Future Reflections
Volume 24 Number 1 Winter/Spring
[PHOTO 4thStLive exte_7_Dan Dry]
Southern hospitality, good food, good times, great shopping, historic attractions, music, and culture: Louisville—site of the 2005 NFB Convention (July 2 - 8)–has it all! Fourth Street Live! (above) is Louisville’s premier entertainment and retail district, located on Fourth Street between Liberty and Muhammad Ali Boulevards, in the heart of historic downtown Louisville. It is just a short walk from the Galt House Hotel, headquarters of the convention. For more information about what there is to do in the Louisville area, see the article about Louisville in the February 2005 issue of the Braille Monitor available under the “Publications” option on the NFB Web site at <www.nfb.org>.
Future Reflections
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Table of Contents
2005 NFB National Convention
In The Drivers Seat
2005 Convention Bulletin
Aaron’s Convention Story
by Aaron Richmond
Fingers on Buzzers! Kerri Regan's Jeopardy! Debut
by Anna Cheadle
Interview with a Sophomore
by Judi Ross
Beyond Textbooks on Time: Is the Battle for Braille Literacy Over?
by Mark Riccobono
Who Can We Share This With?
by Donna Labarre
A Girl's Best Friend is Back!
by Barbara Cheadle
Finally, A Book to Help Parents of Disabled
by Helen Henderson
Ways to Increase Independence
by Sandra Stirnweis
The Cane and I
by Judy Sanders
An Introduction to Dr. Lilli Nielsen's Active Learning
by Stacy Shafer
Distinguished Educator Award
by Sharon Maneki
Emerging Victorious
by Anna Cheadle
Confessions of a BrailleNote User
by Jennifer Dunnam
Five to Make Ready
by Patricia Morrow
Blind Child Featured in HBO Special
by Mike Malloy
Extended School Year Services
by Leslie Seid Margolis
Hear Ye! Hear Ye!
Slate Pals
[PHOTO Belle of Louisville with photo credit]
The Belle of Louisville
BACKGROUND: The 2005 convention will be the largest meeting of the blind to be held anywhere in the world in the year 2005. The Convention is the supreme authority and policy-making body of the National Federation of the Blind and voice of the nation's blind.
PLACE: The Galt House Hotel, Louisville, Kentucky
DATES: July 2 through July 8, 2005
Pre-convention seminars for parents and others-July 2, 2005
Division and national committee meetings-July 3-4, 2005
Plenary sessions-July 5 through 8, 2005
MEETINGS: Plenary sessions will be held in the Grand Ballroom located on the second floor of the East Tower of the Galt House Hotel beginning on Tuesday, July 5, and continuing through Friday, July 8.
PROGRAM: NFB conventions give government representatives, agency administrators, and leaders in politics, business, and industry the opportunity to address and respond to a large nationwide audience primarily of individuals who are blind or visually impaired. The topics of interest include: relevant civil rights issues; current issues and trends in the education of blind children; rehabilitation of the blind for competitive employment; specialized library services for the blind; advancements in technology; and other timely topics.
BANQUET: The convention includes a large, well-attended banquet to be held in the Grand Ballroom at the Galt House Hotel beginning at 7:00 p.m., Thursday, July 3rd. The program for the evening will feature an address by NFB President, Marc Maurer. The banquet program will also include the presentation of over $100,000 in scholarships to thirty outstanding blind students. Banquet tickets may be purchased at convention registration.
CONVENTION REGISTRATION: The registration fee is $15, and registration will open Sunday, July 3, at 9:00 a.m. Please note that the various NFB divisions and committees may charge additional fees for the seminars, workshops, receptions, and other related activities which they sponsor before and after the convention plenary sessions. These workshop or seminar fees should not to be confused with the convention registration fee.
AGENDAS: Convention agendas are available when you register for the convention. Agendas are available in Braille, cassette tape, disk, and large print. Pre-convention agendas for the Saturday, July 2, events will be available on the NFB Web site and in print and Braille at the NFB Information Table in the Galt House hotel lobby.
HOTEL RATES: Special room rates for those who attend and register for the 2005 National Federation of the Blind convention are as follows: Singles and doubles $59, triples and quads $64. All quoted rates are subject to a tax, which at present is 12.36 percent. A deposit of $60 is required when you make your reservation. To make room reservations contact the Galt House Hotel at (502) 589-5200 or (800) 626-1814 and tell them you are with the NFB convention. The address of the Galt House Hotel is 140 N. Fourth Street, Louisville, Kentucky 40202.
CHILDCARE: During convention week children between the ages of six weeks and twelve years are invited to join in the fun and festivities of NFB Camp. NFB Camp offers more than just childcare; it is an opportunity for blind and sighted children to meet and develop lifelong friendships. The camp schedule is filled with games, crafts, and special performances designed to entertain, educate, and delight. Pre-registration is required. For more information about fees, hours, etc. contact Carla McQuillan, NFB Camp Coordinator, 5005 Main Street, Springfield, Oregon 97478. Telephone (541) 726-6924.
MORE INFORMATION: For additional information about meetings, schedule, hotel, etc., contact the National Federation of the Blind National Office at 1800 Johnson Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21230, telephone (410) 659-9314. Information is also available on the NFB Web site at <www.nfb.org>.
“In The Drivers Seat”
2005 NFB Convention Bulletin
Programs for Families and Teachers of Blind Children
sponsored by the
National Organization of Parents of Blind Children (NOPBC)
Galt House Hotel
Louisville, Kentucky
Did you know that one of the technology priorities of the NFB Jernigan Institute is promoting the development of a car that blind people can drive? Fantastic as it may seem, it is entirely possible that today's generation of blind children will one day have the opportunity to operate a vehicle. But blind kids don't have to wait for this to happen to experience being "in the driver's seat." After all, the term is metaphorical, not literal. When we say someone is “in the driver's seat," we mean that this person is in charge; this person has power to choose a course of action and make it happen. Choices, power, control, action, movement, travel; the phrase connotes all these things. In short, "in the driver's seat" means everything that is the opposite of the words historically and universally associated with blindness; words like passive, immobile, limited, and powerless. Fortunately, not everyone believes that those words accurately describe blind people anymore (if they ever did). In fact, thanks in large part to the work of the National Federation of the Blind (NFB), a great many people in our country and around the world have come to believe that blind people can lead normal lives. For over sixty-five years, the NFB has been chipping away at these crusty, false, stereotypical notions about blindness and replacing them with words like normal, okay, respectable, and competent. At the 2005 NFB Convention, the NOPBC will help parents, kids, and teachers expand their vocabulary about blindness as we take a journey together to explore just what it means for blind kids to be "in the driver's seat."
Our journey begins on Saturday, July 2, and ends on Friday, July 8. The NOPBC has events scheduled the first five of those days and on the last two days, Thursday and Friday, we continue our journey in learning about blindness as we watch Dr. Marc Maurer and other blind leaders lead discussions about technology, legislation, and other matters of a critical importance to the future of our blind children. As usual, the NOPBC will also announce the big winner of our 50/50 raffle on banquet night (Thursday), and we will participate in the discussions and reports about the year's progress on Friday, the final day of the convention.
So, to help you plan your trip, here's a brief description and schedule –a map, if you will–of the NOPBC-sponsored convention events:
SATURDAY, JULY 2
On Saturday, July 2, the NOPBC kicks off the convention with a full day of activities for the entire family. The day's events (all of which take place in the Galt House Hotel) include:
Workshop choices include:
1. Traveling Solo: Focus on the School Years. When, where, and how should blind and partially sighted kids start traveling by themselves?
2. Exploration: Focus on the Early Years, Ages 0-8. When is the trip, not the destination, the goal of movement and travel?
3. Braille: The Passport to the World, two sessions; one for novice parents called: Beginning Braille for Parents; and one for parents with advance knowledge about Braille called: Formatting and Producing Braille: What Every Parent and Teacher Should Know.
4. Cruising the Internet and Other Technology Travels. Two sessions of this workshop will be presented by the Indiana School for the Blind COGS Club and will include demonstrations of technology and questions and answers from a blind student panel.
