My son might be blind. He is only a few months old but things are concerning. I'm looking for resources, books, websites, etc to learn how to best support a blind baby, toddler, and beyond. Any help would be appreciated.
Ask HN: My son might be blind – how to best support
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Re: Ask HN: My son might be blind – how to best support
#2It's a whole world. There are online communities of blind people who will give you excellent guidance.
One person to follow online may be: Josh Miele
You sound like a supportive parent, and I'm sure your son is lucky to have you in his camp. Good luck.
Re: Ask HN: My son might be blind – how to best support
#3Disclaimer: I am not blind, but I am disabled.
Does your region have any Blind-run blindness or vision impairment advocacy organisations, big or small? Local groups? Groups/organisations by the blind will be able to recommend all sorts of resources for your family. Online communities for the blind can help suss out which resources or groups are helpful (or harmful!), too.
Re: Ask HN: My son might be blind – how to best support
#4What does your pediatrician think?
Re: Ask HN: My son might be blind – how to best support
#5You may be interested to search historic HN threads. Iirc, there are at least a few posters who are (substantially) visually impaired on here who share incredibly insightful information.
Re: Ask HN: My son might be blind – how to best support
#6[flagged]
Re: Ask HN: My son might be blind – how to best support
#7What does your pediatrician think?
Because we respect our fellow HNers, there should be no doubt that OP did (or is about to do) the literal most obvious thing of consulting with a pediatrician.
They're asking for support and advice from their community.
Re: Ask HN: My son might be blind – how to best support
#8What does your pediatrician think?
Concur. It's not clear how you reached this conclusion, definitely talk to your pediatrician. It can take a baby anywhere from 4-10 months to be able to focus their eyes on any object more than 6-8 inches from their face. Most kids start to focus around 6 months, but a delay in and of itself does not indicate an abnormality. If the pediatrician sees a cause for concern, they will refer to a specialist who can conduct tests.
Re: Ask HN: My son might be blind – how to best support
#9What does your pediatrician think?
Because we respect our fellow HNers, there should be no doubt that OP did (or is about to do) the literal most obvious thing of consulting with a pediatrician. They're asking for support and advice from their community.
I don't think it's impolite to ask a clarification question. Parents with their first child often have unrealistic expectations of development milestones. We want to get that out of the way first. Crucially, the OP has not provided a diagnosis (source of blindness), which one would get after soliciting medical advice and conducting tests.
Re: Ask HN: My son might be blind – how to best support
#10https://www.sankaranethralaya.org/
The one in Chennai is roughly 40 years old. They should have a "appointment booking" available right there on the landing page. They perform full-on keratoplasty a.k.a Corneal Transplant. But like the other poster said, please consult your pediatrician about other options as You are dealing with a toddler. Best wishes and hugs. wishing you and your wife all the very best.