In my county there is a three tier system of help for the visually impaired - special units placed inside the First, Middle and High schools where the children work alongside mainstream pupils but have extra help at any/every stage. The children range from the totally impaired to those of lesser degree, moving from totally impaired from birth to progressive impairment for varying reasons.
As for driving, they would be subject to a vision test before being allowed to drive just like the rest of us. If corrective spectacles or lenses are worn then they can be worn too for the test.
:P
from some 1 who knows the to childern in question babe they can over come anything the are bright inteligent funny with big charactors that will take on the world with there family and friends and yes there sight may not b great but medicine is improving and hope is a great tool
and anyway look at the friends your children have amassed by just being themselves
and both can see well enough to wallop lumps out of your friends
babe my vote nothing in life will trully handicap your children it's only a word and they are a whole lot more than a word
and have you seen how they can ride there bikes without stabilisers
To get your child statement, as has been said before, the school should be one step ahead of you and already applying for the extra help.
SOME schools and authorities are a little lazy getting off the ground as extra help does come out of the school budget (they do get some money towards it, but not usually all) so you may need to push for the statement. You can do it now if your kids are having problems you dont need to wait for your appointment.
Most teachers will have picked up on your kids problems anyway and passed the info on to the headteacher for him/her to action. But it is worth making an appointment with them to make sure the correct action is being taken and what your wishes are.
The local education authority will have booklets/websites and sometimes counsellers for parents with children with special needs to help guide you through the process and point you in the direction you need to go.
As for benefits, you can apply for the forms straight away, they will contact the specialist direct for confirmation. If you get DLA remember to notify the child tax credit people as that will increase as well from the date of DLA issue.
As for the future, as jags said everyone is subject to sight tests (with corrective measures) for driving etc. Getting your child registered as partially sighted is not going to affect them any differently than not getting them registered. Except they will get a lot more help in school then applying for jobs when they are older.
I have a special needs child (she is blind as well) if you want to talk send me a PM and will give you my phone number. Good luck with what ever you decide.
kaz
Your daughter's probably having to share a TA because she's not got a SEN ?
The thing with funding now is that it's given once for the whole academic year. Problems arise when seeking fiscal or physical help during the academic year as LEAs are not too keen to give out extra cash to schools. Keep at them though, it's the only way and there's only so much pleading the school can do for you.
I have a VI child in my class and even the simple things make such a big difference to him, like sitting him on the side of the classroom where he can use his good eye to see the board. You'd think that people would just do this, but they don't.
Get them help asap. IMHO, as a recently VI person, and a not so recently disabled one, it takes some getting used to. But once you realise that these things are there to HELP and not HINDER your life, it makes all the difference.
I think it might be better for them to know what hurdles they may have, and know how to overcome them sooner rather than later.
I spent the longest time struggling and not accepting help, seeing this as failure.
If I knew this was not really the case, from day one, I reckon I would have been much better able to deal with the shit life threw.
Hi I worked for the Disability Benefits Agency up till my back gave out 6 years ago. One easy way would be to put a claim in for Disability Living Allowance for your kids if their eyesight is that bad. That way they'd be registered disabled and you should get some money that will help with any treatments ( specialist teaching that you can't get on the state , etc ). My nephew and neice are both dyslexic and it was only thru them going to the INPP in Fife that they've been able to get their reading ages up to the level of their real age.
Best bet would be to speak to someone at your local Dept of Work and Pensions about Incapacity Benefit as well they will be able to help you out a lot better than I can since i'm way out of the loop with the new claim forms , etc.
And they are NEVER disabled , anyone that calls them that in a nasty way only need to be reminded that Stephen Hawkings is severely disabled , in a wheel chair , can't talk without using a pc synth , etc and he is one of the most intelligent people alive today. Its not what they look like , what they have problems with that counts its the person within. Beauty is skin deep , intelligence is our core being never let your kids think any different after all if we were all the same the world would be a very very boring place to live so long live diversity !!!
Davie ( 2 knackered disks in back , knackered cruciate ligament in knee and knackered tendon in ankle .... big fat and ugly but I dont give a monkeys lol )
bloody pikey (TM. Rachel-Lane)