[blindkid] Readers in Middle & High School

Melissa Ann Riccobono melissa at riccobono.us
Mon Aug 24 15:19:10 UTC 2015


The topic of readers is a great one. As a blind adult, there are just
certain things I can do so much more quickly with a human reader than with
any type of cool technology. So I'm glad to see you are exploring reader
training early.

Here are some thoughts...
I would probably not start out with a middle school student using only a
reader to gain information in an entire class. Certainly though, if there
are classes where this makes sense--science classes with lots of lab work,
computer classes where the tech doesn't play nicely with a screen reader,
this could be an option. For me, my first "reader" was the paraprofessional
who transcribed assignments etc. into braille for me. She usually read
because teachers did not get her assignments, tests, etc. quickly enough for
her to braille. She also helped me fill out forms, especially on the first
day of school, but at other times as well. My TBS also did some reading for
me, but he or she did not have as much availability as my para. To be clear,
my para was not a one on one. She mostly was a transcriber, but did help
with other things--mostly reading. So, obviously the district paid her for
her time. And, perhaps a para could be assigned to help with specific
reading tasks for a middle or high school student.
I know when my sister was in high school--either a junior or senior--one of
the books for her class was not available in braille or on cassette. She was
able to hire another student in the class to be her reader. This student was
paid through the Division of Rehab in WI. I think the funding fell under
transitioning to college. Don't know what type of money might be available
for readers from your state rehab, but if your child has an open case, or is
at least 14, this could be an option. The money could be used to pay either
someone in the class--although there could be problems with that depending
on the maturity of the students involved--or the money could be used to pay
someone outside the class to read. 

Volunteers from church, or some other volunteer community organization could
also work. The problem with volunteer readers sometimes though is they are
more interested in their own schedule than your child's... This might mean
they may not show up when they say they will, cancel sessions, etc. I had
one volunteer reader in college who was fantastic, but from what I've heard
from others, this is not always the case.
You may want to consider recruiting readers at a local college, especially
if they will be paid. You may even get the extra bonus of having someone
familiar with a specific subject area, which can be fantastic. Sometimes
readers can also do tutoring, which can be an extra bonus if it is needed.
 
 Of course you could pay the reader out of pocket, but I would use this as a
last resort. There should be other funding available, especially once your
child enters high school, and especially with all of the new focus on
transition and transition skills.
As for the going rate... I would probably say between 10 and 12 dollars an
hour. We've gone up to $15, but that is only when our reader is also serving
as our driver, which of course means the expense of gas.
Finally, it would probably be a good idea to have your child or children
talk to other blind adults who use readers. Managing readers is certainly a
skill, and I think the best people to learn this skill from are those who
use readers successfully. The person serving as the reader could also talk
to blind people who have used readers and get some training. This could even
be done with your child, which would be beneficial for everyone. It is
really not hard for someone to be a reader, but the reader does need to be
willing to read what is asked for, and not what he or she thinks is the most
important thing to read. The person managing the reader needs to learn how
to ask for the information which is needed. Although, again, this might be
as simple as saying they need chapter one of a book read. But, how fast? How
much info about the format of the text is wanted? If it's a computer class,
the reder should only click the mouse on the items they are asked to click.
He or she should not take over and start running the computer without
instructions, or without being asked, or letting the blind person know what
he or she is doing and why. This is especially critical if the student is
being graded in the class on the process of entering data into the computer
in order to creat some result. I hope that makes sense.
Finally, your child does need to be in on the decision of who will serve as
a reader. If the person is not working out, then someone else should be
found. I'm not saying this should happen right away when a problem arises.
Certainly your child needs to learn the skill of managing the reader, just
as the reader needs to learn the skills associated with being a reader. But,
certainly there are people who just are not good readers. They are either
hard to understand, read too fast, read too slow, cannot pronounce important
words correctly, and the list goes on.
Good luck.
Melissa

-----Original Message-----
From: DrV via blindkid [mailto:blindkid at nfbnet.org] 
Sent: Monday, August 24, 2015 2:39 AM
To: Blind Kid Mailing List, (for parents of blind children)
Cc: DrV
Subject: [blindkid] Readers in Middle & High School

Hi Again,
For those of you with reader experience for you middle & high school kids;
can you describe the logistics? Are most volunteers? Do you pay for then;
does the school district? What is the going rate for a paid reader?
I'm trying to get a sense of the spectrum.
Thanks
Eric
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