Blind & Visual Impairments

Marvin’s Story Time Show

Marvin’s Story Time Show is a research based accessible literacy programme designed specifically for children with profound and multiple learning disabilities (PMLD), particularly those with visual impairments.

The show has reached 17,000 children’s views around the world in the last 3 years alone, and continues to make a huge significant difference to children’s outcomes, bringing the greatest joy, laughter and engagement and is changing teachers practice.

The programme is an effective teaching tool and a model for inclusive pedagogy, supporting both student engagement and teacher development.

The Seeing Eye

Our Mission
The Seeing Eye is a philanthropic organization whose mission is to enhance the independence, dignity, and self-confidence of blind people through the use of Seeing Eye® dogs.

In pursuit of this mission, The Seeing Eye:
-Breeds and raises puppies to become Seeing Eye® dogs;
-Trains Seeing Eye dogs to guide blind people;
-Instructs blind people in the proper use, handling, and care of the dogs;
-Conducts and supports research on canine health and development

Our Goals
1 To increase the independence and dignity of people who are blind, at all times treating applicants, students and graduates with respect.

2 To provide the best guide dogs possible by ensuring they are well bred and cared for, appropriately socialized, and expertly trained.

3 To educate the public about the use of guide dogs and the capabilities of people who are blind, and to provide recommendations regarding public policy issues.

4 To provide ongoing assistance to our graduates and their dogs in order to extend the life of each partnership.
5 To practice fiduciary responsibility, ensuring that we can fulfill the future needs of Seeing Eye dog handlers.

Our Values
-Mission Passion: Our passion for the mission of The Seeing Eye gives each day purpose.

-Stewardship: We keep the trust of our constituents and protect their interests through responsible individual action and caring use of the organization’s resources.

-Teamwork and Collaboration: We hold ourselves accountable for adding value as individuals, being supportive of our colleagues in their work, and working together to foster team success.
-Respect for Others: We treat others with the respect and dignity that we desire for ourselves.
-Integrity: We are guided by principles of honesty, integrity, and high ethical conduct in all we do. We will always do what is right.

-Pursuit of Excellence: We are committed to excellence now and in the future through a shared commitment to quality, timely responsiveness, and to ongoing improvement in every phase of our operations.

Foresight Ski Guides

VISION
Foresight provides world-class adaptive experiences for people with blindness or low vision. Foresight transcends personal, societal, attitudinal, and physical barriers.

MISSION
Foresight promotes safety, fun, and independence for people with blindness or low vision and cultivates an individual’s unlimited potential. Foresight does this through accessible and goal-oriented outdoor adaptive experiences.

FORESIGHT’S CORE VALUES
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
Accessibility
Integrity, Dignity & Respect
Confidence & Independence
Health & Fitness
Pursuit of Excellence
Safety
Fun

HISTORY
Mark G. Davis and a team of terrific volunteers formed Foresight Ski Guides Inc. in 2001. Since then, thanks to the generous support of Vail Resorts, Colorado businesses and award-winning instructors, our team of dedicated guides has worked to improve the quality of life for hundreds of individuals who are blind or experiencing low vision. Through Foresight those individuals are able to gain access to outdoor experiences allowing them the same opportunity as sighted individuals to participate in outdoor recreation like skiing and snowboarding.

WHO’S MARK?
Mark is the founder of Foresight Ski Guides. In 1999 while a successful financial professional in his 40’s, Mark lost his functional vision as a result of a rare symptom of Multiple Sclerosis. Being a skier for almost as long as he could walk, he was devastated not only by the loss of his sight but also by the prospect of losing the freedom and thrill of skiing.

SKIING BLIND
Following this sudden and tragic turn in his life, Mark decided that vision alone would not keep him from the slopes. With the assistance of Colorado Ski School for the Blind he was soon back on the mountain. For Mark, this experience with challenge recreation was the transformative experience that lifted grief and depression and brought renewed passion and confidence. Mark has dedicated his life to offering others in similar situations the thrilling, life altering adventure of ‘skiing blind.’

