[blindkid] Braille Literacy IEP Question, long

[trising]

Hello:

Recently, in the last two years, I have had the privilege of working with some teens to improve Braille reading speed. This has been 
during the past two summers, as the volunteer director of a week of programming of Braille Camp at Camp Tuhsmeheta in Michigan. 
Currently, I am helping three blind students from the local school district. We meet once or twice a week in my home. I am not a 
certified teacher , but I read Braille at close to 300 words per minute. I have been reading Braille since age 4. The parents are 
actually paying me for something I absolutely love to do! I teach these principles, and reading speeds begin to climb in three to 
nine hours of practice.  I time reading speeds at the end of each hour of practice.
    Fast readers read with both hands. Index fingers give details, but third and fourth fingers give the shape of the words. Fast 
readers do not always need to read letter for letter. More fingers means faster reading!!
2. Fast readers do not move their lips when they read.
3. Fast readers keep their palms up off the page. I ask each student what their least favorite food is. I often check their hand 
positions, especially when I do not hear the swish of hands on paper. If palms are down, I joke and say they have just slopped their 
least favorite food onto their nice clean Braille book with their palms. I make sure the book is hard copy Braille, and that it is a 
novel that the student is really interested in so that they will want to read it.
4. I try to get them to make sure that they keep in contact with the Braille as much as possible. If they keep their hands together 
for about two thirds or three fourths of the line, and then let their right hand read the last word or two, while the left tracks 
back on the line, and then moves down to the next, this improves tracking speed and, eventually minimizes the losing of one's place. 
Also, I let them know that the left hand is more sensitive than the right. Often, I find students using only one or two fingers to 
read. This contributes to struggle over letters and slow speeds. I am sorry I had to write a novella to explain this. 
Congratulations if you got this far, and I hope this helps someone

Sincerely,
Terri Wilcox
Secretary, National Federation of the Blind of Michigan
Ann Arbor Chapter President