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Becoming a new parent is overwhelming enough for individuals who give birth to totally health babies, but that stress can be even worse for parents of children with disabilities. One major disability a new parent may have to deal with is when their child is blinded by Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP). Whether treatments failed, or a medical professional did not catch the condition soon enough, teaching a baby or toddler how to navigate the world without the sense of sight is a complicated undertaking.
If your child has been blinded by ROP, here are a few things you can do during their infancy to help them grow to live a "normal" life:
- Stay positive. This is many times easier said than done, but your child must not feel that their condition is negative in any way. Overcoming a disability is very much powered by the mind and if your child grows up learning how to be a positive individual, this will help them immensely in the long run.
- Talk and explain. Since your child cannot see, you're going to need to talk to them and overly explain things more than usual. One reason you should talk, especially when they are tiny, is so that they are not startled when you pick them up and they learn to understand where you are in relation to the sound of your voice. As they grow, tell them where you are walking, where the rooms are located and what those rooms are used for. Stay consistent in your explanations and you will be surprised by how easy it is for them to move about your house without any assistance as they get older.
- Expose your child to everything you can. Your child is not broken, so do not treat them like they are. Take them everywhere and let them experience everything other children their age do. Sight is important, but it's only one of the five senses—your child will just need to learn to develop and rely on their other four senses to make sound judgments.
Is your child's blindness the result of ROP and negligence on the part of a medical professional in Texas, Arkansas or Oklahoma? Contact the ROP lawyers at The Girards Law Firm for a free consultation at 888-333-9709.