A Shared Vision
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A Shared Vision

Partners in Pediatric Blindness &
Visual Impairment

2022 IMPACT REPORT

Print 2022 Annual Impact Report
Emmett, age 2, with mom and sister

Dear Friends,

Prior to our founding in 2017, only a small percentage of Colorado families with very young children who are blind or visually impaired received in-home vision services.
Today, A Shared Vision's teachers are the leading providers of these critical and federally mandated early intervention vision services in the state. This past year, our teachers supported 212 children and their families, providing 1,675 educational service visits. In fact, in the 55 counties we served in 2022, our teachers provided 70% of all education service visits in Denver/Boulder metro, 87% in the Fort Collins and Greeley communities, and 86% of all services in Colorado's rural communities!
Our teachers are the cornerstone of the community that supports families with very young children who are blind or visually impaired.

With graduate degrees in visual impairment, our team of 16 licensed Early Intervention Teachers of the Visually Impaired are uniquely qualified to meet the needs of families. As one parent commented, “Our teacher is in our corner cheering us on and providing the tools and techniques for our child’s success.”

A Shared Vision is a unique, virtual “home” that encourages licensed Teachers of the Visually Impaired (TVI) to provide early intervention services across the state. Our home includes financial support and a breadth of services, support, and technologies that allow our teachers to excel at what they love most – supporting families with babies and toddlers who are blind or visually impaired.
However, we are experiencing a shortage of licensed teachers to meet the growing demand throughout the state. At any point in time, 20 to 30 families are waiting for ongoing services until a teacher becomes available.

We are leading efforts to define resource needs by geography, secure funding for competitive compensation, and encourage and attract TVIs to support the unique needs of our families in rural and urban communities.

We are grateful for the support of many individual donors and foundations – including the Hynd Trust for the Blind, the Buell Foundation, the Anschutz Family Foundation, and LONG Building Technologies, Inc. – who make our mission possible. In 2022 we raised $126,393 in donations and grants, which supports the breadth and operationalization of our programs that support our families and build a stronger community of early intervention professionals.

Thank you for your continued partnership!

Your board,
Stefanie Hamilton
Paula Landry
Steven Lindauer
Susan Raymond

Our Team
View a picture to learn more about a team member.
Picture of Janet Anderson
Janet Anderson (EI-TVI, COMS)
Picture of Kerry Auld
Kerry Auld (EI-TVI)
Picture of Suzan Barlow
Suzan Barlow (EI-TVI, COMS)
Picture of Sally Burch
Sally Burch (EI-TVI, COMS)
Picture of Lorraine Chevarria
Lorraine Cheverria (EI-TVI, COMS)
Picture of Stephanie Crosen
Stephanie Crosen (EI-TVI, COMS)
Picture of Stefanie Hamilton
Stefanie Hamilton (EI-TVI)
Picture of Julie King
Julie King (EI-TVI, COMS)
Picture of Paula Landry
Paula Landry (EI-TVI)
Picture of Katie Lindauer
Katie Lindauer (Communications Manager)
Picture of Steve Lindauer
Steven Lindauer (Executive Director)
Picture of Janis Mountford
Janis Mountford (EI-TVI, COMS)
Picture of Kimala Rein
Kimala Rein (EI-TVI, COMS)
Picture of Leonor Rosser
Leonor Rosser (EI-TVI)
Picture of Eddie Smith
Edie Smith (EI-TVI, COMS)
Picture of Wendy Stoltman
Wendy Stoltman (EI-TVI, COMS, CLVT)
Picture of Maggie Tutt
Maggie Tutt (EI-TVI)
Picture of Liz Wieder
Liz Wieder (EI-TVI, COMS)

Home Vision Services Program

For every family, our teachers provide a portfolio of home-based services curated to their unique needs and the needs of their child with blindness or a visual impairment. The goal is preschool and kindergarten readiness and a positive trajectory for cognitive, social, emotional, and physical development for each child.
Box highlights - served 212 children
Box highlights - provided 1,675 visits
Box highlights - serve 55 counties
Box highlights - percent of visits provided
Picture of 17 month old with book
Esmeralda, age 17 months (Aurora)
Our experience with A Shared Vision has been wonderful. Not only did we receive helpful resources, but we did so in a caring and understanding way which is so important to us while we navigate challenging medical diagnoses. Our A Shared Vision teacher shows care and empathy while helping guide us through best practices for our child. This is a difficult quality to find while navigating a cold and distant medical world. Thanks for all you do!
Marij Castello (Golden)

