[blparent] [Bulk] Re: [Bulk] "General public" and their impressions

Tue Jun 9 16:45:08 UTC 2009

Hi,

Agreed on both points.  I also think that no social worker should be allowed 
to work in a situation where children and families are concerned unless 
they've had at least one child themselves.  Sometimes these kids come in to 
our lives having had no experience with children and while what they're read 
may work in theory it may not always work in a real life situation.  I think 
my big problem with social workers is that they often forget their dealing 
with real people and real feelings and emotions.  You can't deal with a 
woman with ppd the same way as you might deal with a mother who's husband is 
abusing her children and she's standing by letting it happen.

Tammy
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "trishs" <slosser at metrocast.net>
To: "NFBnet Blind Parents Mailing List" <blparent at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Tuesday, June 09, 2009 7:41 AM
Subject: [Bulk] Re: [blparent] [Bulk] "General public" and their impressions

> Unless and until a social worker actually takes your baby from you, this 
> is ignorants, not discrimination.
> I believe that any one dealing with the public should avail themselves of 
> a Handicapped Awareness 101 course.
>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>>From: "Eileen Levin" <eileenlevin at comcast.net
>>To: "'NFBnet Blind Parents Mailing List'" <blparent at nfbnet.org
>>Date sent: Sat, 6 Jun 2009 16:14:44 -0400
>>Subject: Re: [blparent] [Bulk]  "General public" and their
> impressions
>
>>Like JoElizabeth  my sighted husband was there and we received no
> visit from
>>a social worker at all.  I hadn't taken any classes, asked to
> leave the day
>>after my son was born, and the staff all seemed to be directing
> their
>>lessons to my extremely anxious sighted husband.  The staff's
> tendancy to
>>ignore me while teaching my husband never meant anything to me
> since I
>>already knew how to change a diaper and bathe a baby from helping
> my mother
>>with my two younger sisters.  I think there was a note posted on
> my door from
>>the staff about my blindness which my husband questioned as soon
> as he saw
>>it.
>
>>So, is there discrimination? From all this anecdotal evidence it
> appears the
>>answer is YES YES and YES.
>>Eileen
>>-----Original Message-----
>>From: blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org
> [mailto:blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
>>Behalf Of Jo Elizabeth Pinto
>>Sent: Saturday, June 06, 2009 12:56 PM
>>To: NFBnet Blind Parents Mailing List
>>Subject: Re: [blparent] [Bulk] "General public" and their
> impressions
>
>>I was lucky enough not to get much interference from social
> workers when
>>Sarah was born.  I don't know if it was because her sighted
> father was there
>
>>most of the time or what.  There was a doctor who asked if I
> would have help
>
>>at home.  I said yes, and he didn't ask any more questions.
> (Personally, I
>>think whether there will be help is a valid question for any new
> mom,
>>sighted or blind, especially now that I've been through the
> newborn phase
>>myself.)  Nobody asked me if I had everything ready for the baby,
> which I
>>did, and the nurses spent a lot of time trying to help me get
> nursing
>>established, with no comment about my blindness.  The only social
> worker I
>>saw asked me about financial issues, but Gerald and I made too
> much to
>>qualify for the hospital's sliding scale.  It was nice to have
> such a
>>positive experience at the hospital.  I think part of the reason
> everything
>>went so well is that I took not only the childbirth classes, but
> also the
>>baby care and breastfeeding courses, and I had a tour of the
> maternity ward
>>and asked a lot of questions, so by the time I delivered my baby,
> I was kind
>
>>of a familiar face to many of the staff, and they knew I was
> taking my new
>>role as a mother seriously.
>
>>Jo Elizabeth
>
>>"Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be
> changed
>>until it is faced."--James Baldwin
>>----- Original Message -----
>>From: "Melissa Ann Riccobono" <melissa at riccobono.us
>>To: "'NFBnet Blind Parents Mailing List'" <blparent at nfbnet.org
>>Sent: Saturday, June 06, 2009 6:47 AM
>>Subject: Re: [blparent] [Bulk] "General public" and their
> impressions
>
>
>>> It's interesting about hospital social workers.  I actually was
> lucky
>>> enough
>>> to have a good experience with the social worker who visited me
> after
>>> Austin
>>> was born.  She seemed to stick to standard questions.  She did
> ask if I
>>> had
>>> everything ready for the baby; actually she didn't quite put it
> that way.
>>> She asked if we had a crib or a bassinette, a car seat, etc.  I
> could hear
>>> that she was taking notes and checking things off a list.  The
> hospital
>>> where Austin was born often deals with high risk and very poor
> moms and
>>> dads, so I felt a lot of the questions were based on the fact
> that so many
>>> people who pass through really do need a lot more help and
> services.  I
>>> was
>>> also offered WIC.  I don't know if this was standard or not, but
> I just
>>> said
>>> I knew we made too much to qualify and I was left alone.  The
> person who
>>> made me the most nervous was a doctor--not the one who delivered
>>> Austin--who
>>> kept asking if I had help at home, and if I thought I could
> manage because
>>> of my "handicap."  Luckily, even though I was still in labor and
> not in
>>> the
>>> best mood, I managed to answer him calmly and firmly and nothing
> else was
>>> said.  Then there was this extremely annoying nurse who was
> completely
>>> thrilled because I could find the toilet paper in the bathroom
> and I
>>> "navigated so well!"  She questioned my ability to nurse because
> it's "a
>>> very visual thing to know when the baby's mouth is open so you
> can stick
>>> the
>>> nipple in.  Are you really committed to nursing?"  Thank
> goodness I knew
>>> my
>>> sister, who is also blind, nursed three babies successfully, and
> that I
>>> was
>>> committed to nursing unless there really was a reason I
> couldn't--such as
>>> my
>>> body not making enough milk, or Austin really having
> difficulties of some
>>> other kind.  So, I was firm on that point as well.  It is
> amazing though
>>> simply how uneducated the public is!  I love the people who ask
> me if I
>>> had
>>> someone come in to "adapt" my house for the baby.  Yes, there
> are child
>>> proofing companies and they are great if you want to use them,
> but I think
>>> it's crazy for people to believe that just because we're blind
> we don't
>>> know
>>> what is dangerous for a baby or small child.
>>> Melissa
>
>
>
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