Mom helps parents of visually impaired youngsters
By Daniel Beekman © Bronx Times Reporter, New York — Jeannette Christie of Throggs Neck is the woman behind NYC NAPVI, a support group for parents of children with visual impairments. She works out of the New York Institute for Special Education on Pelham Parkway and has escorted children to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Photo by Daniel Beekman It was 2003. Jeannette Christie of Throggs Neck had to choose. Go to work in Manhattan or escort her legally blind son to a performance at the New York Institute for Special Education (NYISE) on Pelham Parkway. Christie chose Thomas and her world changed. At the performance, she met National Association for Parents of Children with Visual Impairments (NAPVI) executive director Susan LaVenture. Christie quit her job to launch a NAPVI chapter in NYC. NYC NAPVI helps parents find information and resources; Christie offers leadership, support and training. Her business cards wait in eye clinics around the city for shell-shocked parents to grab…. READ ARTICLE