Foresight Ski Guides, Inc. is a Colorado corporation with tax exempt, non-profit status as outlined in Section 501c(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

Rosie’s Ranch

Welcome to Rosie's Ranch in Parker, Colorado - we provide an inclusive therapeutic riding environment where children, with and without special needs, are able to connect with an equine partner and each other under the guidance of qualified staff, building self-confidence, literacy, and language skills through educational and equine-assisted activities.

Mary Mosher-Stathes, has two passions in life: spending time with her horses, and teaching deaf children to communicate.

In April 2010, Mary bought a horse ranch in Parker, Colorado, in order to merge her two passions. She and a dedicated board and group of volunteers are creating a family-centered, authentic Western atmosphere, where children with deafness or other oral language hurdles can expand verbal and reading skills through equine connections.

Mary has dedicated over 40 years to educating children with deafness and helping them listen and speak. She has received numerous state-wide and national awards for her work, including the 2007 Wal-Mart Teacher of the Year Award. In her retirement she and her husband built her dream, this very special equine facility for children. Rosie's Ranch is a supportive and welcoming place where children with special needs learn from their peers and children without special needs learn how to be a friend to someone very different than themselves. In 2018, Mary was honored at the 44th Sportswoman of Colorado Annual Awards Celebration for work creating Rosie's Ranch. That special award was for EMPOWERMENT.

Ear Protectors – Baby

Loud sounds can be quite harmful and startling for babies, and every 8th child suffers from permanent hearing loss! Ear Protectors limits your infant’s exposure to loud noise during the early years. Whether it affects sensory regulation, impairs sleep or potentially damages the hearing at loud or busy events such as fireworks, ear protection for babies and toddlers is essential.
Alpine Muffy baby and toddler ear protection has a safe and practical design, without any hard parts that can be harmful or dangerous. Ear caps are made with multiple layers of noise reducing foam and soft padding for good closure. The upgraded headbands are anti-slip, comfortable and easily adjustable.
Thoroughly tested and proven to reach noise reduction at 23 dB SNR in accordance with US & EU Regulations. Sustainable hypoallergenic material without silicone, BPA free; no allergic reactions or irritations! The baby noise cancelling headphones come with a carrying pouch.
Alpine is an innovator and leader in quality hearing protection with 25 years R&D experience. All products are designed and produced in the Netherlands. A wide variety of products ensure that you can do what you love to do without risking ear damage!

This is one example of Ear Protectors was recommended by one of our families. Please find one that works best for you and your child.

Affiliate link included.

Active Learning Space

This site is designed to provide an introduction to Active Learning, which is an educational approach developed by Dr. Lilli Nielsen. This is a collaborative project of Penrickton Center for Blind Children, Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired, and Perkins School for the Blind. It is intended to provide an overview of the principles of Active Learning, as well as resources to implement this approach. We invite you to explore the materials here to deepen your understanding of this approach, and to share it with others.

Images and content are the property of Active Learning Space and should not be used without express permission. Please download the Guidelines for Using Materials from Active Learning Space to learn more.

https://activelearningspace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/GuideForUsingMaterialsALS.pdf

Colorado Lions Camp

The mission of the Colorado Lions Camp is to provide exceptional camping programs to individuals with disabilities which promote independence, challenge their abilities and provide an opportunity to discover their own potential in a safe, positive environment.

Colorado Lions Camp is a year round facility that aims to create a unique experience for each individual who attends. Serving over 175 individuals with a wide range of disabilities, our programs are tailored to meet the needs of every single one of our campers. With a variety of programs and themes we have something for everyone, we encourage you to explore our website to see the diverse range of activities and opportunities offered.

The Colorado Lions Camp was first designed as a blind camp only in the early years. Now the Camp serves over 350 campers with a variety of disabilities: hearing and visually impaired, Down Syndrome, Developmentally Delayed, Autism, Aspergers Syndrome, ADD/ADHD, and many other physical and mental disabilities that may challenge our campers.

