[blindkid] To Sign or not To Sign

Mon Feb 25 21:16:49 UTC 2013

Renee,

That is all true and I agree with that position. Just wondering how easy it
is to get municipalities to post signs that are generic and all inclusive of
all children of all abilities. 

I am going to find out from my town clerk's office how to do just as you
suggested. I will also ask the same of my legislator and congressman. I have
meetings with them both  in the coming weeks. 

That would certainly put this discussion  in a universally acceptable place.

-----Original Message-----
From: blindkid [mailto:blindkid-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Rene
Harrell
Sent: Monday, February 25, 2013 4:00 PM
To: Blind Kid Mailing List, (for parents of blind children)
Subject: Re: [blindkid] To Sign or not To Sign

Out town tried to give us a "blind child" sign, and there are several signs
around areas that I frequently drive that caution about a deaf child, one
about a wheelchair user.

Honestly, I think that amount of information is distractingly specific. How
am I goings know how to spot if the kid on the sidewalk is the deaf one?
And should I be any less cautious about passing a young child on the road if
I know he is not deaf? How can I figure out which one might have autism?
I can for sure tell a wheelchair user, but if I am so busy looking out for
the person in the wheel chair...who am I in danger of ignoring in my quest
to search for the obviously disabled one? And what if I never see the
wheelchair user? (In my 18 months ere, I ever have)....has he moved? Has she
stopped going out side? Does tat mean I can ignore the sign now?

I do agree that signs can be helpful reminders to simply be more aware of
our surroundings, I just disagree that all the extra information is at all
relevant to the perfect strangers speeding by for the 1.2 seconds they are
going to process the information on the sign.

If you have kids, sighted, blind, deaf, hearing, autistic, neuro typical,
running or wheeling themselves outside and you would like to issue a gentle
reminder to the driving universe, I think a "children at play" sign is more
than enough information to elicit the type of behavioral response you are
hoping for and it is general enough that people can easily reinforce the
message by seeing ANY child, not try and pick a needle out of a haystack.

Rene---- mom to six wonder kids, including Miss Clare age 11, (ROP) and
Seraphina 8 months (ONH)

On Monday, February 25, 2013, Carrie Gilmer wrote:

> Well stated Heather. I agree on every point, and except for being a 
> sighted person myself, my experiences and those of others I know match 
> perfectly. carrie
>
> Sent from my iPad
>
> On Feb 25, 2013, at 1:57 AM, "Heather Field" <missheather at comcast.net>
> wrote:
>
> > Hello Richard,
> > Firstly, only ONE person suggested the extreme idea of bringing a
> resolution on the signing matter before the convention. The 
> Resolutions Committee decides which resolutions get brought to the 
> floor and my guess is that such a resolution would never see the 
> light. this is because the signing issue comes up so rarely. So, no 
> need to defend your rights regarding your blind child. We know your 
> rights as a parent and many of us on this list are out in the trenches
fighting for them daily.
> >
> > While such a sign does make parents feel better--whatever the stated
> disability of the child--there really have not been lots of studies to 
> determine effectiveness. While you feel, naturally, that you wish to 
> do everything you can to protect your child, the actual question here 
> is not whether you have a right to do so because, we know you do. The 
> real question is, does posting a sign announcing that a blind child is 
> at play achieve your goal of affording your blind child more 
> protection/safety. Let me share what I've learnt on this subject in an 
> effort to attempt to reach some practical conclusions.
> >
> > Over the years, I have had discussions with a number of parents of 
> > blind
> children and adult blind people whose parents posted such signs. The 
> general consensus from these folks was that these signs did not make a 
> difference in the behaviour of drivers and, therefore, the safety of 
> blind children. Here's the reason we all agreed/thought explained why. 
> Drivers did slow down on the first few passings of the sign and looked 
> for the "blind child" referred to by the sign. However, because of the 
> time they passed, or any number of other variables, they did not see 
> the child or, did not recognise the blind child among those children
currently playing.
> Thus, the original shock value of the sign wore off and the impact was 
> not reinforced by actually sighting the child in question. So, drivers 
> simply ceased to react to the sign; they saw it but it was like so 
> much other visual clutter in the background. Not one parent with whom 
> I have spoken, spread out over the years of my life as a blind person, 
> has been able to assure me that they saw a marked, long-term 
> difference in the way people drive. Add to this the fact that many of 
> these signs get put up and stay up for years. The blind child in 
> question grows up and goes off to college or moves away but the sign 
> remains and there isn't a blind child within miles of the sign. It gets
known around the locale that the sign is meaningless.
> When the drivers who are familiar with the old sign move to new areas, 
> it is very likely, because drivers don't like slowing down, that they 
> dismiss similar "blind child at play" signs, particularly if they 
> don't see the blind child.
> >
> > As to your point about IEPs, I actually believe that, in many cases,
> blind children shouldn't have any. The reason blind children, with no 
> additional disabilities, have IEPs is because of the misconceptions 
> about blindness that are held by the average school teacher. After 
> years and years of sitting in on IEP meetings for blind children in 
> regular schools, I have seen that most of what an IEP does is ensure 
> that the blind child gets the same that the sighted child gets. Blind 
> children just need to learn what their sighted classmates are learning 
> and, if they need a nonvisual technique to accomplish it, the teacher 
> of blind students or parents (and parents friends/mentors who are 
> blind adults) should show the child how to do it. I just don't get why it
all needs to be written out.
> The IEP perpetuates, in the mind of the classroom teacher, that the 
> blind child needs all this incredible amount of additional, special
"stuff".
> >
> > There are thousands of blind people, of whom I am one, who 
> > successfully
> attended mainstream programmes, who did not have IEPs and who went off 
> to college or to work in their chosen profession. IEPs are considered 
> necessary to ensure that an under informed, underfunded public school 
> monolith doesn't under-educate blind children. However, it is possible 
> to argue that it would be simpler to say "do whatever you have to do 
> to ensure that this blind child can do what his same age peers can 
> do". . There are lots of reasons, I'd be happy to chat about them when 
> we next catch up, why IEPs for blind children are so often not the 
> helpful documents we wish they were, and can, in the hands of some 
> professionals, actually be a hindrance to some blind children. Sounds 
> controversial, I know, but thousands of blind children in the 
> developed world have IEPs that are not being followed, so no guarantees.
> > I know I've strayed from the topic of signs but it's somewhat 
> > related in
> that, while signs make perfect sense to you, as do IEPs, there are 
> reasons why both do not achieve what you want them to > 
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindkid_nfbnet.org/carrie.gilmer%40
> gmail.com
>
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