Children cannot be always protected, so the sooner they can understand the problem the better for all. Adolescence Adolescence can be fun but is very hard work even for those with no obvious problem. For someone with RP it can be traumatic. Adolescence is about learning to live with bodily and emotional changes and generally a time of seeking one's own identity and trying to make some sense for the future. If we stop and think for a moment one of the main ways we all learn how to behave in adolescence is through copying others.
Fashion is an obvious example.
None of us likes to be told what to do or learn secondhand from others, but those with sight problems have to do this a great deal. The way we use our bodies and dress gives out many signals. At no time is this stronger than in adolescence, as it can be a way into relationships and a prop in many circumstances. If you cannot see, not only have these messages to be picked up in other ways, but you do not always know what sort of messages you yourself wish to put out as you may be unaware of the current alternatives. It is hard always asking advice on such a subject.