[nfb-talk] NY Times Article on Gov. Paterson and Braille

[Alicia Richards]

Joe, I do see the point you are driving at.  For a long time I wouldn't 
have, but I do have more compassion for people with partial vision who are 
caught in the middle.  I'm not trying to jump on any bandwagon, but here are 
my thoughts.

One of my primary questions is this. If Paterson's parents were so worried 
about him standing out, or getting a stigma attached to him, carrying around 
big Braille books, etc, then why not think of the other issues?  Did it 
never occur to them that large print books are pretty big, too?  Did it 
never occur to them that he would not look normal, having to press his face 
so close to the page, when the other students did not have to do this?  Or 
standing by the board to read the print, when others did not have to?  At 
least when reading Braille, one can still look up at those around them, 
which in my opinion, looks far more normal than the alternative.  The things 
parents will do, or worse, make their child do or sacrifice in the name of 
so-called normality are unbelievable to me sometimes. and just because he 
might have learned Braille does not mean he couldn't have been mainstreamed 
at the same time. Then again, I guess he grew up in a different era, when 
mainstreaming was far less common, and that must be taken into account.

It is true that Braille has limitations, but I feel he's using that as an 
excuse. With the advancement of technology, such as scanners, OCR software, 
and refreshable Braille displays, more is available in Braille than ever 
before, and it is more convenient to use than before. And don't even try to 
tell me that the man could not have afforded such technology. For exampel , 
I imagine that  much of what Governor Paterson relied on his aides to read 
could have been scanned on a computer, to be read with a screen reader, or 
put into a Braille note-taker. Then, no reliance would have been needed.

The part about where his mother told him he could not take risks like other 
boys infuriates me to no end!  What child should not take risks? I was 
allowed to take the same risks as my sighted sisters when I was a child, 
thank God, and would advocate that any other should do the same. Now, 
genuine risks to safety should not be taken by any child, regardless of 
disability. But to say he shouldn't have as a result of blindness is 
appalling to me.

Just had to voice all that, for whatever it is worth.

Alicia 


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