Experiences of parents with visual impairments who are raising children.

Author: Rosenblum, L. Penny; Hong, Sunggye; Harris, Beth

Article Type: Report
Geographic Code: 1USA
Date: Feb 1, 2009
Words: 5840
Publication: Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness
ISSN: 0145-482X

Abstract: Sixty-seven parents who are visually impaired revealed strategies for their children's safety, transportation, homework,
and other parenting tasks and provided information about the emotional impact on their children and others' reactions to them as
parents. Recommendations for current and future parents who are visually impaired and professionals are discussed.

**********

Parenting is a daunting undertaking for any individual, but it may be even more daunting for individuals with visual impairments
as they think about how to accomplish everyday tasks, such as diapering and transporting children. Over the past 40 years, few
studies have been conducted on the child-rearing experiences of people with visual impairments.

Early articles were generally anecdotal, describing what it was like to raise children as a parent with a visual
impairment (Arsnow, Dichiera, Mould, Sauerburger, & Peaco, 1985; Branson, 1975; DiCaprio, 1971; Hirshberg, 1960; Kendrick,
1983). They focused on the ways in which parents interacted with their children and established communication when their
children were young. The parents with visual impairments in these reports tended to describe their personal concerns related to
day-to-day experiences and adaptations, public perceptions, and the lack of support and information available to them.

Ware and Schwab (1971) expanded on the anecdotal information by interviewing 10 mothers with visual impairments about their
children's clothing, personal hygiene, grooming, and feeding and the role of the mothers in child care. The authors found that
mothers with visual impairments received little training in how to perform parenting tasks and that they accomplished many of
the tasks through trial and error. They proposed the development of a training program in the basics of child care to allow
mothers with visual impairments to concentrate more on the emotional aspects of child rearing. Yet such findings have not been
put into practice, and parents with visual impairments have reported concerns about raising children, including protecting their
children's safety, the extra time needed to accommodate their own visual impairments, and transportation needs (Conley-Jung &
Olkin, 2001).

Some research has focused on the relationships and interactions between parents with visual impairments and their children. It
has shown that societal beliefs influence the types of interactions between parents and children. Deshen and Deshen (1989)
found that Israeli children grew up learning to be disrespectful toward their parents with visual impairments because of the
cultural belief system in Israel surrounding people with disabilities. Although no similar studies have been conducted in the
United States, Conley-Jung and Olkin (2001) interviewed mothers with visual impairments who reported experiencing negative
reactions from other people. The mothers reported strategies to deal with negative attitudes, such as confiding in others,
educating people, ignoring the negative messages, or laughing about them.

The mode of communication can also affect parent-child relationships. Since much of the communication between parents and
young children is conducted visually, parents who are visually impaired must use other modes of communication. Young
children were found to adapt readily to alternate forms of communication for interacting with and developing relationships with
their parents who were visually impaired (Adamson, Als, Tronick, & Brazelton, 1977; Collis & Bryant, 1981).

It is not possible to determine the number of parents in the United States who are blind or have low vision. According to the
2000 census (U.S. Census Bureau, 2000), there were approximately 38 million households with individuals aged 18 or younger,
or about 36% of the total number of households in the United States. In 2005, an estimate based on the American Community
Survey showed that 2.8% of the U.S. population aged 16-64, or about 5.3 million people of child-rearing age, had some kind of
sensory disability (U.S. Census Bureau, 2005).

Research is needed that explores the concerns, coping strategies, and feelings of parents with visual impairments on parenting.
The study presented here was designed as a step toward expanding the limited information on how parents with visual
impairments are raising their children and the strategies that they use.

Method

PROCEDURE

Individuals in the United States who were visually impaired and who had at least one child at home who was a senior in high
school or younger were eligible to participate in the study. The participants provided information on their own visual impairments.
We used several methods to recruit parents who were visually impaired, including posting invitations to participate in the study in
blindness-specific newsletters, electronic discussion groups, and web sites and contacting parents who were visually impaired
whom we knew. After completing an online information form, the participants were contacted by one of us to set up a telephone
interview. Although the participants had the option of completing the information in the online form via telephone with the second
author, none requested this option. All interviews were recorded using digital voice recorders and were later transcribed to a text
file for analysis.

A structured interview procedure was used to collect responses from the participants (a copy of the interview script and
questions are available from the second author). All three researchers (the authors of this article) adhered to the script and
questions to maintain consistency across the participants. Before the study began, the interview script and questions were
reviewed by a colleague who had extensive research experience, was visually impaired, and had raised two children.

