[blindkid] new to the group :)

[DrV]

Hi Maggie,
Its not going to be easy to do it without professionals helping, but it is 
do-able. My kids attend our local neighborhood school, but there are other 
home-schooling parents on this list-serve.
A colleague & friend of mine has a 10 year old who was recently diagnosed 
with visual field defects. He can see the beginning and end of longer words, 
but not the middle portion. He is bright and has been able to fill in the 
literal blanks based on context, but his desire to read books and his 
reading fluency and comprehension have dropped slowly the last few years. 
They wondered about braille as a possible solution. Their son was very 
excited about the proposal. Within 4 weeks, with minimal formal instruction, 
his fingers are reading at 40-50 wpm.
My kids go to Lithuanian Saturday school & my wife braille & modifies 
everything for them. So, it is doable, but not easy.
There are LOTS of resources out there, but you need to learn about them to 
access them. Your son likely want to jump into technology & that may even be 
an incentive or tool to help him learn braille more quickly. Get hooked up 
with some local or regional parents & the local NFB chapter. There is lots 
to learn.
What part of the country do you live in?
Best wishes,
Eric V

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Maggie Travers" <blestproverbswoman at yahoo.com>
To: <blindkid at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Thursday, July 29, 2010 15:23
Subject: [blindkid] new to the group :)


>I am new to the group and would appreciate any and all help and information 
>that I can get!
>
> My 10 year old son recently lost his vision due to tumor surgery. They 
> expect him to recover his vision in 1-3 years, but we don't now to what 
> degree that will be. He was already legally blind in his left eye with 
> permanent visual field loss.
>
> We are trying to equip him continually for where he is currently and to 
> allow him to be as independent as possible. We've made some modifications 
> to our apartments ( like motion detection lights) and have gotten him a 
> white cane that we are figuring out. I also homeschool him and my other 
> two kiddos. We do not want to involve the school system for personal 
> reasons and past experiences. I am currently enrolled in Hadley's 
> Introduction to Braille.
>
> I know he would benefit from mobility training and a braille teacher. Our 
> resources are very limited. Any links, suggestions, etc would be much 
> appreciated!
>
> Thank you so much!
> Maggie Travers
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> mom to Isaiah, 10 years old
>
> diagnosed 9/2007, ommaya placements and shunt placement (x3) 9/2007, 
> radiation treatments 10-11/2007, shunt revision 5/2009, craniotomy 8/2009 
> and 6/2010 resulting in blindness and blood clot from foot to his hip
>
> DDAVP, hydrocortizone, synthroid, lovenox shots
>
> www.caringbridge.org/visit/isaiahtravers
>
>
>
> ...striving to be a Proverbs 31 woman.
>
>
>
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