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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D">Hi Sylvia,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D">You’re welcome, I’m glad you liked the article and that you’ll find it useful. I hope it helps out your student and his family. Hearing that it might just help some actually made my day so thanks for sharing.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D">I read large print first as a kid and then later transitioned to Braille. I too hated it at first so I can understand your student. I’m thankful every day though now that I stuck with it.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D">Feel free to share my email address with the parents if that would be helpful –
<a href="mailto:hillikera@gmail.com">hillikera@gmail.com</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D">I’ve considered the idea of reworking a version of this article for a parent audience rather than a mostly educator one, but I haven’t decided just how to best do that. Parents’ views on this topic can be so
filled with complex emotions, I’m not sure how to give them info while still being sensitive to that. I’d be interested in others’ perspective on that though.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D">Thanks for the nice email and good luck with your student and his family.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D">Best,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D">Allison<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"">From:</span></b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif""> PIBE-Division [mailto:pibe-division-bounces@nfbnet.org]
<b>On Behalf Of </b>Sylvia Ekdahl via PIBE-Division<br>
<b>Sent:</b> Wednesday, November 25, 2015 11:51 AM<br>
<b>To:</b> Professionals in Blindness Education Division List<br>
<b>Cc:</b> Sylvia Ekdahl<br>
<b>Subject:</b> Re: [Pibe-division] Article: A NewPerspective on Literacy for Students with Low Vision<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Thanks Allison for this article. It is so very timely as I am having disagreement with a parent about braille. She has a negative attitude about it and doesn't want to give up the print just in case he has a surgery that makes his vision
come back-this is unlikely. I say we need to push the braille and since he does know his ABC's (48 pt font), he could transition back to print if his eyesight improves. After all, r-e-d spells red in both print and braille. I plan to print this article and
send it home to her before we have a team meeting last week. I think she is about to severely reduce or discontinue the braille because the student doesn't like it and refuses to do it. <o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Thanks again and happy Thanksgiving!<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Sylvia Woodard Ekdahl, M.Ed, COMS, CTVI<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><br>
Sent from my iPhone<o:p></o:p></p>
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On Nov 25, 2015, at 12:29 PM, Allison Hilliker via PIBE-Division <<a href="mailto:pibe-division@nfbnet.org">pibe-division@nfbnet.org</a>> wrote:<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Hi Everyone,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Thought some of you might like to read the article I posted yesterday. While it's on the Bookshare blog, its main focus isn't actually Bookshare. I wrote a post aimed at educators that tried to encourage the use of Braille for partially
sighted students. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Here's the link: <a href="http://bookshareblog.wpengine.com/2015/11/a-new-perspective-on-literacy-for-students-with-low-vision/">
http://bookshareblog.wpengine.com/2015/11/a-new-perspective-on-literacy-for-students-with-low-vision/</a>.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I work doing technical support for Benetech/Bookshare. I've noticed that many of the TVIs who contact me through Bookshare are heavily encouraging large print and magnification for their low vision students. While that's great if it works,
I couldn't help but wonder whether at least some of these kids might have an easier time reading if they were to try Braille. While a Bookshare support call is not the appropriate place for a conversation about media choice for low vision students, I thought
I could try to present the idea through a blog post just to get people thinking.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It's titled a New Perspective on Literacy, but many of us in the NFB won't consider it a new perspective at all. In fact it's a perspective that existed long before I was born. But I titled it in this way in hopes that it may catch the
interest of educators who are not in the NFB or who don't know many compitant Braille readers. I don't know if it'll actually get anyone to consider Braille for their students, but I'm hopeful.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I would love feedback from anyone on this list. Also, please feel free to forward to colleagues who you think may find the article interesting.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Best,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Allison<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">_______________________________________________<br>
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