After the audio files were transcribed, we reviewed the transcripts independently and identified themes for each of three topical
areas. The topical areas were groupings of information from several questions; themes were tied to individual questions. We
then met and came to agreement on the themes. Each of us selected representative quotes from the participants to be used in
the article presented here to illustrate the identified themes.

Results

DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PARENTS

Interviews were conducted with 67 parents with visual impairments from 28 states and the District of Columbia. The participants
ranged in age from 22 to 60, with a mean of 40 years and a median of 39 years, and were predominantly Caucasian (n = 50)
and female (n = 47). As Table 1 shows, 40 participants had low vision, and 27 were blind. A variety of etiologies were reported.
The three most prevalent etiologies were albinism (n = 16), retinitis pigmentosa (n = 12), and retinopathy of prematurity (n = 8).
The ages at which the participants were first diagnosed with a visual impairment ranged from birth (n = 40) to 31 years or older
(n = 3). The majority of the participants were diagnosed before age 18 (n = 59). Of the 67 participants, 19 were single parents,
47 parented with a spouse, and 1 parented with a same-sex partner. Of the 48 parents who parented with a spouse or partner,
16 said that the partner also had a disability: 13 had visual impairments, 1 had a spinal cord injury, 1 was deaf or hard of
hearing, and 1 partner's disability was not disclosed. A total of 49 participants reported working outside the home or running
their own home-based businesses. Jobs included being a teacher, lawyer, computer programmer, supervisor, and professional
in the field of visual impairment.

DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CHILDREN

To participate, the parents had to have at least one child who was a senior in high school or younger and was living at home full
time; children who were living with the other parent or not living at home (such as at college or on their own) were not counted.
The 67 participants reported having a total of 113 children who were currently living at home, but since 3 participants were
married to other participants, the demographic information for the children was tallied using 64 participants. Thirty-two
participants had 1 child, 17 had 2 children, 14 had 3 children, and 1 had 5 children. The 113 children ranged in age from 3
months to 19 years, and the majority of them (n = 62) were male. Of the 24 children with disabilities, 9 children were visually
impaired (see Table 2 for more details).

THEMES

Three topical areas emerged from the study: the social and emotional aspects of being a parent with a visual impairment,
practical ways of dealing with various aspects of raising children, and advice and information needed or desired that would be
helpful for the participants or future parents with visual impairments. The information in each topical area was then coded into
themes by question.

Social and emotional aspects of being a parent with a visual impairment

Positive aspects. Almost all the participants identified positive aspects of having a visual impairment and being a parent. Many
parents said that their children seemed to be more compassionate or empathic toward others. As one parent noted: "I think to
some extent it has helped them to be more open to differences and to be more empathic. I think my kids have seen that it is
possible to problem solve successfully when you have challenges."

Some parents reported that their children were more accepting of differences in others, as in this comment: "My children are
more aware of what is a visually impaired or handicapped person.... They know that not everyone has 20/20 vision, and they
accept people because everyone is different." Others said that their children were more verbal or descriptive than were children
of the same age who did not have a parent with a visual impairment. Still others noted that their children were more mature or
had to grow up faster than other children of the same age.

Challenges. By far the greatest challenge reported by the participants was transporting their children. A typical response was
this: "The biggest challenge is probably transportation.... One of the causes of anxiety for me is that I have had to arrange for
transportation."

Another challenge focused on monitoring a child. Comments in this category were divided into responses that addressed safety
concerns and responses that focused on a child's completion of tasks. A poignant example of a safety concern was as follows:
When Sandy was 18 months old, I
put the two girls against a fence and
told them to stay. While I was opening
the stroller, Holly told me calmly
that Sandy was in the street in front
of the bus. After that, Sandy was
attached to me by a type of leash
[harness to keep her near].

The parents listed a variety of tasks that were difficult to monitor, including typical chores that the children were expected to do.
As one parent said: "Even now, with them being 17 and 18, I tell my son to take the garbage out, and he'll leave it. He figures
morn can't see that."

A few parents reported that they believed they were being watched by others who questioned their ability to parent successfully
because they were visually impaired. A typical comment was this:
Just trying to get past the stereotype
that someone who is visually
impaired can't be a parent [is difficult].
I get really tired of people giving
me such a strange look or reaction
when I'm out in public with my
daughter, and they know I'm a morn.
And just that intensity of curiosity,
"Wow, how do you this?" and "How
do you that?" or "How can you...."