Our Teachers and Their Families

One Step at a Time

Imagine a parent’s grief when they learn their child is completely blind. Emerie was born without eyes and was diagnosed later with a hearing loss. Her mom LaShawn needed new skills and confidence to help Emerie learn and grow. Janet Anderson, her teacher from A Shared Vision, was just one of the six members on this family’s early intervention support team.

When they met, Emerie was very fearful of exploring her environment. So Janet introduced LaShawn to an effective strategy of establishing boundaries in Emerie's play space to make her feel safe. As a baby, Emerie learned to roll on the floor with a couch as her boundary. As a toddler, she practiced walking back and forth between her mom and her teacher.

Picture of mom and daughter walking
Janet Anderson with LaShawn and Emerie, age 2 (Aurora)
Picture of Janet Anderson balancing pumpkin on head
Janet Anderson at an A Shared Vision event
I met LaShawn’s needs with good communication. I supported her on rough days. I taught her and the team about blindness, deaf-blindness, and strategies to use when working with Emerie. It was exciting for me to see Emerie progress, taking steps and feeling comfortable with movement. I felt like we were on the right track and making a difference in Emerie’s life. She was reaching her goals.
Janet Anderson, EI-TVI, COMS

Off to School

Picture of child on tricycle
Rebecca and Emmett, age 2 (Longmont)
Rebecca and Eddie began working with their teacher, Liz Wieder, when Emmett was three months old. “Our teacher helped us understand his vision diagnosis, gave us questions to ask the doctors, provided tools to help him navigate his environment, and even helped with his transition to preschool,” explained Rebecca.

A curious, energetic toddler like Emmett has really benefited from his orientation and mobility lessons. “We verbalize what is in his environment because he doesn’t know what he can’t see,” explained Rebecca. His vision impairment doesn’t slow him down because his parents are empowering him to be a busy, independent toddler.

Emmett’s parents have a lot of great natural instincts when it comes to raising their children. They allow Emmett to explore the world through play and give him many opportunities to get out into the community. I was able to reassure them, answer questions, model activities, and give them additional resources. Since I am also a Teacher of the Visually Impaired in the St. Vrain school district, when the time came I explained to Rebecca and Eddie what the transition to school would look like and helped them prepare. On the school district side, I explained to the other providers what Emmett’s vision is like and if they should adapt materials or activities that they might be using.
Liz Wieder, EI-TVI, COMS

Picture of Liz Wieder with student
Liz Wieder and a student from St. Vrain School District
Picture of 12 month old wearing glasses
Willa, age 12 months (Denver)

Parent Reflections

I was very nervous about my son’s Cortical Visual Impairment. When we first met our teacher I felt like she was on his team immediately. She helped me understand CVI and how to engage my son. She has made all his vision complications a little less scary.
Morgan Cassimus (Arvada)

Our teacher communicates well with other members on our daughter’s team. I am impressed by her extensive knowledge of vision impairments and how that correlates with other developmental delays. We are so grateful for the value that she brings to our life!
Brianna Valdez (Thornton)

Our teacher helps not only with our son’s visual needs but also provides resources to support his overall development and will go above and beyond to find answers for all of our questions.
Lydia Thompson (Longmont)

Caregiver Survey 2023

Family Support Program

We provide education, community connections, and support for families of children with visual impairments through group activities (virtual and in person), our monthly newsletter, website resources, and social media. Our goal is to improve the capabilities and the emotional health of caregivers who raise children with visual impairments.

Family Events

Picture of volunteers
As pandemic restrictions lifted, our teachers led our return to in-person and virtual events for their families in 2022. They hosted five virtual “Mystery Parties” on topics ranging from preparing for preschool to making a sensory gel bag to strategies parents can use when raising a child with cortical visual impairment. Families enjoyed these events so much they asked for more virtual time to socialize and share ideas.
 
