Turner, K. Whisnant583972002008-08-282008-08-282004http://hdl.handle.net/2152/1405textThe purpose of this study was to explore blind mothers' perceptions of the impact of their blindness as it relates to interactions with their young child and with their parenting experiences. A qualitative exploratory design was used to obtain descriptive data through multiple in-depth interviews. Participants were seven totally or legally blind mothers who were the primary caregivers of their sighted child, ages 9 month through three years of age. Participants were identified through contacts from national organizations, State of Texas human service agencies, and through word-of-mouth. Results showed that these blind mothers perceived a sense of overall competency in caring for and interacting with their child. The mothers reported on specific factors related to raising a child as a blind parent such as fears and concerns, joys of parenting, societal biases, safety, transportation, support needs and attitudes, and maternal-child interactions.electronicengCopyright is held by the author. Presentation of this material on the Libraries' web site by University Libraries, The University of Texas at Austin was made possible under a limited license grant from the author who has retained all copyrights in the works.ParentingMother and childBlind womenThesis3150727