CHILDREN, TEENS & YOUNG ADULTS
Vision Loss Requiring More Than Glasses
If your daughter or son has already been given a vision assessment by your eye doctor, this assessment will provide the foundation upon which to base your child’s vision plan. If your eye doctor has referred you to us, we will begin helping you – based on your doctor’s recommendations.
In selected cases, your child could also receive his or her vision test here at Cleveland Sight Center. Our Low Vision optometrists are especially skilled at giving vision acuity tests for children – from toddlers to teenagers.
What Happens Next
After a referral and enrollment, our Children’s Services team will be with you from the start. You – as a parent or guardian – will be contacted directly by one of our own Children’s Services case managers. You will receive specialized assistance from a professional who will be dedicated to the unique needs of your family.
Once we have registered you with our Children’s Services case management department, your pertinent information will be kept – securely and confidentially – in one place. Only those members of our professional staff who will be assisting you will have access to information about you and your child.
Newborns with Low Vision
We have a wide array of services to help you and your child which we refer to as Bright Futures, because that’s what we believe you and your child can have. If you have a newborn child or an infant who has been diagnosed with vision loss, you will want to enroll your child – as soon as possible – in our Infant/Toddler Stimulation Program. Within this program, you will also receive the opportunity for family counseling.
Preschool
For children ages 3 to 5, we have a preschool right here at our main building at East 101st Street and Chester Avenue in Cleveland, Ohio. The preschool is in session year-round (including a summer session), and we average about 8 to 10 children for each session. Your preschooler will also enjoy our outdoor playground area, designed around the needs of children who are visually impaired or blind.
How to Help Your Child in School
Our staff professionals and volunteers work hand in hand with teachers and administrators at area school districts. We can tell you about services available through your child’s school, and will continue to help you and your child through early school years and teen years, up to the time your son or daughter reaches the age of 23.
Case Management
Included as part of all of these services are continued case management and educational advocacy on behalf of your child. We work side by side with you and your child every step and every year of your child’s development. We help educate decision makers in the schools and in the community about the needs of young people who are visually impaired or blind, and we work with you as a family unit – helping you understand your child as we help your child.
Summer Jobs and Post High School
We will help you and your teenager through what we call our Transitional Program, which helps young people between the ages of 16 and 21 move from school to the workplace, and also helps them prepare for college. We’ll also talk to you about our School-to-Work program, college planning, and career exploration and planning. Through this program, we also help teens find summer jobs, as well as get them involved in internship programs at local companies and businesses.
How to Get More Information
You can find information right here in our Children’s Services Resource Center, located in our building. We have an ever growing library of books, audio and videotapes, and reference materials – including links to local, regional, and national websites, where you can learn from other parents just like you who are facing the same challenges. You are welcome to use any and all of our resources during regular business hours. To do so, contact Children's Services department by calling (216) 791-8118, x286. Contact Children's Services about our Resource Center via email.
How to Know if Your Child Has Vision Loss
We strongly recommend you have your child’s eyes tested at least once a year. However, because we recognize that sometimes this doesn’t happen, your daughter or son may have the opportunity to receive a free vision screening.
Our nurses and volunteers travel from school to school in our Prevention & Education screening van, and annually check the vision of more than 16,000 preschool children. Screening is primarily for amblyopia (i.e. lazy eye) among children under the age of five. Every year, about 200 children are referred to their eye doctors for follow-up care, which – because of early treatment – can often result in improved vision for the rest of their lives.
Image from BigStockPhoto © ljchris