CVI BEGIN Now! Newsletter
September/October 2014
BEGIN Update 1
Overcoming Separation Anxiety 3
Upcoming Events 4
Swingin’ Summer Celebration 4
Websites of Interest 5
Homemade Sensory Activities 6
CVI’s SightSeeing Blog 7
BEGIN Wrist Bands 8
BEGIN Now! 8
BEGIN Update
Cindi Nash
Hello to all BEGIN families and supporters!
This is the time of year for BEGIN to look back at the past 12 months & look forward to the next 12!
Here’s what we’ve been busy doing . . .
Ms. Nancy and Ms. Kay processed almost 100 referrals from doctors this year; of these 100, fifty children received Functional Vision Assessments in order to determine their eligibility for BEGIN.
BEGIN served over 100 families over the past year in individual intervention visits with BEGIN teachers, BEGIN’s Wake Up and Sing sessions and Preschool classes.
We started a new “Graduate Registration” process this year which allows for families whose children have graduated into the school system at age 3 to continue participating in family events BEGIN offers!
We had great times at the October “Spook-tacular” party, the BEGIN Holiday Party with Santa last December and the Spring Carnival in March with more than 25 different families attending one or more events.
BEGIN had a busy summer with many families attending outings to the zoo, the Piedmont Park pool party, a hippotherapy “ride” and our Swingin’ Summer Celebration Picnic, complete with the Ruby Red’s Dixieland Band.
And here’s what we’re planning on for the 2014-15 year:
Referrals and Functional Vision Assessments continue throughout the year as do our Individual intervention visits, Wake Up & Sing sessions and Preschool classes.
We’ve calendared in outings and events for the upcoming year . . . Family Retreat in September, Holiday Party with Santa in December and Summer activities in June.
We’re planning a time in March, 2015 with Dr. Christine Roman-Lantzy for parents of children with diagnoses of cortical visual impairment.
We continue to collaborate with Babies Can’t Wait, Georgia Pines and the various agencies and school systems who support children and their families in the community.
As always, BEGIN strives to provide knowledge and support to families with young children who are visually impaired. And, as always, we’re open for suggestions and comments about how we’re doing!!!
BEGIN thanks each of you for your support in our mission here at The Center for the Visually Impaired!
Sincerely and Gratefully,
Cindi Nash, Director of BEGIN
Overcoming Separation Anxiety
Nancy Jennings
“Object permanence” is the concept that something, for example a stuffed animal, continues to exist even when you can no longer see, hear or touch it. Although babies with vision impairments have difficulty with this concept, they seem to develop “people permanence” fairly easily. They know their family, and they soon begin to realize that their loved ones will return if they disappear for a few minutes. However, as baby develops, he or she, like every other child, will be affected by separation anxiety at some point. Fear of separation usually starts around age seven months. In children from the age of two to four, separation anxiety is the most intense. At this stage, kids really want to establish their own independence, but they also always want to be able to return to their loved ones for reassurance. These mixed emotions can result in some high drama tantrums and tears. Every time you say goodbye or even goodnight is a time of separation. Putting a child to bed can lead to pleading and anxiety since bedtime is a really long separation. Dropping a child off at daycare can send a child into fits of crying, clinging and other desperate measures.
There are some strategies to help children deal with their anxiety about separation. On the way to daycare or the sitter’s, express excitement for them, instead of dread. You need to model confidence so your child can also be confident when you leave. As you leave, it is very important to tell your child you (or another relative) will be back later. When you leave your little one at home with a sitter or at daycare, don’t sneak out. This creates a lack of trust in you. But don’t stay too long, either, because the child will then pick up on your own anxiety of leaving him. Instead, get your child settled in with a toy or activity, give a quick kiss and make a quick exit.
Another suggestion is to provide your child with a reminder from home, such as a favorite blanket or stuffed animal. When you return, do not make a big deal about the separation. Instead of asking, “did you miss me?”, focus instead on the fun the child had. Provide praise for the accomplishments he has achieved in school or with the sitter.
If bedtime brings on anxiety issues, create a nightly ritual of bath, books and a song in the rocking chair. Stick to a consistent routine that a babysitter can use when you are gone. Talk to your child about what you are doing whenever you are working on nightly care routines. It is critical that both parents react the same way if a child struggles with going to bed to ensure that he stays in his room and his toys are out of sight. Be patient but persistent.
With each successful separation, your child is getting more confident and resilient. Working through situations involving separation will help him become a better problem solver. Soon he will be saying goodbye without a fuss and you can relax and be proud of your courageous little one.
Upcoming Events
Stay tuned for invitations to BEGIN Family Outings!
Swingin’ Summer Celebration
The phenomenal Ruby Red’s Band helped to close this year’s BEGIN SummerFest at the Swingin’ Summer Celebration in late June. The band provided Dixieland jazz music as families gathered to enjoy an indoor picnic and dancing. Later in the evening, BEGINNERS were able to meet the musicians and learn more about their instruments.
