[nfb-talk] NY Times Article on Gov. Paterson and Braille

[Alicia Richards]

Holly, yes, things can get pretty crazy around here, which is why I do not 
post often, unless it is something which I feel strongly about, such as this 
is.

I very, very much admire the approach you are taking with your son, and the 
strength you have to advocate and push to make sure he gets the training he 
needs.  Yes, the beliefs of most so-called professionals are astounding.

One of my best friends from high school has partial vision, and was raised 
to believe that Braille, cane, and other techniques were bad things, and 
that she did not need them.  Doctors said her vision was stable, no danger 
of declining. So, these beliefs that anything alternative was bad were 
pushed by her family, who did not want her to look different, but the family 
was educated by said professionals who felt she did not need the skills of 
blindness. After all, she was not blind, she just simply didn't see as well 
as others could.  Never mind that her Coke-bottle glasses got her made fun 
of in school just as much as someone's cane might have them.  When she was 
17, her vision took a very sharp decline. all of a sudden, she needed 
braille, cane, and so on. These things were hard for her to learn at that 
later age.  Had she been given the tools she needed as a child, she'd have 
had an adjustment when her vision declined, but not nearly such a hard one 
as she did.

In contrast, another friend of mine also had partial vision growing up. 
Like you, Holly, his parents bucked the system, ensured he was taught 
Braille, mobility with a cane, and so on.  they met with resistance, were 
told they were unnecessarily making him look blind, and all the things you 
are being told. As it turns out, even though doctors thought his vision was 
stable, this friend also lost his remaining vision in his 20's.  In contrast 
to my best friend from high school, this guy already had the tools he needed 
to deal with the loss.  I'm not saying there was no adjustment to it, but he 
could still read as fast as his peers, because he was proficient in Braille, 
and could travel with his peers, because he knew cane skills.

All that to say that I think your insistance on your son's behalf will pay 
off hugely in the long-term.  That's what it seems so many parents do: 
sacrifice long-term independence for the short-term goal of their child not, 
"looking blind."  I hate that phrase, by the way. All that to say, more 
power to you as a parent taking the hard road now to pay off later.

Alicia 


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