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A BOOK OF HOPES & DREAMS FOR IRELAND’S BLIND CHILDREN
2015 CHRISTMAS WISHCATALOGUE
At ChildVision we believe that answer is yes. This Christmas, I hope
you do as well...
Because The Catalogue of Christmas Wishes you hold now can make a
hundred dreams come true for a disabled blind child in Ireland.
Just choose a gift, complete the reply form, and post back your
donation in time for Christmas. We’ll take care of the rest.
Fifty percent of all we do goes unfunded by the State, and couldn’t
happen without good people like yourself. It’s caring hearts like yours
that have kept ChildVision here in Dublin for over 100 years, Ireland’s
only Education Centre for Blind Children, so boys and girls with
profound sight loss plus other disabilities can build the skills and the
will to never give up trying.
To quote the poet Emily Dickinson your generosity lets our children
“dwell in possibility.” And in this season of hope and promise, nothing
is more powerful than a Christmas wish.
A blind child’s wish to read books like his friends... a visually impaired
disabled boy’s wish to sit tall on a pony... a mother’s one wish for her
beloved baby, born blind with ‘broken’ genes.
Shouldn’t Santa’s sleigh stop for disabled blind children too? Yes.
To make their wishes come true, all it takes is a bit of ChildVision
magic... and you. Please choose a gift from the pages that follow to
include a blind child in your giving this season.
Happy Christmas from everyone at ChildVision,
Brian Allen
CEO, ChildVision
Shouldn’t Santa’s sleigh stop for
disabled blind children too?
“I wish for a toy all my own beneath the tree...”
Macik is nearly blind andhas trouble with finemotor skills. Your gift of aspecial sensory toy willhelp build those motorskills so that he canmove on to biggerlearning goals!
Give a sensory toy like the ones on this page €50Add a space blanket to any gift in this catalogue, €8
Sensory Toys to Make You a Sensation
Open your heart to more magic.Turn the page! r
Ways to Give: Online www.childvision.ie/Christmas2015Ring 01 837 3635 |By post |
“Second star to the right andstraight on till
morning.” — Peter Pan
They crinkle... they glow... they spin... they whir.Besides being loads of fun, sensory toys encouragechildren whose brains, bodies and eyes don’t always
work the way they should to reach, explore,soothe themselves, and connect to the world around them
from a very early age – building confidence and skills alongthe way! Your gift to ChildVision this Christmas could give them
a toy all their own beneath the tree.
Ways to Give: Online www.childvision.ie/Christmas2015Ring 01 837 3635 |By post |4 Ways to Give: Online www.childvision.ie/Christmas2015Ring 01 837 3635 |By post | 5
Bring Triumph and Joy with Therapeutic Teaching Toys!Meet Arnold the Snoring PigFor blind and disabled children, switch-activated toys offer comfort and controlin a world where they often feelhelpless. Switched toys also build causeand effect skills, vital for development.
The Room That Christmas Built(Please can you help?)At ChildVision we focus on what our childrencan do, instead of what they can’t. So you won’thear us dwell on things like global developmentdelay, or epilepsy, or Rheumatoid arthritis, orautism... although our blind children live withthese daily. Building a sensory room is a bigexpense, but one that research has shown tohave tremendous positive effects on children ofall abilities. This Christmas, can you help bringcomfort, peace, and safe play to weary bodies?
Alannah the AmazingShe came to us in pre-school, a littleblind girl struggling to interact withthe world around her. Aided bytherapeutic toys that helped todevelop her muscles and her senses,Alannah has been able to make theleap to mainstream school!
“I wish to play and learn like other children do...”
Give the gift of a sensory room at ChildVision €7,500Give to fund a part of the room €750
Give a switch-activated toy like Arnold the Snoring Pig €50
Give a therapeutic teaching toy to a child like Alannah €35
Mini stocking €15 Medium stocking €45 Big stocking €75
Big Wish!
Fill a Sense-a-tionalStocking.Glowing gloves, tactilepuzzles, dressingcubes, threadinghands, aroma balls,and more. Choose thestocking that you’d like to fill. We’ll do the rest, with cheer and goodwill!
Toys with SecretSuperpowers...Teaching and therapy toys go beyond ordinary. The superpowers they hold for blind children are, well, as wonderful as flying teddy bears. Some build strength and sensation in hands that will one day read braille. Othersawaken residual sight (blind childrenoften have bits of remaining vision). Stillothers foster movement and connectionsin the brain, helping amazingpersonalities to blossom.
