[blparent] needing some input

[wisdom f]

On 6/11/11, Jan Wright <jan.wrightfamily5 at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Hi Felicia,
> It seems that you have two issues: 1: your accessibility
> and
> 2. your daughter's.
> for your accessibility issues:
> A. meet with the teacher or teachers before the school year starts. Have the
> principal in that meeting also. Tell them that for your daughter's success,
> you need everything in a format that you can read. If your computer is
> unreliable, (I remember you mentioned the 40minute mode and I know how
> difficult that can be), ask for an email and a cassette of weekly
> newsletter, special events, etc.  don't forget  to ask them to go over your
> child's papers in that letter. The teacher can tell you how your child is
> doing and what she  needs to work on. If her spelling test has come back and
> she missed the word "Antidisestablishmentarianisms" you can help her
> practice spelling that word for next week.     Hopefully the school  should
> be able to do both an email and a cassette. Remember to ask for the email to
> be in an accessible format. there is nothing worse than getting an
> inaccessible image!! Teachers/staff might give you the suggestion that they
> can just call you and read the newsletter over the phone. this is not
> adequate for a few reasons. first, schedules always seem to clash. Second,
> you will have to write down the parts of the letter that you want to
> remember which will take extra time. And, thirdly, the teacher might be
> rushed and you might not get "everything" read. Ask for something more
> reliable than a helpful Aid or parent giving you the information verbally.
> then, it is good to be organized. you might say: "I know you have  homework
> to practice on your letter "P" tonight." that lets your child know that you
> know what is going on.
> B. remain visible. If possible, schedule days to go into the classroom. The
> more the teacher sees you in a positive light, the more likely she/he might
> be willing to help you with areas that you have problems with. If, this
> week, they are studying the letter "f" and you play the flute or your
> daughter's favorite food is falafel or you have a bunny named Fluffy at
> home; seize the moment to go in and help your daughter share this
> information. While "C" might be a good moment to talk about your "cane,"
> resist the urge to make everything about your blindness. Being the daughter
> of a blind parent -- or being blind yourself, might make you a bit
> different, but it is not your entire being. when school staff sees that you
> have other areas to contribute besides
> C. those magnetic letters and those large stinsel letters might help your
> daughter understand the shape, but you really can't help her write them or
> critique whether she is doing them correctly. These magnetic letters can
> help her recognize her letters and you both can be creative and play
> rhyming/spelling games.   But, you can talk to the teacher and get some tips
> to remind her of when she is  writing. "Remember, that J goes below the
> line." You can also show her on the keyboard and remind her how it is
> suppose to look. Although I don't think keyboards do Denilian letters, I am
> sure you could find a font for them. When my children were small, I did not
> have that option. But, I'll be going through it in about six years.(smile)
> You can also find computer games at home: ... ... I think that "Talking
> Teacher" (but that was quite a long time ago) had some free letter games.
> they spoke the letter and the child clicked the mouse. I could not see if
> the child clicked the correct letter, but I could sit and listen as the
> letters were spoken and hear the feedback of "right" and "wrong" and I could
> give my comments. You can also encourage your daughter to "copy" this helps
> her with her letters. Just making the letters and practice will help
> greatly. Have her copy the name of her favorite cereal and then read to you
> the letters. There are braille/print books also that can help.
>  D. most of the spanish will probably be conversational Spanish, so you
> should be ok there. Yes, there will be pictures with spanish words, But, you
> could make a print/braille flashcard set for your daughter.
> E. There probably won't be graphs and things until your daughter gets older.
> The great thing about Math is that you can always make the concept "hands
> on"  for illustrations. Actually, there are some math resources for blind
> children that can easily be adapted for blind parents teaching sighted
> children.
> And, that is where I'll end because these resources could also teach your
> blind child.
> Oh, The printing house for the blind (APH) has some products that are good,
> but I think you have to make sure that you order a braille instructional
> booklet because most of the instruction books come in print. they are
> obviously geared to The sighted parent of the blind child. For the stories
> that she will read: you might be able to find those books in either braille
> or on cassette. I know that braille is the better option, but sometimes it
> is just not available. I don't know if the school can ask the publisher to
> give you an E:text copy. The good part is: usually, the children are suppose
> to read the story each night and maybe have a test on Friday. that means
> that you might be able to memorize it by the third night.
> Sorry so long.
> Please send more of your questions.
> I hope that this has helped.
> Jan
>
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