A few parents said that their children were embarrassed about having a parent with a visual impairment. As one mother noted:
"The girls used to be mortified that I squint and look different from the other morns. I couldn't drive them to the mall like other
morns. It is getting less now, but they were not happy campers."

Explaining one's visual impairment to one's child. The participants were asked to describe how they knew their children
understood that they had a visual impairment. Differences were reported on the basis of the parent's level of functional vision.
The parents who were blind reported that their children typically became aware of their blindness between ages 1 and 3. The
children demonstrated a variety of behaviors to demonstrate their awareness, including bringing the parent to something, rather
than pointing; bringing the parent only books with braille but bringing other adults books with only print; bringing objects to the
parent's hand to show, rather than holding up the objects; asking other adults to do activities with them that were visual (such as
dancing like a person on television); and imitating the parent by pretending to walk with a cane or to search for a dropped object
with the hands. As one parent said: "She was 18 months old. My sister-in-law pointed it out to me. I was laying on the floor with
her, and my daughter was testing me. [She was] putting fingers in front of my face and trying to make me react." Another parent
said that when her son was young, she
Explained that my eyes blink, but
they just don't work. When he noticed
it, he was 2, and he started to
touch my eyes.... He would say,
"Mommy's eyes don't work." Then
I'd say, "I can hear you and love
you." He'd say, "Mommy, we have
to make a doctor's appointment to
get your eyes fixed."

The parents with low vision said that their children did not recognize their parents' visual difference until an older age, typically
late preschool or early elementary school. One father noted: "I was reading something and holding it close. He was 4 or 5 and
picked up the magnifier and said, 'Daddy, do you need this?'"

Some parents reported that their children gradually started to take on responsibility for their parents' needs as visually impaired
persons. For example, one child began to serve as a sighted guide in the community or to read information to the parent.
In a few instances, the parents reported that their children began to notice how the public was responding to them because of
their visual impairments. One mother who was blind said:
What I remember explaining more
than my visual impairment was people's
reactions. I had taken my
daughter to class. She was about 3 or
4. We were waiting for a taxi as all
the people were leaving. She asked,
"Why do people stare at us?" I said,
"They are staring at us because I
can't see."

Feeling left out of activities. When the participants were asked if they ever felt left out of an activity that their children were doing,
they most often described activities involving distance vision, such as sports, plays, and dance recitals in which the children
were participating and recreational activities at parks or other locations where the children were playing at a distance. A mother
who was blind shared a special memory related to her daughter's participation in sports:
One time, a teenager sat with me
when my daughter was playing
T-ball. He was there and bored and
said, "I bet you would like to know
what your daughter is doing. I'll be
your commentator." I treasured that
experience because he really was a
radio commentator. He told me
everything. It was just one day.... I
took the girls to things they were
interested in but always felt off to the
side.

Another mother put it more succinctly, "You haven't lived until you go to a soccer game and you don't know if your child is on the
field."

Some parents reported feeling left out of activities that their children were doing at near distance, such as drawing or painting.
As one father said: "She loves to draw. When she shows daddy her pictures and daddy doesn't respond, she doesn't
understand that. I don't feel too great about it. She reacted one time and told me to open my eyes real big." One mother told
how she felt during a birthday party where each mother was helping her child with ceramics:
I felt left out. I was kind of on the
side while the morns were helping the
kids. There was a morn there helping
Kim.... I used to be a very social
person, but it's very difficult.... I'm
parenting, but I can't participate. I'm
on the sidelines.

To minimize the impact of not being able to see their children participate in these activities, the parents asked others, such as
their spouses or partners, to describe what the children were doing. A few parents with low vision used optical devices (such as
a monocular) to watch their children.

Emotional impact on the child. Many parents noted that it was difficult to determine if their having a visual impairment had a
direct emotional impact on their children. When parents reported an emotional impact, they noted that their children's responses
were either positive or negative. An example of a positive impact was evidenced in this comment by the mother of a 10-year-old
son:
He loves it when I come in with
my dog [guide], and he's very proud.
When people say little things to him
at school--"your mom's blind" or
whatever--he's never embarrassed
or thinks he wishes I wasn't [blind].
He's very proud of the fact that
we're a little bit different and that
our lives are a little bit more complicated....
I think he has some real
good self-esteem from that.
The mother of a sighted 14-year-old daughter said:
When we went to a NOAH [National
Organization for Albinism and
Hypopigmentation] conference, it
was an awakening, not just about visual
impairment or albinism, but about
differences. Suddenly, she became a
lot more open about diversity and talking
about things. It was triggered by
attending the conference and by hanging
out with the teen group there.