5. Active Learning for the Blind, Multiply Disabled Child.
1. Puzzles, Brainteasers, and Fun Things to do with Math
2. Art is for Everyone
3. So, You Think You Would Like to Run a Meeting? –Microphone and speaker etiquette and techniques for aspiring blind speakers and leaders. (Space is limited in some of the sessions, so preregistration recommended.)
SUNDAY, JULY 3
MONDAY, JULY 4
TUESDAY, JULY 5
WEDNESDAY, JULY 6
NOPBC PREREGISTRATION
FEES: $35, two adults plus children. $15 one adult (no children). $25, one adult plus children. This fee includes a bag lunch hosted by NOPBC leaders in their East Tower Suites. It will also help defray the cost of workshop materials. v
REQUEST FORMS FROM:
We will send 2005 NOPBC Preregistration packet information by mail, fax, or email. When you make a request for a packet, please give us your name, a phone number, tell us where and how to send you the packet, and tell us if you are a parent of a blind child, a family member, a teacher, a blind adult, etc. You may contact us at:
NOPBC
1800 Johnson Street
Baltimore, Maryland 21230
Email: bcheadle@nfb.org or khartsgrove@nfb.org
Fax: (410) 659-5129
Phone: (410) 659-9314, extension 2360 or 2361
(You are invited to leave your request with your name and address if you get a voice mail message. Please be sure to also leave a phone number so we can call you back if we have any questions about the spelling of your name, etc.).
Information and a preregistration form will also be available on the NOPBC Web page at <http://nfb.org/nopbc.htm>. Sorry, we cannot take credit cards.
MAIL CHECKS AND COMPLETED PREREGISTRATION FORMS TO:
Sandy Taboada, NOPBC Treasurer
6960 South Fieldgate Court
Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70808-5455
Email: smerchant@vetmed.lsu.edu
by Aaron Richmond
[PHOTO Aaron Richmond]
Aaron Richmond
Editor's Note: Should parents bring their kids to the convention, or leave them at home? That's a common question families ask me when they are considering coming to their first NFB convention. I always tell them that, in regard to babies and younger kids, it all depends upon individual preference and family circumstances. However, there are lots of reasons that families should bring their older blind youngsters-and sighted siblings, for that matter-to convention. Aaron Richmond of Maryland outlines some of those reasons in the following essay about his 2003 convention experience. Aaron was about ten-years-old at the time. Here's what he says:
If you had gone to the NFB National Convention in Louisville, Kentucky, you would have had a fun and exciting time. You would have been able to stay in the Galt Hotel, a very nice and very beautiful two-tower hotel. Besides all of this, you would have been able to see and do many things. In the Braille Carnival, there were games and prizes galore. If you had attended the note-taking class (as I did) you would have learned all about the history and progression of the world of technology, as well as how to be a better note-taker. If you had attended the Astronomy Workshop you could have made a model of our solar system and discovered how far the earth is from the moon by looking at your model. I got to see photographs from the book, Touch the Universe. It is a really great book that has raised pictures from the Hubble Space Telescope. The Sensory Safari was very cool. I got to touch a lot of creatures [stuffed animals] from all parts of the United States and Africa. Two animals that I remember are the squirrel and the warthog. The squirrel was fluffy on the body and fuzzy on the tail. The warthog had rough, pinkish-gray skin, and very stiff ears shaped like Trembling Aspen leaves. These are some of the wonderful things that you could have done if you had gone to the national convention located in Louisville, Kentucky.
For leisure time, I did many exciting things. One activity my Mom took me to was the Greek festival. There, I got to try pastries, salads, pies, and smoothies. My Mom, Mrs. Herstein, Mrs. Watson, Mr. Al Maneki, Jessica Watson, Amy Herstein, and I all went together to dinner after the festival. I had delicious rainbow trout and iced tea. Based on the effects of the iced tea, we all told countless jokes that never seemed to end. The next day I found more great stuff to do at the exhibit hall. But the coolest thing that I did was to play computerized UNO. The thing was, if you did something exciting, like play a crazy eight card, it made a sound everybody could hear.
With the workshops and all the fun things I did at this convention, I will never forget it all.
[Note: Maneki is one of the blind leaders of the Federation in Maryland. The Watson's and Herstein's are parents, and Amy and Jessica are blind teens.]
*******************
Kerri Regan's Jeopardy! Debut
by Anna Cheadle
[PHOTO Kerry Reagan (2003)]
Kerri Regan picks up some Braille books at the 2003 NFB Convention Braille book flea market.
Seventeen-year-old Kerri Regan was the picture of poise at her Jeopardy! debut, January 27, 2005, (filmed in October, 2004). She answered questions (that is, questioned answers) confidently; she chatted with Alex charmingly. She even knocked off a Daily Double with hardly a second thought.
The game of Jeopardy! is all about not having second thoughts. Ask Kerri, she'll tell you. Once the cameras are rolling and the fingers are poised, you have to act before you even know the answer. It requires a certain amount of faith that when the moment comes, you will be up to the challenge, and that if you're not, you've got the resiliency to bounce back. Your first thought never even has a chance, if your second thought gets in the way.
The blind know the power of not thinking twice; not thinking twice is assumption in action. There was a time when an employer assumed, without a second thought, that a blind person was unemployable. These days, employers do think twice. They stop themselves. They worry about what is PC, and wonder if they can ask a candidate how they will be able to find the bathroom during the work day. This kind of thinking twice is useful only in transit, so to speak. While thinking twice is better than assumed inequality, it is not nearly so worthy a goal as assumed equality. The ultimate goal is to have equality at first thought.
So it is with a child learning the skills of blindness. There is a place for second thoughts; there is a time to consider one's abilities and rethink what is possible. But the time for this thinking and rethinking is during routine, not at the brink of opportunity. Your child should never reduce a genuine possibility to a passing thought because he or she lacks confidence in the skills of blindness.
This principle is manifest in Kerri Regan's Jeopardy! experience. After watching Jeopardy! with her for several years, Kerri Regan's aunt and grandmother stated the obvious. "Kerri, you're really good at this. You should go on the show." When Kerri needed to use the Internet to sign up for try-outs, it was no problem. She didn't give it a second thought, as it should be. Since the test was completely top-secret, they couldn't have it Brailled. But no problem, don't give it a second thought: Regan had her dad read the questions while she answered. After Kerri had made the top 9 in the region, she received a phone call from Jeopardy! asking what accommodations she would need, if she happened to be chosen as a finalist. Well, no toughie there, Kerri hardly gave it a second thought. She would need a sheet with Brailled category titles, and the option to use her BrailleNote for Final Jeopardy. Kerri's years of Braille training (including one infamous summer when she read 22 books) prepared her not to have to think twice when opportunities were thrown her way. What accommodation would she need? She would need to read the categories–just like all the contestants–and she would need to write her Final Jeopardy answer–just like all the contestants. What does a blind person need to read and write? Braille. Simple as that.
A month went by before Kerri heard anything more. Finally, in September the call came. It was Jeopardy! and they wanted Kerri– they wanted her next month! Kerri, faced with having to travel across the country to Los Angeles, one of the biggest, busiest cities in the nation, didn't give it a second thought. She had traveled before, like to NFB conventions in Dallas, Chicago, Charlotte, and Louisville. Though she did not know what LA had in store, Kerri's extensive mobility training, practice, and willingness to try new things enabled her to act with a certain amount of faith. When the moment came, she'd be up for it, and she didn't have to think twice to say, "Yes."
The problem with thinking twice is that it expands. Second thoughts become third thoughts–fourth, and fifth thoughts. Before you know it, the mind is filled with thoughts and the will is left with nothing. Opportunities move much faster than these thoughts. Indeed, the only way to keep pace is to have faith in one's abilities.