Give to fill a specialist toy chest at ChildVision €250
“When a sighted child sees something they like, they move their bodies to react. None of that was happening with Alannah. The therapeutic toys andearly start she got at ChildVision have changed her by miles.” — Alannah’s mum
6
The Gift of Music,Mobility, and Healing Magic
A Boy and His HorseNathan can see only bright lights. Sohe never developed the head controlthat sighted infants do as a naturalresponse to the sights around them.When he tried to walk, it got worse.Nathan’s head would roll about andcause him to fall over backwards.Picture his frustration! Then a gift like yours gave Nathan a block ofEquine Assisted Therapy sessions.
“Every time the horse moves, hundreds of impulses are sent up through the child. Children can really improve through this sensory input.”
— Kim Heffernan, ChildVision therapist
He loved the horses so much that hegot stronger almost without hisknowing it – one of many benefits toequine therapy for disabled blindchildren. Before long he sat tall andproud in his saddle. And today?Nathan walks around his home and school by himself... thanks tosome miraculous mobility horsesand the generous gift that made itpossible!
Give one equine therapy session €40Give a full year of sessions €480
Ways to Give: Online www.childvision.ie/Christmas2015Ring 01 837 3635 |By post | 7
“I wish for the wind in my hair and a song in my heart...”
A Song for AoibhinnSinging and music stimulate thebrain in ways that no othertherapy can. And to a child whomightn’t otherwise learn speechand language, your gift of musiccan be life changing. Musictherapy is helping six-year-oldAoibhinn – who is visuallyimpaired and has difficultycommunicating – to overcomeshyness and dramatically improveher language skills through song.Could you give a block of lessonsto a child like Aoibhinn thisChristmas?
Your gift of specially weightedblankets, hug vests, and an air matcalled “Walrus” will help to heal adisabled blind child’s fear of theunexpected.
A Walrus, A Bear Hug, andA Safety Blanket
Give a walrus €190... a bear hug €250... or a special safety blanket €300.
Give one music therapy lesson €40Give a block of six lessons €240
Ways to Give: Online www.childvision.ie/Christmas2015Ring 01 837 3635 |By post | 9Ways to Give: Online www.childvision.ie/Christmas2015Ring 01 837 3635 |By post |8
Put the World at Their Fingertips
“I wish for books and tools that a blind child can use...”
What Adaptive ‘Tech-Noël-ogy’ Would Mean to Paul...To 16-year-old Paul, your gift of a tech tool designed for blind users would put the tech- Noël-ogy in his new year! He’s mastered home life with his family and excels at judo for the blind. However as a visually impaired learner he struggles to keep up because his advanced braille schoolbooks are getting larger and larger. With a portable electronic braille display like the BrailleNote Apex, Paul could load all of his braille files onto onedevice – relief! – and an iPad Mini adapted for things like voice navigationwould let him use the screen like his sighted friends.
GIFTS OF BRAILLE AND ADAPTIVE ‘TECH-NOËL-OGY’
Book Bliss for Blind Baby Ella Little Ella has not yet learned braille.But the gift of specialist tactile bookswill develop the critical skills she’llneed, such as tracking, tracing, andfingertip sensitivity. Saturated coloursstimulate residual vision – and braillelabels teach her to feel for bumpybraille dots early on.
Story Sacks(You can almost hear the sleigh bells!)From the jingle of sleigh bells to the aroma of hot chocolate, multisensory story sacks let blindchildren know the world through taste,touch, scent, and sound – activating new areas of the brain that sparkgrowth elsewhere. And the smiles?Unbeatable!
Give a BrailleNote Apex to a boy like Paul €5,000 Give a specially adapted iPad Mini €500Give to fund a technology tool €50
Brain Fact:Braille activates the same regions of ablind reader’s brain as when you read astandard book in print. Without braille,our children could never achieve fullliteracy. It’s essential as A-B-C!
Braille Book Chapter-a-Month ClubAfter copyright permissions,scanning, formatting, brailleembossing, binding, and materials,it’s easy to see why a braille leisurebook like Harry Potter costs as muchas €800. ChildVision’s lendinglibrary is the only place for blindchildren to go in Ireland. By helpingus produce just one chapter of anew book each month, you’ll bring abounty of braille to a visuallyimpaired boy or girl this Christmas.
