[Blind-rollers] LITERACY

[Carol Rucker]

 Helena, Thanks for your comment. Yes, with me being the single parent of a Deaf/Blind child I felt so lost. I was always search for information but never really got anywhere with real useful help. I was wonder if worker with wide disable network is better like Kerry mention. Two years ago I told to contact and register my daughter under The Helen Keller Foundation. I thought that was a great ideal but that didn't led to anything other than to be told to call another place in our local area for help and to paid a fee to be part of the The Helen Keller Foundation.  My daughter lost her sight at the age of ten and her moderate hearing lost was much earlier. It just seem like no one wanted to give any info. The parents were not welcome in the school setting as they are now. Later I learn some parents had all the inside help and information I guess it was who you know. My daughter always hated listening to books on tape, she would say, why do I have to listen to tapes, and then have to listen to the teacher reading to me? I now call this a one way literacy education. She never had to write, turn in homework assignment, nor was she taught computer skills, because she had and still do have a trach, she a dwarf, with curve fingers with poor sensation, in a wheelchair, and not expecting to work in her lifetime, she was not taught mobility skills because of the she couldn't push herself in her own wheelchair. They said that she needed to pull along all of her own medical equipment, like her portable suction pump, portable ventilator, etc in order to be taught independent skills.  So teaching her was a waste of time in the school and state eyes. Then why spend 12 years in school, if the whole game plan was to have her work in a place like a factor putting pencil in a box etc? I am helping her now taking course from Hadley School from The Blind, like English etc. But in the mean time I will keep reading on article from the NFB to see if anything comes up. Even though my daughter is 21years old, the Parent NFB article are more better since I was not taught how to work with my daughter blind issue.            


Carol Rucker
carkarrucker at earthlink.net
610-734-3540