A Shared Vision is the leading provider of in-home and community vision services in Colorado. We inspire and empower families to nurture the development of their very young children who are blind or visually impaired so that all children may discover their brightest future.

January Is Braille Literacy Month

Thank you, Louis Braille, for giving children with blindness or visual impairments the opportunity to read and write!  Louis Braille was born on January 4, 1809 and became blind in an accident in his father’s leather workshop. At ten he got a scholarship to the Royal Institute for Blind Youth in Paris, where the library had 14 huge books with raised, hard-to-read Latin letters.  Thinking there was a better solution, Louis met Captain Charles Barbier who shared his invention called “night writing,” a code of 12 raised dots that let soldiers share top-secret information on the battlefield without having to speak.

Louis trimmed Barbier’s code to six dots and published his first braille book at the age of 20. Unfortunately, braille wasn’t taught until after his death when it was introduced at the Royal National Institute for the Blind in 1868. It was adopted by schools for the blind in the United States in 1916 and a universal braille code for English was formalized in 1932. A Shared Vision’s teachers share emergent literacy strategies with their families who have children who are blind or visually impaired so they’ll be ready to learn braille when they go to school.

Make a Story Box

Ever wonder how to make a book more engaging to a child who is blind or visually impaired? Because illustrations or the words on the page may not hold their interest, try reading with a Story Box instead! It's a collection of items in a box or bag that correspond to the objects described in a story. As you read the story aloud with your kiddo, you introduce and play with the objects using all your senses.

It’s a fun, sensory and interactive way for children to experience a story – and they’re easy to make and read together! Hands-on learning is important for children with visual impairments because it helps them take in information, build concepts and understand their world. To make your own story box, click HERE .  Click HERE for a list of great book ideas!

Borrow a Story Box from Us! A Shared Vision has story boxes for Goodnight Moon , Mi Ropa and Clifford’s Bedtime . If you’d like to borrow one of these to try with your child, contact your A Shared Vision teacher for details.

Spotlight on Janet Anderson

Janet Anderson joined A Shared Vision in May 2018 after a 31-year career at Aurora Public Schools as a Teacher of Students with Visual Impairments (TSVI) and an Orientation & Mobility Specialist. Janet especially enjoys teaching braille. “Braille is an interesting code and it brings literacy to children with visual impairment. I love reading and writing and want to share that love with children by teaching braille,” explains Janet.  She also has a passion for teaching young children and teaching children with deaf-blindness because “it’s amazing to watch how children learn. Young children bring freshness, sweetness and humor to life.”   “I recently reunited with a former student,” says Janet. “He is now a successful student adviser at the college level and he thanked me for teaching him the skills necessary to be independent. He also thanked me for my support and guidance through the years. I believe that communicating and demonstrating positivity, balance, collaboration and respect were instrumental in this success story.”   In May 2018 Janet won the Colorado Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired’s (CAER) Lifetime Achievement Award for her generous heart, deep expertise, and amazing commitment and service to students with visual impairments and their families.  A Shared Vision is proud to have her in our family!

New Parent Resources Available! Click HERE to foster early literacy skills in your child who is blind or visually impaired.

In the News

A recent article in the Denver Post (“Sunset in the Country Helps School for Blind,” December 30, 2018) reminds us of the importance of supporting young children who are blind or visually impaired. Families in Colorado are fortunate that they may access both center-based programs ( Anchor Center for Blind Children, Colorado School for the Deaf and the Blind ) as well as in-home vision services from A Shared Vision so that their children may discover their brightest future.

In partnership with the center-based programs, A Shared Vision provides essential in-home vision services throughout the state for families with children from birth to three years old.  These services are free to all families who participate in Early Intervention Colorado. Their teachers work closely with caregivers to engage their very young children who are blind or visually impaired in sensory learning for their cognitive, social and emotional development.

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