[blindkid] Quesstion

Jody Ianuzzi thunderwalker321 at gmail.com
Tue May 5 21:46:36 UTC 2015 

Hello Ariel 

Another good reason to teach a low vision child all of the blindness skills is not only so they can use them with their existing vision but if their vision ever decreases they will never be at a disadvantage because they will already have those skills



JODY 🐺
thunderwalker321 at gmail.com

"There's no point in being grown up if you can't be childish sometimes."  DOCTOR WHO (Tom Baker)

> On May 5, 2015, at 5:10 PM, Arielle Silverman via blindkid <blindkid at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> Hi all, This is an interesting topic.
> I have always referred to myself as blind because I have never had
> vision other than light perception. However, when I was growing up I
> thought it was perfectly appropriate to distinguish people bbased on
> their level of vision. Two of my best friends growing up were legally
> blind but had so much functional vision that they basically functioned
> like sighted people, but received blindness-related services and
> attended the blind children's camp where I met them. Yet they strongly
> preferred to be called visually impaired rather than blind. I used to
> think that distinction was important.
> Then I joined the NFB and met a ton of people with vision similar to
> my friends' or only slightly worse, who called themselves blind. I
> noticed that while they used their vision for tasks when it was
> convenient and appropriate, they were also quite comfortable and
> skilled (sometimes more skilled than I) using nonvisual techniques to
> do things. They often used a combination of techniques depending on
> the situation and how their vision was on that particular day. I
> eventually came to believe that the level of vision somebody has
> really does not matter much. When I meet someone at a
> blindness-related event, I usually just figure that they're blind, and
> I will treat them as if they were totally blind at first. If they have
> usable vision, this usually becomes obvious. Even if it doesn't, it
> doesn't matter much. I don't think blind and fully sighted people
> should be treated differently in social situations, so I don't think
> the distinction needs to be made within blindness either. Also, if
> somebody wants to use vision, or if they have a nonvisual access need
> that's not immediately apparent, I trust that they will advocate for
> themselves when needed. In other words, while I think it's fine for
> people to refer to themselves as blind or visually impaired as they
> wish, I don't think it is critically important to know how much vision
> somebody has in order to interact meaningfully with them. I also tend
> to advise parents of blind children with unknown visual acuity to
> treat your kids as if they are totally blind and offer all the
> richness of nonvisual experiences and skills to them, because even if
> they do have vision, the nonvisual skills they learn will only
> complement and enhance their visual experience.
> Arielle
> 
>> On 5/5/15, Jody Ianuzzi via blindkid <blindkid at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>> Hi Linda
>> 
>> Oh I love the politically correct names for being blind like undecided
>> sightless and visually challenged.
>> 
>> Partially sighted is actually defined as 20/60 to 20/200     Even saying
>> legally blind can be confusing because people with macular degeneration have
>> no central vision and people with retinitis pigmentosa have no peripheral
>> vision. I always confuse my family because I might see something as small as
>> a business card on a table because of the high contrast but then I will walk
>> into a chair that is the same color as the floor. I also have no depth
>> perception I am night blind and highly sensitive to bright light.
>> 
>> I think it is unfair when people ask a child what they can see because a low
>> vision or blind child has no idea what normal vision is and they can not
>> compare.
>> 
>> Also a Low Vision child might seem to see more than they really do because
>> of a variety of coping mechanisms such as seeing a triangle of lights and
>> knowing it is a Christmas tree or a dark spot on a building and no it is a
>> window. When I was a child my mother asked me if I could see the cars on the
>> road in front of our house. I said yes I could but of course my cars were a
>> blurry mass and she assumed that I could see them clearly.
>> 
>> There is also a social pressure to want to be like everyone else and so many
>> times a child might say they can see something when they really can't just
>> to seem like they have normal vision.
>> 
>> 
>> JODY 🐺
>> thunderwalker321 at gmail.com
>> 
>> "There's no point in being grown up if you can't be childish sometimes."
>> DOCTOR WHO (Tom Baker)
>> 
>>> On May 5, 2015, at 12:34 PM, Linda A.Coccovizzo via blindkid
>>> <blindkid at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>> 
>>> It's amusing all the different names people have come up with for "blind."
>>> I understand some of them, because I want to know when I meet someone,
>>> what to expect.  If they just say "I'm blind," maybe just because of the
>>> way I understand blind to mean totally blind, that's what I will think.
>>> If they say "legally blind," I might automatically think there is some
>>> vision involved.  "Partially sighted" or "low vision" leaves it wide open,
>>> just because there are so very many types of partial blindness that it
>>> isn't fair to expect one person to see in the same way another might be
>>> able to see.  There really is no way to explain what a person can or can't
>>> see in one or two words when explaining to someone.  In school, we had
>>> totals and partials, or print and braille students.  I guess that's just
>>> the way we defined it.  I'm blind.  My kids are blind.  I'm not going to
>>> be offended if someone says I'm blind.  However many politically correct
>>> ways people feel they need to come up with, it just is what it is.  Just
>>> when I think I've heard them all, someone comes up with something else.
>>> One of the funniest ones I have heard is "unsighted."  I have only heard
>>> one person say it, but everytime I hear that, I can't help but smile.
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: blindkid [mailto:blindkid-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Penny
