[blindkid] talking to a child about blindness

[Deborah Kent Stein]

Playing hide and seek with sighted kids taught me a lot about sight when I 
was growing up.  I remember being shocked when I discovered that sighted 
kids could see under doors; if I wanted to hide in a room by closing the 
door I had to get up on a piece of furniture and keep my feet off the floor. 
I also found that kids could find me when I hid behind a door because they 
could see through the gap by the hinges.  And I found out that bathroom 
windows are tinted so no one can see in.  Hide and seek is just one example 
of the myriad ways blind kids pick up working knowledge about vision.  The 
opportunities are endless, especially if kids feel comfortable asking 
questions.

Debbie

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Carol Castellano" <blindchildren at verizon.net>
To: "NFBnet Blind Kid Mailing List,(for parents of blind children)" 
<blindkid at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Thursday, March 11, 2010 4:13 PM
Subject: Re: [blindkid] talking to a child about blindness


>I don't know if you've ever heard Gary Wunder's story about how he found 
>out about clear and solid--it's a good one.
>
> I suppose you could get scientific about it and explain about light and 
> the fact that sighted people are pretty light-dependent :-).  She'll learn 
> all about that in physics class.  But for more immediate information, I 
> have a feeling it is just one of those things that blind people 
> memorize--most glass is clear, allowing sighted people to see through it. 
> Some curtains are see-through, as are some shower curtains.  Walls are 
> generally not.  Doors can be, if they have glass sections.  Mirrors are 
> not.  You get the idea.
>
> While we're on the subject, our kids need to learn that sighted people 
> cannot see around corners.
>
> Carol
>
> At 03:46 PM 3/11/2010, you wrote:
>>I like that. I will give it a try. That makes me think back and
>>remember how I used to tell her when she was very young and would tend
>>to drag her cane around how she didn't need the cane to tell her where
>>she had been, but rather where she was going...
>>
>>Any suggestions on the whole clear solids issue? She seems to take is
>>as a given now, but I do wish I could explain it better...
>>
>>Richard
>>
>>
>>
>>On Mar 11, 2010, at 12:19 PM, Carol Castellano wrote:
>>
>>>We've explained why sighted people can see out in front and to the
>>>sides by comparing the way eyesight works to the way a cane works-- 
>>>out in front and side to side.  We say that eyesight is like a much
>>>longer cane!
>>>Carol
>>>
>>>Carol Castellano, President
>>>National Organization of Parents of Blind Children
>>>973-377-0976
>>>carol_castellano at verizon.net
>>>www.nfb.org/nopbc
>>
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>
> Carol Castellano, President
> National Organization of Parents of Blind Children
> 973-377-0976
> carol_castellano at verizon.net
> www.nfb.org/nopbc
>
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