Providing Emotional Support to Parents and Caregivers of Infants and Toddlers With Visual Impairments

Abstract

When a baby is diagnosed with a visual impairment, parents and caregivers are likely to experience a host of overwhelming feelings. They may have urgent questions about the child’s medical care and concerns about how the child will develop and learn. Early intervention visual impairment practitioners (teachers of students with visual impairments and orientation and mobility specialists who provide early intervention services) may meet families during a vulnerable and uncertain period. According to McMilliam and Scott (2001), early interventionists offer informational, material, and emotional supports to families. Early intervention visual impairment practitioners may provide information about the type and severity of a child’s visual impairment and possible influences of vision loss on overall development. They may share information about ways to promote use of functional vision, compensatory skills, and how to obtain or adapt materials to help the child learn. Practitioners may also assist the family in finding relevant services and resources and in addressing material needs such as food, housing, and financial support. They may help families access emotional support through established services in early intervention and from informal family and community networks. Based on required professional competencies (Division for Early Childhood, 2020) early interventionists prepared by early intervention or early childhood special education programs are likely to feel confident and competent to provide informational and material supports to families. However, they may be less prepared to provide emotional support and be challenged by the complexities of family situations (Brotherson et al., 2010; Lee, 2015). Practitioners in visual impairment are trained to serve children of all ages so may not be adequately prepared for early intervention practices (Anthony, 2014; Ely et al., 2020; Ely & Ostrosky, 2018), unless they have had specific training or professional development. Given these training gaps, the authors reflected on their professional experiences mentoring early interventionists from various disciplines including early intervention visual impairment