[Nfb-krafters-korner] Hello from Dick!

Sat Nov 6 02:23:35 UTC 2010

Hey, I like that idea.
I have him a lot this weekend, so we will do some stuff like that.
And I might even encourage him to not hold my arm at times.
Maybe we can play some kind of tag game where he has to chase me or 
something around and he can use his cane.

In fact, I'm getting the materials on the table for the collage so that we 
can do some tomorrow.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Annette Carr" <amcarr1 at verizon.net>
To: "'List for blind crafters and artists'" <nfb-krafters-korner at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Friday, November 05, 2010 3:36 AM
Subject: Re: [Nfb-krafters-korner] Hello from Dick!

> Hi Dick,
>
> You are doing just fine with your nephew.  Having him take his cane with 
> him
> while he walks using sighted guide is just fine.  That is great that you 
> are
> encouraging him to use the cane to learn about his surroundings.  When you
> are at home or out and about, you can encourage him to use it by setting 
> up
> the situation.  For example, let's say he is sitting on the couch and you
> would like him to come over to where you are and there are boxes all over
> the floor from some project you are working on.  Ask him to come over to 
> you
> to help you and suggest that he use his cane because there is a lot of 
> stuff
> in the way.  You can do this when you are out and about.  You can also
> direct him to go over to an object that you would like him to see and
> encourage him to use the cane to get there.  This can work in the store 
> too.
> In any of these situations, you want to be sure that he will be safe and
> have a positive experience.  Keep in mind that having the cane touch 
> things
> along the way is what is supposed to happen.  I am always amazed at how 
> many
> people yell out to me that I am going to bump into something.  They just 
> do
> not get it that I have to touch it with my cane or some body part in order
> to get around it.  Maybe some day we will have a can that can help use 
> help
> us keep a reasonable distance away from object so that we can glide around
> them.  But then on the other hand, we would miss out on so many
> environmental clues that help us navigate our environment as well as help 
> us
> build a picture of the world around us.
>
> Another good activity is to talk about the activities you have done in the
> past, i.e. earlier today, yesterday, last week, etc.  Have him describe 
> what
> he did, what did he hear, touch, smell, enjoy, dislike, etc.  You want to 
> do
> this in a conversational way.  You can ask questions such as, what was 
> that
> tree we were looking at last Sunday?  You looked like you were having fun
> this afternoon on the swing, what did you enjoy about it?  Didn't the sun
> and wind feel great today when we were...?  Of course he will at first 
> give
> you one word answers, but ask additional questions that encourage him to
> describe his experience.  Have him describe to his mom and others what he
> did.
>
> You are doing a great job with your nephew, keep up the good times.
>
> Have a great day.
>
> Annette
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nfb-krafters-korner-bounces at nfbnet.org
> [mailto:nfb-krafters-korner-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Dick Carlson
> Sent: Friday, November 05, 2010 1:01 AM
> To: List for blind crafters and artists
> Subject: [Nfb-krafters-korner] Hello from Dick!
>
> Hey everyone,
>
> Gosh, it's been a couple of weeks or so since I've written, hasn't it? 
> Much
> has happened, including a very bad cold that I've had for a good week 
> plus.
> It's been a very bad flu season around here, and not only did I get sick,
> but my young nephew Willy got sick afterwards.  Needless to say, we've not
> been able to do a lot in the past few weeks.
>
> Anyway, this past weekend, we had a fantastic week!  I'm able to spend 
> more
> time with him now that I'm no longer sick.  And...the first thing he asked
> me about doing was to work on that picture.  He calls the collage a 
> picture,
> and you know, that's what it is.
>
> So, this past Sunday, we had a day that was really good.
>
> We began by going to the park.  Willy sure loves that park.  He loves to
> swing, so he swung for a while.  We also just went for a little bit of a
> walk while at the park, and that was fantastic.
>
> Will wasn't very sure about taking his cane.  I asked if he wanted to take
> it and he said he really didn't because he really doesn't know how to use
> it.  I told him to take it along anyway and if he wanted to use it, he
> could.  Is that good?  And, is it OK to just let him hold my arm when we
> walk?  I don't know how much to have him use his cane by himself if he
> doesn't know a lot about it.  I know how it should work but don't know how
> much to make him walk without me.   He used it some to feel how high 
> things
> were and where things were located though, and I thought that was good!
>
> I then went with Will to a store where we could get something for his
> "Picture." :-)  We got little stones, beads, etc.  It was kind of fun
> because we even chose a few small pieces of things I'd not thought about.
>
> We then went back home and he was fascinated by the sounds of airplanes we
> heard.  And, that gave me an idea.  Willy and I made a paper airplane.  I
> was telling him how we used to make them when I was a kid.  He loved it. 
> I
> don't think he totally got the grasp of it, but that was fine.  He enjoyed
> it.
>
> We finally worked some on the collage.  Tomorrow, I don't work and we're
> going to add to the picture.  That's going a lot better.  He's picking out
> the material or paper or fabric and is choosing places where he thinks 
> they
> can go.  That's great, huh?
>
> This collage idea was a great one!!  He's beginning to swee what can be
> done.
>
> Dick
>
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