What is the National Organization of Parents of Blind Children (NOPBC)?

The National Organization of Parents of Blind Children is a national membership organization of parents and friends of blind children reaching out to each other to give vital support, encouragement, and information. We believe the real problem of blindness is not the loss of eyesight. The real problem is the misunderstanding and lack of information which exist. With proper training and opportunity, blindness can be reduced to a physical nuisance.

What Is Different About the NOPBC?

As a Division of the National Federation of the Blind (NFB), the National Organization of Parents of Blind Children has the unique advantage of being a part of the largest, most active consumer organization of the blind in the country. This relationship offers members of NOPBC a number of benefits. Parents and their blind children can learn through contact with blind adults that it is respectable to be blind. Negative attitudes about blindness are so prevalent that it is not unusual for a blind child (even with the most supportive parents) to feel shame and resentment about his or her blindness. Regular and consistent interaction with a variety of competent, normal blind adults can do wonders for a blind child's self-esteem. The NFB awards scholarships to blind students, combats discrimination against blind (children, too), evaluates new technology, and provides free and low cost literature about all aspects of living with blindness.

In short, NOPBC members can draw upon the collective knowledge, wisdom, and resources of the real experts on blindness—the organized blind.

Future Reflections

Future Reflections is a magazine for parents and teachers of blind children. It is published quarterly by the National Organization of Parents of Blind Children, a Division of the National Federation of the Blind (NFB). Future Reflections is available in print and on cassette tape. A special introductory book issue is available free from the NFB.

Future Reflections covers the issues surrounding blind children as they grow from birth through college. Each issue provides resources and information for parents and teachers as well as a positive philosophy about blindness. Articles from teaching blind infants to discover and explore their surroundings to campus issues such as access to Braille and recorded textbooks offer answers to many of the common questions asked by parents and provide solutions to common problems. Additionally, Future Reflections offers a national network of contact with other parents who have shared similar experiences and who can provide information, support and encouragement. In addition, Future Reflections includes articles about successful blind adults to serve as role models for blind children and their parents.

Future Reflections is also a tool and guide for teachers and educators working with blind children. Planning education programs, teaching Braille in the school, and keeping blind children competitive with sighted classmates are some of the issues addressed. Blind adults discuss their experiences and their recommendations for helping blind children. Each issue of Future Reflections is filled with articles about parents, teachers, blind adults, and blind children who have, with the help of the National Federation of the Blind incorporated a new way of thinking about blindness into their daily lives.

View on screen issues of Future Reflections, the NFB's quarterly magazine for blind children, their families, friends, and professional and other interested associates.

National Center for Blind Youth in Science, (NCBYS)

For too long blind youth have been denied full participation in public school science classrooms. Are dissections too dangerous? Should blind youth sit on the sidelines rather than participate and make their own observations? Is it too difficult to understand the stars if you cannot visually observe them in the sky? The answer to these questions is most certainly "no," but all too often parents, teachers, and blind students are simply not aware of how a blind person might actively participate in these activities. Insufficient hands-on materials, few teachers who understand tactile learning, and lack of access to blind adult role models and resources have placed artificial barriers on blind youth in the sciences. The NFB Jernigan Institute recognizes the urgent need to address these artificial barriers and equip regular education teachers, parents, and blind youth themselves with the tools and knowledge to provide greater opportunities in science to blind youth in Tennessee and across the nation. The National Center for Blind Youth in Science, (NCBYS) seeks to address this problem through its Science Accademy, the NCBYS Web Portal which serves as a national clearing house of research and resources for parents, teachers and others concerning the participation of blind children and youth in STEM classes and other activities to demonstrate that the blind can succeed in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math, Mathematics, (STEM) careers.

PARENT AND TEACHER RESOURCES in Tennessee

Many parents and teachers of blind children have difficulty in locating accurate information, resources and services, and often lack contact with people who understand their particular struggles, challenges, discouragements and triumphs. Here we have contact information for helpful resources in Tennessee and have assembled some material that may be useful. Also, every child is an individual and often what is needed to meet the unique needs of a particular child and/or situation is some creative thinking, problem solving and new ideas. One of our affiliate members, herself blind, is a special education teacher, trained in teaching the blind and who has worked extensively with blind children ages birth to 18. Blind children need blind, adult role models and benefit greatly from positive time spent with them.

Tennessee School for the Blind, (TSB)

The Tennessee School for the Blind, (TSB) is a Tennessee Department of Education state school located in Middle Tennessee (TN). The school for the Blind serves K-12 students and the blind and visually impaired community all across the state.

Programs for Teachers of Students with Visual Impairments:

This program provides under-graduate and post-graduate degrees for training teachers of the blind. Blind students are encouraged to apply, scholarships are available.

Tennessee Infant Parent Support(TIPS)

TIPS is a Department of Education organization that provides home-based early intervention services for children with special needs from birth to the age of three. A trained Parent Advisor visits each family on a weekly basis for a one-hour session. The Parent Advisor assesses the goals and needs for the family and tailors a program designed to achieve these goals. Because families have varied needs, the TIPS program is unique to each family.