[Pibe-division] Large Print or Braille: Reflections of a Mother & of a Low Vision Young Adult

[Joanne Zucker]

Hello,
Would you please let me know specifically where I can find these perspectives.  
They are a reflection of me growing up with low vision and I am currently in a 
TVI program, getting my Masters.  I would like to reference these in my class 
discussions.  Thank you for your assistance.
Joanne




________________________________
From: DrV <pumpkinracer at gmail.com>
To: braille-n-teach at mlist.cde.ca.gov; Professionals in Blindness Education 
Division List <pibe-division at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Fri, May 13, 2011 1:00:13 AM
Subject: [Pibe-division] Large Print or Braille: Reflections of a Mother & of a 
Low Vision Young Adult


Hi All,
The topic of Large Print vs Braille came up recently on the NFB Parent Listserv. 
I realize that everyone’s situation is different & am passing no judgments, but 
would like to share the following 2 responses for they illustrate an important 
perspective & complement each other nicely. The first is a really well written 
post by the mother of a low vision child, the second is a post by a low vision 
young adult. 

 
1. One Mother’s Perspective:
My daughter is also "low vision" and began school as a print reader. The large 
print textbooks were always in black and white - even the maps and charts! Plus 
there is the added burden of having multiple (and heavy) large print books for 
one regular print book. While in high school she was able to get a few of her 
text books on CD. Usually, her large print text books were ordered in early 
spring prior to the beginning of school in the fall. I would suggest calling to 
make sure this is done. You will also need to get a copy of the list of 
classroom books for the upcoming year. Start working ahead of time to locate the 
books. All of them won't be available. I don't know how may times a book was 
copied, NOT bound, and given to my daughter as a stack of paper. I'm sure you 
can figure out the outcome of that!
I would like to caution you about how hard it is for a large print reader to be 
successful in school. What I say doesn't mean she won't be successful, but she 
will struggle to keep up with her peers. Your daughter is young and most print 
in books and text books for younger children is usually very large. I believe 18 
pt. font is the standard size font for large print readers. First graders 
usually have even larger font sizes. As your daughter progresses through school, 
each grade, the print becomes smaller and the amount of reading increases. A 
child with partial vision will never match the reading rates of totally sighted 
children. She will still need to complete the same assignments as her peers. She 
will still need to read all the books.
When our CTVI's do reading assessments for our "low vision" children, it is 
usually done in optimum conditions such as: clear, crisp reading material (large 
print copies are often grainy), quality lighting and usually not for an extended 
period of time. At the end of the assessment the kids are deemed "visual" 
learners. I assume this is determined because our kids are able to read print, 
but they don't take into account other obstacles. When our low vision kids are 
faced with reading novels, with very small print, they are often fatigued after 
a short while. My own daughter complained of neck aches, back aches, and head 
aches from the strain of visual reading. Homework always took twice as long if 
not longer. Most nights usually ended in tears from fatigue. Parents presume the 
professionals such as CTVI's have the knowledge and foresight of best 
educational decisions for our children. The fact is, that most hold low 
expectations for their educational outcome. Many don't know braille or how to 
teach it. Most have the presumption that braille is hard. Many say how horrible 
it is to ask a child to wear sleep shades to learn braille. None of my 
daughter's CTVI's ever witnessed what it took for her to complete her homework 
visually. While I complained, it fell on deaf ears.
I write this to you as one mother to another. Children do not have to be 
"totally blind" to benefit from braille. Low vision kids who learn braille are 
able to keep up with their peers in all reading material. You will hear this 
often - braille is an equalizer! My own daughter began teaching herself braille 
in the 7th grade. Her CTVI chastised her for wanting to learn braille, so she 
became a closet braille reader. We fought the school district and she finally 
received braille instruction her senior year of high school. Since she learned 
braille at an older age, her braille reading speed will probably never be equal 
to her peers, but now she has the opportunity to read for "pleasure"!
I hope I have given you some things to think about. I only wish someone had 
given me the wisdom and foresight into what would best benefit my child in the 
long run.
Thank you,
Kim Cunningham
 
2. One Young Low Vision Adult’s Perspective:
I agree with Darci! I LOVE reading now. It wasn't always like this though as I 
was a low vision child struggling with normal sized print because nobody would 
give me large print (most of the time).  But when I was in 7th grade (1996-1997 
school year), I taught myself Braille because none of my teachers thought I 
needed it (had 20/80 2/60 vision at 7inches from my nose, my eyes don't and 
never have worked together)!  That changed in 2 years in 9th grade when I had a 
major decrease in vision to 20/200 to 20/120. So, I am very glad I learned 
Braille even though I had to teach myself!
T. J.
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