Kadence loves to bake cookies and hang out with friends. She's also partly blind. Kadence is real and so are her experiences. Learn about her life in this illustrated narrative nonfiction picture book for elementary students. Kids are naturally curious about differences and disabilities. Kadence sheds light on her life, with the help of experienced children's author Mari Schuh. She's not defined by visual impairment, but she does some things differently than sighted people. Beautiful illustrations and a dyslexic-friendly font promote accessibility. Includes tips for kids about interacting with someone who is blind.

Long Time, No See is certainly an inspiring story, but Beth Finke does not aim to inspire. Eschewing reassuring platitudes and sensational pleas for sympathy, she charts her struggles with juvenile diabetes, blindness, and a host of other hardships, sharing her feelings of despair and frustration as well as her hard-won triumphs. Rejecting the label “courageous,” she prefers to describe herself using the phrase her mother invoked in times of difficulty: “She did what she had to do.” With unflinching candor and acerbic wit, Finke chronicles the progress of the juvenile diabetes that left her blind at the age of twenty-six as well as the seemingly endless spiral of adversity that followed. First she was forced out of her professional job. Then she bore a multiply handicapped son. But she kept moving forward, confronting marital and financial problems and persevering through a rocky training period with a seeing-eye dog. Finke’s life story and her commanding knowledge of her situation give readers a clear understanding of diabetes, blindness, and the issues faced by parents of children with significant disabilities. Because she has taken care to include accurate medical information as well as personal memoir, Long Time, No See serves as an excellent resource for others in similar situations and for professionals who deal with disabled adults or children.

The ability to see deeply affects how human beings perceive and interpret the world around them. For most people, eyesight is part of everyday communication, social activities, educational and professional pursuits, the care of others, and the maintenance of personal health, independence, and mobility. Functioning eyes and vision system can reduce an adult's risk of chronic health conditions, death, falls and injuries, social isolation, depression, and other psychological problems. In children, properly maintained eye and vision health contributes to a child's social development, academic achievement, and better health across the lifespan. The public generally recognizes its reliance on sight and fears its loss, but emphasis on eye and vision health, in general, has not been integrated into daily life to the same extent as other health promotion activities, such as teeth brushing; hand washing; physical and mental exercise; and various injury prevention behaviors. A larger population health approach is needed to engage a wide range of stakeholders in coordinated efforts that can sustain the scope of behavior change. The shaping of socioeconomic environments can eventually lead to new social norms that promote eye and vision health. Making Eye Health a Population Health Imperative: Vision for Tomorrow proposes a new population-centered framework to guide action and coordination among various, and sometimes competing, stakeholders in pursuit of improved eye and vision health and health equity in the United States. Building on the momentum of previous public health efforts, this report also introduces a model for action that highlights different levels of prevention activities across a range of stakeholders and provides specific examples of how population health strategies can be translated into cohesive areas for action at federal, state, and local levels.

Blind and visually impaired children experience the world in unique ways. To help them learn and develop, parents and teachers need to understand how such children relate to their environment. The authors offer practical strategies for encouraging the blind child's development and interaction. Paper edition (7700-5), $17.95. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

This book was first projected in 2004, when Author Hannah Fairbairn was teaching interpersonal skills at the Carroll Center for the Blind in Newton, Massachusetts. The experiences of her adult students—and her own experience of sight lost—convinced her that everyone losing vision needs access to good information about the process of adjustment to losing sight and practical ways to use assertive speech. When You Can’t Believe Your Eyes is intended for anyone going through vision loss, their friends, and families. It will inform readers how to get expert professional help, face the trauma of loss, and navigate the world using speech more than sight. Each of the twelve chapters in the book contain many short sections and bullet-point lists, intended to facilitate access to the right information. It begins where you begin—at the doctor’s office or the hospital. Since vision loss takes many forms, there are suggestions for questions you might ask to get a clear diagnosis and the best treatment. Part One also has a description of legal blindness and possible prevention, advice about your job, and tips for life at home. Part Two is about believing in yourself as you deal with the loss, the anger, and the fear before you come up for air and consider training. Parts Three and Four describe using assertive speech and action in all kinds of settings as your independence and confidence increase. Part Five gives detailed information about everything from dating, and caring for babies to senior living, volunteering, and retaining your job. It is hoped that by reading and trying out the suggestions, the reader will recover full confidence, become a positive, assertive communicator, and lead a satisfying life. Because vision loss happens mostly in older years, the book is written with seniors particularly in mind. Professionals will also find it to be a useful resource for their patients.

Born blind and declared incurable after a series of childhood operations, Meir Schneider remained convinced that his disability was not permanent. As a teenager he began to work with teachers who gave him exercises to reverse his blindness. Within four years he gained a remarkable degree of vision, and began developing a system of therapeutic exercise combining movement, breathing, and mental imagery. When he began working with others, miraculous recoveries ensued. Movement for Self-Healing details Schneider's methods of stimulating the natural healing powers of the body, with specific guidelines for improving vision, back problems, arthritis, multiple sclerosis, breathing, and muscular dystrophy.

Gives readers a look into the lives and abilities of people who are blind, as well as the challenges they face. Learn how people who are blind read and write, navigate public transportation, and play sports. Additional features include a table of contents, an informative infographic, a Fast Facts spread, critical-thinking questions, a phonetic glossary, a selected bibliography, an index, sources for further research, and information about the author.