[blindkid] My daughter is turning 5...

[Carol Castellano]

Hello Crystal,

Here are a few more thoughts.  I don't know if 
you've been involved with the school system yet, 
but the process should begin with good 
assessments of how your daughter is functioning 
right now.  The assessments should reveal her 
strengths and her needs in the various 
developmental and educational areas.  From the 
list of strengths and needs should come the goals 
for the coming year, along with shorter term 
objectives.  After the goals are identified, then 
the team discusses what setting would be best for 
Tatiana, where the services she needs in  order 
to meet her goals can be delivered.

Have you heard about the Active Learning approach 
developed by Dr. Lilli Nielsen?  It is meant for 
blind children with a developmental age of three 
or younger.  It might be very good for 
Tatiana.  You might want to read some of Lilli's 
books and take a look at her materials.  Here are 
the links: 
<http://www.visionkits.com>www.visionkits.com 
(for books) and www.lilliworks.com (materials).

Also, we have lots of information at 
www.blindchildren.org, the website of Parents of Blind Children-NJ.

Good luck,
Carol


At 01:38 PM 11/12/2008, you wrote:

>My daughter, Tatiana, is turning 5 on January 
>5th. I am wondering if I can get some advice 
>from you? I do not have a School for the Blind 
>close to me. The one in Salem, Oregon is 2 hours 
>away from me. I have been home schooling my boys 
>and here they do standardized testing for home 
>schoolers starting in third grade. I do not know 
>how the school system works for when she is in 
>Kindergarten. Tatiana is developmentally delayed 
>and still doesn't crawl or walk yet. She has a 
>whole slew of endocrine problems and is totally 
>blind with nlp. She also has seizure disorder 
>and a Mic-Key button because of feeding issues. 
>Developmentally she is about at 2-3 years of age 
>in her communication skills and less than that 
>physically. We live in Rainier, Oregon right 
>across the river from Longview, Washington.
>
>I am wondering about if I put her in the 
>mainsteam public school system what can I 
>expect? What will they be doing with her? Do 
>they just not do standardized tests with her? 
>Please tell me your experiences putting your 
>child in mainstream public school. Thanks!
>
>~Crystal
>
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