[blindkid] Leaving classes early

Brandy with Discovery Toys branlw at sbcglobal.net
Sun Jan 25 22:41:00 UTC 2009


Hi, I know David and that kid has amazing orientation. he can get from class 
to class assuming there aren't any major factors that would stop him. he can 
concur a hotel faster than many of us experienced travelers. Now with that 
said think about what expectations are being set. I'm in college and 
sometimes have to get several blocks, and I do it because its just part of 
the expectation. Keep going with your instinct. Your a great mom!


"We all have our time machines. Some take us back, they're called memories. 
Some take us forward, they're called dreams."
Jeremy Irons

Brandy Wojcik
Discovery Toys Group Manager and Educational Consultant

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----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Andy & Sally Thomas" <andysally at comcast.net>
To: "NFBnet Blind Kid Mailing List,(for parents of blind children)" 
<blindkid at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Sunday, January 25, 2009 7:59 AM
Subject: Re: [blindkid] Leaving classes early


>I appreciate everyone's input and have learned a lot from this discussion. 
>The reason I asked the question is because the O&M just made the 
>presumption that my son would need 5 minutes extra to get to class.  That's 
>before knowing his schedule or anything.  It's good to know that it does 
>not necessarily take a blind kid longer to get to class than it does a 
>sighted kid.  I was curious about this problem because my son's social 
>studies teacher contacted me early this year and told me that David was 
>leaving 15 minutes early to get to the bus.  I didn't realize that was 
>going on!  He was missing instructional time.  I told her that I didn't 
>think he needed that much time.  The classroom teacher and I made the 
>decision to cut that out.  He balked at first (because he liked to get out 
>of class and go chat with the bus driver) but has not had any problem 
>getting to the bus on time. I can truly believe that there are times and 
>places where it may take more time for him to get some place than has been 
>allotted for the task.  I just don't want it to be the presumption that he 
>can't do something before he's given the opportunity to try.  Unfortunately 
>he has a lot of growing up to do and he needs people to push him, not 
>people to make excuses for him. I've found that the blindness professionals 
>who work with him are the ones who make the most excuses about how and why 
>he can't do what other kids do. They told me he couldn't read any faster 
>than about 60 WPM because braille is just too slow a medium.  Well, I know 
>Dr. V's son, Vejas so I know that's just not true.  This year after working 
>with him on reading, he's up to 135 WPM--much more reasonable--oh, and it's 
>still braille (maybe they found some of that fast braille).
>
> I wanted to talk with the O&M instructor after I had assured myself that 
> getting to class on time was a realistic expectation.  I've been known to 
> make the wrong assumptions about a task so I just wanted some input. 
> Thanks everyone for your help.
>
> Sally Thomas
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Mindy Lipsey" <mindy_lipsey at yahoo.com>
> To: "NFBnet Blind Kid Mailing List,(for parents of blind children)" 
> <blindkid at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Sunday, January 25, 2009 6:39 AM
> Subject: Re: [blindkid] Leaving classes early
>
>
> I agree with you, Kim.
>
> My philosophy has always been to provide my son with a number of low 
> vision devices, arm him with multiple forms of accessible technology and 
> give him accommodations that may or may not be necessary. He's been doing 
> this long enough that he decides what he needs to do.
>
> I don't check his binder everyday anymore, not do I review his agenda for 
> homework assignments. I'm letting go so he can be more accountable for 
> turning in assignments on time. He's doing wonderfully and he knows it's 
> because he is being responsible.
> Matthew is a mature 6th grader who has a pass to leave early whenever he 
> feels it's necessary. Certain school situations may dictate the need for a 
> pass more than others.
>
> Matthew's middle school is going through major renovations. He also has 
> large technology devices that he must carry through extra crowded 
> hallways, while many classrooms and sections of particular hallways are 
