The document discusses the creation of an online forum and network called the VI Family Network for families of children with vision impairment. It provides an overview of the planning process which involved parent feedback to address feelings of isolation. It describes the website creation using a WordPress platform and plugins like WP Symposium to provide a simple forum for families to connect and share resources and experiences. Initial feedback from parents has been positive about the opportunity to connect with other families facing similar challenges.
29. Contact Dr Teresa Williamson Curriculum Media Designer RIDBC Renwick Centre [email_address] Questions
Notas do Editor
Multimedia designer at the royal institute for deaf and blind children’s renwick centre The vi family network is a web resource for parents of children with vision impairment. It has been set up by the Royal Institute for Deaf and Blind Children (RIDBC), with support from Vision Australia, Guide Dogs NSW/ACT Guide Dogs Victoria, and CanDoforKids.
I will run through the history and background behind the network and how it evolved I will also talk about how we designed the site in response to parent feedback I will give you a sneak preview of the website – its not finished yet I will give a demonstration of the main features of the parents’ forum Also show the health professionals forum briefly, and how to join
The vi family network was created as a resource for families participating in the Australian childhood vision impairment register The register is a national database of childhood vision impairment in Australia. Families are invited to participate in the register through their eye health professional. By participating in the register, parents and carers provide detailed information about their child’s vision impairment and any other disabilities or health issues. This information will help target services and support for vision impaired children more effectively across the country. When the concept of the register was first evolving, a decision was made to offer some sort of support to families as an incentive to register and to inform them of available services It was decided that an online resource in the form of a website would provide an ideal solution, so that families from all over australia could access resources either from home or their local library where they would have access to a computer
So what did parents want? We obtained feedback from parents via phone interviews and a recent online survey. We discovered that: Many reported feeling isolated – not knowing who to ask for help. They felt they had few options for accessing support networks and limited opportunity to engage with other families in a similar situation. With some families being told after initial diagnosis that there is no cure for their child's eye disorder, many are left wondering about their child’s future and education needs Geographic isolation also limits access to services and resources even further, creating an additional barrier for some. In summary, They want to be able to contact other families with children with these rare eye conditions They want to offer and receive emotional support and advice through other families going through or who have been through a similar experience They want access to australian resources and services accessible and relevant to their needs So we set to work to create a web resource that would meet these needs.
The site was developed using Wordpress, which is an open source content management system most famously used to create blogs on the web. As it is a free website development tool, the only costs involved were web hosting and the domain name registration costs. The domain costs were $56 for 2 years, and as we already had our own webhosting account set up for other projects, there was no extra charge to add this website onto the existing account. Website contains: Information and a link to the register with access to details on how to take part Latest news on developments from the register, including numbers enrolled, and links to latest research reports Links to the parents forum, which i’ll talk about in a moment Oz-viskids, the kids club for all children on the register. This is under development, but we have teamed up with the producers of Livewire, which is the online network for kids living with illnesses and disabilities run through the starlight foundation, to enable vision impaired kids on the register to join this network. Still have a few issues to sort out. Information about our partners and links to websites and services provided. A large resources section. Here we have started creating a number of resources and links to information that will be of interest to families with vision impaired children. Some resources we have produced ourselves, and others are openly available on the internet. This will become a valuable part of the site, with the aim to provide an Australian focussed one stop shop for families to go to to find out where to go for help, access to support services, and useful information, including accessible events listings and so on.
Easy for users who just want a forum and social networking options without the frills Pick and choose components you want – we didn’t want groups yet so left that out, but a groups plugin is available – lots of plugins Can be used with your existing theme and wordpress install – no issues with compatibility can create easy summary of activity on your chosen wp page Great for non developers – you can use the built in colour pickers and options in the backend to link to your theme W3C compliant to AA standard good for accessibility. We chose larger text for forum and bold colours that linked with our overall site theme but had good contrast
The last point is the hardest – we need to get people involved and keep people interested, so with your help in letting people know about the vi family network we can build up a useful resource that will go some way towards bringing families closer together through sharing of experiences and knowledge within this community.