EARLY CLASSES FOR VISION-IMPAIRED

Center provides child care and specialized education to help kids navigate their environment, avoid development delays

- BY KATE SEQUEIRA

In Saul Valdivia’s preschool classroom, a neon green light emanates from underneath the opaque surface of a wooden table. An assortment of plastic bugs and wooden shapes lay scattered across its surface. This light box learning tool uses contrasts to help encourage young kids with impaired vision to develop awareness of objects, light and color.

A braille writer and magnifying device across the classroom are ready to be used. And the lights in the room are turned off to accommodate some students’ light sensitivity.

The specialized classrooms at the Blind Children’s Center in East Hollywood play an outsize role in Los Angeles County, serving as a regional source of child care and early education for infants, toddlers and preschoolers with visual impairments.

More than 11,000 children under age 11 in the county are visually impaired and the center is equipped to address their needs — lessons incorporate smell and touch and include real objects such as apples and pumpkins rather than plastic toys. Children with low vision participate in pre-braille learning exercises.

Educational support for youngsters with visual impairments, which are largely under-diagnosed among children under age 5, requires highly individualized learning plans to avoid potential development delays. As a Head Start school, the center can serve any L.A. County child with a visual impairment regardless of income.

“We're in an area that’s lacking,” Chief Executive Sarah Orth said. “And we have those experts on our staff that can support the children and support the curriculum.”

The center, which was founded in 1938, braids together federal Head Start funds with state preschool and private donations to run its programs. It limits class sizes and provides access to onsite health and disability services to offer a combination of early intervention, early learning and family support. A tenth of the students enrolled in its programs have a visual impairment.