Nursery World - A Unique Child: Inclusion

The RLSB aspires to ensure 'life without limits for blind young people'. The under-fives who attend Dorton House Nursery are proof that the charity is achieving its objectives, says Sue Learner.

Four-year-old Ksenia has congenital cataracts and glaucoma in both eyes and is registered blind. It is a huge shock for parents when they find their child has a visual impairment and for Ksenia's mother, Kristina, it has been a tough time. Attending Dorton House Nursery in Kent, however, has been a 'life-changing' experience for both mother and daughter (see box).

The nursery is one of just a handful in the country that caters specifically for blind and partially sighted young children. Kristina describes it 'like a door opening to a new world' and adds, 'Children with a visual impairment are so vulnerable, so the nursery is so important. It's difficult to put into words how much it means. It's changed all of our lives.'

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