For Kerri, like most children and young adults, that faith begins with encouragement at home. Though she credits "just watching TV and soaking up a lot of useless trivia" as part of her success on the show, there is more to it. It was Regan's aunt and grandmother who first suggested she go on the show, but she also watched regularly with her mom. And her brother. Oh–and in the weeks leading up to her appearance, her father would call her from his job as a firefighter and go through the day's trivia questions with her. Her Braille teacher of 13 years, Judi Ross, was so proud when she heard Kerri was to be on Jeopardy! that she immediately emailed her teacher listserv with the news. This kind of diversified and continuous encouragement leads to don't-think-twice confidence.
This network of support goes far beyond a half hour daily trivia session (though the value of half an hour every day practicing anything is not to be underestimated). Regan can at least partially attribute her success to continual involvement in organizations that provide resources and networks of support. Involvement is a family trait: Kerri's mother was instrumental in the development of the NFB Long Island Parents Division. So when Kerri went on Jeopardy!, she had not only the faithful eyes of her family watching, but also the NFB, the Guide Dog Foundation, and Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic (RFB&D). Kerri uses resources from these organizations as well as the National Library Service every day to minimize blindness to the level of a physical nuisance.
Indeed, Kerri has never made a big fuss out of her blindness, an action that by its very nature is a demand for equality. When the school year starts out with an autobiography exercise, points out Kerri's Braille teacher Judi Ross, Kerri mentions that she loves to read, likes trivia, and sings in the choir–but not that she's blind. By dealing with such exercises in this way, Kerri doesn't let blindness define her. As Ross says, "[to Kerri] it's just like being tall or having brown hair."
"There might be some people out there watching who thought, 'Wow, I could never be on Jeopardy!' But you can. You just have to go out there and try new things. Work on your mobility skills and your reading, especially, and you can do anything you want," Regan told me.
Kerri lives these words and takes challenges in stride. When her AP Government textbook failed to be Brailled this year, she relied on self-advocacy skills she learned through her teacher, Judi Ross, her parents, and her NFB involvement. Thinking quickly and creatively, Kerri capitalized on her classmates' need for community service hours. She asked Honor
Society members to volunteer to record chapters of the textbook on tape. The hours counted toward their Honor Society memberships and Kerri could read her text independently. It was truly a win-win situation, with some peer education about blindness thrown in for good measure.
The benchmark of independence is the freedom and will to take advantage of opportunities without thinking twice. This independence might not take your child to Jeopardy!, but it should take them somewhere they are excited about going. Kerri says, "It is so important for parents to encourage their kids to do whatever they want." A good education in the skills of blindness can make this "doing" possible. Such an education lets the child's strengths flourish, like Kerri's penchant for "soaking up trivia." It's not that Kerri's good education got her on to Jeopardy!, but rather, it let her build strengths and pursue interests without blindness stopping her to think twice.
************
by Judi Ross
Reprinted from the D.V.I. Quarterly, Spring 2003, Volume 48, Number 3.
Editor's Note: This is, for reasons that will soon be obvious, a companion article to the preceding one about Kerri Regan's debut on Jeopardy. In this interview conducted two years ago, Judi Ross, a teacher of the visually impaired (TVI) from Long Island, New York, sheds more light on the background that helped Kerri develop the skills and confidence to make a successful bid to get on the Jeopardy! show. Here is what Ms. Ross says:
The following interview took place between Kerri R and me. I have been Kerri's itinerant teacher for several years. Kerri is a young lady who is totally blind. She has been integrated in mainstream classes since preschool and is now a sophomore in high school enrolled in college preparatory classes. I would like to share Kerri's thoughts with other teacher's of the visually impaired (TVIs) or with those preparing to be TVIs, in the hope that knowing her views will help us all to better serve our students:
TVI: What is the toughest part of school for you?
Kerri: It's hard to get to know many people in a big school. Trying to keep up with all the work and different subjects is hard. Content is difficult if it involves graphing or diagrams to read or create. It's also hard to remember so much.
TVI: What is the easiest part of school for you?
Kerri: Lunch, because there is no work to do!
TVI: What is your most difficult subject?
Kerri: Math, because there is so much to memorize. Teachers have so many different approaches. It's hard to figure out what they mean. There are so many diagrams and things are arranged in different ways. They do so much work on the board and they don't explain how things are supposed to be written and lined up.
TVI: What is your easiest subject?
Kerri: Anything that has just reading, like English or history. It is much easier to follow along.
TVI: How has the role of the itinerant teacher changed since you started school?
Kerri: When I started school my TVI had to teach me how to read and write and learn practically everything. Now she does more transcribing so I can have my materials ready for me when my classroom teachers use them.
TVI: What problems do you identify that teachers may overlook?
Kerri: Some TVIs focus too much on adaptive skills and not enough on academic skills. As a student, I am trying to keep up with my classmates and getting my work done. In high school, I get homework in every subject and I really want to understand what my teachers are going to test me on. Classroom teachers don't realize how important it is to get work [teacher prepared materials] in on time [to the TVI] so it can be Brailled. When teachers give notes or oral quizzes they move very fast. Sometimes it takes longer to Braille answers and I have trouble keeping pace. They often fail to describe what they are writing on the board. It could help if they gave a copy of their notes to my TVI so she could have diagrams ready for me and then I could refer to them in class. Classroom teachers should explain their routines, like how they inform students of homework assignments.
TVI: How does the TVI help you?
Kerri: When I was younger my TVI taught me how to read and write Braille, keyboarding and computer skills, and how to use a calculator. Now she helps me understand difficult subjects and solve problems in school. She is a liaison between me and the staff in my high school including teachers and administrators.
TVI: How does the TVI hinder you?
Kerri: A student can become too dependent on the support. It is easy to get lazy. It is important for me to learn to advocate for myself.
TVI: Do you prefer having the same TVI or would you prefer frequent changes?
Kerri: It is hard for a kid to get bounced around from teacher to teacher. They have different styles and methods. Lots of time is wasted getting to know what each other knows. When your TVI knows what you can do, she can help you explain it to the classroom teachers. Otherwise it takes a while to get them to understand that a blind kid can do the work they assign.
TVI: In your opinion, what are the three most important qualities of a good TVI?
Kerri: First they should be very creative. They need to come up with solutions to solving problems, making manipulatives, and describing unusual material. Second, they should be flexible. They need to be open to different styles of learning and different styles of teaching. Third, they need to be patient. It can take awhile for students to pick things up. Sometimes they must do things over and over.
TVI: What kind of work environment do you prefer?
Kerri: Both push-in and pull-out have advantages and disadvantages. Pull-out is hard because you are always concerned about what you are missing. Push-in may help teachers and other students learn about alternative methods. However, it may be hard to concentrate on work when two teachers are teaching. The ideal is to pull students out during minor subjects or free time, but it isn't good to extend the school day because then students miss out on extra-curricular or social opportunities.
TVI: List the three most important skills you learned.
Kerri: Reading, writing, and computer skills. I'm glad I had the basics of reading and writing Braille as early as kindergarten, when my classmates were also learning the same things. You must know how to read. It opens so many doors. I started keyboarding as early as my little fingers would reach on the keyboard. That was in first grade. Knowing all these things early helped me focus on subjects and content.
TVI: What specific skills does your TVI need?
Kerri: She needs proficient Braille skills. I now read literary, math, music, foreign language, and chemistry Braille. She also has to be up-to-date in technology. This makes it possible for her to teach her student as well as transcribe Braille more quickly and accurately. It also is important for her to have knowledge of the subjects. She should at least know the basics of the subjects I am studying to be able to explain things. She needs to be resourceful so she will know where to get information.
TVI: What are some qualities of your present TVI that you like?
Kerri: I like that we have been together for a long time. We know each other well and she makes me do things for myself. She is very patient and persistent. We go over things again and again until I learn them. She tries to get everything for me in Braille so I can participate in class just like everyone else. She is very well prepared.
TVI: What are some qualities of your present TVI that you dislike?
Kerri: It gets boring when we do things over and over. She gives me so much individual attention that she won't let me goof off or give up. Sometimes I just don't feel like doing my best but she keeps at me.
TVI: How important is it for your TVI to have knowledge of the subjects you are studying?
Kerri: Very! Teachers don't always know how to explain things to a blind person. It can be especially helpful in my weakest or special areas including math, science, music, and foreign language.
