[blindkid] TX School for Blind Assessment Braille ReadingRates??

Tue Mar 20 20:58:45 UTC 2012

Yes--videos say a thousand words----close to a hundred videos on my
site--many of braille readers and will be adding more to dispell this myth
on braille reading --everyone use them as you need too---
www.yourtechvision.com
Denise

On Tue, Mar 20, 2012 at 11:23 AM, Heather Field <missheather at comcast.net>wrote:

> Hello chantel,
> While I agree that knowing where the Texas School For The Blind came up
> with their nonsensical reading rates might be useful, you have already
> described how you believe the next meeting will go with the school
> personnel. I agree with you. It comes down to an argument like "we choose
> these reading standards and you don't think we've made a good choice. But,
> we're the experts and so are the TX people. So, while we acknowledge your
> displeasure, this is what we're going to do." You can argue with them back
> and forth for months, not sign the IEP - so they'll just keep using the old
> one - question their basis for the decision, which makes the TVI feel
> threatened and dislike you, and on it goes...for months and months.
> Meanwhile, nothing changes in the expectations or reading education being
> given to your son.
>
> Or, you can try what I've started doing whenever I go as parent advocate
> to IEP meetings. I take some videos of blind children doing whatever it is
> that the school district people are saying can't be done by blind children.
> They can't argue when they see several different blind children doing it. I
> usually introduce the videos by saying something like "now I'd like to
> share something that I'm sure everyone will be really please to see. I know
> that we all want what's best for (name child) and this should enable us to
> agree on what that best will look like for the next year." It's hard for
> teachers to say "well, we don't think that doing what these children are
> doing is best." Because they want each child to reach the highest outcomes
> possible. Their problem is that they don't believe that blind children, or
> adults, can reach outcomes on pa with the sighted. Videos usually work to
> raise their expectations. It's usually easier to get goals changed after
> the entire IEP team has seen that it's perfectly possible for your son to
> attain them. It takes away from the mistique and the "expertism" ascribed
> to the TVI by the rest of the team. She is then in the position of having
> to convince the whole team why, when everyone just saw it was possible, it
> won't be possible for your son.
>
> Denise may already have some videos of her students reading braille at
> age-appropriate rates. Or, if not, I'm sure she can direct you to some. I
> think this will smooth the way for lifting their expectations of your son.
> As an aside, I would also start having your son read at home for a set
> amount of time every night with a view to increasing his reading speed.
> Rewards are a great motivational tool as his age.
>
> Keep us posted and please share the links to any great videos you track
> down. there are so many parents fighting this fight all over the country. I
> think we need to petition The Texas School For The Blind to recant on these
> reading standards because they sure aren't realistic. I'm an adult blind
> reader and I read in excess of 400 words a minute. At age eight I was
> reading above my sighted peers; I know this because when tested at age six
> my mum reports that I was reading at 9-years and 8 months as determined by
> the sighted reading test norms, which they used because they didn't have
> any for braille readers. Ahhh! How things change and how they stay the same.
>
> Best regards,
> Heather
>
>
> -----Original Message----- From: Chantel Alberhasky
> Sent: Tuesday, March 20, 2012 11:57 AM
> To: Dr. Denise M Robinson ; Blind Kid Mailing List,(for parents of blind
> children)
> Subject: Re: [blindkid] TX School for Blind Assessment Braille
> ReadingRates??
>
> Denise, I share your thoughts re Braille reading rates and will insist on
> using the print reading rates as the norm for Drake.  Again, I am fortunate
> to have a state law which I believe requires Drake's fluency rate to be the
> comparable to his sighted peers print reading rate.
>
>
> At last year's IEP meeting we touched upon the fluency rate and I already
> know the administration's position on reading rates which is Braille is a
> slow reading medium, you can't use norms for print reading rates and my
> expectations are too high.   Drake's TVBI is great but I think she also
> subscribes to the belief that Braille is a slow reading medium - she just
> started with the district this past year and used to work for the
> university teaching future TVBI.
>
> Based upon the evaluation I think the  district is going to argue the
> norms sighted by the Texas School for the Blind is the norms they are going
> to follow. So I would like to know the Texas School for the Blind's
> authority for determining its norm rates. Did it reply upon other studies?
>  If so, which ones?  If it did its own study, how do I find it?  Is its
> study peer-reviewed?     These are questions I can pose to the district but
> I was hoping someone would have some insight re the assessment and reading
> rates.
>
> Thanks.
> Chantel
>
>
> Chantel L. Alberhasky, Esq
> 419 Boonville Avenue
> Springfield, MO 65806
> 417.865.4444
>
> The Missouri Bar Disciplinary Counsel requires all Missouri attorneys
