A few more thoughts.<div>My 1st grade son Petras (no functional vision) uses a crayon to circle or mark numbers on his math homework & classwork - I think that is perfectly fine & natural.</div><div>My older son (also no functional vision) transitioned to a pen (which he could feel) once it was no longer age appropriate to be using a crayon.</div>
<div>My wife modifies his Lithuanian Saturday school worksheets & we have Petras similarly find letters or letter combinations with his fingers & then he mark them off with a crayon (which he can feel) - this can all be done tactilely without then looking at the letter; his sighted classmates also circle print letters or letter combos with a crayon or pencil or pen -> Petras is performing a similar task.</div>
<div>The marking actually seems reasonable to me & has functional utility for a child to independently complete homework & classwork.</div><div>I am interested in hearing about alternatives.</div><div>I am less enthusiastic about connecting the lines - this seems less functional. Seems to me the objective would help decide how appropriate that is.</div>
<div>As to the point avoiding feeling for the braille, Petras could write his letters in English & Lithuanian long before he could recognize the dot combinations. For the longest time he was not particularly interested in feeling the specifics of what he actually wrote. It was really just a little after he turned 7 that he really began to try to more intently figure out what each dot combo represented. He has made wonderful progress this year. My eldest son know all the letters tactilely by 2 1/2. Every kid is a little different.</div>
<div>Best wishes,</div><div>Eric V </div><div><br></div><div><div><br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Thu, Mar 5, 2009 at 2:49 PM, Carrie Gilmer <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:carrie.gilmer@gmail.com">carrie.gilmer@gmail.com</a>></span> wrote:<br>
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<p><font size="2" color="navy" face="Arial"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy">All lines were directed to be drawn and
circled by the student. Picture of it taken by mother is attached.</span></font><font color="navy"><span style="color:navy"></span></font></p>
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<p><font size="2" color="navy" face="Arial"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy">Six years old, albinism, 20/160-200
measured with correction. Please everyone comment.</span></font></p>
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<p><font size="3" color="navy" face="Times New Roman"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:navy"> </span></font></p>
<p><font size="2" color="navy" face="Arial"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy">Carrie Gilmer, President</span></font><font color="navy"><span style="color:navy"></span></font></p>
<p><font size="2" color="navy" face="Arial"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy">National Organization of Parents of Blind
Children</span></font><font color="navy"><span style="color:navy"></span></font></p>
<p><font size="2" color="navy" face="Arial"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy">A Division of the National Federation of
the Blind</span></font><font color="navy"><span style="color:navy"></span></font></p>
<p><font size="2" color="navy" face="Arial"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy">NFB</span></font><font size="2" color="navy" face="Arial"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy"> National Center</span></font><font size="2" color="navy" face="Arial"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy">: 410-659-9314</span></font><font color="navy"><span style="color:navy"></span></font></p>
<p><font size="2" color="navy" face="Arial"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy">Home Phone: 763-784-8590</span></font><font color="navy"><span style="color:navy"></span></font></p>
<p><font size="2" color="navy" face="Arial"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy"><a href="mailto:carrie.gilmer@gmail.com" target="_blank">carrie.gilmer@gmail.com</a></span></font><font color="navy"><span style="color:navy"></span></font></p>
<p><font size="2" color="navy" face="Arial"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy"><a href="http://www.nfb.org/nopbc" target="_blank">www.nfb.org/nopbc</a></span></font></p>
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<p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">I'm attaching a Braille sheet that came home
today. I get these many times a week. Is it strange that Brian is
instructed to circle and draw lines? It appears that he is being directed
to approach Braille visually. </span></font></p>
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<p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">Please tell me if this is normal or acceptable
for teaching a low-vision child Braille. Please tell me if this is so far
out of the norm that I should be very concerned. </span></font></p>
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<p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">Thank you!</span></font></p>
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<p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">:) Carolynn</span></font></p>
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