TVI: What are some of the biggest problems you encounter?
Kerri: Teachers getting their work [hand-out materials] in on time so it can be Brailled for me, and teachers who have no idea how to work with a blind student. They can't just write on the board.
TVI: What frustrates you the most?
Kerri: Not having my books and therefore not being able to follow along. People think it's okay to just read things to me but then I don't get to see the spelling or grammar and I have to remember so much.
TVI: What do you want TVIs to know about working with a blind child in a mainstream classroom?
Kerri: They should try to be as invisible as possible to the other kids. It is hard to be labeled as one who needs special help. Don't pull students out of class or especially lunch. Kids must socialize and we need time to relax during the day. Make sure to tell teachers to plan ahead so they can get the work [their hand-out materials] in on time so I can get it in Braille when the other kids get their copies in print. PLEASE!
TVI: What gives you the greatest satisfaction?
Kerri: Doing the same things everyone else does. I have achieved honor roll and plan to go to college to pursue a career that involves writing.
************
Beyond Textbooks on Time:
Is the Battle for Braille Literacy Over?
by Mark Riccobono
[PHOTO Mark Riccobono (2004)]
Mark Riccobono
In the September 1987, issue of the Braille Monitor, Dr. Kenneth Jernigan, preeminent leader of the blind and advocate for Braille literacy, responded to a letter which suggested that technology would bring a certain end to the Braille code. Dr. Jernigan wrote in part:
"So it may be with Braille–but the jury is still out. As is so often the case, we stand at a crossroads. Braille can either slide into oblivion, or it can become more usable and flexible than ever before in history. The decision is ours, and the time is now. I think the question will be settled during the next five to ten years. For my part I think it will be a tragedy if we permit Braille to become an anachronism. I say this knowing that many of the sighted educators of blind children (not being able to use Braille themselves, being too lazy to learn it, and having all kinds of psychological hangups about it) want to see it disappear–or, at the very least, diminish very greatly in use and importance. They are not the ones primarily affected. We are. Therefore, we are the ones who should have the major voice in determining what will happen."
Dr. Jernigan's sentiments may be considered harsh if measured against the feelings toward Braille in the field of blindness today. However, they are an accurate reflection of the frustration the blind and many parents of blind children of the 1980s felt about the lack of quality Braille instruction available to blind youth. And, the blind did indeed determine what should happen to Braille within the ten-year period Dr. Jernigan predicted.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the National Federation of the Blind waged what can only be described as an all-out assault on Braille illiteracy. The Federation's war for Braille literacy had four major components:
1. Ensuring the right of every blind child to read and write at levels commensurate with their sighted peers through the establishment of Braille as the default learning-medium for blind and visually impaired students.
2. Establishing a greater level of Braille competency among the teachers charged with educating blind children.
3. Educating the public about the Braille literacy crisis.
4. Ensuring the timely delivery of textbooks in Braille by encouraging publishers to participate in the process of textbook accessibility.
In looking at this list, can we say the war for Braille literacy is over? Have we reached our objectives? Can we now sit back and enjoy the fruit of our success? Let's briefly examine each point.
The Right to Braille Instruction: The Federation began to bring national focus to the Braille literacy crisis in the late 1980s. In 1989, the Federation proposed a unified effort within the field of blindness regarding Braille at the first meeting of the Committee on Joint Organizational Effort (JOE) held at the National Center for the Blind. Unfortunately, despite the promulgation of an initial statement, crafted at the JOE meeting, which affirmed the value of Braille and the right of blind children to have it, disagreement and contention around Braille persisted into the 1990s. While efforts continued toward getting an agreement that all members of the JOE could support, the federation proceeded to create a model Braille bill and urged its adoption in each state. (To read the model legislation go to <http://www.nfb.org/modelbrl1.htm>.) Although much progress was made–32 states eventually adopted Braille legislation–it was evident that more aggressive action at the federal level was required.
At the 1994 NFB Washington seminar, the Federation made a federal Braille literacy law one of the key objectives in its legislative agenda. The vehicle for the legislation was the reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). While the premise was simple–every child has a fundamental right to literacy–the road to establishing this for blind children was difficult. However, in April of 1994, the organizations participating in the JOE committee finally reached an agreement on language that demonstrated a unified front in the field of blindness around the right to Braille literacy.
Eventually, the Braille provisions were included in the 1997 amendments to IDEA and victory on this point seemed secured. The intent of the IDEA language was to make Braille the default learning-medium for any student who is blind or visually impaired, ensuring that Braille will be taught unless an evaluation by the IEP team determines that Braille is not appropriate. Implementation was, and continues to be, another matter. However, in the final analysis one thing is clear: Braille is firmly planted in IDEA '97 and there is no need for debate about Braille instruction. It is in the law, it is the right thing to do, and there are fewer and fewer excuses for not providing Braille instruction.
Teacher Competency: Central to the discussion about Braille literacy was a growing concern about the level of Braille competency among educators of blind children. As the issue was debated and solutions sought, interest began to grow in establishing a national Braille competency exam. The JOE committee endorsed the concept and requested that the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped of the Library of Congress develop it and establish procedures for its administration. The national Braille competency requirement was met with vigorous opposition in many states. Nevertheless, the action brought results in other ways. Many of the university programs that prepare individuals to be teachers of blind students increased their focus on Braille competency and aggressively took steps to promote more positive attitudes about Braille in their students. While a number of issues have prevented wide spread adoption of the Braille competency exam (this is beyond the scope of the present article), the evidence demonstrates that these efforts triggered considerable momentum for raising the bar for Braille competency among educators.
Public Education: The Federation took an aggressive and creative approach toward educating the public, including the field of blindness, about the critical role of Braille and the great barrier that illiteracy places on the blind. The Federation's efforts to raise awareness through speeches, conventions, distribution of literature, the development and dissemination of the video "That the Blind May Read," creation of the "Braille is Beautiful" curriculum, and the promotion of Braille legislation in every state brought considerable focus to the crisis and turned attitudes about Braille in a new and positive direction. To be sure, the establishment of the National Association to Promote the Use of Braille (NAPUB) and the National Organization of Parents of Blind Children's (NOPBC) twenty plus year history of offering the Braille Readers Are Leaders Program, also made significant contributions toward improving attitudes about Braille.
The strongest evidence of this attitudinal shift is the Braille enthusiasm that is prevalent in the field of blindness. The greater availability of free or affordable Braille storybooks, innovative programs like the American Foundation for the Blind's "Braille Bug," and the establishment of more and more contests focused on Braille competency, are all examples that Braille is more fervently supported than any other time in its rocky history.
Timely Textbooks: The effort to secure textbooks in an accessible format in a timely manner has consumed the bulk of the Braille literacy effort since the adoption of the IDEA '97 amendments. Finally, with the 2004 reauthorization of IDEA, the long fought-for provisions to ensure that textbooks are delivered on time have been put into the law. (The long road to ensuring "textbooks-on-time" is reviewed elsewhere in this issue.) While there are bound to be bumps during the implementation of these new provisions, we can say with confidence that one more significant barrier to Braille literacy has fallen thanks to the NFB and other supporters of the initiative within the field of blindness and the publishing industry. The excuse that it is too hard, too expensive, and takes too long to produce Braille books will soon be a thing of the past.
In this brief examination of our accomplishments in the Braille literacy efforts over the past twenty years, one is tempted to view Dr. Jernigan's letter of September 1987 as a foregone conclusion. However, the Braille literacy crisis was anything but predictable; it took concentrated effort to change the trends and bring us to where we are today. Yet, Dr. Jernigan had no doubt about our ability to achieve this end, he also wrote in his letter, "I have no doubt what we will decide and what we will do. Braille is not only here to stay but also in the early stages of a renaissance. I am convinced that by the time the twenty-first century is well under way, we will look back with a smile at those who said that Braille was finished." This statement is true but we are still left with the question, "Have we achieved our goals? Is the Braille literacy crisis over?"
