[blindkid] blindkid Digest, Vol 57, Issue 33 Subject: Has this happened to anyone?

[J DREICER]

Bonnie,
Could the VI or O and M teacher talk to the PE teacher?
Ask the PE teacher if there are student assistants in the class - often they are older students who run errands for the teacher or help with activities, perhaps they could run with Aubrie.
Ask the PE teacher if he/she could identify a few students in the class who may be willing to guide Aubrie during the run. The PE teacher could approach these students before/after class.
Does Aubrie run with a guide or does she run on her own? If she uses a guide can this person go to the class to demonstrate?
re: Aubrie's self advocacy. It sounds to me as if she was speaking up - she asked other students to guide her during this activity. I thought this was pretty mature.
Hopefully once Aubrie shows the others how capable she is they will not immediately assume that she may "slow them down"!
Janet
> 
> --------------------------------------------------
> From: "Bonnie Lucas" <lucas.bonnie at gmail.com>
> Sent: Friday, January 30, 2009 8:52 AM
> To: <blindkid at nfbnet.org>
> Subject: [blindkid] Has this happened to anyone?
> 
> > Something happened in PE yesterday which tells me that we still have a 
> > long way to go to help the school and staff understand that Aubrie is as 
> > capable
> > as the other children in the class. They had a situation where the 
> > children were to run around the gym as many times as possible. Aubrie was 
> > talking with
> > another student who is overweight and out of shape. This student knew that 
> > and she and Aubrie asked several students if they would be willing to be 
> > the
> > runner with Aubrie because Aubrie said that the route was confusing to her 
> > and she didn't feel comfortable running it by herself. They found no one 
> > who
> > was willing because as Aubrie put it, "they all assumed that I would slow 
> > them down." Aubrie is a fast runner and loves to run. So, she just went 
> > with
> > the girl and the girl quit, huffing and puffing after three times. Aubrie 
> > was not even breathing heavily. The teacher recognized this and agreed 
> > that Aubrie
> > should have been with someone who was in better shape. Aubrie was so angry 
> > that she could hardly tell me about it.
> >
> > Of course, the problem is that she just started PE after Christmas and I 
> > have not taken the time to speak personally or send a note to the PE 
> > teacher about
> > what blindness is and is not. Also the business of being a selfadvocate is 
> > still a piece of her personality that needs more work.
> >
> > My plan now is to send an educational note to the teacher in hopes of 
> > making the remainder  of the class better.
> >
> > Another thing that I wonder about. When I have tried to get Aubrie to role 
> > play with me on how to handle situations, she just refuses. I have tried 
> > to get
> > her to do this to help her with those advocacy skills. any ideas?
> >
> > Bonnie Lucas
> > (770) 992-0484
> > lucas.bonnie at gmail.com