>>> Duffy via blindkid
>>> Sent: Tuesday, May 05, 2015 7:30 AM
>>> To: NFBnet Blind Kid Mailing List (for parents of blind children); Julie
>>> Yanez
>>> Cc: Penny Duffy
>>> Subject: Re: [blindkid] Quesstion
>>> 
>>> Off to work.  But dropping.
>>> https://nfb.org/images/nfb/publications/fr/fr19/fr05si03.htm and my
>>> daughter is blind. Others would classify her as low vision , high partial
>>> (not a term I like at all) and visually  impaired.  My rule is the person
>>> can label themselves how they want as long as they are not embarrassed  by
>>> their blindness.
>>> On May 4, 2015 6:26 PM, "Julie Yanez via blindkid" <blindkid at nfbnet.org>
>>> wrote:
>>> 
>>>> I think some people use different wording based on vision. As the deaf
>>>> do.
>>>> Some are deaf, some hearing impared. And with the blind, some are
>>>> blind and only have a bit of light perception, and some are legally
>>>> blind so they prefer visually impaired. They are able to use larger print
>>>> and such.
>>>> And daughter has been blind since birth. So the word is no taboo
>>>> around her. And when she hears the whispers of people talking within
>>>> earshot, she reminds them, "I'm blind, not deaf. I can hear you".
>>>> On May 4, 2015 1:06 PM, "Jody Ianuzzi via blindkid"
>>>> <blindkid at nfbnet.org>
>>>> wrote:
>>>> 
>>>>> I agree blind is blind and it is no big deal. My mother always
>>>>> tiptoed around the word and never used it but I learned to have no
>>>>> problem with that at all
>>>>> 
>>>>> JODY 🐺
>>>>> thunderwalker321 at gmail.com
>>>>> 
>>>>> "There's no point in being grown up if you can't be childish sometimes."
>>>>> DOCTOR WHO (Tom Baker)
>>>>> 
>>>>>>> On May 3, 2015, at 11:22 AM, Bernadette Jacobs via blindkid <
>>>>>> blindkid at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> Well Amy, this is because people like to use other words to cover
>>>>>> up
>>>> the
>>>>> fact that in actuality they are blind. They like to use euphemisms
>>>>> like visually impaired; can't say well; sightless; as if blindness
>>>>> is a swearword. When you say blind, you are not in fact swearing.
>>>>> Blind, is blind. There is nothing wrong with being blind. That is my
>>>>> message, as harsh as it might sound to a lot of other people on this
>>>>> list
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> Bernie
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> Sent from my iPhone
>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> On May 3, 2015, at 10:31 AM, Amy Bishop via blindkid <
>>>>> blindkid at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> Why every body always say BLIND? I'm blind I don't is very big deal.
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> Amy Bee
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>> On May 3, 2015, at 8:00 AM, blindkid-request at nfbnet.org wrote:
>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>> Send blindkid mailing list submissions to  blindkid at nfbnet.org
>>>>>>>> 
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>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>> When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more
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>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>> Today's Topics:
>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>> 1. reminder, confrence call. (Darian Smith)
>>>> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>> Message: 1
>>>>>>>> Date: Sat, 2 May 2015 15:28:23 -0700
>>>>>>>> From: Darian Smith <dsmithnfb at gmail.com>
>>>>>>>> To: "Blind Kid Mailing List,    (for parents of blind children)"
>>>>>>>> <blindkid at nfbnet.org>
>>>>>>>> Subject: [blindkid] reminder, confrence call.
>>>>>>>> Message-ID: <D4112F90-AF47-4369-8FDF-96EA804585C0 at gmail.com>
>>>>>>>> Content-Type: text/plain;    charset=utf-8
>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>> Greetings Parents:
>>>>>>>> Just a reminder that there will be a call on Sunday just for you!
>>>>>>>> We will talk about community service, the benefits to youth and
>>>>> families and how to get started.
>>>>>>>> We will also talk about 75 Days of Service and the Community
>>>>>>>> Service
>>>>> Division.
>>>>>>>> Call (712)432-0140 code: 808277
>>>>>>>> talk to you tomorrow at 7 ET!
>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>> Darian Smith
>>>>>>>> President, National Federation  of the Blind Community Service
>>>> Division
>>>>>>>> dsmithnfb at gmail.com
>>>>>>>> (415)215-9809
>>>>>>>> twitter: @goldengateace
>>>>>>>> Connect with the Community Service Division
>>>>>>>> Facebook: search for ?NFB Community Service Division?.
>>>>>>>> Twitter:@NFBCSDivision
>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>> The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not
>>>>>>>> the characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we
>>>>>>>> raise
>>>> the
>>>>>>>> expectations of blind people, because low expectations create
>>>> obstacles
>>>>>>>> between blind people and our dreams. You can have the life you
>>>>>>>> want; blindness is not what holds you back.
>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>> ??...The challenges we face will not be solved with one meeting
>>>>>>>> in
>>>> one
>>>>> night. Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some
>>>> other
>>>>> time.
>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>> We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that
>>>>>>>> we
>>>>> seek...? -Barack Obama
>>>>>>>> Your  unwanted vehicle can be  just what the blind need to make
>>>>> possibilities reality.
>>>>>>>>> Donate your car to the National Federation of the Blind today!
>>>>>>>>> For more information, please visit: www.carshelpingtheblind.org
>>>>>>>>> <
>>>>> http://www.carshelpingtheblind.org/> or call 1-855-659-9314
>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>> ------------------------------
>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>> Subject: Digest Footer
>>>>>>>> 
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>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>> ------------------------------
>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>> End of blindkid Digest, Vol 133, Issue 3
>>>>>>>> ****************************************
>>>>>>> 
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