I thought I'd been doing this long enough where I'd have experienced just about everything by now. That was a silly thing to think, always something new.

I just hung up the phone with a mother who booked me for a show next weekend. In getting the details of the show, she mentioned...

Mom: "he's turning ten, and oh yeah, he's a special needs child"
Me: "oh, ok. Is there anything I should know or be aware of, as far as using him in a trick or having him help me out?"
Mom: "no not really, he's legally blind"

Whoa! That was surprising - a mom setting up a magic show, for her legally blind child? Magic is a pretty visual art, no?

She then said "well, he can see, a little, just not very well".

So yeah, there will be 20 other kids there who will be watching the show, so they will all fully enjoy the visual nature of the magic show. I'm just a tad concerned that a birthday child who is legally blind, will not be able to play the role that the typical birthday child does, in my shows. I, like most of you, I am sure, like to make the birthday child the star of the show.

I will be creative and do my best to make him the star, but was wondering if any of you have dealt with a birthday child with this type of visual impairment? Any suggestions or advice?

Making him an impromtu mind reader was the first thing that came to mind...
1. Telling red cards from black ones
2. Knowing a selected card
3. Waving the magic wand...and other things kids help out on.

I look forward to reading other responses to this thread.
Last year during one of my puppet workshops (middle school) one class had a student that happened to be blind. Later that year, I saw him on stage in Guys and Dolls. He did great...I am guessing so will you.

I had a similar situation and I treated him the same as any other child except I was very explicit in my instructions to him and put things in his hand rather then have him take anything from me. This worked well for funny wand gags ect. I was more descriptive in my patter also. I made sure I said what everything was and what I was doing with everything more that I usually would. Just remember he experiences the word through sound and touch rather than sight and you'll be fine.
Arnie

I did one once she just sat a lot closer to me than normal
and I did pretty much what arnie did and it went fine.

Danny, I wrote an article for Funny Paper about a party I did for a sight-impaired girl roughly that same age. PM your email address and I'll shoot you a copy of it. It might help a bit.

Of course if you do a chair suspention, they'll be the star of the show, and the most popular kid in school! Don't need to see for that! Good luck with the show. I'm sure everything will be fine.

In common with others here I would say to treat the boy fairly normally. There is a big difference between legally blind and actually blind. A good friend of mine is legally blind. He ignores me a lot of the time when we meet, because he can't see me. But it doesn't stop him putting on a very good children's show.

Hello:

I think I agree with the others. My ex-wife was legally blind, and you could never tell anything was wrong except when she read. I think I would plan on treating the boy normal, just taking a little extra time to hand him things and show him things.

Ron

Thanks for the replies.

Yeah, if the child can see ok if he just sits closer than normal, than there won't be an issue at all. I would just do my typical show.

I was thinking about it last night, and was trying to think of some effect that would occur 100% in his head, such the old Denmark/Kangaroo/Orange trick.

Along those lines - I wonder if a modified Out Of This World type effect, might play well and make him look pretty amazing to the other kids? When he was done sorting, I would let the other kids tell him how he did and I think everyone would be pretty impressed with his feat, including himself. Normally, I do no card effects in my kid's shows, but these kids are 8-10 (a bit older than my typical shows) and if I used jumbo cards, I think this might play well.

A few years ago, I was approached by the parents of a sight-impaired 7-year-old Harry Potter fan. I brainstormed with them and we came up with a hodge podge collection of magic that empowered the child on her special day.

I arrived in my flowing wizard’s robe and beard, I knelt as Lindsay's hands gently explored my robe’s folds, mahogany wand, peaked hat, wig and beard. With wizard’s wand in hand, Lindsay became the wizard’s apprentice.

I blew the dust from an old prop that hasn’t been off my shelf in years – my Temple Screen. I opened the screen showing both sides as Lindsay ran her hands along all six flat surfaces. After enlisting Lindsay’s aid in folding the screen, she pulled her wizard’s robe and hat from the center.

We opened the show with Chris Capehart’s Miser’s Dream. Each coin fell with a sharp, satisfying ring. At one point, she plucked coins that only she could see from the air around her. She enthusiastically pulled invisible coins from the ears, hair and joints of the other children. She joined the audience in mischievously tossing invisible coins into the bucket long after I had called an unheeded halt to the nonsense.

Lindsay’s parents gave me a couple sets of Braille children’s cards. With a little practice I was able to force certain cards to the sighted children and have them returned to the deck. The animals pictured on the cards made them easy to remember. A Braille notation on each card named the animal. By controlling and forcing the chosen cards, I secretly helped Lindsay demonstrate her psychic ability as she plucked each of the chosen cards form the deck. As a kicker, the divined cards perfectly matched a set secured in a manila envelope held by Lindsay throughout the effect.

Lindsay’s parents also helped me prepare Braille labels for my Mismade Clown effect. We attached the appropriate label to the front of the Feet, Tummy and Head blocks that make up the picture of my favorite clown, Rufus. For those who may not know the effect, the three blocks change places throughout the routine. Lindsay would read each label and drop each block into the supporting wooden sleeve in the proper order. Her hand would never leave the sleeve, yet when we pulled the sleeve off of the stacked blocks and Lindsay read the labels, the blocks would be in the wrong order. Lindsay's powers set things straight.

I included modified versions of two favorite rope effects: John Zander’s Loose Ends and Michael Finney’s Cut & Restored Rope. There were a couple of dramatic (and comedic) moments as I placed the scissors in one of Lindsay’s hands and a handful of Band-Aids in the other; just in case. Lindsay’s fingers easily followed each step of these rope effects without hindering or exposing the sleights. It truly looked as though Lindsay was performing each magic step.

Tom Yurasit’s Confusing Crayons was the next effect in the lineup. I used the gimmicked set alone in my own hands to demonstrate a magical color change. Instead of a color change, though, the crayon would simply point in the wrong direction after each move...a difference she could feel. I accused Lindsay of upstaging me with her magic and, of course, she took full credit while earning plenty of laughs.

Lindsay and I presented my version of the Mismade Flag. Lindsay did a beautiful job of remembering which silk was which and laughed as a child in the audience described each mismade flag. I decided to include this effect because it ends with the surprise kick of the proper American Flag pulled from the change bag attached to an 8-foot pole. I pulled the first foot or so of the pole out of the bag then had Lindsay finish the revelation. Frequently stopping to probe beneath the change bag with her hand, she was as surprised by the pole’s appearance as the sighted members in the audience.

I concluded the show with the Princess Flying Carpet Suspension. In this case, it was Lindsay’s task, to earn the title of wizard, to cause her brother to float in midair. Lindsay’s brilliant smile filled the room as she took her well-deserved bows to heart-swelling applause.

As performers, we are often called upon to reach beyond our personal comfort zones. We must be willing to stretch our self-enforced boundaries to reach out to those who want and need so desperately to share that which we have to share. Without the patient guidance and creative support of Lindsay’s parents, this show might never have happened. I am very grateful that this family sought me out.

I know you'll do great, Danny!