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  2. Birth to Three

Birth to Three

 

About the Birth to Three (B-3) ~ Family Infant Toddler (FIT) Program:

  • a partnership between NMSBVI; New Mexico’s Family, Infant, Toddler (FIT) Program; and the Navajo Nation
  • part of NMSBVI’s commitment to provide a comprehensive program of developmental, educational, training and support services to blind, visually impaired or at-risk infants and toddlers
  • provides free, statewide direct services to families of young children who have a diagnosed visual impairment (VI) or who are considered at-risk to receive a VI diagnosis
  • assists in early diagnosis of vision issues so that services can be offered early in development
  • services are delivered in the family home (the child’s natural environment) or in a community environment that supports both child and family
  • services supplement (but do not replace) other specialized services in the community
  • children are served by an Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) team decision

Other B-3 Pages or Related Programs

 

 

 

What expertise does NMSBVI offer?

  • NMSBVI’s developmental vision specialists are trained as teachers of the visually impaired (TVIs) and/or orientation and mobility (O&M) specialists and have specialized skills in the field of early childhood that encompass the developmental domains of young children

 

 

A picture of a Braille writter

 

 

What services are available from NMSBVI for infants and toddlers?

  • Functional Vision Evaluations to determine the need for services
  • consultation/participation in developmental assessments with early intervention (EI) agencies
  • learning Media Assessments to determine both the sensory channels a child prefers for learning and to establish the need for braille instruction
  • consultation with the family and/or community service providers, therapists, etc.
  • direct services to the child & family, including services from a developmental vision specialist and/or orientation and mobility (O&M) specialist
  • developmental intervention strategies to support the development of visual/compensatory visual skills
  • information about blindness and visual impairment
  • referral & resource information for families
  • participation in Infant Family Service Plan (IFSP) and other team meetings
  • transition support from Birth-to-Three program into preschool programs
  • support for parents, including assistance finding a pediatric ophthalmologist for diagnosis
  • training for child-specific teams, as well as for organizations seeking additional knowledge about vision and its impact on development

 

 

 

Who should be referred to NMSBVI?

Any child between the ages of birth and three years old who:

  • has been diagnosed with a visual impairment
  • has an established condition that places him/her at risk for visual impairment (including but not limited to):
  • prematurity
  • syndromes
  • family history of visual impairment
  • traumatic events such as oxygen deprivation, meningitis, or shaken baby syndrome (SBS)
  • has a family or team concerned about some aspect of the child’s vision
  • has results on the New Mexico Vision Screening Tool indicating a need for referral

B-3 Banner

 

 

 

Who can make a referral to NMSBVI?

Who do I contact to make a referral?

 

 

 

 

Trainings

  • vision training is available for New Mexico Early Intervention (and other) agencies serving children birth to three years old

NMSBVI Orientation & Mobility Inventory

The O&M Inventory is a tool created for use by Certified Orientation & Mobility Specialists (COMS) with their students/clients. Each COMS must rely on his/her professional judgment when using the O&M Inventory and teach skills according to his/her own training. The O&M Inventory does not have skill items for everything each COMS teaches and may include skill items that a COMS may not teach. For the former, thorough COMS generated session notes are important for documentation of the teaching of those skills. For the later, any skill item a COMS doesn’t believe is appropriate for a student/client is simply rated as zero—which does not count against the score. Use of the O&M Inventory must be done in alignment with the professional judgment and training of the COMS using it.

For  additional information about the Inventory visit the NMSBVI Orientation & Mobility Inventory page.

 

NMSBVI Foundation Eyeglass Fund

The NMSBVI Foundation provides some limited funds to purchase eyeglasses for children who are visually impaired and who do not have private insurance or Medicaid coverage to pay for eyeglasses. Application can also be made to the fund if children break their eyeglasses and a replacement pair is not covered by private insurance or Medicaid.

Eyeglass Fund Application Forms

     To qualify Eyeglass fund:

  • a child/student must have a diagnosis of visual impairment and must receive services as a child with a visual impairment through an IEP or IFSP 
  • frames must be chosen from the Medicaid-approved selection, at a price not to exceed $120; lenses must not exceed $180. 
  • only one pair of eyeglasses per fiscal year may be purchased for each child.

For more information about the Birth to Three ~ Family Infant Toddler Program, to make a referral or request vision training:

An image of Julie Maner

Julie Maner

Birth-Three/FIT Program Coordinator