[blindkid] Braille Literacy IEP Question

deniserob at gmail.com deniserob at gmail.com
Tue Mar 13 14:39:34 UTC 2012


Dear Ben's Mom
Don't dispair and don't give up.....The WWJ has a Braille normed addition out from APH....test him with that....it will take the psych and TVI working together to give it.

There are just some kids who take longer but with practice it will happen...maybe not even to hundreds of words per minute, but you want him to be able to read with some ease. You are correct, if he was sighted and a slow reader you would never have someone say....oh let's just go all auditory. 

He needs books to read that he WANTS to read, instead of a particular reading program. That has always been the way I have gotten my students hooked on Braille reading....and yes on that Braille note...he listens, then goes back and reads with fingers to reinforce. then get it in hard copy Braille to just read with fingers. Start him out with share reading.I always read the first chapter to get them hooked then share paragraphs with them after to move them along. Before you know it, they are reading on their own and with the reading speed is increased.

Denise
Sent from my iPad

On Mar 12, 2012, at 11:00 PM, Crystal Schumacher <crystal_schu at hotmail.com> wrote:

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> Hello,
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> I would really appreciate some opinions on the question I am going to ask. I have a struggling braille reader. The question from the IEP team is as follows: Should we discontinue the Braille Literacy Goal which focuses on speed, fluency, and comprehension because Ben has made little growth for the effort put forth and he is missing other class time during this daily 30 minute pull out?
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> The Facts are as follows:
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> Ben is 11 years old and in the 5th grade. He was born 14 weeks premature and is blind with light perception from R.O.P. Ben is reading contracted braille at a 2nd grade level with a speed of 30 words per minute. He receives services from a TVI, 2 hours a day, who states he has learned most of the Braille code. He also receives services from the Special Education Teacher, 30 minutes a day, who is trained in teaching Reading Literacy. She is using a program called Read Naturally that was transcribed into Braille by the Texas School for the Blind. Ben is her only blind student and has been working with her since the middle of 3rd grade. The other students using this program are sighted. Ben has made some growth, but his progress remains slow. He has many Braille reversals and some tactile defensiveness. He writes Braille at grade level. Ben was tested for a reading disability, but do to the lack of statistics on blind children he could not qualify for our school district. For example, when given the Woodcock-Johnson Normative Test in Braille, Passage Comprehension, he scored at a 2nd grade level. When given the same part of the test auditory, Ben scored at 6th grade level. The IEP team has decided that moving forward, Ben's should receive his text books and some assignments primarily in a digital format. He does use a Braille Note, but relies heavily on the voice when reading or editing papers.
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> I have a good relationship with my IEP team. They will write the goal how I want, but they need evidence to support it. He will be moving to middle school next year and blind kids typically get less services, not more. Ben may never be a great reader, but Braille is a skill, and I think he needs to be working on it everyday. If a sighted child had dyslexia, would they stop reading with that child? He has a great mind and being able to get information he needs quickly and efficiently via a digital format is important, but I think the Braille is too. Please let me know what you are thinking.
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> Thank You,
> Crystal Schumacher
> (Ben's Mom)
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