THE CENTER FOR THE PARTIALLY SIGHTED6101 W. Centinela Ave., Suite 150
Culver City, CA 90230
Tel: (310) 458-3501
www.low-vision.org
LaDonna Ringering, Ph.D., President/CEO
Tori Schladen, M.A., Director, Family Resource Project
The Center for the Partially Sighted's mission is to assist partially sighted individuals of all ages, including those who are legally blind, to use their remaining vision to enhance their independence and improve their quality of life. The Center provides training, psychological and family support, and adaptive equipment to improve their functioning. At the Center, a multi-disciplinary team of professionals delivers services with expertise in low vision care including low vision optometrists, early childhood educators, parents of children with special needs, psychotherapists, orientation and mobility specialists, and rehabilitation educators.
The Atlas Family Foundation provides funding for the Family Resource Project, established in 1999, providing direct service to families of infants and young children with visual impairment including those with multiple disabilities. The goal is to strengthen the family-child relationship and maximize the potential of the visually impaired child. Many children are not identified early for critical intervention services and some fall through the cracks as they transition from one agency to the next. Their families are simply overwhelmed with the complexity of care and lack of support that is available as they struggle with the everyday challenges of parenting and the added stress of parenting a child with special needs. Also, some families are unaware of and therefore not receiving all the available services their child needs and not receiving guidance in raising a child with special needs, including visual impairment. On-going contact takes place during follow-up exams and over the phone as often as needed, often in collaboration with other agencies and professionals. In addition, through follow-up calls staff gathers insight into the sources of stress that are causing disruption in the family's life and potentially interfering with the baby's well-being and development. Intervention is targeted toward alleviating the stressors through advocacy, referral, education, counseling or other sources of support.
For the children, the Center strives to prepare them to enter the best school placement to attain their academic, social and developmental potential and support their families to increase their opportunities for success. It is the only agency in California to offer a multi-disciplinary program of low vision care specifically for infants and children.
The Atlas Family Foundation has been a Funding Partner of The Center for the Partially Sighted since 2001.
Recent AFF grant:
$35,000, November 2010
$13,000, March 2011