In September, our families were invited to a free event to meet the miniature horses from McNicholas Miniatures at a park in Centennial.

Volunteer Events

For their Silver Award, Girl Scout Troop #60035 made ten sensory boards, ten toy bars, and 11 book bags and presented them to A Shared Vision’s families during the troop’s December 4th meeting in Aurora, CO. This project was led by one of our teachers who also taught the troop how children with blindness or a visual impairment learn using all their senses. A Shared Vision parents were touched by these gifts. “This brought tears to my eyes. What a sweet and thoughtful project!”
Picture of girl scout volunteers

Learning Experiences & Sensory Recipes

In 2022, we published "Learning Experiences: For Families of Very Young Children Who Are Visually Impaired." The book was dedicated to our teachers, without whom the ideas for the book wouldn’t be possible.
We also continued to develop (and taste!) new sensory recipes complementing our cookbook which we published the prior year. A big hit with our families.
Learning Experiences book cover
Click HERE for more about our Learning Experiences.

Sensory Recipes book cover
Click HERE for more about our Sensory Recipes.

Education Program

Our goal is to build a community of highly skilled and collaborative professionals to support all families of very young children with visual impairments. Our Education program provides a variety of trainings to increase the awareness of visual impairments and build the competencies of providers throughout the state.

Vision Screening, Birth to Age 3

This past year A Shared Vision was awarded a contract with Colorado Department of Early Childhood's Early Intervention Colorado to continue our work to update the state's official vision screening protocol. As EI Colorado took responsibility for Child Find (birth to age three), we created and delivered 28 live virtual trainings to prepare 263 of the state's EI Evaluation professionals to conduct vision screenings. Trainings will continue in 2023, including the addition of a third module to support objective testing.

Historically, too many of Colorado's very young children with visual impairments were NOT being identified. While the problem is far from solved, the vision screening protocol and trainings are having a positive impact - 49% growth in vision services added to IFSPs from 2019 through 2021, compared to 1% decline for all other services.

Box highlight - 80% early sensory thru eyes
Box highlight - 28 training sessions
Box highlight - 263 professionals trained
Box highlight - 49% vision growth

Financials

Picture of 10 month old looking at book
Jack, age 10 months (Golden)
A Shared Vision early intervention services are provided at no cost to families. Unlike center-based programs, we do not charge tuition or other fees to the families we support.

While a part of the costs to deliver home vision services are paid by Colorado’s Community Centered Boards using federal IDEA Part C and other state funds, we rely on support from our donors to deliver the breadth of our programming.

We are a nimble, virtual organization with very little overhead. None of our expenses include brick-and-mortar structures or other capital investments as early intervention vision services are best provided in families’ homes - the ideal model for delivery which is substantiated through years of research.

In 2022, we continued to invest in programs that benefited our families and provided additional financial support for our teachers, leveraging in part the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) grant we received in 2021.

Statement of Financial Position
Picture
Statement of Activity
Picture

Thank You!

Picture of smiling 8 month old
Annalise, age 8 months (Craig)
The many individuals and organizations who gave to A Shared Vision deserve all the credit. Thank you for making a difference in the lives of so many children and families in Colorado. The following donors helped make our programs possible.
Myrna Ann Adkins
Amazon Smile
Janet Anderson
Anschutz Family Foundation
Andrew Arevalo
Patricia Baker
Denise Barnwell
Bonnie Benedetti
Marti Bleidt
Buell Foundation
Dave & Carol Callan
Kathy Case
Sue Catterall
Lorraine Chevarria
Colorado Gives Foundation
Daniel Cummings
Nancy Currey
Paul & Beth Daughtery
Celeste Drinkard
Joyce Durol
Scott Elliott
Korhan Ergul
Julie Titus Fair
Betsy Fecteau
William Freeman
Susan Gates
Stephanie Gill
Givio Charitable
Joyce Haley
Stefanie & Lee Hamilton
Erin & Patrick Higgins
Estelle Hoehl
James Hynd Trust for the Blind
Linda Joy
Seth & Liz Kelly
Christine & Dave Kilpatrick
Tom & Nancy Kirkwood
Kroger
Paula & Jim Landry
Catherine Lindauer
Katie & Steve Lindauer
Sarah Lindauer
Shelley Lindauer
LONG Building Technologies, Inc.
Kristin Loveless
John & MaryAnn Lundgren
Rodgers Madison
Roseanna Madison
S.R. Madison
Kelly Manley
Ali Martinez
Jill McCarren
Jeffrey Meier

