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Title

Unseen? Mothers and Fathers with Visual Impairment

Purpose	To research the perspectives of mothers and fathers on parenting with a visual impairment. It is barely taken into account that visually impaired children might one day become a parent, and research on the perspectives of mothers and fathers on parenting with a visual impairment is scarce.
Methods	For this study we report on how 6 mothers and 7 fathers with a visual impairment experience parenthood. The 13 participants are visually impaired parents recruited through the social network of the first author, as well as by social media and by snowball sampling. An individual or paired open interview with these mothers and fathers captured their individual experiences of parenting.
Results	Qualitative content analysis identified themes in 3 clusters. Some aspects make parenting of the parents extraordinary, confronting or possibly problematic (cluster 1). Other aspects show how parents with visual impairment experience parenting on a daily basis (cluster 2). In a third cluster, parenthood is shown to become “normal”, with the parents not needing any professional support in relation to parenting (cluster 3). In some instances, visual impairment may even imply added value for the families.
Conclusion	Stratification of the findings into three clusters offers insights into the layered parent perspective. The understanding of parenting through a qualitative open dialogue as a visually impaired mother or father is deepened and broadened. It results in a unique story based on empiric expertise of the parents. Consequently, improved insight allows the social position of these parents to be adjusted and provides the baseline for constructivist and action-oriented practical guidelines to parenting for the visually impaired.
Conflict of interest	No

Authors 1

Last name	VAN HAVERMAET
Initials	J
Department	Ghent University
City	Gent

Authors 2

Last name	Leroy
Initials	BP
Department	Ghent University
City	Gent

Authors 3

Last name	Van Hove
Initials	G
Department	Ghent University
City	Gent