[blparent] Accessible Homework?
Elizabeth Cooks
elizabethcooks at comcast.net
Thu Feb 19 17:10:41 UTC 2009
I just talked to someone about that this very morning, since my daughter
will be in kindergarten this fall, and I have the same concerns. Regular
communication with the teacher is important, and maybe getting some sighted
assistance to go over with you some of it will be important. I have a
friend whose child is in kindergarten this semester, and maybe she can help
a little when Angelica is in this fall.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Alex" <heyitslu at gmail.com>
To: <blparent at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Tuesday, February 17, 2009 7:24 PM
Subject: [blparent] Accessible Homework?
> Hello, all! I am new to the listserve; thus, please forgive me if
> these issues have previously been addressed. I am a blind, single mom
> and of an autistic, sighted, nearly 5-year-old boy, who will enter
> kindergarten in the fall. We live away from family and have few
> friends in this area, who can provide frequent sighted assistance. My
> son already participates in the special education program at an
> elementary school. IEP's and progress reports as well as information
> from his teacher and therapists have been made accessible; however,
> homework assignments are not truly accessible. His speech therapist
> has pictures of vocabulary words, which accompany worksheets, games,
> and lists of questions. although not required, this is our first look
> at homework, and I am extremely apprehensive regarding the future. I
> am concerned that I will not be able to assist him in completing
> assignments. I am also concerned about getting assignments in an
> accessible format. Although my son is starting to read, he only reads
> when he feels like it, and he is not able to relate events of a day,
> tell a story, etc. How have you helped your children with homework,
> particularly if your child is sighted but has other sensory and/or
> communication challenges?
> The speech therapist and I discussed this issue earlier today. She
> has proposed to e-mail me homework assignments or send them home on a
> flash drive. She has also agreed to outline the pictures in glue.
> She said that she would label them for me, but she does not know
> Braille and wants me to make the labels. I don't have a problem
> making labels, but making labels in the future will require
> considerable planning in the future on everyone's part. Also, the
> school my son attends does not have a "Vision Rehabilitation Teacher",
> and I was told that the Vision Teacher is only to assist visually
> impaired students.
> Does the school system have a legal obligation to make homework
> assignments, IEP's, progress reports, etc. accessible to me? If so,
> who usually ensures that these things are accessible?
> Any advice and information you can provide would be greatly
> appreciated. The IEP is up for review in March. I am trying to move
> into this elementary school's zone because they are willing to work
> with me but just don't seem to know how. If we go to the elementary
> school for which we are zoned, I am concerned the atmosphere will not
> be as accomodating, and I will need to make sure that any
> accomodations I need in order to properly support my son are well
> delineated prior to entering that school.
> Warmest regards,
> Lucy
>
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