I suggest that the toughest battle still lies ahead. The laws are clear, attitudes have shifted in favor of Braille (at least in the blindness field), but too many blind children in America are not receiving early, adequate Braille instruction. This is so despite the fact that recent research confirms that Braille literacy is critical for achievement and competitive employment. This is especially true for children whose residual vision is over-utilized and, thus, their potential is under-realized. In the 1990's, Dr. Ruby Ryles conducted groundbreaking research studies on Braille literacy. The studies led to the inescapable conclusion that "low-vision kids need to be taught Braille…" and that "early Braille education is crucial to literacy, and literacy is crucial to employment." ("New Research Study: Early Braille Education Vital in Establishing Lifelong Literacy," Future Reflections, volume 18, number 2, Summer/Fall, 1991.)
There is a significant gap between policy and practice related to the education of blind children. Few young blind children are receiving Braille instruction that is commensurate with the reading instruction that sighted peers receive. Isn't Braille literacy the same as reading, shouldn't the two be equal? Likewise, only very recent innovative efforts have begun to establish standards for Braille reading literacy skills. The goal of the No Child Left Behind act is to raise the bar of academic performance and establish accountability for performance for all children. Shouldn't we have a standard expectation for reading in Braille as we do in print? At least one state has made progress in this area. To learn more about California's innovative creation of Braille reading standards, go to <http://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/se/as/ab2326.asp>.
Yet, California is an exception, not a rule. There is a chronic struggle in local school districts throughout the country to get an appropriate frequency and amount of Braille instruction into the individual education plan (IEP), and then to ensure that the instruction is carried out. Many problems and circumstances–a lack of qualified teachers of blind students, a lack of understanding about Braille, and a long list of core and expanded-core curricular skills to be learned–make the effort to receive appropriate Braille literacy instruction a constant balancing act.
Which is all the more reason we must begin to bring focus to the practical problem of getting timely Braille instruction to blind youth. Braille instruction need not be spread over many years if we find a way to provide an appropriate level at the front end. Advocates, parents, and educators need to come together to find an innovative solution to this puzzling problem. We have been successful in establishing the policies to ensure that need "could" be met. Now we need to develop the practice that will guarantee the need "will" be met. The excitement over our recent victory with IDEA 2004 should be channeled into a collective effort to develop innovative ways of increasing and improving the quantity and quality of Braille instruction to blind youth. As the capacity to deliver textbooks on time is put into place, we need to ensure that blind youth can read those textbooks with fluency, comprehension, and speed.
How can we increase Braille instruction in schools? How can we better prepare parents to reinforce Braille skills at home? What role can Braille advocates and blind, Braille literate adults play in improving instruction? How do we go beyond policy into effective practices with the resources available to us? These are all questions that need answers, now.
The National Federation of the Blind Jernigan Institute intends to be at the forefront of developing practical solutions to these questions, and we invite you to participate in that discussion. We recognize that pockets of innovation, as evidenced by the California standards, exist across the country. The first step to developing a nationwide solution is to stop reinventing the wheel, that is, to bring all of the innovative strategies to a central place. When we have a good picture of the approaches that are working, we can craft a model to disseminate across the country. This is the leadership role of the NFB Jernigan Institute.
We encourage you to send us articles, reports, descriptions, curriculums, and other materials about innovative and effective models for delivering Braille instruction and increasing early Braille literacy. Once we have this information, we can bring together leaders in the field to discuss the strengths and weaknesses in current approaches to Braille instruction in order to stimulate development of a national model for Braille excellence. This model will leverage the policy and attitude shifts we have brought about and will help bring Braille to children earlier and more effectively. No, the Braille literacy campaign is not coming to an end. In many ways the most important stretch awaits us. We can feel confident that another of Dr. Jernigan's dreams, the research and training institute he challenged us to establish before his death, will lead the way in completing the final steps of this important journey. Through the NFB Jernigan Institute, and with your help, the day is coming when no blind child will be left unable to read the Braille books that await him or her on the first day of school. v
Please send materials, descriptions, and first hand stories about innovative models for Braille instruction and early Braille literacy to:
Mark A. Riccobono
Manager of Education Programs
Jernigan Institute
National Federation of the Blind
1800 Johnson Street
Baltimore, Maryland 21230
Phone: (410) 659-9314, extension 2368
Email: mriccobono@nfb.org
Parent Support Groups Fill A Void
by Donna Labarre
[PHOTO Scott Labarre (2004)]
Scott Labarre chairs the annual meeting of the Blind Lawyers Division of the NFB.
Editor's Note: Several years ago, Donna Labarre, mother of a successful blind attorney, gave a speech about the benefits of a parent's organization–and why she wishes one had been around for her when her blind son, Scott, was growing up. Today, of course, we have the National Organization of Parents of Blind Children (NOPBC) with formal parent divisions in over two-dozen states and informal parent networks throughout all regions. Our means of contact for support includes the Internet in addition to face-to-face meetings and the telephone. However, to gain the benefits of this support, families have to reach out for it, make time for it, and give back as well take. With so many things competing for our time and attention, families naturally have to ask: is it worth it? Here is what Donna Labarre has to say about her experiences in raising a blind son, the value of parent support groups, and, in particular, the value of the National Federation of the Blind:
Good Morning Everyone! When I was first asked if I would speak here today, my immediate impulse was to say "No way! Not me. I'm not the speaker in the Labarre family!" For those of you here who know my son Scott, you are very aware that he is never at a loss for words. (I still believe he was born with a microphone in his mouth.) But, when Judy Sanders informed me that the main topic was the forming of a parent support group, I decided to say yes. I think a parent support group will fulfill a very important void. When Judy called and asked me for a title, (I hadn't started my speech yet) she helped me with one. But, now that the speech is written, I would like to change my title to: Who Could We (as Parents) Share This With?
The federal law to mainstream disabled students was passed in 1975 [now called the IDEA]. Our son Scott went totally blind, at age ten, in 1978. This law meant to our family that we were eligible for many programs that helped Scott stay in a normal classroom system as he adapted to his blindness and throughout his whole education process. These services included teachers of the visually impaired, mobility teachers, physical education teachers, and an evaluation plan to monitor the progress of the student. (It boggles my mind to think of what a blind student had to go through before that law was passed.)
Right after Scott became blind, something became apparent to my husband and me. We had professional people, such as counselors and teachers, that could answer and help find solutions to questions regarding Scott's educational needs, but where and who could we turn to when we had questions regarding personal and social needs? You can imagine our fears about what kind of future our son would have. Our family never knew any blind people before this happened to us. Who could we (as parents) share this with?
As many of you know, through ignorance and lack of information, society can be cruel. Scott was the first disabled student to be mainstreamed at his school. He was sighted during his first four grades, so it was a hard adjustment for everyone. After he became blind, one of Scott's teachers started assigning a fellow student to take him out at recess. Parents called me at home stating that they didn't feel that their child should have to do this because it interfered with their child's life. Some of the students became very jealous from all the attention that Scott was getting. He had his own special teacher and equipment. In a way I could understand their concerns, but I really felt hurt and isolated. Who could we (as parents) share this with?
The first summer after Scott went blind, we were told that it might be a good idea to enroll him at the Faribault School for the Blind for the summer program. The rational was that the summer class would help him keep his Braille lessons up, give him a chance to learn new skills, and give him experience being around other blind kids. We did not know that much about the school or any of the blind students, but we decided to send him anyway. Many of the students went to the school year-round, most were blind from birth, and all of them were pretty well-adapted to their blindness. On the other hand, Scott was newly blinded, had very little training in blindness skills of any kind, and he didn't know any of the other students. He ended up feeling alone and isolated from his fellow students at the school. All in all, that summer wasn't quite the experience we all had hoped for. Who could we (as parents) share this with?
For many years our family and five other families would go to a resort on a lake for one week in the summer. We all had a wonderful time and the children had many things to do. After Scott went blind, things completely changed. Scott was now "different" from the others, and was left alone most of the time. He couldn't play the jukebox, play pool, or do the fun things with them any more. He just couldn't keep up with them. These were friends that knew us so well, but they didn't understand. Who could we (as parents) share this with?
