Bringing Movies to Life for Children with Vision Loss

Many children with vision loss have difficulty following movies because of their inability to see what is on the screen. Remarkably, audio description technology transforms the visual experience by providing extra verbal narration of visual elements happening in the film that a person with vision loss might not notice or realize. Partners for Pediatric Vision 's annual Bringing Movies to Life event is an opportunity for the children with visual impairment who receive our services to enjoy "watching" a movie with family and friends thanks to audio description of the movie through headsets.

On December 8th, 2019 thanks to the generosity of Krikorian Buena Park Metroplex, 17 children with vision loss and their families were treated to a showing of Frozen II with audio description. For many of our children it was their first time in a theatre. For our families it was an opportunity to meet other families of children with visual impairment and to meet adults with visual impairment including our guest magician, Joseph, who is legally blind due to Albinism. Partners for Pediatric Vision Board members Barb Zukerman and Joanne Peterson joined the fun as well as Diana Hanna, O.D. and Melissa Contreras, O.D. two of our partner eye doctors.

We are grateful for the outpouring of community support that made this heartwarming event a success. Mattel toys donated by the Mattel Children's Foundation brought squeals of excitement from all the children attending. Portillo’s Hot Dogs provided delicious chocolate cake for dessert after a pizza lunch donated by Costco. Joseph, our guest magician, wowed the young audience with magic tricks verbally described by Diane Christian, PPV's Assistant Director. Partners for Pediatric Vision would like to thank to our many volunteers who helped by wrapping gifts, greeting families, handing out headsets, serving lunch and passing out toys.

If you, your child or someone you know can benefit from audio description, we encourage you to check with your local theatre for listings of which movies have audio description tracks. Audio description headsets can be requested at the box office of most theatres. For questions about other technology that benefits children or adults with visual impairment, or opportunities to volunteer for events like this one, email us at: partnersforpediatricvision@gmail.com