[blindkid] was Signs NOW Different

empwrn at bellsouth.net empwrn at bellsouth.net
Wed Feb 27 02:36:22 UTC 2013


Hello everyone, 

I would like to thank everyone who has commented for sharing your thoughts on the subject. I appreciate the different viewpoints expressed here.

One thing has stuck out for me in the discussion. It seems that there is a very big push for sameness, as in children who are blind are the same as children who are not. I most respectfully declare that they are not. Children who are blind are blind. They are different than children who are sighted. Different is just different. Different is not better. Different is not inferior. Different is just different. Individual children (whether sighted or blind) are different from one another. Some left handed children need left handed scissors. Some left handed children do just fine with right handed scissors. It is more important to me that the individual needs of my individual child are met rather than trying to fit him into a box of sameness with everyone else. 

I believe that providing support that a child needs bolsters confidence and self-esteem much more than an attempt to insist that all children are the same. 

Marie (mother of Jack who is very different from other children in many ways other than his visual impairment and is very aware of it and still very confident and happy with himself)
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry


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