Children's Eye Specialists

The American Academy of Ophthalmology is the largest national membership association of Eye M.D.s. Eye M.D.s are ophthalmologists, medical and osteopathic doctors who provide comprehensive eye care, including medical, surgical and optical care. The academy has more than 7,000 members nationally and worldwide. The website provides an in-depth look at eye care health, while providing their membership with ongoing learning and support.

American Board of Ophthalmology
www.abop.org

The American Board of Ophthalmology is an independent, non-profit organization responsible for certifying ophthalmologists (eye physicians and surgeons) in the United States. The ABO was the first American Board established to certify medical specialists and is one of 24 specialty Boards recognized by the American Board of Medical Specialties and the American Medical Association.

The mission of the American Board of Ophthalmology is to serve the public by improving the quality of ophthalmic practice through a certification and maintenance of certification process that fosters excellence and encourages continual learning.

American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology
www.aapos.org

AAPOS is the American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus. The organization's goals are to advance the quality of children's eye care, support the training of pediatric ophthalmologists, support research activities in pediatric ophthalmology, and advance the care of adults with strabismus.

National Eye Institute
www.nei.nih.gov

The National Eye Institute (NEI) was established by Congress in 1968 to protect and prolong the vision of the American people. Their main purpose is to develop public and professional education programs to help prevent blindness, reduce visual impairment, and increase awareness of services and devices that are available for people with low vision.

Local Resources

First Steps is a statewide early intervention system which provides services to children with developmental disabilities from birth to age 3 and their families. First Steps is Kentucky's response to the federal Infant-Toddler Program (ITP) established by Public Law 99-457 Part C. First Steps offers comprehensive services through coordination with a variety of community agencies and service disciplines. First Steps is administered by the Department for Public Health in the Cabinet for Health and Family Services.

First Steps of Indiana

Indiana First Steps' goal is to provide a family-centered, comprehensive, coordinated, neighborhood-based system of services for families of infants and toddlers with disabilities.

The Kentucky Lions Eye Foundation is a charitable non-profit organized by the Lions of Kentucky. (501-c-3) Their mission is to prevent and cure blindness by supporting eye research, operating eye clinics and screenings and eye banks.

The Kentucky School for the Blind is a public school serving K-12 students who are blind and visually impaired. The mission of the Kentucky School for the Blind is to provide

comprehensive educational services to all Kentucky students who are blind.

The Louisville Free Public Library
www.lfpl.org/blind.htm

The Louisville Free Public Library offers the following services to blind and visually impaired patrons.

o Free training on all software and hardware for blind and visually impaired patrons, teachers, parents, and students.
o Help with accessible materials. For instance: Sally needs three magazine articles, one encyclopedia article, and a newspaper article on George Bush in Braille. Materials can be produced in large print with no problem as well. These same materials could be emailed or mailed via the Post Office on diskette.
o Telephone reference. The library provides telephone reference services for those visually impaired patrons with transportation problems and difficulty in getting access to reference tools after school hours.
o Outreach to organizations and to schools attended by visually impaired and blind students.
o The Library can serve as meeting place for technology users groups to share the specialized information needed to effectively use adaptive technology.

Visually Impaired Preschool Services, Inc.
www.vips.org

The Mission of Visually Impaired Preschool Services, Inc. (VIPS) is to offer services to infants, toddlers, and preschoolers who are visually impaired or blind and to their families; to maximize each child's development potential through direct services, advocacy, and community education.

VIPS staff includes certified teachers who specialize in early childhood education, visual impairment, O&M, and special education. VIPS is lead by a dedicated volunteer Board of Directors, who are professionals in the field of visual impairment, medical professionals, community and business leaders, representatives of consumer groups of the blind, and VIPS parents.