Created for parents by parents
Parent Roadmap
Your Guide to Raising a Child with Combined Hearing and Vision Losses
Working with Someone Who Has a Vision and a Hearing Loss
For Parent Center
The Least Dangerous Assumptions
What should you do–if your child is born and everyone around him predicts that he will never communicate, or play, or make friends, or learn?
Would you like to hear the voices of other families?
The Florida Outreach Project team includes two Family Specialists:
Shelly Voelker and Pam Kissoondyal
Both Shelly and Pam are the parents of children with disabilities who have extensive training and experience working with children and families affected by deaf-blindness and other disabilities. Shelly and Pam are available to answer your questions, listen to your concerns, make suggestions, and recommend resources.
Shelly regularly shares many resources of interest to families affected by deaf-blindness and other disabilities on and Pam coordinates Florida’s Family-to-Family program. Reach out to them!
Family Resources
- Families Matter Stories – National Center on Deaf-Blindness
- Family Fun Facts – National Center on Deaf-Blindness
- Family Connect for Parents of Children with Visual Impairments
- Dads Talk, Too!
Florida’s Parent Training Centers and Parent-to-Parent Resources
Family Network on Disabilities (FND) was founded in 1985 by a group of parents of children with disabilities who came together for mutual support and information-sharing. FND is a grassroots organization for persons with disabilities and their families that is family-centered and family-driven.
Family Network on Disabilities operates the following programs in Florida
- The Parent Education Network (PEN) project is the Parent Training Information (PTI) center for southern Florida,
Lee, Collier, Hendry, Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade, Monroe, Martin, Charlotte, and Glades counties. - The Parents of the Panhandle Information Network (POPIN) program provides parent training and information (PTI) services to the Panhandle of Florida,
Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, Walton, Calhoun, Gulf, Bay, Washington, Jackson, Liberty, Holmes, Franklin, Wakulla, Gadsden, Leon, Jefferson, Taylor, Madison, Hamilton, Dixie, Suwannee, Lafayette, Gilchrist, Columbia, Baker, Levy, Alachua, Union, Bradford, Nassau, Duval, St. John’s, Clay, Putnam, Flagler, Marion, and Volusia counties. - The Parents Educating Parents (PEP) project provides information, training, and support to parents of children with disabilities in isolated, rural areas of Florida, Collier, Hendry, Glades, and Lee counties.
Community Parent Resource Centers and Other Resources
Parent to Parent of Miami
Parent to Parent of Miami is an education, support, and advocacy program, as well as a Community Parent Resource Center. Parent to Parent of Miami serves Miami, Dade, and Monroe counties.
Project Empower
Empowerment Parent Resource Center of Northwest Florida
The Empowerment Parent Resource Center of Northwest Florida (Project Empower) shares community resources and training with communities in Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa and Walton counties.
Parent Center Hub
All the materials found on the CPIR Hub have been created and archived for Parent Centers around the country to help them provide support and services to the families they serve. See Parent Centers across the USA and other resources.