Feeling This Life

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Our Hopes and Dreams

Feeling This Life

01/31/22 • 17 min

Paige, Dr. Cathy, and Jenny introduce themselves and talk about how they came together. They discuss their hopes and dreams for Feeling This Life.

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Season 1 Wrap Up - Get ready for Season 2

Feeling This Life

06/06/22 • 0 min

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https://www.perkinselearning.org/videos/webcast/developing-social-skills-children-who-are-blind-or-visually-impaired

What to expect when fostering your child’s social skills

Feeling This Life

06/06/22 • 26 min

Paige interviews Hailee Raymer, mom of a daughter with a visual impairment and complex needs. Hailee talks about how her time at the pool with her daughter taught her a new way to connect, and gives advice to other families about what to expect when fostering social skills in their children. Jenny, Dr. Cathy, and Paige talk about the potential for each moment to become an opportunity for building a strong foundation for social development.

TeachingVisuallyImpaired.com: Social Interactions: https://www.teachingvisuallyimpaired.com/social-interactions.html#:~:text=Students%20who%20are%20blind%20or%20visually%20impaired%20may%20not%20be,to%20act%20in%20various%20situations.

Perkins: Developing Social Skills in Children Who Are Blind or Visually Impaired:

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https://www.blindsquare.com/

What to expect when helping your child learn to get from place to place

Feeling This Life

05/02/22 • 30 min

Dr. Cathy interviews Dr. Penny Rosenblum about what to expect when teaching your child orientation and mobility skills. Dr. Rosenblum is a professional in the area of visual impairment, and has a visual impairment herself. She shares practical ideas for helping your child to become an active traveler.

https://www.bemyeyes.com/

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/product/soundscape/

https://aira.io/

https://www.perkinselearning.org/sites/elearning.perkinsdev1.org/files/perkins-downloads/nondriving-strategies-freebie.pdf

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What to expect when you need to speak up for your child

Feeling This Life

04/04/22 • 27 min

Brooklyn Spirito, mom of two girls who have a visual impairment, shares her story of advocacy as she and her husband journeyed to find an accurate vision diagnosis. She dives into her grief and tells about learning to thrive. Dr. Cathy shares information about a vision screening for infants.

Wonderbaby: How to Work With Difficult Doctors and Therapists: https://www.wonderbaby.org/articles/how-work-difficult-doctors-therapists

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https://familyconnect.org/browse-by-age/preschoolers/growth-and-development-preschoolers/the-importance-of-routines/

What to expect in your daily life with a child with a visual impairment

Feeling This Life

03/07/22 • 26 min

Dr. Cathy, Jenny, and Paige talk about how your child’s visual impairment may impact their access to daily activities and how to help your child participate meaningfully. Jenny shares her personal experience with helping her daughter participate in daily routines and talks about her feelings around how her daughter experiences the world.

Book: “For The Benefit of Those Who See”: https://www.rosemarymahoney.net/for-the-benefit-of-those-who-see

Family Connect: The Importance of Routines for Children with Visual Impairments:

Mealtimes Routines Visual Impairment Intervention study information:

https://www.unco.edu/cebs/special-education/mrvi/study-updates/

https://www.unco.edu/cebs/special-education/mrvi/resources/

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https://familyconnect.org/after-the-diagnosis/working-with-medical-professionals/what-to-expect-at-the-eye-doctors-office/

What to expect when taking your child to the eye doctor

Feeling This Life

02/07/22 • 35 min

Welcome to the first episode of Feeling This Life! This season on the podcast, Paige, Dr. Cathy, and Jenny will be talking with various guests on “what to expect” when you have a child who is blind or visually impaired. In this episode, Dr. Cathy interviews pediatric ophthalmologist, Dr. Robert King to get an idea of what parents should expect when visiting the eye doctor for the first time. He discusses what tools the doctor uses, what tests he performs, and why he performs them. Paige, Dr. Cathy, and Jenny conclude by chatting about what parents can do to be prepared for their child’s visit to the eye doctor.

VISability article: 7 Ways To Get The Most From Your Child’s Eye Appointment: https://vips.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/VIPS-News-37-5-1.pdf

Family Connect: What to Expect at the Eye Doctor’s Office:

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VIPS: https://secure.vips.org/np/clients/vips/donation.jsp?forwardedFromSecureDomain=1&campaign=495

Look at What You Can Do with Amy Nichols

Feeling This Life

11/06/23 • 24 min

Jenny interviews Amy Nichols, Amy is a teacher of the Visually Impaired at VIPS and has been in the field of education for over 30 years. Amy encourages families to concentrate on what their children can do and celebrate those milestones. She reminds us not to compare our child to others. Amy shares her own struggles as a parent and what helped her through the challenging times. Paige, Jenny and Cathy reflect on how encouraging Amy is and how important it is to focus on what we can do.

Amy mentioned CVI Now Perkins School for the blind and recommends it as a resources for families you can learn more at https://www.perkins.org/cvi-now/
https://www.perkins.org/cvi-now/

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Anchor Center: https://www.anchorcenter.org/get-involved/donate/

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Dr. Cathy: [email protected]

VIPS: https://secure.vips.org/np/clients/vips/donation.jsp?forwardedFromSecureDomain=1&campaign=495

The Great IDEA Game Show with Megan Kuussalo and Sonnie Anderson

Feeling This Life

03/06/23 • 44 min

Have you ever felt confused, overwhelmed, or lost when it comes to the ins and outs of your child’s transition to school? This installment of Feeling This Life is for you! Through this silly episode, Megan and Sonnie, both moms to preschoolers with visual impairments, go head-to-head to answer as many questions as they can about the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Kathy Mullen, director of education at VIPS and IDEA expert, shares everything a family needs to know to be empowered for the transition from early intervention to school based services.

Resources discussed in today’s episode:

Paige’s PowerPoint resource: Special Education Important Terms to Know & IDEA Statute.pptx

Article: Your child’s rights: Important terms to know: https://www.understood.org/en/articles/your-childs-rights-important-terms-to-know

Full IDEA statute: https://sites.ed.gov/idea/statuteregulations/

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