Finally, through his teacher of the visually impaired, Scott was able to meet other blind kids. The teacher, under law, could not give a list of names and numbers out, but could introduce Scott to other blind students. Through this method, once in a while, I was able to talk to a parent of a blind child. When I did, I had a lot of questions and got some very good tips and some support. The only problem was that this didn't happen very often.
Thankfully, there were different opportunities of which Scott was able to take advantage. He ordered a lot of talking books from the Faribault Library. That was a wonderful service. At first, this service mainly served for passing the time as he adjusted. But after awhile, Scott really began to enjoy reading. This has turned out to be a wonderful asset to him.
Through Courage Center, Scott was introduced to the world of ham radio. They sent volunteers to the house and trained him until he received his license. Scott met many blind and sighted people interested in ham radio, and he attended many different camps at Camp Courage.
When Scott was in high school he went through a summer work experience program that was very helpful in preparing him for college. He not only received training on how to hire readers, but other skills necessary for being away from home. The greatest opportunity of all, however, was when he became acquainted with the National Federation of the Blind (NFB).
Academically, Scott did very well in high school. During his senior year he applied to and was accepted at St. John's University in Collegeville. He also applied for different college scholarships, and one was from the NFB. The NFB scholarship procedure is very unique. If an applicant is selected to receive a scholarship, the NFB pays for the applicant to attend the NFB annual convention held during the summer. At the convention, the competition process continues over several days of interviews and screening. There are many awards of different value. If I remember correctly, the scholarship amounts that year ranged from $1,800 to the top award of $10,000.
Scott's application was accepted, and in July we took him to the airport to fly to Kansas City where the convention was being held. As we began to say goodbye and wish him well, his words to us were "Don't be too surprised, but I'm going to win the biggest scholarship." He was very optimistic! It was just a coincidence, but the final decision was announced at the banquet, which happened to be held on Scott's birthday. We received a phone call that evening and Scott informed us he didn't win the big one but he did win the second biggest one, a $4,000 scholarship. The money was greatly appreciated for his first year at college.
But in reality, it wasn't the monetary prize that Scott received that summer from the NFB that became so beneficial to his life. He was so impressed with what he saw and learned at the convention that he decided to join the organization immediately. The many different blind people he met became positive role models for him. He started believing in himself, and the NFB gave him a whole new outlook on his blindness. Then he got active in the NFB. First, he became a member of the Minnesota Chapter of the NFB Student Division, then became the president of the Minnesota Chapter of the NFB Student Division, and then became the president of the National Federation of the Blind Student Division. [Today, he is the president of the National Association of Blind Lawyers, a division of the NFB.]
Scott hasn't missed the NFB's national convention since he received the scholarship that summer. (The convention always happens to fall around his birthday every year; this has saved us a lot of birthday gifts.)
Scott graduated "magna cum laude" from St. John's University and went on to attend law school at the University of Minnesota, where he made the dean's list. He is currently employed [in his own law practice, is married, and has two beautiful children.] You can imagine how very proud we are of him. He has come a long way from the time that he went blind at age ten.
We are very fortunate to live in a country where programs are available that help prepare our children to accomplish their goals and achieve the future they desire. I realize that many people and organizations (especially the National Federation of the Blind) have paved the way and have worked very hard for these laws, services, and programs; and I am very thankful for that.
But, as you can see from the experiences I have mentioned, there was a void for us as our son adapted to his blindness. Not the void of educational programs or services, but the void of support from other parents. I have since discovered that a lot of parents of adult blind children were as anxious as I was to talk about their experiences when their children were growing up. How nice it is to be able to share with other parents, in a large or small way, the things that can be so helpful in everyday life.
That's why I think, even though my son is grown, that it is essential to support the NFB in getting parent support groups started. A parent support group would have been a wonderful program for my husband and me when our son went blind, and would have answered the question, Who could we (as parents) share this with? Thank you.
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by Barbara Cheadle, President
National Organization of Parents of Blind Children (NOPBC)
The NOPBC is pleased to announce that the delightful book, A Girl's Best Friend, (ages 8-12) by award-winning author, Harriet May Savitz, has been reissued and is, once again, available for sale online at <www.iuniverse.com/>. An original Apple Paperback/Scholastic Books, A Girl's Best Friend is an engaging book with a realistic blind character. For that alone, I am happy to see it back.
But I have another reason to be glad: the author has arranged for a portion of the proceeds from the reissued book to be donated to the National Organization of Parents of Blind Children, a Division of the National Federation of the Blind. What a deal! With one purchase, you can give an entertaining gift, educate a child about blindness, and help fund the work of the NOPBC. Personally, I plan to buy several copies as gifts for my niece and nephews and other special children in my life.
In regard to alternative formats, the book has been Brailled and tape-recorded by the Library of Congress, Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped system. Copies, therefore, should still be available through your regional library for the blind. However, my library had the title listed as Girl's Best Friend, but it was the same book.
Here is an excerpt of a description of the book written by Peggy Chong who reviewed the book in 1997 for Future Reflections and the Minnesota Bulletin:
"…The story centers on Laurie, a 12-year-old blind girl and her dog. No, not her guide dog, the family dog, who is getting old and may have to be put to sleep. Laurie is normal 12-year-old, with all the problems, hopes, and dreams of any child that age…Laurie uses a white cane, writes letters to her grandmother (with her slate and stylus), roller skates, and walks her dog just like the other kids in her neighborhood. She also has problems in her new school with a substitute teacher who does not understand how to treat the blind student….The book shows how, for those who are blind, attitudes about blindness play an important part in the success of everything in life. Laurie has to work through her own attitudes about herself when others treat her differently because she is blind…I plan to give each of my nieces a copy of the book for Christmas. It will help the younger members of our family grow up with a better philosophy about blind people."
www.iuniverse.com
Title: A Girl's Best Friend
Price: $8.95
Size: 5X8
Pages: 114
ISBN: 0-595-33944-1
Published: December 2004
International orders: call 00-1-402-323-7800
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Finally, A Book to Help Parents of Disabled
by Helen Henderson
[PHOTO Deborah Kent Stein (2001)]
Deborah Kent Stein
Reprinted courtesy of Torstar Syndication Services from the Toronto Star, April 17, 2004.
Editor's Note: The book reviewed in the article below contains an essay by Debbie Stein (or Kent-Stein), a well-known author of children's book who happens to be blind. The essay is based upon a speech Ms. Stein gave to parents of blind children at a National Federation of the Blind sponsored workshop. As a representative of the NFB of Illinois, Ms. Stein does extensive volunteer and advocacy work with parents of blind children in her community. Here is the review:
What will happen when my child grows up? Will she be happy? Will he have friends? Will he be able to achieve his dreams? What can I as a parent do to give her the best chance in life? Most moms and dads, even first-timers, need only look at the experience of friends and neighbors for ideas on the future. But the parents of children with disabilities usually have no such yardsticks.
They've probably been overwhelmed with a bunch of medical prognoses, which may or may not shed any real light on what to expect. Their kids have been labeled "different." A lot of their time and energy will be consumed in trying to get society to see beyond the disabilities to the abilities they know are there. They could use the advice of someone who's traveled ahead of them, but don't know where to begin to look.
Well, this week I met a whole army of bright, wonderful grown-ups more than willing to help. They jumped off the pages of a new book: Reflections From A Different Journey: What Adults With Disabilities Want All Parents to Know, edited by Stanley D. Klein, Ph.D., and John D. Kemp (McGraw-Hill Ryerson, $27.95).
They cope with all manner of disabilities, physical and mental. And their stories make up a joyous, life-affirming guide to possibilities. As actor Marlee Matlin puts it in the introduction: "They are not people who have 'overcome' their disabilities. Rather, they have overcome the prejudices of society that all too often stereotype people with disabilities in destructive ways....
"With the love and support of their parents, they were not imprisoned by dire prognoses. Instead, they were encouraged to dream, to try, to make mistakes, to be active participants in the life of their families and communities, and to reject the limitations suggested by scientific and clinical stereotypes."
