[Ohio-talk] Buckeye Update

[COLLEEN ROTH]

Hi Eric,
I agree one hundred percent.
This little should be taught print and Braille.
She can use the Print for small tasks when she is able but Braille will certainly stand her in good stead.
It will be an umhill battle.
The earlier it starts the better.
Colleen Roth
Pretident
At Large Chapter
NFB of OHIO



----- Original Message -----
From: Eric Duffy <eduffy at deltav.org>
To: "NFB of Ohio Announcement and Discussion List" ohio-talk at nfbnet.org
Date: Friday, March 29, 2013 5:24 pm
Subject: [Ohio-talk] Buckeye Update

>
>
> National Federation of the Blind of Ohio
> Buckeye Update, March 29, 2013
> 
> This is an historic update. It will be the first one to be posted to
> NFB-NEWSLINER.I will no longer send out a print issue. Anyone who wants
> access to this weekly update can read it by email or on NFB-NEWSLINE.
> The newsletter has been Emailed, posted on the Website, posted on
> NFB-NEWSLINE, and Deborah recorded it yesterday. I have not yet heard the
> recording, but I'm sure it's good. Thank you Deborah.
> I want to thank everyone who contributed to the newsletter. I
> especially want to thank Barbara for the job that she does as Editor. The
> comments that we have received have been overwhelmingly positive. I have had
> some people say it was too long and others who are unhappy about what didn't
> get included. I am proud of this issue, but I certainly acknowledge that we
> are all imperfect individuals who make up an imperfect organization, that
> publishes an imperfect newsletter. But I also know there's nobody out there
> who does it better. 
> We mailed out Scrip cards today. I want to thank Annette Anderson
> and Colleen Roth who ordered cards for the first time. Of course I want to
> thank all of those who continue to support our organization through NFB
> Scrip Ohio on a regular basis. 
> The Ohio Association of Blind Merchants now has a listserv. This is
> a members only list, but it shows that the organization is moving forward. I
> want to thank Annette Lutz for her leadership in this division. More good
> things are going to happen in the weeks and months ahead.
> The Education and legislative committees had a joint meeting Tuesday
> evening. We discussed the current requirements of our Braille Literacy law
> concerning Braille competency testing for teachers of blind students. I will
> write more about this issue in the months ahead. 
> We are united by our beliefs in the innate normality of blind
> people, by the belief that it is ok to be blind, and that it is respectable
> to be blind. We are joined by our love and respect for the National
> Federation of the Blind. We all defend our beliefs and our organization
> passionately, and when  we disagree with each other we do that passionately
> as well. But let us remember that we are a family. Let's treat each other
> lovingly, compassionately, and give each other all of the understanding,
> concern, and forgiveness that we ourselves want from our brothers and
> sisters. 
> In closing I am including part of an email I received this morning
> that reminds me of what the National Federation of the Blind and The NFB of
> Ohio is all about. 
>  Mr. Duffy,
> Hello.  My name is and my five-year-old daughter, Evie, has albinism.
> She'll be starting kindergarten in the fall, and I think it's very important
> that she learn Braille.  She is beginning to read print already and doing an
> awesome job, but I noticed that as she's moving from the simple readers with
> one sentence of print on a page to the more advanced beginner books with an
> entire page of print, her eyes are beginning to show signs of fatigue.  This
> is not a work avoidance technique on her part.  She's very motivated and
> will continue to read until she says she's finished.  Then, she'll rub her
> eyes, sometimes even cry, and say that her eyes hurt.  She's very sensitive
> to the light, and according to her, the light makes the white page too
> bright and makes her eyes hurt.  The print in these readers is the same size
> as the print in the simpler readers, so it isn't the size of the print.  I
> haven't had her IEP meeting yet, but I'm a teacher at a special ed preschool
> in another district.  The teacher for the visually impaired who will be
> working with her also works with a child in my building.  She stopped by my
> classroom to talk to me about Evie's meeting, and when I mentioned Braille
> instruction, I could tell immediately she is against it for children with
> albinism.  I've looked at what IDEA has to say about it, and it seems that
> the school district should provide her with Braille instruction.  However, I
> think it may be a battle to get it in place for her in the fall.  I'd
> appreciate any help you could give me in figuring out how best to go about
> getting the school district on board with Braille instruction.  Any
> information you have would be great.  
> Evie is a very bright child, and I don't want her to be held back by her
> vision at all.
> Thanks, 
> And the mother signs it. 
> We will help Evie, and we will support her family. We will see that she gets
> the Braille instruction that she needs. Nothing that we do or say is more
> important than helping blind children in every way that we can. If that's
> not what we are about as an organization, then we are about nothing that
> matters. Let's continue to work together to build a brighter for blind
> children like Evie.
> 
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