Hello ARdith,   
      
   On Wed 2011-Jul-06 23:52, Ardith Hinton (1:153/716) wrote to Richard Webb:   
      
      
      
   AH>  she's reached a point where the printing has to be   
   AH>  enlarged so much that even at elementary level a single   
   AH>  word may not necessarily fit onto a single page.  But   
   AH>  it seems that everywhere Mom goes looking for help she's   
   AH>  told "We don't do Braille any more"... (sigh).   
      
   RW>  THere is a CAnadian FEderation of the Blind.  Have her   
   RW>  look on www.nfb.org, there may be links.   
      
      
   AH>            Ah.  Thankyou... I'll make sure she knows about it.  :-)    
      
   YEs, especially in light of what you tell me later in your   
   message.  The CAnadian FEderation may have advocacy help for parents as does   
   NFB here in the states.  Encourage her to   
   look there, and send emails to any/all email links begging   
   for help.   
      
   AH>            Yes, the family now has some materials & equipment on   
   AH> loan from the CNIB.  Mom reported a couple of years ago, however,   
   AH> that the CNIB was not very co-operative at the time because her   
   AH> daughter wasn't blind enough yet!  One of the problems we have   
   AH> encountered with organizations in general is the way they determine   
   AH> who qualifies for assistance.  It's obvious to this girl's mother...   
   AH> and to a certain pair of old schoolteachers... that she's   
   AH> functionally blind & has been for awhile.  I guess such   
   AH> organizations have to set limits somewhere. But Dallas & I have been   
   AH> in far too many other situations where it seems we're alone in   
   AH> recognizing what's happening & in making long-term educational   
   AH> plans.    
      
   Indeed, that's a problem.  Sometimes the teachers can be the best advocates   
   for the students, but sometimes not, which is why we have such programs here   
   in the states as the   
   individualized education plan, which is supposed to be   
   developed with professionals *and* parents, but first the   
   parents often have to be educated, both to understand   
   options and possible outcomes.  Usually CNIB and other such   
   agencies have to go by a legal definition of blindness,   
   often here in the states defined as 20/200 in the better eye with correction,   
   or a certain field of vision, can't recall   
   what those criteria are.  Encourage the family to use the   
   nfb.org resource to make contact with our sister   
   organization in CAnada, and be that squeaky wheel.   
      
      
   RW>  It's important to get the little ones started with   
   RW>  braille asap in these situation, imnsho.   
      
      
   AH>            That's my take on it.  Others disagree because they   
   AH> believe sighted or partially sighted folks try to cheat by using   
   AH> their eyes.  When a kid can't locate white crockery on a black   
   AH> tablecloth without using her fingers, I don't imagine she can see   
   AH> tiny raised dots with no colour contrast at all!  A person who can   
   AH> see well enough to read large print and/or who is satisfied with   
   AH> being read to by synthesized voices may not feel motivated to learn   
   AH> Braille, however ... from that standpoint you were fortunate in some   
   AH> ways.  At the blind school you probably didn't have a choice & your   
   AH> classmates were learning it too.  ;-)    
      
   YEs, but back then there were the dreaded "talking books" on record, or reels   
   of tape.  Also, and maybe you don't want to get me started on this one, but   
   the "professionals in the   
   field" had this grand experiment called "sightsaving" going   
   on, which they started after WW II when the system was   
   receiving a large influx of blind children thanks to the   
   babies blinded by incubators, or Retrolentral fibroplasia   
   (spelling)   Where they discouraged the use of   
   braille and encouraged use of magnification even though it   
   would handicap a student later in life, because we couldn't   
   get enough braille conversant instructors into the   
   classroom.  THey almost pigeonholed me into that one, but my mother fought   
   them successfully.  .   
      
   AH>                                 News Update   
      
   AH>            In our friend's case we're not sure how much of the   
   AH> desire to learn Braille comes from Mom & how much comes from her.    
   AH> Maybe the folks at the CNIB had some reservations about that at   
   AH> first.  Mom is not particularly assertive, but she's learning.  In   
   AH> September her daughter will be entering high school... where she'll   
   AH> allegedly get Braille instruction from a woman who is blind.  :-)    
      
   I hope so, and even if the daughter is reluctant the parents need to push.    
   tHe rest of her life depends upon her   
   developing literacy tools, and even if she mainly uses   
   braille to make notes for herself and to label household   
   items such as canned goods, medicines, etc. it's a tool she   
   can't afford to be without.  YEs tools such as the handheld   
   reader in a cell phone developed by Ray Kurzweil and the NFB in partnership   
   are available, but there's nothing like being able to use the blind person's   
   equivalent of a pencil to   
   make notes or label items that need labels, batteries not   
   required!   
      
      
      
   Regards,   
              Richard   
   ... Braille:  support true literacy for the blind.   
   ---   
    * Origin:  (1:116/901)