Hi I’m DJ. I am the oldest of four children. My Dad is sighted and my Mom is blind. CRAB is something I never realized was needed until I moved away to college. Growing up I knew my life was different from my sighted friends, but I didn’t really notice it. My mom was blind and she did things different, but we were still washed, dressed, and fed like all the other children. 

However, when I went to college I began to realize that I really did see the world in a different light compared to my roommates. I used my hands and touch to do most jobs. I could get dressed for my day without ever turning on the lights. I ironed my clothes and made sure there were no wrinkles by running my hands over the fabric instead of inspecting it with my eyes. I would cook in the school cafeteria by smell more than timers and visual inspection. And I always looked for braille signage in every building! 

I began looking for a support group for children raised around the blind. I couldn’t find anything. I also learned in college that children of Deaf adults have their own support group. Through my searching I found groups for parents of blind children, but I never saw anything for the siblings of blind people or the kids of blind adults. So CRAB was created! Children Raised Around the Blind is to include children whose parent’s have been blind/ visually impaired their whole life or even if your parent lost vision later in life. We all still need to have a place to talk. We need other people who understand the struggles that we have. And ways that we have learned to deal with sighted people and their interest in the blind. And sometimes the really frustrating questions. Please join our Facebook page for monthly discussions. And feel free to send us questions that you have. 

Let’s learn how to enjoy our lives even with our family members visually impairment. We are united in our experiences. We are our family members best advocate, and their loudest cheerleader!