[NFB-Braille-Discussion] Looking for some Input on Teaching Braille to a Low Vision Student

Thu Feb 15 23:19:28 UTC 2024

Humberto:

I went blind at twelve and spent the first year in the same situation
as your student. A few things changed my mind.

1. What are her values? How does she view herself, and is her behavior
in line with that image?

2. What is she scared of? We could probably guess, but she may
genuinely have no idea. It might be worth a conversation.

3. Let's assume that whatever her fears are would come to pass
provided she used a cane, learned braille, etcetera. What would she do
then? Would she collapse into herself and allow those horrible things
to be true, or is she someone who would make a plan, work the plan,
and fight her way out?

4. Finally, what does she think will happen if nothing changes? Where
will she be in ten years? fifty? How many things will she have tripped
over and how many important moments will she have missed out on if
nothing changes from this point forward?

Warmth,
Sanho

On 2/15/24, Humberto Avila via NFB-Braille-Discussion
<nfb-braille-discussion at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> Hi Jody,
>
>
> Thanks for your message. I believe her parents are the type of parents
> that, because she is the oldest sibling, expect her to cary on most of
> the family's secretarial chores, tasks and hosting ditues. And I further
> believe that they want her to do it as if she was fully sighted still,
> using her remaining vision. The parents don't seem aware of the
> capabilities of successful blind Braille readers. they believe that her
> progressive eyesight loss can be "cured."
>
>
> On 2/15/2024 2:44 PM, Jody ianuzzi via NFB-Braille-Discussion wrote:
>> If she has been open to instruction in the past and is becoming more and
>> more resistant, I would also ask what is her home support system like? Are
>> her parents encouraging her to continue to use her vision and cited or are
>> her parents supportive of her learning the skills of blindness? Also, in
>> the school environment what kind of Encouragement or prejudice is she
>> experiencing from her classmates?
>> JODY
>>
>> To Boldly Go  🖖🏻
>>
>>
>> thunderwalker321 at gmail.com
>>
>> "What's within you is stronger than what's in your way."  NO BARRIERS
>> Erik Weihenmayer
>>
>>> On Feb 15, 2024, at 4:33 PM, Humberto Avila via NFB-Braille-Discussion
>>> <nfb-braille-discussion at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>> 
>>>    Hello All,
>>>
>>>
>>> I hope all is well for you. Happy Thursday.
>>>
>>>
>>> I am reaching out to see if anyone can offer some input and assistance.
>>>
>>>
>>> I am recently teaching a student in my local school where I work at. She
>>> is learning uncontradicted Braille. In fact, she has mastered the whole
>>> uncontradicted Braille and we're moving on to contracted. She has low
>>> vision and is very new to blindness and vision loss.
>>>
>>> She does enjoy learning about the Braille code, however, more recently,
>>> she has been becoming more and more resistant to learning. I work closely
>>> with another TVI and we've determined that this resistance may be
>>> stemming from her struggles with losing her vision, which is quite
>>> apparent when she says things like not wanting to learn to navigate with
>>> a cane or other blindness skills because she thinks she will not use them
>>> ever. I knew she was struggling, but I also know she really likes her
>>> class period where she is with me learning Braille. She in particularly
>>> likes Braille art, and I have tried to incorporate this type of art /
>>> concept as much as possible in my lessons. She also likes watching
>>> motivational videos about successful blind people.
>>>
>>> It is more recently that she has begun doubting the skills that we have
>>> bee teaching her, and going out of her way to boldly and unapologetically
>>> say so. We have tried referring her to a counselor or therapy, but the
>>> student's belief system does not encourage her to go that rout. I, as a
>>> successful Blind person myself, have tried countless and numerous times
>>> to model the high expectation for her, with my use of my Braille display,
>>> and embossing the Braille lesson to read along with her, as well as
>>> traveling through the school proudly with my white cane. I even labeled
>>> the classroom number(s) and stuck the labels on classroom doors, because
>>> the school I currently work at was built pre-ADA and sadly, has no
>>> Braille.
>>>
>>> It is her recent struggles with mounting resisting to learn the
>>> alternative skills of blindness and the Braille that perplexes me and I
>>> am new to this, perhaps due to the lack of relativity with me being
>>> legally blind since birth and never experiencing sightedness, and her
>>> being fully sighted for the 14 bright years of her life and losing her
>>> vision. And, while she does enjoy inspiration videos of all sorts, I can
>>> not simply just flash out and shove NFB philosophy and blind culture in
>>> general without overwhelming her even more.
>>>
>>>
>>> I am therefore looking for suggestions. In what ways can I ground her
>>> interests and create expectations without making her say she utterly
>>> dislikes Braille? What other strategies have proved useful to you,
>>> specifically for those who are either totally blind or legally blind
>>> since birth, and encountering this situation? How can I further relate to
>>> and understand her perspective of this person losing their vision and
>>> struggling in this way, while I have not had such an experience as a
>>> blind person? I'm not sure if i"m making sense here. But, anyways, your
>>> input is valuable and immeasurably appreciated. I think my student has a
>>> lot going for her and a lot she still has to live through. And I need to
>>> be able to supplant her with the seeds she needs to be a blind person
>>> because even though it sounds kind of hard and sad, this will now be her
>>> new life. So any way that I can say these things without really saying
>>> them in a realist, tough, or in a more positive and optimistic fashion
>>> will be appreciated as well.
>>>
>>>
>>> Thank you! Have a blessed day!
>>>
>>> - Humberto
>>>
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-- 
He/Him