> closed off. His classrooms have moved to multiple locations during the 
> first half of the school year. And not to mention, he's an 11 year old, 62 
> pound, small kid for his size.
>
> When he feels he needs to use the pass, he uses it. When he doesn't need 
> it, he doesn't use it (which is the majority of the time). He has never 
> been treated differently by his peers, and there is no time for social 
> interaction in the hallways. Sighted kids are often late to class!
>
> He receives O&M and feels comfortable traveling to and from classes and 
> even practiced last year during the crowded hallways. But school 
> renovations have repeatedly forced him to take different routes to get to 
> his classes which have been moved from their original location.
>
> I don't pass judgement on anything others do for their own children, so I 
> don't expect anyone to pass judgement on what I do with mine either. I 
> found this list to be invaluable for advice and support, and I enjoy 
> partaking in it.
>
> Thanks everyone-
> Mindy
>
> --- On Sun, 1/25/09, Kim Cunningham <kim at gulfimagesphoto.com> wrote:
>
> From: Kim Cunningham <kim at gulfimagesphoto.com>
> Subject: Re: [blindkid] Leaving classes early
> To: "NFBnet Blind Kid Mailing List, (for parents of blind children)" 
> <blindkid at nfbnet.org>
> Date: Sunday, January 25, 2009, 7:09 AM
>
> Well....I guess that I may be the only parent on the list serv who sees 
> the need
> for my daughter to leave class 5 minutes early. I thought about not 
> posting,
> but I'm open for critism this morning! Don't be too harsh with me....
> My daughter is in the 11th grade and has left her class 5 minutes early 
> since
> 7th grade. She wears a watch and begins packing up her laptop, books, etc 
> and
> heads out at the appropriate time (no reminders from the teacher). There 
> are
> quite a few "sighted" kids who are in the hallway at the same time
> for various reasons due to injuries, etc. My daughter carries a very heavy
> backpack with a laptop, books, technology, and binders while using her 
> cane. She
> is rather small and must lean forward for balance. The school is 2 story 
> and she
> is constantly up and down stairs. The school is dealing with a huge influx 
> in
> population due to rezoning with around 3000 kids. My daughter's sighted
> friends complain about getting to and from classes while carrying one book 
> and a
> binder. There are times when she hasn't left 5 minutes early and gets 
> caught
> in the traffic. She has found that she has a hard time getting to her 
> locker as
> the other kids are blocking her access
> while they get their belongings and they also gather in groups outside of
> classrooms to chat causing the hallways to be blocked. At these times, she 
> ends
> up being frustrated and rushed, sometimes arriving just seconds before the 
> bell.
> Then she is rushed about getting her laptop set up and loaded for the 
> begining
> of class (Some of the programs and textbooks take a while to load). There 
> is
> no time to visit with friends when this happens. When she leaves 5 minutes
> early, she goes to her locker and arrives at class early enough to still 
> talk
> with her friends and have her technology ready to start. During this time 
> she is
> also able to talk with her teacher and get clarification about what is 
> needed
> for the day and will prepare for it with the appropriate technology. I 
> believe
> that my daughter should act and be treated equally as a blind person, but 
> what
> about taking into consideration all the "extras" that our kids must
> handle as a blind person. Do we
> expect our children to go above and beyond what we expect for their peers?
> Most all of our kids attend the same class schedule as the other kids, but 
> must
> also have O&M lessons, TBS services, braille instruction, etc. There are
> only so many hours in a day to get something accomplished and if leaving 
> class 5
> minutes early helps to alleviate some stress, then I'm OK with it, as is 
> my
> daughter.
> Just my two cents.
> Kim Cunningham
>
> --- On Sat, 1/24/09, Barbara.Mathews at sce.com <Barbara.Mathews at sce.com>
> wrote:
>
> From: Barbara.Mathews at sce.com <Barbara.Mathews at sce.com>
> Subject: Re: [blindkid] Leaving classes early
> To: "NFBnet Blind Kid Mailing List, (for parents of blind children)"
> <blindkid at nfbnet.org>
> Date: Saturday, January 24, 2009, 4:26 PM
>
> 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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