[blindkid] ECC- Social Skills

Steve Jacobson steve.jacobson at visi.com
Sat May 12 16:02:17 UTC 2012


Arielle,

I can identify with much of what you have said.  I would also like to add that there is a fine line between making an activity accessible and modifying an 
activity to such a degree that a blind child knows he or she is negatively impacting the activity for everyone else.  I can remember occasionally feeling this 
way.  There's no magic answer to this, but it needs to at least be recognized when figuring out how to make an activity accessible.  It is also much easier 
to structure activities at a birthday party, for example, than it is to control activities that might occur spontaneously on a playground.  I don't think these are 
simple problems to resolve.  Inclusion is not always synonomous with social adjustment.

Best regards,

Steve Jacobson


On Sat, 12 May 2012 09:42:54 -0600, Arielle Silverman wrote:

>Hi all,
>One part of the expanded core curriculum that I take issue with as a
>blind person is:
>"Since nearly all social skills are learned by observation of the
>environment and people, this is an area where students with vision loss
>need careful, conscious and explicit instruction."
>I take issue with this statement because it implies that blind people
>cannot "observe" their environment and people around them to learn
>about social customs and norms of interaction. Granted, there are some
>nonverbal communication things that we won't get on our own, without
>being explicitly taught. But since when was the word "observation"
>synonymous with "seeing"? A good deal of interpersonal interaction is
>verbal and blind people can pick up an awful lot by listening and
>participating in conversations. We learn how to speak by listening to
>others around us speaking to us. We eventually learn things like
>turn-taking, sharing and initiating conversations by listening to
>others conversing and engaging us. As a blind person, I can tell if my
>boyfriend is angry or upset or anxious from the tone of his voice, and
>I don't think anyone sat me down and taught me how to recognize
>feelings from vocal tones. I learned it by observation, which
>supposedly blind people cannot do. The statement that social skills
>have to be explicitly taught denies the validity of the techniques we
>do use to observe our environment. Like everything else, it renders us
>dependent on the "experts" to translate the environment for us instead
>of recognizing the ways in which blind people initiate their own
>observation and learning. And it overstates the supremacy of visual
>information, overstates what we are missing out on.
>I wholeheartedly agree with Heather that social skills have to be
>learned in context, in real interactions with family, friends and
>teachers in real settings. Parents should provide feedback and
>information about nonverbal things that are happening as they are
>happening in context. It makes no sense to read about social
>interaction in a book or to discuss it in a classroom with a TVI. That
>wouldn't make any sense for a sighted child, so why would that kind of
>education be appropriate for us? In order to learn what works and what
>doesn't work in social situations, we need to experience these
>situations, try things and get feedback either from the situation
>itself or as it is interpreted by parents.
>I have some strong feelings on this topic, in part because as a child
>I was consistently labeled as being deficient in "social skills". From
>what I can remember and what I've been told, this was mainly because I
>preferred to play by myself rather than with other (sighted) children.
>I would also tend to try to do things my way when I was playing with
>another child and showed little interest in their preferences for
>activities. I now think very little of this had to do with a lack of
>knowledge about how to play with others. Instead, part of it was a
>personality thing (I am introverted and do enjoy being by myself) and
>part of it was because the sighted kids did things together like
>drawing and ball games, which didn't interest me or which I couldn't
>fully access. I have wondered if some of the supposed social
>deficiencies blind children show appear because blind children don't
>enjoy typical sighted-child activities or don't feel accepted by their
>peers and so aren't motivated to interact or just kind of give up on
>doing so. For example, young children do a lot of coloring and
>drawing, and a blind child can play around with the crayons with
>everyone else, but might not get a lot of enjoyment out of doing so.
>Many social activities (perhaps more so for boys) seem to involve
>physical or athletic play and while blindness shouldn't prevent a
>child from joining in, blind kids may be left out of these activities
>or not be able to keep up (i.e. always being "it" in tag) and this
>could have implications in terms of social status and fitting in. If a
>blind kid is thrown into an environment where activities aren't
>accessible or enjoyable, withdrawal might be an adaptive thing to do.
>Eventually as a blind child gets older, he/she gains more control over
>the environment and can engage others in accessible activities, but
>this takes time. It seems to me that instead of this explicit
>instruction in social interaction the ECC calls for, intervention
>should be directed toward making playground activities more accessible
>and building in things that are nonvisually interesting, so a blind
>child will actually want to interact and get that naturalistic
>experience. Once that is achieved, I'd think it would be best for the
>TVI to get out of the way so the blind child can interact. I'd be
>interested in your thoughts on this topic.
>Arielle


