VIDBE-Q Volume 66 Issue 4
opportunity for our children to build healthy relationships with us. We did not
come up with this on our own, but attended a variety of parenting classes along the
way.
We learned to say sorry because we messed up or did not follow through,
which two of my three understood. This is communication and it is also building
trust. What we did not understand was Eddie's inability to comprehend verbal
explanations. Saying sorry was not going to be enough for him and therefore trust
was not gained as fast. To him, only actions mattered. If I said he had to do
something three times, but I actually made him do it five times, it was always
harder to engage him the next time. I could not say, "Sorry, I'm only trying to help
you learn." That did not matter to him. What mattered was that I kept my word.
Knowing he was a child with a visual impairment from the age of four
months, we knew we had to step up really fast. We were told to talk about
everything and anything to provide context to his world. I gathered up as many
materials as I could from the American Printing House for the Blind. I put braille
on all the board books in our house. I attended family conferences for children who
are blind and brought home all the swag. I was loading up Eddie's life with
materials designed for children who are blind. I thought all I had to do was get the
stuff in my house and he would learn. I never once considered that before I could
really teach him, we would need to communicate on his level.