Some parents believed there was a negative impact on their children. One mother said, "I don't think they sit around and think,
'Oh it sucks to have a morn who is blind.' But I do think there's a lot of things they wish I could do with them.... They're both in
dance, and they wish I could see them dance."

Practical aspects of being a parent with a visual impairment

Safety. Issues concerning the children's safety were expressed by all the parents. The parents who were blind were more apt to
keep their children close; put bells on the children's shoes when they were young; keep their children engaged in conversation;
be on the floor with their children, especially during the infant and toddler years; and limit the parts of the house or yard that the
children had access to. These parents were less likely to take their children out in public alone. When they did, they used such
strategies as keeping the children restrained (for example, in a stroller or on a leash or harness), establishing a rule that the
children must answer when called, or maintaining a distance that allowed for physical contact.

The parents with low vision used some of the same strategies as the parents who were blind, although less frequently. In
addition, they used other strategies, such as dressing the children in brightly colored clothing. A mother with low vision said:
Bells, it's all about the bells. I
have made bell anklets for them, or I
put bells on their laces. They both
really like their bells. I have made
different things with bells and
beads--made them cute.... I have
them wear the bells if I'm with
someone else or not. My [sighted]
husband has learned to be dependent
on the bells.

Some parents reported selecting where they lived on the basis of safety concerns. They chose to live on a quiet street or to buy
a house with a fenced yard.

Transportation. Transportation was an area of great concern for the participants. The participants wanted their children to be
able to attend events, but recognized that sometimes their children missed out on opportunities because they, the parents, could
not provide transportation. The participants also reported that they and their children did not have spontaneity when it came to
transportation. As one woman put it: "We don't have that spontaneity. He says, 'Mom can I....' He didn't tell me before, and I
didn't budget for the taxi.... Everything takes some planning."

To transport their children, the parents used all methods of travel, including walking, public transportation, drivers (primarily
family members and friends), taxis, and paratransit (specialized transportation services for people with disabilities and the
elderly). Transporting children while using one's cane or dog guide presented challenges. A mother of young children said, "I
have a little red wagon I use. I use a guide dog, so I pull the wagon behind me and put the baby in a front backpack."

When taking their children by car, the parents noted that they needed to plan in advance. For young children, they had to
consider a car seat, specifically how to install it in a taxi or a friend's car and where to store it when they reached their
destination. Several parents noted that they had researched car seats prior to having their babies. The most articulate on this
subject was a mother who said, "We found a really neat car seat called a Sit-n-Stroll. It's basically a regular car seat that you
strap into the car pretty easily, and then you can take it out of the car, pop out the wheels from the bottom, and it becomes a
stroller." This mother reported attending a workshop led by a child-restraint specialist and having a fireman show her how to
install car seats in a variety of vehicles.

Several parents reported novel strategies for transportation. For example, one parent brought her child to the office via
paratransit and then paid a coworker to drive her child to day care, and another hired a local company that typically provided
transportation to seniors to transport her and her child. Other examples included a parent who got friends to drive a car that she
and her visually impaired husband owned in which they had installed car seats and a parent who had multiple car seats for her
daughter so that if one did not fit in someone's car, she had an alternative to try.

Homework and related activities. The participants were asked about the challenges of assisting their children with homework.
Parents of younger children provided examples related to helping their children access printed and pictorial materials. They
reported using tools, such as a screen board; adapting games that involved colors, numbers, shapes, or letters with braille or
other tactile markings; and purchasing games and activities that they could more easily see or get sensory input from. Some
parents used their own assistive technology, such as a screen-reader program that allowed them to hear what letters or words
their children typed on the computer keyboard.

Homework strategies included having someone else do the homework with the child, having the child read aloud, using optical
aids to access the homework, having the child e-mail the parent the homework, paying someone to assist the child with the
homework, and positioning the child and the homework so the parent could more easily view it. A mother of a 12-year-old
seventh grader reported that part of her child's allowance was earned by assisting her sister who was in the second grade with
homework.

