Parents and carers

Whether you are a parent or carer of a visually impaired child or young person, you will doubtless have many questions. This website is intended to answer many of them and has useful links to other services and charities that may be of help. If you cannot find the answer to your question on here, please contact us on 01908 240831 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and we will do our best to support you or point you in the direction of someone who can.

Discovering your child has a visual impairment is a traumatic time for parents and other family members. You may not have come across this problem before and have no idea where to turn to for help, indeed, many parents initial reaction is that they don’t want to speak to anyone. It takes time to come to terms with this new situation, your dreams are shattered, you feel so alone, and you don’t want anyone to know how bad things are. Imagine planning a holiday to Spain, you are on the plane with your bags packed with bikinis and shorts only to discover when you land that you are in the Swiss Alps, many feet of snow and all you have is sunglasses and suncream. You are sure to have a good time, but the first few hours will be difficult, finding warm clothes, hiring skis and finding your way around. When you decide to have a baby, you have so many expectations, when your child is born blind or partially sighted this all changes. Yes there will be hard times, sad times, but with the right support and help, you will find lots of happy times and before you know it, you and your child will be doing more than you ever thought possible.

Here at VICTA we understand. We want to share our experience and help you to support your child. We also have a facebook page for parents to chat to one another, a problem you are having will have been dealt with by many others and often they have possible solutions to offer. We encourage you to use this page, both to ask questions and to offer solutions and ideas to others.