Matlin herself continues to work as a successful actor, despite being told at age 21 that she had been given an Academy Award for her role in the film Children of a Lesser God only out of pity because she is deaf. "Our essay writers are relatively ordinary, accomplished individuals; they are not superstars," she notes. "All too often, the media focus on the relatively few individuals who happen to have disabilities who do extraordinary things. The result is a different kind of prejudice: people with disabilities are to be superstars."
The contributors to the book come from all over the world, including Canada. Many speak of their appreciation for parents who provided unconditional love and accepted them as whole people including that part of them considered a disability.
Among these is Gregor Wolbring, whose physical self was shaped in the womb by the drug thalidomide. "The public perception was that parents of thalidomiders had it very hard because their kids were indeed seen as monsters," writes Wolbring, a biochemist at the University of Calgary, an adjunct professor of bioethics and a vocal advocate for disability rights.
Thanks to his parents' love and acceptance, "I developed high self-esteem and was able to become comfortable with my non-mainstream body and with who I am," he says. "I never felt ashamed about crawling. For me, it was and still is my Natural way of moving.... I never saw myself as defective. My parents always helped me to look at the bigger picture. They made me aware that I was not the only one bullies would target. They enabled me to cope with the bad treatment I sometimes received."
In the chapter on sexuality, Anne Abbott, a Toronto writer and graphic artist, writes: "I felt terribly confused and inadequate during my teenage years. Unwittingly, my mother added to those feelings by (telling)...me to try not to become romantically interested in able-bodied boys because they would never want the responsibility of taking care of someone with cerebral palsy.... My mother wasn't trying to hurt me; she just wanted to save me from rejection."
Abbott, who does not speak, says she was indeed "rejected by both able-bodied boys and boys with disabilities." Finally, at age 29, when "I was resigned that I would die an old maid, a virgin forever, without a mate," she met Rob, an able-bodied man who saw beyond her disability. They have been married for seven years.
"Rob has taught me that if you want something badly enough, one day you just might get it," she writes. "Just never give up hope or be afraid to take chances."
Then there's Ross Flood, who has cerebral palsy and whose essay begins the book. Flood's parents were told he would be a vegetable. He was placed in a sheltered workshop, labeled "unemployable" and turfed out. Then, his dad encouraged him to start writing about rugby. Today, at 51, he has a B.A. in sociology from Auckland University, works as a copywriter and is on New Zealand's Para Olympic bocce ball team. As he puts it: "I ain't done too badly for a cauliflower."
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Ways to Increase Independence
Tips from a Preschool O&M Instructor
by Sandra Stirnweis
Editor's Note: Ms. Stirnweis is an orientation and mobility specialist who has provided instruction to preschoolers since 1986. She works at the Foundation for Blind Children (FBC) in Phoenix, Arizona. The FBC was founded in 1952 by parents and, according to Stirnweis, "continues to be driven by parent and family input." Stirnweis has presented at a variety of conferences locally, nationally, and internationally. She can be contacted at <o-m@the-fbc.org>.
Use concrete directional language. Most people communicate through gestures and non-descript directional phrases such as "over there." You need to communicate with words the parts that others leave out because they assume it can be seen. For example, "As you go down the hallway, the drinking fountain is on the right, just past the second door."
Be descriptive. The more your child knows about the world, the more prepared, comfortable, and self-confident he will be. Talk about it. Describe the items located in the aisle you are shopping in. Tell them how the neighbors have decorated their homes for a particular holiday. Explain what people are wearing or how their hair is styled. Put names to the things you feel, touch, and smell. Make it a part of the "down-time" conversation in the same way you would people watch. For example, when you are in a fast food restaurant talk about the décor or what the latest fashions are while you're eating.
Show them the world is not one-dimensional. Whatever objects you have in your home, the child will think everyone has the same ones. Go to the local department or hardware store and explore the various kinds of stoves and refrigerators, or sinks and toilets. Go for a walk in the neighborhood and explore the different kinds of mailboxes, fences, walls, trees, and bushes.
Don't be too structured. Although organization is very important, in order to get along in life you have to be able to go with the flow from time to time. Vary the daily routine occasionally; do things on the spur of the moment, or change your plans. These simple things will help your child develop flexibility, be less egocentric, and become a better problem solver.
Be comfortable with the tools of the trade. Your child may have various tools (cane, magnifiers, absorptive lenses, etc.) to make them more effective and safe travelers. However, when they use those tools there is no mistaking to the general public that they have a vision problem. Do not let your own discomfort get in the way of your child's desire for, and comfort in, using these tools. Ask to borrow an old cane and walk the streets with it; try to locate a street sign with the monocular. You will not only increase your own comfort level but you will also have a better understanding of how the tools work and why your child uses them. If this continues to be difficult for you, talk to a counselor or a support group.
Attend lessons. You will not know what skills your child has, or what techniques he uses to travel, unless you are a part of the process. If it's not possible to attend lessons because of scheduling, ask for the lessons to be videotaped and set up a time when you can watch them with the instructor so she can explain to you what your child is doing. The more you know, the more comfortable you'll be.
Independence is not isolation. Being independent means being in control. When your child is independent, she will be able to decide what she can do for herself and what she needs help with. In the home, have her be a helper around the house. Share with her things that happened in your day when you needed help. Use peers and your own childhood as a guide for the types of things your child should be doing independently. Praise her when she learns a new skill and allow her the opportunity to use it on a regular basis. Mobility isn't just for lessons; it's for every day.
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by Judy Sanders
[PHOTO Judy Sanders (2004)]
Judy Sanders
Reprinted from the Summer 2003 issue of the Minnesota Bulletin, a publication of the NFB of Minnesota.
It all began when I was ten. It should have started a lot earlier but that's easy to say now.
When my parents discovered that their baby twins were blind they were devastated. What kind of future could they envision for their children? To find out, they began looking for blind adults from whom they could learn. They found two sources: a sheltered workshop that gave blind adults very limited opportunities for employment and a blind bowling league. They volunteered to drive people to the bowling alley. Unfortunately, they did not learn much about what the future could hold.
My parents were practical people; they realized the importance of allowing us to explore our environment. The first thing to go was the playpen. We were encouraged to move around the floor and see what we could find. I am told that I never crawled; I scooted everywhere.
It was later that they started investigating our choices for a good education. In the 1950's most blind children were educated at schools for the blind. We were given a good foundation in reading and writing Braille and in other academics; however, no attention was given to teaching us how to travel from place to place safely and independently; that is, until I was ten.
We learned about inside safety. Trailing the walls and holding our hands in front of our faces for protection from overhead objects was the first lesson. We all felt ridiculous hiding our faces so we never used this technique except during our lessons when we had no choice. To this day, I have not met a blind person who travels in this manner.
My first cane was a short, crook-handled, aluminum cane. It was heavy and I never relaxed while using it. For one thing, I only used it during lessons; no one made me use it at other times and I was not motivated to do it on my own. In fact, I felt very self-conscious when traveling with this cane. I knew people were staring at me. I knew that some blind people made a living by begging on the streets and I had heard that they carried tin cups with a picture of a white cane on them; I did not want to be one of those people.
While telling me it was not necessary for me to use my cane when traveling with other sighted people, I was also told I was amazing for what I could accomplish with the cane. My instructor was invited to speak to various civic groups and I remember being asked to demonstrate the cane. I walked from my chair to the edge of the stage and the audience gasped because I stopped just in time to keep from falling into their laps.
Throughout high school and college I used a folding cane and carried a purse big enough to hide it. My college friends would meet me and take me from place to place. I now know that my social life would have been much more satisfying if I had asserted my independence. I would have been equal with my peers.
Upon graduating from college, I was introduced to the National Federation of the Blind. People were talking about going to a national convention in Houston, Texas, and I considered joining them. I weighed the pros and cons of this journey.
Pro: I wanted a teaching career and I knew I would have the chance to meet other blind educators.
Con: I would not know where to go upon arrival.
Pro: I knew several people who were going and I could stick with them; at least, I would not be alone when we got lost.
The pro list won the day and I had the time of my life! I cannot say that I magically transformed myself into an avid cane user but I began thinking. I noticed what little effort it took for blind people to get around this huge hotel. They even left the hotel to explore the city. Why wasn't I doing these things?