Communicating with teachers. Many parents reported that they had no problems when it came to communicating with teachers
because they could see the notes, access the notes or other information via the computer, or speak to the teacher in person, or
the parenting partner took on the responsibility of communicating with the teacher. Several parents said that it was difficult to
sign their children out from school or day care because they could not see the sign-out sheet, so they had to seek an
accommodation, such as a staff person signing the child out on their behalf.

Picking children up from school or activities. The parents who were blind had designated meeting spots for their children,
identified the children by voice, or asked someone to find the children for them. The parents with low vision used the same
strategies. In addition, some parents with low vision were able to identify their children by the clothes the children were wearing
or the children's hair color or body size.

Advice and information suggested for parents with visual impairments

Information or services suggested. Several parents suggested that the medical community needs to be advised about the
abilities of parents who are visually impaired. One mother said that Child Protective Services had been called solely because
she was visually impaired. Another mother said, "There's a lot of unwarranted paranoia by hospital staff like doctors. If you
approach doctors or nurses and tell them your plans and sound confident, ... you'll have a much easier time."

Many parents thought that electronic discussion groups, web sites, conferences, and support groups would be helpful to them in
raising their children. Videos, especially those that are descriptive, and books were also recommended. Some parents wanted
general information on raising children that was accessible, while others wanted information in these resources to focus on
parents with visual impairments. In addition, the parents wanted the opportunity to meet other parents who were visually
impaired and exchange "war stories" and advice.

Advice for future parents. The advice for future parents fell into five categories: (1) do not focus on your visual impairment, (2)
have a sense of humor, (3) have supportive people around you, (4) consider where you will live and how your decision will affect
your children, and (5) be creative and organized. As one mother said, "Just because we're blind doesn't mean we don't have the
same hopes and desires for raising children. It just has to be done a little differently."

Discussion

This study examined the experiences of 67 parents who were visually impaired and were raising children. Several issues were
apparent from the data. First, transportation was an extremely important concern. Being a nondriver limited the participants'
ability to be spontaneous with their children; necessitated that they plan transportation ahead of time; and, in many instances,
influenced where the families lived. Working with communities to establish alternative transportation options for nondrivers
would ultimately assist these parents in transporting their children.

Safety was a concern for all the parents regardless of their level of visual impairment; therefore, helping parents to learn
techniques that others have used to ensure their children's safety can be helpful. Like safety concerns, there were other topics
on which parents could benefit from hearing of others' experiences. The development of strands at conferences to address
parenting, electronic discussion groups specific to parenting children of different ages, accessible videos and books about
parenting topics, and a venue for matching parents with each other to share experiences and resources would support parents
who are visually impaired. In addition, rehabilitation facilities and support groups could offer classes or discussion sessions to
provide clients with information on these topics.

In the field of education, considerable discussion has focused on the need for instruction in the expanded core curriculum
(Hatlen, 1996). Parents and young people with visual impairments need to be made aware that the components of the expanded
core curriculum, such as orientation and mobility (O&M) and social skills, are needed when a person with a visual impairment
becomes a parent. Giving young people with visual impairments opportunities to learn how to baby-sit, giving them the
responsibility for younger siblings, having them enroll in child development classes, and having them meet young adults with
visual impairments who are parents can help to prepare them for parenting. Parents who are sighted can model for their visually
impaired children some of the strategies they may use when they become parents, such as taking family trips using multiple
transportation methods, having their children e-mail homework assignments back and forth with them, and establishing a rule
that when a child calls the parent's name, the parent answers, and vice versa. Teachers of students with visual impairments and
O&M instructors can build opportunities into their instruction for young people to practice skills of the expanded core curriculum
that are crucial for parenting.

Like individuals with visual impairments, the public also needs to be educated about the parenting abilities of people who are
visually impaired. Professionals in the field need to help people with visual impairments develop self-advocacy skills so that
future and current parents feel comfortable talking with others, including medical personnel, their children's teachers and day
care workers, and other parents.

The study revealed some important information on parenting by people with visual impairments; however, the following
limitations were identified. The participants were primarily recruited through advertisements on the Internet and in newsletters of
organizations for people with visual impairments. Thus, they were a "connected" group and may not be representative of the
population of parents with visual impairments. Thirty-nine (57%) participants were employed full time, and 10 (15%) were
employed part time. This 70% employment rate is higher than that reported by Kirchner, Schmeidler, and Todorov (1999). Only
one interview was scheduled per participant, and the data were self-reported. This onetime "snapshot" would have been
strengthened through the use of multiple interviews or observations.

