Vision Therapy - Lighthouse Central Florida

So, your child has some vision deficits. Maybe they have strabismus (eye crossing) or they are farsighted, or even nearsighted. They may qualify for vision therapy in your home! I would check with your early intervention programs in your state to see what types of vision therapies you have. In Central Florida we have Lighthouse. We have been so thankful for our vision mentor, Miss Brittany, who comes once a week for an hour! Maddalena loves her and she really has made a difference in Maddalena’s vision.

So, lets talk about Lighthouse. Lighthouse offers an optimal blend of proven rehabilitation training and real world application to help individuals of all ages, who live with any degree of vision loss, adjust to their reality with grace and confidence so that they can remain active, productive members of our community.

Early Intervention services are provided to babies and children from birth to age six (6). Services are provided to the child and family in the child’s home, day care, school, neighborhood or center-based setting. Learning is structured to maximize the visual and developmental progress of each child.

The best part is, if your child qualifies, the services are FREE! You don’t pay a dime. We love vision therapy and everything it’s done for Maddalena.

School Age Service

Lighthouse Central Florida’s (School Aged) Children's Program is a supplement to services already offered by the school system for students age 5 (five) through 13 (thirteen), who live with vision loss and are not currently enrolled in any other Division of Blind Services program.

These services enhance each child’s learning and ability to function independently, and engage the child’s parents, guardians, and family members as integral members who can help foster independence. The School-Aged, Children’s Program supports the Expanded Core Curriculum and encourages socialization and independent living skills across nine areas of instruction:

• Compensatory Skills: will help the student who is blind learn about the world, communicate, and develop literacy. Compensatory skills include concept development, spatial understanding, study and organizational skills, speaking and listening skills and the adaptations required to fully access all areas of the general curriculum.

• Sensory Efficiency Skills: includes instruction in the use of residual vision, hearing and other senses including use of tactual, gustatory, and olfactory input to identify one's personal possessions, or use hearing and other senses to identify people.

• Assistive Technology: adaptive devices or services that increases participation, achievement or independence for a student with a disability. Assistive technology helps students who are visually impaired (with and without additional disabilities) increase their access to the general curriculum and improve their academic performance.

• Orientation & Mobility: focuses on using alternatives to using sight for safe and independent travel purposes. Student will be taught trailing techniques, search patterns, sighted guide techniques, use of vision for travel and orientation, use of the long cane, and independent travel in a variety of environments.

• Independent Living Skills: it is important for students to develop responsibility and independence in order to become the most independent and contributing members of their homes and communities — which in turn promotes social acceptance. Independent Living Skills include tasks such as cooking, cleaning, personal hygiene, picking out matching clothes, identifying correct denominations of currency, and much more.

• Social Skills: instruction in knowledge of self, knowledge of their visual impairment, knowledge of others, development of interaction skills, development of social skills, introducing the student to lifelong recreation and leisure skills and self advocacy skills. Success in this area often means the difference between social isolation and a satisfying and fulfilling life as an adult.

• Recreation & Leisure: as with social interaction skills, visually impaired students need help identifying the array of choices available to them in this area and must be taught how to perform leisure skills that most students learn through observation. Each person will have their own interests and preferences, but it is important to help a student discover a lifelong leisure activity. Examples of activities include arts/crafts, reading, culture, fitness, outdoor & community activities.

• Career Education: for students with visual impairments, career education needs to begin as early as possible and include self-awareness & career exploration activities, job seeking skills instruction, information about job keeping, and encourage opportunities for gaining work experience. Students who are blind or visually impaired should have the opportunity to explore a wide range of careers in a systematic, well-planned manner as they will not be able to casually observe these jobs as their sighted peers can.

• Self Determination & Advocacy: students need to understand their visual impairment in order to effectively communicate and advocate for their needs. It is equally important for students to learn how to problem solve in order to make necessary adaptations in order to be successful.