Moneta Charitable Foundation
Janis Mountford
Chris Owens
Kivanc Ozer
PayPal Giving Fund
Nancy Phares-Zook
Iurii Pilguk
Jennifer Poltermann
Carol Puchalski
Susan Raymond
Kimala Rein
Mary Reisher & Barry Berlin
Valerie Reymann
Carolyn Rickard
Karen & Jeff Roberts
Jeannie & John Robinson
Sally Burch
Muge Sen-Gucuk
Kylee Smith
Ann Stafford
TisBest Philanthropy
Betam Thi Truong
Lorraine Vanderhye
Tom Waters
Kerri West
Judy Wray
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VISION SCREENING
Importance of Vision Screening

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For EI Evaluators
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Value of Early Intervention
CO Child Care Tax Credit
TRAINING & EDUCATION
Training & Education

ABOUT US
Our Mission, Goal, Values

What We Do
Our Team
Our Partners

A Shared Vision: Partners in Pediatric Blindness & Visual Impairment

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  • Home
  • Página principal
  • Refer a Child
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    • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Remitir a un niño
    • Remitir a un niño
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  • Stay Informed
    • Latest News
    • Newsletters
    • Annual & Financial Reports
  • Manténgase informado
    • Últimas noticias
    • Boletines
  • Parent Resources
    • Parent Resources Introduction
    • Let's Play!
    • Learning Experiences© >
      • Learning Experiences©
      • Expanded Core Curriculum
    • Sensory Recipes >
      • Sensory Recipes Introduction
      • Sensory Recipes
    • Gift Ideas
    • Digital Resources >
      • Digital Resources Overview
      • Building Communication Skills
      • CVI
      • Dual Sensory Loss
      • Early Emergent Literacy
      • Eye Conditions
      • Eye Glasses for Your Child
      • Feeding
      • Meeting with Your Ophthalmologist
      • Orientation & Mobility
      • Patching for Your Child
      • Routines
      • Sleep
      • Strategies
      • Tactile Skills
      • Transition to Preschool
    • Other Great Organizations
  • Recursos para padres
    • Recursos para padres
    • A jugar!
    • Experiencias de aprendizaje© >
      • Experiencias de aprendizaje©
      • Currículo Básico Expandido
    • Recetas sensoriales© >
      • Recetas Sensoriales© introducción
      • Recetas sensoriales©
    • Ideas para regalar
    • Recursos digitales >
      • Recursos digitales
      • Afecciones oculares
      • Gafas para su hijo
      • Habilidades alimentarias
      • Reunión con su oftalmólogo
      • Estrategias
      • Transición al preescolar
  • For Our Families
    • Welcome New Families
    • Top digital resources for new families
    • Inspiring Families
    • Esmeralda's Day
  • Para nuestras familias
    • Bienvenida a las nuevas familias
    • Nuestros recursos favoritos
  • Vision Screening
    • Importance of Vision Screening
    • Protocol & Resources
    • Quickstart Guide
    • Parent Questionnaire©
    • Objective Vision Testing
    • Scoring Guidance©
    • Results & Next Steps©
    • Vision Screening Training
    • Directory Pediatric Eye Doctors
    • Links & Documents
  • Donate Now
    • Donate Now
    • Value of Early Intervention
    • CO Child Care Tax Credit
  • Donar ahora
    • Donar ahora
    • El valor de la intervención precoz
  • Trainings & Education
    • Trainings & Education
  • About Us
    • Our Mission, Goal, Values
    • What We Do
    • Our Team
    • Our Board
    • Our Partners
  • Quiénes somos
    • Nuestra misión, objetivo y valores
    • Qué hacemos
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  • Contact Us
  • Contáctese con nosotros