[Nfbmo] {Disarmed} Reposting a Facebook post that my wife made.

[Gary Wunder]

I come late to this discussion, so there may be comments that I have missed along the way. I think there is some truth in the fact that a picture is worth a thousand words. There are things that can be understood visually and tactiley that take forever to explain. Imagine trying to explain a seesaw and then feeling one. Would the explanation of a jungle gym ever excite the kind of memories and experiences that being on one would? Graphs have a wonderful way of making things clear that numbers simply obscure. So, if you can't see a thing, can we enlarge it so you can, or can we put it under your fingers so that you can take advantage of the sense that is most equivalent to sight? These are the things I worked to make happen when I was in college, but the problem is making them happen in real time. I had to ask somebody to help me after the class by using a raised line drawing board to convey what was on the chalkboard. If there were words in the presentation that I knew how to pronounce but not how to spell, I had to ask someone.

Now I may or may not be hitting on the points that are bothering you. When you talk about learning visually, you may be talking about the inaccessibility of websites or the places to which they send you. I remember that when Debbie was in class we had websites that she could navigate with little difficulty, but when she pressed a button that was to start a video important to her class work, it might well open a player that had no identifiable buttons to JAWS for Windows. This was like going 90 miles an hour in hitting a brick wall. It was like being handed an ice cream cone and then being told you couldn't eat it.

I am guessing that there are solutions to the problems you're facing, but to really help, I need to know more. Please share on the list or send me a private email. Also remember that there is a National Association of Blind Students list and a Missouri Association of Blind Students list. Both can be joined by going to Nfbnet.org. I caution that the national list has quite a bit of traffic, so part of being able to use it effectively is asking your questions and looking at those items that relate to what you have asked or to those items that you can respond to in helping someone else.

Warmly,

Gary