In the next few years, I came to know all that the Federation had to offer. My Federation friends have given me far more than I can ever give back. With respect to the cane, I have come to value my freedom to come and go as I please; I can take pride in saying to my sighted friends and colleagues that I will meet them somewhere. I now travel thousands of miles each year alone and don't think twice about it.
Times have changed. Not only do we have an organization for parents of blind children but because of the National Federation of the Blind there are now *adjustment-to-blindness training centers operated by blind people to teach the use of the cane and make the students proud. Blind people are equal partners in today's society and the cane is one reason why.
I now travel with a lightweight, fiberglass cane and it stands straight and tall. My purse is no longer needed to be a cane holder and I can smile at the people who might be staring at me.v
*The NFB operates three adjustment-to-blindness training centers: BLIND, Inc., the Colorado Center for the Blind, and the Louisiana Center for the Blind. All three of the centers also operate summer blindness-skills programs for children and youth. For more information, contact:
BLIND, Inc. (Blindness: Learning in New Dimensions, Incorporated)
Shawn Mayo, Director
100 East 22nd Street South
Minneapolis, Minnesota 55404
Phone: (612) 872-0100 or
(800) 597-9558
Fax: 612-872-9358
info@blindinc.org
Colorado Center for the Blind
Julie Deden, Director
2233 West Shepperd Avenue
Littleton, Colorado 80120
Phone: (303) 778-1130 or
(800) 401-4632
Fax: 303-778-1598
jdeden@cocenter.org
Louisiana Center for the Blind
Pam Allen, Director
101 South Trenton
Ruston, Louisiana 71270
Phone: (318) 251-2891 or
(800) 234-4166
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An Introduction to Dr. Lilli Nielsen's Active Learning
by Stacy Shafer
[PHOTO Dr. Lilli Nielsen]
Dr. Lilli Nielsen
Reprinted from VISIONS newsletter, Volume 3, No. 2.
Dr. Lilli Nielsen has worked as special education adviser at Refsnaesskolen, National Institute to Blind and Partially Sighted Children and Youth in Denmark since 1967. She was trained as a preschool teacher and psychologist. She has performed research in the area of spatial relations with infants who are congenitally blind and has written several books and articles about educating children with visual impairments and multiple disabilities. Dr. Nielsen's approach is called Active Learning. She has presented week-long training sessions on developing the full potential of young children with visual impairments and multiple disabilities in countries around the world. We were very fortunate that she presented in Dallas, Texas, May 1994. I was asked to write about some of the information she has shared with us.
All young children learn through play. They need to be encouraged to explore their environment and objects in their environment. Dr. Nielsen believes that all very young children learn by being active, rather than passive recipients of stimulation. We need to observe typical children to see how they learn to move their own bodies (raising their heads, reaching for objects, sitting up, etc.), use their bodies to explore their surroundings (including any and all objects within their surroundings), and actively participate in interactions with other people. A visual impairment prohibits a child from having enough opportunities to develop these abilities and have these experiences without intervention. She encourages the adults to set up the child's environment so that he can do this.
Here are a few of Dr. Nielsen's recommendations when developing the child's environment:
Observe the child. It is imperative that we know what the child can do, what activities s/he enjoys, what type of objects does s/he like, etc. Assessing the child's existing skills and preferences is the first step in programming. Observation will help you note the current developmental skills the child has. A child's preferences are indicators of the underlying strengths of his system. These preferences can guide you in the selection of objects and activities. You need to know a child's repertoire so you can notice change and improvement.
Provide the child with more activities and objects that are similar to those he enjoys. This will encourage the child to explore and experience new things and broaden his knowledge base. Young children with visual impairments need to be encouraged to explore not only toys from the toy store, but also everyday objects around the house.
Give the child opportunities to practice and/or to compare. As adults, we are often tempted to remove materials as soon as the child shows that s/he can use them. We all relate new information to things we already know. For example: the first time you successfully drove a car around the block, you still needed lots more experiences driving in different environments, on different types of roads and highways, different vehicles, different times of the day and night, in different types of traffic, with the radio on and off, with friends in the car, etc., before you really mastered all the skills and concepts about driving. When a child begins to bang one object on another one, he needs to be given the opportunity to bang lots of different objects on lots of different surfaces. (The sound produced when banging a metal spoon on the couch is much different than banging it on the coffee table or a metal mixing bowl.) Children need to be able to repeat an action many, many times in order to learn.
Provide a few materials and activities that are at a slightly higher developmental level to provide a challenge for the child, so he doesn't become bored. You only model these activities for the child. You do not expect him to imitate.
Do not interrupt a child by talking when s/he is actively engaged in play. Most of us have had the experience of talking to an infant who is busily kicking her legs and having the child stop kicking to listen to our voice. When a child is exploring or playing with an object or practicing a new movement, we need to wait to talk with the child about what he was doing until he turns to us to share his experience, or at least until he takes a little break in the activity. This does not mean that we need to
stop talking to our young children with visual impairments, just that we need to pick our moments.
Slow down when interacting with a child. We must be willing to wait and give the child time to take a turn in the interaction. When playing with a child, Dr. Nielsen tells us to give the child time to explore an object alone, rather than jumping in and showing her/him how to use it. At a conference during a child demonstration, Dr. Nielsen offered a battery-operated facial brush to a child. She let him explore the brush in his own way. He held the brush against various body parts, moved it from hand to hand, turned it over, put it on a tray, moved it against other objects on the tray, picked it back up, put it to his lips, and did many other things with it. Then he turned to Dr. Nielsen to share the experience. That was the moment she talked with him about the facial brush and the things he had done while playing with it.
Let the child have control of her/his own hands. Dr. Nielsen feels it is important when we are interacting with a child who has a visual impairment, that we not take her/his hand and bring it to the materials. Instead, we need to develop alternate strategies for presenting objects to the child (e.g., gently touching the toy to the child's arm or leg to alert her/him to the object's presence, making noise with the object to arouse her/his curiosity to encourage her/him to reach out, placing several objects to touch the child's body or very close to it so any movements s/he might make will bring her/his body in contact with an object, etc.)
Dr. Nielsen has developed several pieces of equipment to provide children with visual impairments the opportunities to actively participate with their environment. One of these "special environments" is the "Little Room." The "Little Room" consists of a metal frame supporting three side panels and a Plexiglas ceiling from which a variety of objects are suspended which the child finds interesting and enjoyable. This gives the child the opportunity to experience the properties of objects, to compare different objects, and try out different things to do with the object on his own without adults interpreting that experience for him. Since the objects are stable, it allows the child to repeat his actions with an object as many times as he needs to, at one to two-second intervals, without dropping and losing it. The immediate repetition enables the child to store the information gained from the experiences in his memory.
References:
Nielsen, Lilli. Environmental intervention for visually impaired preschool children with additional disabilities, VIP Newsletter, Vol. 8, No. 3.
Nielsen, Lilli. The blind child's ability to listen, VIP Newsletter, Vol. 10, No. 3.
Nielsen, Lilli. Active learning, VIP Newsletter, Vol. 10, No. 1.
Nielsen, Lilli. Space and Self, SIKON, 1992.
Nielsen, Lilli. Early Learning Step by Step, SIKON, 1993.
Nielsen, Lilli. Are You Blind?, SIKON, 1990.
Notes taken from lectures given by Dr. Lilli Nielsen at conferences in Albuquerque, New Mexico, September of 1992; in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in October 1993; and Dallas, Texas, in May 1994.
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by Sharon Maneki
[PHOTO Sharon Maneki (Giving Distinguished Educator of Blind Children Award)]
Sharon Maneki
Editor's Note: Sharon Maneki is president of the National Federation of the Blind of Maryland. She also chairs the committee to select the Distinguished Educator of Blind Children for 2005.
The National Federation of the Blind will recognize an outstanding teacher of blind children at our 2005 convention next July. The winner of this award will receive an expense-paid trip to the convention, a check for $1,000, an appropriate plaque, and an opport