The potential for future studies is great on the experiences of parents who are visually impaired. Studies that gather data from all
family members through a combination of observations and interviews would allow researchers to gain a fuller understanding of
the impact of a parent's visual impairment on the entire family unit. The development of courses and workshops for parents who
are visually impaired that focus on child rearing should be based on input from parents and data gathered through systematic
research.

This study provided a wealth of information about the experiences of 67 individuals with visual impairments who were raising
children. These parents shared information on many aspects of their experiences. Their candidness and optimism
shone throughout the interviews. It was clear to us that, overall, parenting was an enriching experience for the participants. In
the words of one participant,
It's been a lot of fun so far: just
being a parent watching him grow
and develop. It's also been challenging.
I remind myself every day that
this is a challenge for every parent,
and I can't stress that enough. Some
of it has been made more difficult by
being a blind parent, but it's not
about being a blind parent; it's about
being a parent.

Authors' Note: The authors thank the Tucson Downtown Lions Club for its contribution to transcribing the interviews. They also
thank University of Arizona doctoral student Deborah Rooks and San Francisco State University graduate student Rosalyn
Antenor Cruz Conanan for their assistance in transcribing the interviews, and Sharon Sacks for reviewing a draft of the survey
instrument.

References

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Kendrick, D. (1983). Invisible barriers: How you can make parenting easier. Disabled USA, 1, 17-19.

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L. Penny Rosenblum, Ph.D., adjunct associate professor, Department of Special Education, Rehabilitation, and School
Psychology, University of Arizona, Box 210069, Tucson, AZ 85721-0069; e-mail: <rosenblu@u.arizona.edu>. Sunggye Hong,
Ph.D., assistant professor, Department of Special Education, San Francisco State University, Burk Hall 208, 1600 Holloway
Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94132; e-mail: <hong72@sfsu.edu>. Beth Harris, M.S.Ed., doctoral student, University of Arizona,
Box 210069, Tucson, AZ 85721-0069; e-mail: <bharrisl@e-mail.arizona.edu>.
Table 1
Demographic characteristics of the
participants (N = 67).

Prevalence
Characteristics n %

Gender
Male 20 29.85
Female 47 70.15
Ethnicity
African American 5 7.46
Asian 3 4.48
Caucasian 50 74.63
Hispanic 3 4.48
Multiracial or biracial 4 5.97
Other 2 2.99
Degree of visual impairment
Blind 27 40.30
Low vision 40 59.70
Etiologies
Albinism 16 23.88
Retinitis pigmentosa 12 17.91
Retrolental
fibroplasia-retinopathy
of prematurity 8 11.94
Glaucoma 6 8.95
Uveitis 4 5.97
Cataract 3 4.48
Coloboma 2 2.99
Diabetic retinopathy 2 2.99
Leber's congenital amaurosis 2 2.99
Lucocia epicial dysplasia 2 2.99
Optic atrophy 2 2.99
Retinoblastoma 2 2.99
Coats' disease 1 1.49
 Nystagmus 1 1.49
Optic nerve damage 1 1.49
Stargardt's 1 1.49
Stevens-Johnson syndrome 1 1.49
Unknown 1 1.49
Age first diagnosed
with a visual
impairment
Birth 40 59.70
1 month to 5 years 9 13.43
6 years to 18 years 10 14.93
19 to 30 years 5 7.46
31 years or older 3 4.48
Employment status
Full time (35 hours or more) 39 58.21
Part time 10 14.93
Not employed 16 23.88
Unknown 2 2.98
Parenting situation
Alone, single 19 28.36
Married 47 70.15
Same-sex partner 1 1.49

Table 2
Demographic characteristics of the children (N= 113).

Prevalence
Characteristics n

Gender
Male 62 54.87
Female 51 45.13
Age
Infant 14 12.39
Toddler 22 19.47
Preschool 10 8.85
Elementary school 35 30.97
Teenager 30 26.55
Adult 2 1.77
Disability
Yes 24 21.24
No 89 78.76
Type of disability (n = 24)
Visual impairment 9 37.50
Other 5 20.83
Multiple handicaps 5 20.83
Developmental delays 2 8.33
Learning disability 2 8.33
ADHD or ADD 1 4.17

Note: ADHD = attention deficit hyperactivity dis-order and

ADD = attention deficit disorder.

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