>On 5/12/12, Heather Field <missheather at comcast.net> wrote:
>> Hello Penny,
>> I really like your description, a "catch all" for blindness skills.
>> Unfortunately, I believe this Expanded Core Curriculum (ECC.) has created an
>>
>> awful problem for teachers, parents and blind students alike for that very
>> reason...It catches "all" the skills.  It is because they have put
>> everything together in one document and demanded that teachers implement the
>>
>> lessons that we now have a problem.
>>
>> The idea that teachers should teach reading and writing and literacy skills
>>
>> in braille, or braille mathematics, and technology devices using speech and
>>
>> braille, and that qualified instructors should instruct blind students in
>> orientation and mobility is appropriate. However, daily living skills, such
>>
>> as eating, dressing, self-care and basic house cleaning etc. has absolutely
>>
>> nothing to do with school teachers. Nor, for that matter, does much of the
>> socialising that blind children, just like sighted children, receive from
>> day to day. How anyone can imagine that it is the role of the teacher of the
>>
>> blind to teach a child to fold their shirts or shine their shoes is beyond
>> me. Similarly, how can it be the school teachers' job to introduce blind
>> children to people who do various different jobs, in order to give them
>> experiences to help them in choosing careers? Children start choosing
>> subjects that head them in certain career directions as early as middle
>> school these days and, furthermore, many teachers of the blind haven't a
>> clue about the sorts of careers that blind people can have. Blind nurses and
>>
>> doctors, farmers and pilots, mothers and florists, jeweler makers and auto
>> mechanics, scientists, welders, horse trainers, computer programmers, school
>>
>> teachers, administrators, and on and on. Blind people are pursuing all kinds
>>
>> of careers. Yet, many teachers of the blind do not number blind adults among
>>
>> their circle of friends and could count the blind adults they know
>> personally on one hand. They are very uninformed about many of the careers
>> that blind students might realistically pursue.
>>
>> And, now, this new Self-determination section has been added to the ECC
>> which make things even more murky. Self-determination comes from being given
>>
>> choices from early in life and opportunities to live out the consequences of
>>
>> these choices under the watchful eye of parents or guardians. Children learn
>>
>> that they can make decisions for themselves and/or to advocate for
>> themselves by being allowed to do so. Currently, there is a grave shortage
>> of qualified teachers of the blind and it's getting worse as the baby
>> boomers are retiring. Teachers of the blind have caseloads far beyond
>> reasonable in many school districts. They often don't get to see students
>> for the proper amount of time they need to teach them literacy and numeracy.
>>
>> Where do people imagine that these overworked teachers will find time or
>> motivation to teach skills to blind children that, rightly, should be taught
>>
>> at home. In some respects, this ECC is a rod for their backs of their own
>> creation because they have not done enough to help debunk the "mystery"
>> surrounding educating blind children. Many like The Myth Of The Expert
>> because it allows them to deny braille and push print etc. School district
>> administrators, principals etc. accept the teacher of the blind's
>> recommendations because of the perceived expertise. Print readers don't make
>>
>> teachers of the blind have to relearn the braille they haven't looked at
>> since college and try to find ways to teach it, round up the necessary books
>>
>> etc. No need for braille equals no expense for a braille teacher for school
>>
>> districts and that saves a lot of money. So, the idea that the teacher of
>> the blind is an expert is helpful in many situations. Now, people are asking
>>
>> the "experts" to teach blind children everything. Obviously, the school day
>>
>> has neither the available time nor environmental opportunities for blind
>> children to learn everything at school and the ECC sets an impossible task
>> for educators. Many of the provisions, in my opinion, are wrongly labelled
>> as being part of a "core curriculum" for blind children and should,
>> therefore, not be in this set of teaching requirements. Daily living skills
>>
>> and social skills are learned by children in their homes with their
>> families. Self-determination is an attitude, a state of mind and a set of
>> experientially acquired, situation specific skills which are learned from
>> infancy to young adulthood. How can such a thing be taught by an overworked,
>>
>> time restricted school teacher?
>>
>> The reality is that most blind children will never receive most of what is
>> mandated by the Expanded Core Curriculum, no matter how many goals are
>> written into IEPs. There simply isn't the time, personnel or environmental
>> opportunities to implement it. Having the same expectations for blind and
>> sighted children and then finding the nonvisual ways to enable blind
>> children to reach them is the simple formula that gets blind children
>> educated. Teachers do what they can and parents and guardians and other
>> family members pick up where teachers can't, or won't, teach them, whatever
>>
>> the area of learning. In many cases the ECC. simply muddies the waters and
>> gives parents/families the false idea that teachers can teach blind children
>>