Colorado Lions Camp offers Summer Camp and weekend Respite Programs. Check out our website for more information.

Book: Dinosaur Farm: A patch story that is not about the patch

Brennan is a kid who loves dinosaurs. So you can imagine his surprise when he finds a real, live dinosaur egg on his grandparents' farm. Will it be a meat eating dinosaur or a plant eating dinosaur? Will it be a dinosaur at all?While things may not always be as they seem, Brennan's adventure leads him to a new friend.BRENNAN'S PATCH AND GLASSESBrennan wears glasses and a patch. But his story is NOT about the patch. Tellibooks believes kids should be represented in the books they read, without feeling like their differences need to be explained. In fact, the patch isn't even mentioned in the story. Brennan is just Brennan--patch and all!

RoboBraille

Introduction to RoboBraille
RoboBraille is an e-mail and web-based service capable of automatically transforming documents into a variety of alternate formats for the visually and reading impaired.

RoboBraille is accessible 24/7 as a self-service solution and is available free of charge to individual, non-commercial user not affiliated with an institutional setting obligated to provide support (academic institution, organisation, association or similar). Users need not register in order to use the service. The objective is to support and promote self-sufficiency of people with special needs socially, throughout the educational system and on the labour market. As an additional benefit, RoboBraille helps to protect the privacy of of those who need material in alternate formats.

For institutional use (including academic institution, organisation, association or similar), the RoboBraille web interface is available in customised versions to academic institutions and other organisations that wish to include it on their websites as an accommodation. The document conversion capabilities of RoboBraille can also be integrated with library systems and learning management systems in order to support users with special needs. Institutional use is subject to a subscription fee. Please contact Sensus at contact@sensus.dk or +45 48 22 10 03 to obtain a service agreement to use RoboBraille for academic and/or institutional purposes.

RoboBraille was originally created by Synscenter Refsnæs (the National Centre for Visually Impaired Children and Youth in Denmark) and Sensus ApS. Today, the service is developed and operated by Sensus and RoboBraille Outreach, a non-profit association. Since its launch in 2004, RoboBraille has received numerous international awards including the WISE 2012 Award for Inclusion in Education, the BETT 2010 Award for Best Special Education Needs solution and the 2008 European Commission e-Inclusion Award for e-Accessibility.

RoboBraille is part of the Raising the Floor Initiative to improve accessibility and further inclusion. RoboBraille is also a friend of the DAISY Consortium, implementing several parts of the DAISY Pipeline into RoboBraille. RoboBraille wishes to thank the DAISY Consortium for providing access to its open source projects. RoboBraille also wishes to thank Microsoft for donating Microsoft Office-licenses to the service.

RoboBraille offers four different categories of services:

Braille services
Audio services
E-book services
Accessibility services

Light Up Magic Ball Wand Toy

Keep your kiddo enthralled and engaged with a kaleidoscope of colors! They will love this 7.5” magic ball wand that produces a mesmerizing spinning light show and engulfs any room in eye-catching hues—a recipe for hours of excited fun. It is very engaging toy for children of all ages, useful in motivating movement and visual engagement. This toy has intense light in addition to movement which can assist withe visual tracking for children who are blind or visually impaired.

Affiliate Link included

Colorado Deaf-Blind Project Intervener Series

2024-2025 Colorado Deaf-Blind Project Intervener Series
The project is pleased to announce a series of intervener webinars that will be offered once a month throughout the 2024-2025 school year. All events will be held virtually.

** Training is for Colorado Interveners and their teams only!

Time: 6:00 - 7:00 PM

September 9, 2024 - Behavior
October 7, 2024 - Role of the Intervener in Educational Settings
November 4, 2024 - Symbolic Communication
February 3, 2025 - Tactile Strategies
March 3, 2025 - Concept Development
April 7, 2025 - Orientation and Mobility for Interveners