[blindkid] Brl Books in Pre-K

Sat Sep 12 04:53:48 UTC 2009

Any books or materials that are used as a "text" for all the kids should 
absolutely be provided in braille.
As far as other "free/pleasure" reading books, I agree with Sally. If this 
is an exposure issue, get some combo print-braille books & just bring them 
into class for the year. There are lots of resources for this. The other 
kids will see & be curious & explore them too. The classroom teacher will 
likely support this.
A TVI that puts up barriers, is territorial, & insists that a 
"braille-trained" has to be present when a child explores a braille book, is 
a red flag for potential problems.
Good luck.
Eric

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Sally Thomas" <seacknit at gmail.com>
To: "NFBnet Blind Kid Mailing List,(for parents of blind children)" 
<blindkid at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Friday, September 11, 2009 12:02
Subject: Re: [blindkid] National Federation of the Blind EndorsesGoogleBooks 
Settlement Before Congress

> There are lots of free braille books available.  The school librarian can 
> get books from NLS.  Your child can get a Bookshare account and books can 
> be embossed with little difficulty (that may not be true for more 
> complicated books but simple books shouldn't cause too much trouble). 
> There are free books from Seedlings, Braille Institute and Seeing Hands. 
> I guess the difficulty is that you may have to do a lot of the footwork 
> yourself.  I feel like I know a whole lot more about braille technology 
> and resources than I ever imagined I would.  It may not seem right but you 
> have to be the tail wagging the dog in order to get the things your child 
> needs.  I've found that once the school realizes that you know what you're 
> talking about and you aren't going to back down, they begin to cooperate 
> more.
>
> I haven't heard any stories of a perfect school that always got what the 
> child needed in a timely manner but I've heard lots of stories of parents 
> who've worked hard to get their kids what they need.  That's where I get 
> my inspiration to keep on fighting.
>
> Sally Thomas
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Susan Harper" <sueharper at firstchurchgriswold.org>
> To: "NFBnet Blind Kid Mailing List,(for parents of blind children)" 
> <blindkid at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Friday, September 11, 2009 9:05 AM
> Subject: Re: [blindkid] National Federation of the Blind Endorses 
> GoogleBooks Settlement Before Congress
>
>
>> Thank you.  I will be passing this on.
>>
>> Our BESB worker does not think that our children should have access to
>> Braille books in Pre-K similar to the sighted children who have print 
>> books
>> available.  There isn't anyone who can Braille in the school and the
>> teachers and aides have not had training according to our BESB worker to 
>> be
>> able to work with Braille.  Any suggestions!
>> Blessings,
>> Sue H.
>>
>> On Thu, Sep 10, 2009 at 7:07 PM, Freeh, Jessica <JFreeh at nfb.org> wrote:
>>
>>>
>>>
>>> FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> CONTACT:
>>>
>>> Chris Danielsen
>>>
>>> Director of Public Relations
>>>
>>> National Federation of the Blind
>>>
>>> (410) 659-9314, extension 2330
>>>
>>> (410) 262-1281 (Cell)
>>>
>>> cdanielsen at nfb.org
>>>
>>>
>>> National Federation of the Blind
>>> Endorses Google Books Settlement Before Congress
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Urges Justice Department to Support Settlement
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Washington, DC (September 10, 2009): The National Federation of the 
>>> Blind,
>>> the nation's oldest and largest organization of blind people and the 
>>> leading
>>> advocate for access by the blind to digital information, testified 
>>> before
>>> the House Judiciary Committee today that the proposed settlement between
>>> Google and authors and publishers regarding the Google Books project 
>>> should
>>> be approved.  The Google Books settlement will make millions of titles
>>> available to the blind and other Americans with print disabilities,
>>> providing more access to the printed word than the blind have had in all 
>>> of
>>> human history.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the Blind, told
>>> the House Judiciary Committee: "The Google settlement is, for the blind 
>>> and
>>> many others, the next step in the democratization of knowledge.  That
>>> process began with the introduction of the printing press and then, for 
>>> the
>>> blind, with the invention of Braille.  Now technology is available that
>>> transcends the traditional limitations of both print and Braille, 
>>> promising
>>> to make millions of titles available to the blind in Braille or any 
>>> other
>>> format of our choice.  The narrow business interests of Google's 
>>> competitors
>>> must not be allowed to block Americans who cannot read print from all of 
>>> the
>>> opportunities that greater access to written knowledge will make 
>>> available
>>> to them.  It is time for the doors of the world's great libraries to be
>>> opened and welcome to everyone."
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> The National Federation of the Blind also urged the United States
>>> Department of Justice, which is reviewing the terms of the settlement, 
>>> to
>>> support the agreement.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> "The Google Books settlement is a major step forward in advancing the 
>>> civil
>>> rights of blind Americans and others who cannot read print because it
>>> substantially increases our opportunities for education and employment,"
>>> President Maurer said.  "The Justice Department, which is tasked with
>>> protecting the civil rights of all Americans, should respect the 
>>> agreement
>>> of the parties to the settlement and allow its access provisions to be 
>>> fully
>>> implemented.  In doing so, the government will send a strong message 
>>> that it
>>> values the participation of the blind in society and believes that we 
>>> should
>>> have access to all of the information to which our sighted friends and
>>> colleagues have access."
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> ###
>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>
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