[blindkid] braille?

[Carrie Gilmer]

Dear Marie,
I apologize as I am in a bit of a rush at the moment. GO to www.braille.org
to learn everything about Braille and why this year is in history
significant for Braille and for us and promoting Braille.

 I know others on the list will come forward to sing its praises and tell
you YES dual readers print and Braille work well. In fact my own son is one,
and he prefers and is faster with Braille.

Our kids, all of them are at some risk for further loss greater than
average, as when there is one thing "wrong" with the eye it is vulnerable to
loss just because of the health of the eyeball or optic nerve. No one can
know for sure. 

Also if he is tactile preferring already that tells us a very great deal.
Does he bring things closer than 6-8-10 inches to look? These kinds of
things my friends on the list will bring up I am sure.

The resistance to Braille is usually tied to the stigmas of blindness and
misunderstandings like thinking it is hard. The www.braille.org website will
tell you much to begin, it will be a good intro for your husband too. Watch
the video "unlocking the code". At the end there is an unusually handsome
(got his looks from his mother-smile) teenager with a (yellow?) shirt
reading with three other unusually beautiful children (also who got their
looks from their mothers-sorry Eric!) at a table and microphone--just
happens to be mine, smile.

I wish he would get his hair cut like he had last summer, major afro right
now! Oh well, he shaved. You see, I can compromise!

Nice to meet you today Marie,
 
Carrie Gilmer, President
National Organization of Parents of Blind Children
A Division of the National Federation of the Blind
NFB National Center: 410-659-9314
Home Phone: 763-784-8590
carrie.gilmer at gmail.com
www.nfb.org/nopbc
-----Original Message-----
From: blindkid-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blindkid-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Marie Smith
Sent: Thursday, February 19, 2009 4:53 PM
To: blindkid at nfbnet.org
Subject: [blindkid] braille?

Hello everyone, thank you for all the warm welcomes. First, let me introduce
us a bit more. We live south of Birmingham, AL. Our son, Jack, was born with
Apert syndrome. He is developmentally delayed in several areas. He is three
and a half years old and currently attends an inclusive preschool that is
part of our local school system. Next year, this inclusive preschool will
not be an option for us because our local school district is changing their
policy regarding children with special needs. Next year, Jack will attend a
private daycare/preschool with consult services from our local school
district. At 4, he will re-enter public school for kindergarten or so we
plan. 

 

Okay my first question is a big one. I see a lot of stuff about kids needing
to learn Braille when they are young. Jack at three and a half years old is
just learning his letters and the sounds they make. Jack's vision is not
expected to get any worse than it currently is. His visual impairment was
caused by optic nerve damage that was caused by pressure on his brain from
hydrocephalus. He now has a VP shunt. The low vision rehabilitation
specialist that we saw mentioned Braille because Jack is a fairly tactile
learner anyway. I mentioned to my husband that I saw some information about
children learning to simultaneously learn to read Braille and print. He
seemed resistant to the idea. Can someone please tell me if this is
something that we need to discuss and get started on now? Is the school
obligated to provide someone to teach Braille? What issues are there that I
need to be aware of regarding the learning of Braille?

Thanks in advance!

 

Marie Smith (mother of 3 year old Jack)

 

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