Thank you to the following CVI staff who helped to make the Celebration a success: President Fontaine Huey, Vice President of Finance and Operations Doreen Zaksheske, Vice President of Programs Anisio Correia, O&M Specialist Ernest Burton and Volunteer Services Coordinator Lara Tillery, who was our photographer for the evening.
We are also grateful to our smiling and dependable volunteers, Elizabeth Fagbile, Daniele DeLessio and Ed Ressler. We hope to see you at our next event!
Thank you to everyone for helping to make our Swingin’ Summer Celebration a success . . . again!
For more information about The Ruby Red’s Band, visit their website at www.rubyredsband.com. Pictures of the event follow!
Picture Captions
1.Laila enjoying the music.
2.Emma and Bailey.
3.Gavin explores the upright bass.
4.Laila and Gavin and their daddies.
5.Families gather to sing with Ms. Jacque and the band.
6.The Ruby Red’s Band swing out!
Websites of Interest
Paths to Literacy
“Braille Babies: Strategies to Promote Pre-Reading Skills in Young Children with Visual Impairments”
By Kim Avila
http://tinyurl.com/q86euq4
“Creative methods for teaching braille to young children and their parents, guardians and caregivers. The interventions created for Braille Babies were designed to use materials, toys and items easily found around the home or at local retailers, such as grocery, dollar, craft or discount stores. Parental /guardian involvement is fundamental to making these activities a success and for enhancing braille knowledge of those who have children with visual impairments.”
Atlanta Parent Online:
Just Kids
Metro Atlanta area accessible playgrounds
http://tiny.cc/3icijx
Just Kids Resource Guide
http://tiny.cc/0lcijx
Homemade Sensory Activities
Lana Barton
Below are two fun multi-sensory activities you can do with your child using materials already in your kitchen! You can tailor these activities to suit your child’s needs and be as creative as you like! Creative play is such a great opportunity to embed as many developmental skills as you like into a fun activity for your child: fine motor skills, tactile discrimination, olfactory discrimination, language and concept development, task completion, following steps/directions, math skills (counting), sorting, color discrimination, etc.
Basic playdough
3 cups water
3 cups flour
1.5 cups salt
3T cooking oil
2T cream of tartar
If you are adding food coloring, add it to the water at the beginning. If you are adding fragrance (lavender oil, vanilla extract, cinnamon, etc.), add it to the mixture before cooking. Cook all ingredients in a pot on the stove until the dough thickens and pulls away from the sides. Empty dough onto floured surface and knead it. If dough is too sticky, add flour as necessary. Allow dough to cool completely and store in an airtight container. You can add dry uncooked beans or popcorn kernels in the finished dough for a fine motor/tactile discrimination activity (child uses fingers to locate beans/kernels hidden in the dough and pulls them out.
Baked cotton balls
Cookie sheet
Parchment paper
1 cup flour
1cup + 1T water
Cotton balls
Food coloring
Vanilla/lemon/peppermint extract
Spices
Mix flour and water in large bowl. Add food coloring and fragrance if you like! Drop your cotton balls into the mixture and allow them to soak up the batter. Place wet cotton balls on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Allow cotton balls to cool completely and use scissors to smooth any sharp edges. Also remember to allow your child to be a part of the whole process (talk about the materials you are gathering, let your child pour in the flour/water, let your child stir the mixture, etc.). The cotton balls will be hard on the outside and soft on the inside. There is ample opportunity to use rich language with this activity and to promote concept development (hard v. soft, crunchy texture & sound, various scents). You can also encourage your child to use fingers to pull apart the cotton balls (fine motor skills). Enjoy!
CVI’s SightSeeing Blog
In an effort to create dialogue about trends, issues and advocacy for the visually impaired community, CVI has created the SightSeeing blog, which can be found at CVI’s website: www.cviga.org/sightseeing. To subscribe, enter your e-mail address and press the submit button. Each week, you’ll enjoy personal stories from CVI clients, perspectives from CVI's expert staff, learn about the latest trends in technology for the visually impaired, and much more. We invite you to subscribe, comment and share the blog with friends and family.
CVI’s SightSeeing Blog
is Looking for Guest Bloggers
Do you have a story to share about your life as a blind or visually impaired person? Are you the friend or family member of someone with vision loss and want to talk about it? Is there a specific topic you want to discuss?
If so, please let us know. We want to hear from you with any new and interesting ideas or topics that you would like to see on SightSeeing.
For questions or guidelines, please contact Empish Thomas at 404-602-4277 or by email at .
BEGIN Wrist Bands
Please remember to turn in your BEGIN wrist band at the front desk when you leave CVI for the day.
Thank you!
BEGIN Now! is a regular publication of the BEGIN program of the Center for the Visually Impaired.
The mission of the Center for the Visually Impaired is to empower people impacted by vision loss to live with independence and dignity.
BEGIN Staff
Cindi Nash
Program Director, Teacher of the Visually Impaired
Nancy Jennings
Family Social Worker
Jacque Howard
Teacher and Music Specialist
Lana Barton
Teacher of the Visually Impaired
Kay Hawkins
Administrative Assistant
For more information about BEGIN or to submit an article to the newsletter, please contact Kay at 404-602-4332.