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

[Joe Orozco]

Hi Alicia,

Agreed on all points.  I just don't know how to take what we know, and
perhaps take for granted, and share this with the people that need it.  I
stop short of saying we should try to make Braille fun for people to learn.
After all, these are adults, and come on, do you want to be independent or
do you want to be reliant on other people to read/transcribe your materials,
but perhaps there is something to making Braille, orientation and mobility,
technology and basic independent living more appealing?  After all, it's not
enough to tell someone they need to do something.  The person needs to want
to do it for themselves, otherwise the training is for nothing.  Anyway,
more thoughts welcomed.

Joe

"Hard work spotlights the character of people: some turn up their sleeves,
some turn up their noses, and some don't turn up at all."--Sam Ewing 

-----Original Message-----
From: Alicia Richards [mailto:alicianfb at gmail.com] 
Sent: Tuesday, December 28, 2010 4:18 AM
To: jsorozco at gmail.com; NFB Talk Mailing List
Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] NY Times Article on Gov. Paterson and Braille

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 


__________ Information from ESET Smart Security, version of 
virus signature database 5737 (20101227) __________

The message was checked by ESET Smart Security.

http://www.eset.com