In part two, I discussed the many sources of knowledge and support to which we turned as we made the decision about adopting a child with special needs. Even though Cora has been home with us for more than six months now, I am amazed at the help that seems to bubble up continuously to help us stay on the right path. We have a wonderful physical therapist and a fabulous occupational therapist, a super TVI/COMS (teacher of the visually impaired/certified orientation and mobility specialist), and a skilled family support specialist who are all a part of Cora’s care and growth. (I might add that she also has fantastic speech pathologist – moi. ;) ) I’ve written before about the great strides she’s made in six short months, and each of these great women, as well as her family, have played a role in that success. We feel very fortunate to have access to these specialists, and to have a cost plan in place through our early intervention program so that many of the therapy and equipment costs are covered.

This weekend, we were blessed with another amazing resource – all of it free – that has already made a tremendous impact on my life. My eight-year-old twins, two-year-old daughter and I traveled to our state’s school for the deaf and blind for a parent education conference. (It was intended to be an event for the whole family, but Curtis and I decided that our particular family might put a bit of a strain on their resources! ;) ) The conference included educational presentations for parents of visually impaired children from birth to age three, hands-on activities and free play for the VI children and their siblings, all meals and accommodations, and travel reimbursement. Other than Curtis taking time off work to stay home with the other kids, it didn’t cost us a thing. The school for the deaf and blind offers a similar “education weekend” in the summer for older children, as well, and it’s something we’ll be able to take advantage of in the future.

The conference began with a presentation from a teacher of the visually impaired who is also the parent of a completely blind young adult. But as you might guess, things didn’t happen in that order. As her daughter grew, she became more passionate about and involved with visual impairment issues, and she eventually decided to go to graduate school and get a master’s degree as a teacher of the visually impaired. Even more amazing, her own mother went back to school and obtained a PhD in the same field! The daughter went on to graduate from high school, learned to play the piano, rode horses, rode four wheelers, skied - you name it. And since graduation, she’s started her own business making all natural dog biscuits and has done so well that she can hardly keep up with the orders. The whole family rallied around this girl, “sucked it up,” and refused to accept any limitations for her potential. It was so inspiring to see the pictures of this young lady and to hear about all she and her family had accomplished.

While at the conference, we were able to visit the school for the visually impaired students. Some of them were local students, and others actually live on campus. Although their goal is for children to be educated in their own school districts, they had residential students as young as six in attendance. This little six year old completely blew me away with his ability. He could read (using Braille) better than most sighted 6-year-olds I’ve even seen, could type with his Braille writer and could spell like nobody’s business. He was cute and funny and charming and obviously ***incredibly*** bright.

Another “shining star” I met at the school was a young woman who had been homeschooled but is now dually enrolled as a high school senior and freshman at the local college. She sang and played the piano for us and I was truly amazed by all of her abilities. All of the kids we met reminded me that Cora’s disability cannot stop her from accomplishing ANYthing she wants to do. OK, maybe she can’t be a commercial pilot or anything, but truly, these kids and teachers have figured out ways for them to darn near everything. The teachers and specialists there shared the qualities of being highly creative, outside-of-the-box thinkers, and eternal optimists. It was awe-inspiring.

I came away from the conference with all sorts of great stuff – toy recommendations, therapy and education options, more knowledge about Cora’s needs, and information about a bunch of things that will help us down the road. For example, I learned that at least in our state, visually impaired students can go to college FOR FREE. And if our state doesn’t have the student’s chosen major/program, they’ll even pay out-of-state tuition. I also learned that you can use SSI money to start a business, as did the daughter of the teacher I mentioned earlier. I learned that even though Cora is not completely blind, learning Braille will help her reduce eyestrain and give her another modality to use when her eyes are fatigued. It can help preserve her eyesight and give her a backup down the road if she ends up having diabetes or macular degeneration, for example.

Most of all, I learned that there are a heck of a lot of other families like ours out there – families who didn’t have the luxury of a choice, as we had, where their child’s special needs were concerned, but who now stare fear in the face, smother it with courage and knowledge, and CHOOSE to press forward in faith.

Rock on VI parents. Rock on.

RESOURCES

What are special needs?
Adopting a child with special needs
Special education resources
Disorders and disabilities