> tonotify all recipients of e-mail that (1) e-mail communication is not
> asecure method of communication, (2) any e-mail that is sent to you or
> byyou may be copied and held by various computers it passes through as
> itgoes from me to you or vice versa, (3) persons not participating in
> ourcommunication may intercept our communications by improperly
> accessingyour computer or my computer or even some computer unconnected to
> eitherof us which the e-mail passed through. I am communicating to you
> viae-mail because you have consented to receive communications via
> thismedium. If you change your mind and want future communications to
> besent in a different fashion, please let me know AT ONCE.
>
>
> ______________________________**__
> From: Dr. Denise M Robinson <deniserob at gmail.com>
> To: Chantel Alberhasky <chantel at alberhaskylaw.com>; "Blind Kid Mailing
> List, (for parents of blind children)" <blindkid at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Tuesday, March 20, 2012 11:34 AM
> Subject: Re: [blindkid] TX School for Blind Assessment Braille Reading
> Rates??
>
>
> Chantel
>
> Basically you have researchers looking at what kids are doing and then
> they figure out the norms for what is actually going on--then they come up
> with reading rates--some research--  http://www.braille.org/papers/**
> jvib0696/vb960312.htm<http://www.braille.org/papers/jvib0696/vb960312.htm>
> However, reading rates of course depend on the expectations surrounding
> the child. If everyone expects this child to read slowly---in general they
> will. If however, the same standards are applied to a blind child as
> sighted child, you will see the blind child reach the same goals. Of course
> these expectations must be met with a highly qualified teacher of the blind
> who can teach to the standards that are set for everyone else. Depending on
> the teacher's skills typically depends on how far the child will go or not
> go.
>
> I use the same standards with my students as everyone else. If I get them
> and can start them at the same age as everyone else is learning the skills,
> they can stay with them or exceed them--esp when it comes to technology. If
> I get them later, it takes a lot more work, but if before middle school,
> they can reach these standards also typically by the time they graduate. If
> above middle school it becomes a lot harder, basically because there is so
> much bad thought in their own heads about what they can do. If you can get
> them over that and they work really hard they can get close and some
> surpass any low expectations that were set long ago.
>
> The longer you wait...the harder it is to change those negative thoughts
> about blind skills and achievement. You are right in fighting the bad
> thought. Tell them you wish for your child to follow Jerry Johns
> norms--which are the standards the sighted kids use, versus the low norms
> of that assessment kit THEY created. Many people have created their own.
>
> See link for Jerry Johns literacy norms and let them know these are the
> norms you want them to follow---the leading literacy expert in the field:
> http://www.yourtechvision.com/**content/standards-reading-**speed<http://www.yourtechvision.com/content/standards-reading-speed>
>
> Denise
>
>
> On Tue, Mar 20, 2012 at 8:50 AM, Chantel Alberhasky <
> chantel at alberhaskylaw.com> wrote:
>
> I just received the Braille skills evaluation report for my 8 year old
> son. Drake is in 2nd grade.  His oral Braille reading rate for second grade
> level is 50 WPM,  36 WPM for 3rd grade level and 34 for 4th trade level.
> The report goes on to say that Drake is "on track to achieve the norms as
> identified by the Texas School for the Blind (TSBVI) Assessment Kit Braille
> Reading Rates."   The Texas School for the Blind's braille reading rate for
> 3rd grade is only 51 WPM and for college it is only 115 WPM!  For print
> reading a 3rd grader should be reading 110 WPM.  So college Braille readers
> should be reading at the same level as a third grade student?!
>
>>
>>
>> Can anyone give me information on the Texas School for the Blind
>> Assessment Kit Braille Reading Rates?  How did they arrive at these rates
>> as being the "norm" for the various grade levels?   I know there hasn't
>> been any recent studies that would indicate the reading rates for Braille
>> so how did Texas School for the Blind come up with these very low rates?
>>
>> I will of course be arguing these rates are much too low.  I also have a
>> great state law I will rely upon which requires schools to provide
>> instruction so that a child can communicate effectively and efficiently in
>> Braille at a level commensurate with his sighted peers of comparable grade
>> level and intellectual functioning.   To rely upon the Texas School for the
>> Blind reading rates would be inconsistent with our state law.
>>
>> In any event, any information anyone can give me regarding TX School for
>> the Blind Assessment Braille Reading rates would be appreciated.
>>
>> Chantel L. Alberhasky, Esq
>> 419 Boonville Avenue
>> Springfield, MO 65806
>> 417.865.4444
>>
>> The Missouri Bar Disciplinary Counsel requires all Missouri attorneys
>> tonotify all recipients of e-mail that (1) e-mail communication is not
>> asecure method of communication, (2) any e-mail that is sent to you or
>> byyou may be copied and held by various computers it passes through as
