[blindkid] Leaving classes early

[Barbara.Mathews at sce.com]

My advice is to just say "No thank you.". My daughter attended a large middle school.  She is totally blind and her orientation skill isn't that great, but she got herself from class to class just fine. We did include in her IEP an accommodation that she would not be penalized for being tardy to a class if it was due to orientation problems, but this was intended primarily for the beginning of the year when she was still learning the routes or if there was a change in schedule or something that meant she wouldn't follow the usual route.  We wanted to make sure she would handle those situations independently without undue stress about being late.  We also told the teachers that the accommodation didn't apply if she was goofing off between classes.

I asked her about this 5 minutes early idea, and she thought it was silly.  She also said you would miss less if you got to class a little late because it usually takes a while for class to settle down.

I also wonder who would tell your son it's time to leave 5 minutes before the bell rings.  Kyra's teachers wouldn't have interrupted what they were doing for that.  If some other adult would come into the room for that reason, how embarrassing for a middle school kid! For an otherwise typical blind kid, not a good idea.


----- Original Message -----
From: "Andy & Sally Thomas" [andysally at comcast.net]
Sent: 01/24/2009 07:38 AM CST
To: <blindkid at nfbnet.org>
Subject: [blindkid] Leaving classes early



My son's O&M instructor has told him that next year in junior high he will be dismissed from classes 5 minutes early in order to get a head start into the halls to make it to his next class. I'm wondering if most of the blind kids out there get this "accommodation."  I personally think it is an opportunity to miss some afterthought the teacher has and to be singled out and isolated in the classroom. Walking to classes with friends is one of the few times kids have for private conversations.  Would you share your experiences with this?

Sally Thomas
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