>> everything. In fact, as it has always been, parents and families will end up
>>
>> teaching their blind children most things, for better or worse, and teachers
>>
>> will teach reading, writing, arithmetic and, if you're lucky, good
>> orientation and mobility skills.
>>
>> I hope one day, after the ECC has been recognised as the failure that it was
>>
>> doomed to be from its creation, that we will be able to come up with a
>> better and more realistic tool to undergird solid skills education for blind
>>
>> children.
>>
>> Regards,
>> Heather Field
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Penny Duffy
>> Sent: Friday, May 11, 2012 2:34 PM
>> To: Blind Kid Mailing List,(for parents of blind children)
>> Subject: Re: [blindkid] Expanded Core Curriculum Feedback
>>
>>   ECC includes things like braille instruction, O&M  and other blindness
>> skills.  For some reason I have a hard time getting it. I think its with
>> the wording. It seems to be a catch all of all the extra stuff a blind
>> child needs to learn from school and home.
>>
>> I found the following at the Perkins website.
>> The Nine Components of the Expanded Core Curriculum
>>
>> Compensatory and functional academic skills, including communication
>> modes Compensatory
>> skills involve the adaptations necessary for accessing the core curriculum,
>> which can include: braille, tactile symbols, sign language, and recorded
>> materials.
>> Orientation and MobilitySkills to orient children who are visually impaired
>> to their surroundings and travel skills to enable them to move
>> independently and safely in the environment.
>> Social Interaction Skills
>>
>> Since nearly all social skills are learned by observation of the
>> environment and people, this is an area where students with vision loss
>> need careful, conscious and explicit instruction.
>> Independent Living Skills
>>
>> This area includes the tasks and functions people perform in daily life to
>> optimize their independence - skills such as personal hygiene, food
>> preparation, money management, and household chores.
>> Recreation & Leisure Skills
>>
>> Skills to ensure students' enjoyment of physical and leisure-time
>> activities, including making choices about how to spend leisure time.
>> Career Education
>>
>> Students with vision loss benefit most from an experiential learning
>> approach. Structured visits to community sites and discussions with people
>> who perform various jobs, enable
>> them to understand concepts and specific skills that are needed to be
>> successful in those jobs. Considering the national rate of unemployment or
>> underemployment
>> of working-age adults who are blind is 70% -75%, this area needs attention
>> throughout the school years to help students with vision loss develop
>> marketable job skills.
>> Assistive Technology
>>
>> Assistive technology is a powerful tool that can enable students with
>> vision loss to
>> overcome some traditional barriers to independence and employment.
>> Sensory Efficiency Skills
>>
>> Skills that help students use the senses – including any functional vision,
>> hearing, touch, smell, and taste – to access skills related to literacy and
>> concept development.
>> Self-Determination
>>
>> Skills to enable students to become effective advocates for themselves
>> based on their own needs and goals.
>> --------
>>
>> Most of it is blindness skill wrapped up in a different sounding package.
>>
>> Does Christopher get a lot of O&M in the community?  Abby made cookies in
>> O&M yesterday (I think it was a step and listening activity since her
>> instructor didn't do anything).  They go to the shopping a lot and she
>> works with Abby to ask for help when she needs that. Now a lot of things
>> can be done at home but I think it reinforces those things to have someone
>> else following up with it.  I would guess the more he gets out the better
>> he will learn.  (I know you keep Christopher busy at home)
>>
>> ECC is in Abby's IEP and its what they use to pay for the programs Abby's
>> has gone to at the Perkins School for the Blind.  I will hopefully adjust
>> it as she gets older when she can go to programs at some of the NFB
>> centers.
>>
>> Abby's O&M instructor has TVI students too and depending on the age is she
>> has them call the state to ask for supplies for NH AIM.  She always at
>> having the student do thing for themselves.
>>
>> I found an article that mention ECC in future reflections.
>> http://nfb.org/images/nfb/publications/fr/fr26/issue3/fr260304.htm
>>
>> Beyond that I am still confused but it helps me to call ECC  blindness
>> skill.
>> -penny
>>
>> On Fri, May 11, 2012 at 8:18 AM, <SCDUFFLEY at aol.com> wrote:
>>
>>> Hello Everyone:
>>>
>>> I am having a struggle with ECC goals that are meaningful and  specific.
>>> I
>>> have asked my team to evaluate his current strengths as it  relates to
>>> these goals.   Does anyone know of any specific resources  of IEP sample
>>> statements for ECC for a 5th grader?  The real struggle  is in the
>>> self-help,
>>> independent and self advocacy area.  No one seems to  want to touch
>>> teaching him
>>> home skills (other than four to five tasks a year -  like opening a jar).
>>>
>>> Thanks for your input,
>>>
>>> Christine  Duffley
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>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> --Penny
>> ----------
>> A lucky mother to two amazing children - visionfora.blogspot.com
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>>
>>
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