>> itgoes from me to you or vice versa, (3) persons not participating in
>> ourcommunication may intercept our communications by improperly
>> accessingyour computer or my computer or even some computer unconnected to
>> eitherof us which the e-mail passed through. I am communicating to you
>> viae-mail because you have consented to receive communications via
>> thismedium. If you change your mind and want future communications to
>> besent in a different fashion, please let me know AT ONCE.
>>
>>
>> ______________________________**__
>> From: Dr. Denise M Robinson <deniserob at gmail.com>
>> To: "Blind Kid Mailing List, (for parents of blind children)" <
>> blindkid at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Monday, March 19, 2012 10:51 AM
>> Subject: Re: [blindkid] IQ testing
>>
>> The WWJIII is now in a braille format to access blind children and is
>> adapted appropriately--You can get it from APH
>> Denise
>>
>> On Mon, Mar 19, 2012 at 8:43 AM, Patricia <bcsarah.fan at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> As a blind aspiring counsellor who has my Bachelors in psychology, I
>>> am familiar with these IQ tests and have always been curious, has
>>> there been any attempt to make these tests accessible to blind and
>>> visually impaired children? Or is the answer just "they're not, and
>>> that's the way it is." I don't expect a definitive answer on this as
>>> I'm sure no one here would know, but it's always been one of those
>>> things that I've been curious about.
>>>
>>> Patricia
>>>
>>> On 3/19/12, Tom and Deb OConnor <toc6642 at charter.net> wrote:
>>>
>>> > Is a vision impairment a valid reason not to give a child a "complete"
>>> > Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-fourth edition?  The final
>>> > conclusion was that it would be inappropriate?  Given 5 subtests only.
>>> >
>>> > Thanks for any information on this.
>>> >
>>> > Tom & Debbie O'Connor
>>> > toc6642 at charter.net
>>> >
>>> > ______________________________**_________________
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>>> > blindkid at nfbnet.org
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>>> > To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
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>>> >
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>>> bcsarah.fan%40gmail.com<http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindkid_nfbnet.org/bcsarah.fan%40gmail.com>
>>> >
>>>
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>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Denise
>>
>> Denise M. Robinson, TVI, Ph.D.
>> CEO, TechVision, LLC
>> Specialist in Technology/Training/Teaching for blind/low vision
>> 509-674-1853
>>
>> Website with hundreds of informational articles & lessons all done with
>> keystrokes: www.yourtechvision.com
>>
>> "The person who says it cannot be done, shouldn't interrupt the one who is
>> doing it." --Chinese Proverb
>>
>> Computers are incredibly fast, accurate, and stupid: humans are incredibly
>> slow, inaccurate and brilliant; together they are powerful beyond
>> imagination.
>> --Albert Einstein
>>
>> It's kind of fun to do the impossible.
>> --Walt Disney
>> ______________________________**_________________
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>> ______________________________**_________________
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>>
>>
>
> --
> Denise
>
> Denise M. Robinson, TVI, Ph.D.
> CEO, TechVision, LLC
> Specialist in Technology/Training/Teaching for blind/low vision
> 509-674-1853
>
> Website with hundreds of informational articles & lessons all done with
> keystrokes: www.yourtechvision.com
>
> "The person who says it cannot be done, shouldn't interrupt the one who is
> doing it." --Chinese Proverb
>
> Computers are incredibly fast, accurate, and stupid: humans are
> incredibly slow, inaccurate and brilliant; together they are powerful
> beyond imagination.
> --Albert Einstein
>
> It's kind of fun to do the impossible.
> --Walt Disney
> ______________________________**_________________
> blindkid mailing list
> blindkid at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/**listinfo/blindkid_nfbnet.org<http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindkid_nfbnet.org>
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
> blindkid:
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> missheather%40comcast.net<http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindkid_nfbnet.org/missheather%40comcast.net>
>
> ______________________________**_________________
> blindkid mailing list
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> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
> blindkid:
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> deniserob%40gmail.com<http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindkid_nfbnet.org/deniserob%40gmail.com>
>

-- 
 Denise

Denise M. Robinson, TVI, Ph.D.
CEO, TechVision, LLC
Specialist in Technology/Training/Teaching for blind/low vision
509-674-1853

Website with hundreds of informational articles & lessons all done with
keystrokes: www.yourtechvision.com

"The person who says it cannot be done, shouldn't interrupt the one who is
doing it." --Chinese Proverb

Computers are incredibly fast, accurate, and stupid: humans are incredibly
slow, inaccurate and brilliant; together they are powerful beyond
imagination.
--Albert Einstein

It's kind of fun to do the impossible.
--Walt Disney