Parents lament lack of special schools for visually impaired kids

The parents of visually impaired children lament the lack of an effective education system in the country that would suit the special needs of these kids.

Amparo Pelaez, president of the Parents Advocate for Visually Impaired Children (PAVIC), said education is especially important for handicapped children because it helps make them more self-reliant.

"Education can improve the quality of life of our children especially when they grow up. We want them to have good education and to be gainfully employed. We can’t always be here for them so we want them to be independent," Pelaez said in an interview.

PAVIC is a support group that was formed in 1999 by parents of children who are given free education at the Resources for the Blind (RBI), a non-governmental organization founded by blind American missionary Dr. Arthur Lown.

"When we gather together, we always talk about our frustrations and our disappointments. We realized that we needed to act for the sake of children with disabilities so we decided to form this support group. We hope to make our voices heard," Pelaez pointed out.

PAVIC is hoping to reach out to the parents of other blind children so they could also be educated as to how to handle their kids.

Recently, PAVIC held its First Parents Congress aimed at drumming up support for the education of visually impaired, or VI, children. The event was themed "Hope for a Brighter Future."

During the Congress, PAVIC recognized The STAR for its support of the organization.

According to Francis Choy, PAVIC former president, while there are public schools that accept VI children, they lack the logistics and training to handle such students.

"The government has this program ‘education for all.’ We should remember that even those with disabilities have the right to education. They should be given equal access to education," Choy said.

PAVIC complained that in many schools, textbooks and other educational materials are not available in Braille thus making it hard for VI children to be on equal footing with the sighted ones.

And oftentimes, Braille textbooks are delivered when the school year is already halfway over.

"We actually don’t have to dig deep here. The basic issue of transportation fare is a problem for many families with VI children. Many can’t afford the fare. In other countries, the government subsidizes even the fares just to encourage the parents to bring their children to school," Choy said.

PAVIC plans to lobby the Department of Education to institutionalize an "early intervention" program in the education of VI children to prepare them for mainstream school. — Sheila Crisostomo