Give the braille book chapter-a-month club €35 per monthGive one section of a braille book €75
Give a story sack €100
Your kind gift. Joy to many.From bedtime stories to beginningbraillers, through ChildVision’s lendinglibrary your sensory or braille book willbring joy —• In classrooms at mainstream schools across Ireland• To blind children in over 750 Irish families• For children and young people learning braille for the first time
Give a tactile book to achild like Ella €25
Ways to Give: Online www.childvision.ie/Christmas2015Ring 01 837 3635 |By post |
“I wish for a future for my beautiful child...”
10
Give the Gift of Tomorrow €25,000
She called us from the hospital parking lot. Crying. “They told us that our baby son David is blind, and that a genetic defect means he
mightn’t ever speak or walk!” she sobbed. “A nurse said you could help. I’m so afraid. What if there is nowhere for my baby?”
A frightened family’s plea for their newly diagnosed, disabled blind child is among the most poignant of all the calls we receive at ChildVision. Especially at Christmas.
Often they have heard only bad news about the life they hold dear. Scary diagnoses. Rare disorders. Dreams that will never be. The wish for a future feels faraway... and fading fast.
For a child with special needs – even in this season of miracles – the gift of tomorrow is a big wish. A brave wish. A wish that, for blind children in Ireland this Christmas, you can make come true.
Of all the assistive technologies, healing therapies and ongoing supports a disabled blind child will need to grow to his or her fullest potential here, the State funds only half. Please can you help?
Give the gift of tomorrow to a blind child at ChildVision, and you will guide agirl or boy through the years, birth to aged 23. From their days as an infant inIreland’s only integrated crèche and pre-school especially for visually impairedchildren, through the transition years in our vocational education programme,you’ll help them prepare for a full life in a sighted world.
A big wish? Yes. But if you are blessed with abundance, your generous giftto ChildVision this Christmas will make a lifetime of tomorrows come true fora disabled blind child in Ireland.
Give the Gift of Tomorrow1. Choose your gift(s)2. Place your order:
BY PoST• Complete the enclosed reply form• Place it along with your payment to ChildVision in the Freepost envelope provided• Post back to ChildVision
BY PHoNE• Ring us on 01 837 3635 from 9am to 4pm, Monday - Friday• Place your order with the friendly staff at ChildVision
oNliNE• Visit www.childvision.ie/Christmas2015
Ways to Give: Online www.childvision.ie/Christmas2015Ring 01 837 3635 |By post | 11
How to Give
Each year ChildVision touch the lives of over 600 families in Ireland who have blind or visually impaired children, manywith daunting disabilities. So that the greatest number of children can benefit from your kindness today, ChildVisioncombines your gift with those of other caring people like yourself towards the full scope of our work - from toys totechnology to programs and services. If a particular gift is oversubscribed, we will ensure that your donation goeswherever it is needed most. Give with joy and confidence: ChildVision are proud to be registered Irish charity CHY817and uphold the Governance Code for Community Voluntary and Charitable Organisations, with audited financialstatements always available on www.childvision.ie. Please also know that while our stories sincerely represent themission of, and children at, ChildVision, we do change names, photos and details where necessary to protect theprivacy of our extraordinary children and the equally extraordinary families who love them. Thank you so much. Happy Christmas!
Various toy photo credits to: Enesco/Gund, Thinking Toys, Adam and Friends, ROMPA
“Walking with a friend in the darkis better than walking alone in the light.”
— Helen Keller
Thank you for being a friend to Ireland's blind children this Christmas.
Happy Christmas toYou and Yours,
from Your Friends at ChildVision
National Education Centre for Blind ChildrenGrace Park Road, Drumcondra, Dublin 9
Telephone: 01 837 3635
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.childvision.ie
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChildVisionIreland
Twitter: @childvisionvi
“Here is my secret, a very simple secret. It is only with the heart that one can see rightly. What is essential is invisible to the eye.”
— Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
History of CaringFor over 100 years, with a spirit of what’s possible, ChildVision have been helping children who are blind and have other disabilities to grow to their best and fullest potential. As Ireland’s only education centre for blind children, just fifty percent of what we do is funded by the State. The other half of every smile... every step... every victory... comes from you, our friends and supporters. Simply put, we couldn’t help blind children without you. Thank you for caring.
For details on how to give a gift to a blind child at ChildVision this Christmas, see page 11.
