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

[ckrugman at sbcglobal.net]

The phrase could always be turned around to indicate a person who has not 
learned proper skills so as a result they look blind by stumbling around 
falling over their own feet, being led around and other obvious examples.
Chuck
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Alicia Richards" <alicianfb at gmail.com>
To: "NFB Talk Mailing List" <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Tuesday, December 28, 2010 6:53 PM
Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] NY Times Article on Gov. Paterson and Braille


> Holly, yes, things can get pretty crazy around here, which is why I do not 
> post often, unless it is something which I feel strongly about, such as 
> this is.
>
> I very, very much admire the approach you are taking with your son, and 
> the strength you have to advocate and push to make sure he gets the 
> training he needs.  Yes, the beliefs of most so-called professionals are 
> astounding.
>
> One of my best friends from high school has partial vision, and was raised 
> to believe that Braille, cane, and other techniques were bad things, and 
> that she did not need them.  Doctors said her vision was stable, no danger 
> of declining. So, these beliefs that anything alternative was bad were 
> pushed by her family, who did not want her to look different, but the 
> family was educated by said professionals who felt she did not need the 
> skills of blindness. After all, she was not blind, she just simply didn't 
> see as well as others could.  Never mind that her Coke-bottle glasses got 
> her made fun of in school just as much as someone's cane might have them. 
> When she was 17, her vision took a very sharp decline. all of a sudden, 
> she needed braille, cane, and so on. These things were hard for her to 
> learn at that later age.  Had she been given the tools she needed as a 
> child, she'd have had an adjustment when her vision declined, but not 
> nearly such a hard one as she did.
>
> In contrast, another friend of mine also had partial vision growing up. 
> Like you, Holly, his parents bucked the system, ensured he was taught 
> Braille, mobility with a cane, and so on.  they met with resistance, were 
> told they were unnecessarily making him look blind, and all the things you 
> are being told. As it turns out, even though doctors thought his vision 
> was stable, this friend also lost his remaining vision in his 20's.  In 
> contrast to my best friend from high school, this guy already had the 
> tools he needed to deal with the loss.  I'm not saying there was no 
> adjustment to it, but he could still read as fast as his peers, because he 
> was proficient in Braille, and could travel with his peers, because he 
> knew cane skills.
>
> All that to say that I think your insistance on your son's behalf will pay 
> off hugely in the long-term.  That's what it seems so many parents do: 
> sacrifice long-term independence for the short-term goal of their child 
> not, "looking blind."  I hate that phrase, by the way. All that to say, 
> more power to you as a parent taking the hard road now to pay off later.
>
> Alicia
>
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