking, and beep baseball, which gives campers the chance to be physically active while creating an environment of self-esteem and confidence. “We did the running, the beep baseball, go ball and swimming, and I really like it,” said Mindy Baldwin, who is a Camp Abilities camper. “Its so much fun to be able to work with them and see their gains every year,” said Sticken. Making gains is exactly what camp veteran Kelsey Tallant is all about, who despite being diagnosed with glaucoma at an early age is a very determined young adult. “When I started school, like in the 1st grade when I started realizing stuff, and at first it was no big deal, and then I started realizing it and then got to be a big deal, then I realized, hey, I’m blind it doesn’t matter, I’m different its cool.”

Kelsey only has sight in one prosthetic eye, but you can’t tell based on her attitude towards life and everyone else. “I was once like their age, and I know how they feel and I’m a couple years older than them and if I have a positive attitude, then they’ll have a positive attitude and they’ll look at it like its no big deal,” said Kelsey.

From running, to even playing baseball, being visually impaired can be a day-to-day challenge. But if you use the kids of Camp Abilities as an example, there is nothing holding them back. “We keep a positive environment, everybody is upbeat, everybody succeeds in something, it doesn’t matter if you only bike one lap or if you only bike 14 laps you have made gains,” said Sticken. “It’s one of our major focuses and its so much fun, this is the most exciting camp to see what these kids can do,” said Kathy Trautman, of the Girdwood Lions Club.

You don’t have to look far to see the results, as these kids are proof, that impairments or no impairments, anything is possible. “Maybe try to make it to the Olympics, I don’t know,” said Kelsey. “You are gaining your own confidence, you can do it yourself, you don’t need somebody else to do it,” said Sticken. Funding for Camp Abilities is entirely from donations in which the Lions Club foundation plays a role. For more information about how you can help continue an important need in Alaska please go to our links page.

Source for complete article: http://www.ktva.com/ci_12861886

BURLINGTON, ON–(Marketwire – July 15, 2009) – The 12for12k Challenge, a social media-driven charitable effort, has partnered with Eye Care For Kids during the month of July. The purpose is to raise funds for visually impaired youth from poor and low-income families to get the treatment they need. By harnessing the power of social media to influence positive change, 12for12k and Eye Care For Kids hope to raise more than $12,000 to help treat kids in need across the state of Utah, including rural areas and Native American reservations.

“When a child’s vision is impaired, it affects more than just their eyes; it affects their learning, confidence and futures. What we take for granted thousands never know because of their economic situations, which is why we are thrilled to dedicate our efforts this month to helping Eye Care For Kids make sight a reality for children in need,” said Danny Brown, founder of 12for12k.

According to state statistics, as many as 65,000 kids currently need the services that Eye Care For Kids provide. Not only can this help with education and learning difficulties, it can prevent more serious long-term damage as well.

“Sight is such a critical component to education and life experience, especially for a child,” said Joseph Carbone, Founder and President of Eye Care For Kids. “Social media is arguably one of the fastest and most influential forms of influence in our world today, and we are confident that 12for12k’s efforts will help raise awareness of this important drive to bring sight to children in need.”

The 12for12k Challenge works to raise $12,000 per charity for 12 different charities in 2009 by getting 1,200 people to donate just $10 each to a different charity each month. During the month of July, 12for12k will dispatch messages through its network of thousands, leveraging social media tools like Twitter, Facebook, blogs and others. In addition, other events will take place including Masquertweet, a special charity live event in New York. For more information, please contact Danny Brown at Danny@12for12k.org or visit www.12for12k.org.

Source for complete article: http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/The-12For12K-Challenge-1017762.html

Marla Palmer worries that science teachers give up on her two blind children too easily.

That’s one reason why the president of the Utah Parents of Blind Children helped to organize Saturday’s “Science Without Sight” camp for 26 visually impaired Utah students from fourth through 12th grades.

Campers got the chance to handle alligators and chickens, build catapults, or learn about geology, while…

Source for complete article: http://getweb.info/biology/?p=9572

As little Tatyana Larbi, aka Little Miss Muffett, sings about selling her cotton and twigs to the “sister pigs,” you can tell the young girl is enjoying her moment in the limelight, even if she can’t see the audience’s response.

The set and costumes are pretty basic. Most were made by parents and volunteers. But that doesn’t matter to the beaming mothers, fathers and grandparents in the audience. The fact that these 10 children are performing this day is enough for them.

All of the actors in the Pumpkin Pickle Pop Cookies Opera are visually impaired 4- and 5-year-olds. Two are blind, and the others have varying degrees of sight. All are students in Atlanta’s Center for the Visually Impaired BEGIN program.

But today is their last day here…

Source for complete article: http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/05/14/visually.impaired.opera/index.html