HI Ardith,   
      
   On Mon 2039-Apr-04 22:26, Ardith Hinton (1:153/716) wrote to Richard Webb:   
      
   RW>  I think he also spoke with the band director at the school   
   RW>  for the blind, and understood that I'd work out the tools I   
   RW>  needed to perform competently.   
      
      
   AH>            I get the impression he was basically on the right track,   
   AH> but found his own learning curve rather steep at times.  When our   
   AH> daughter was about two years old I noticed that she was devising   
   AH> some good educational strategies for herself in many areas.  She   
   AH> still needed help in certain areas, of course, and so did I.  But in   
   AH> general I'm inclined to agree with the teacher at the school for the   
   AH> blind in that a bright & articulate student such as you would   
   AH> probably have more understanding of what works for him than others   
   AH> would by the time he reached junior high.  One of the problems   
   AH> Dallas & I have often encountered as parents is (as Nora puts it) "I   
   AH> try to tell them, but they don't listen".  :-(    
      
   INdeed, by the time a person gets to that age, especially if he/she has lived   
   with a certain condition, i.e. blindness   
   all his life then he should be able to think through   
   something and devise strategies effectively.   
      
   AH>            Give a man a fish, and he will have food for a day...   
   AH> teach him how to fish, and he will have food for a lifetime (Chinese   
   AH> proverb).  As a teacher my inclination is to make people think, but   
   AH> not everybody appreciates that!  I had students who pleaded for   
   AH> stuff they could copy, memorize, and regurgitate. Knowing what I   
   AH> know now I recognize this learning style as the preferred style of   
   AH> about 40% of the general population.  The percentage among   
   AH> bureacrats is, I suspect, even higher.  Regarding "the system" one   
   AH> also has to contend with the bean counters whose idea of efficiency   
   AH> is hiring whoever will work for minimal pay doing things to or for a   
   AH> client, where some folks might eventually be able to do these things   
   AH> for themselves with a larger investment up front... (sigh).    
      
   INded, I find that often.  IN many different walks of life.   
      
      
   RW>  Ask many blind college students, and they'll tell you that the   
   RW>  disability services office on campus is both bane and boon.   
      
   AH>            I could say the same of many services here... (wry grin).   
   Was no such thing as a "disability services" office back in   
   my college days .   
      
      
   RW>  YOu'd be surprised the number of blind college grads that do   
   RW>  not have effective techniques for hiring training supervising,   
   RW>  and paying readers.   
      
   AH>            Nah.  It takes more than that to surprise me....  :-))    
      
   eVerybody works a little different, and one needs to have   
   the power to retain/replace readers.  Without control of the purse you don't   
   have.  Kathy and I have been together over a decade now, and she's finally   
   figuring out how to read   
   something orally and maximize get the work done, such as   
   help me skim the manual for a new piece of electronic   
   equipment, etc.  sHe's used to doing the start of a section   
   and me interrupting with "skip it we'll come back to that."   
   OR she'll get "mark that place we might need that."   
      
   AH>            Trying to synthesize what I know (or think I know) with   
   AH> what you've said about readers, however... the library at UBC uses   
   AH> volunteers to record at least some material.  In this case different   
   AH> chapters of a book are often read by different people who are   
   AH> probably not identified by name.  Thus the student can't say to   
   AH> person xxx "I like your style... will you work for me privately?" as   
   AH> we did with a few of Nora's therapists.  And in my experience a   
   AH> person with special needs generally doesn't have all of them met by   
   AH> one organization.  :-)    
      
   MIght be difficult, only things I"ve seen read like that   
   here in the states were some periodicals done by smaller   
   organizations.  The big audio producers in the blindness   
   reading world, American PRinting HOuse, American Foundation   
   for the Blind, would use a single reader, and were pretty   
   diligent about getting him/her to pronounce acronyms and   
   unfamiliar words correctly.  A dectionary and other tools   
   are always handy to the reading booth I understand.   
   SPeaking of which, years ago AFB in NEw York used a room for their talking   
   book studio where you could hear the squeak of the hvac fan.  I wrote them a   
   couple letters about it, and   
   I'm not a frequent talking book user as some are.  But, over that couple year   
   period I happened to notice it on more than one title which was recorded at   
   APH.  I was surprised their   
   recording engineer didn't say anything.   
      
   RW>  Even if rehab or somebody else picks up the tab good   
   RW>  programs put the power to hire fire and train, as well   
   RW>  as the responsibility for submitting vouchers and other   
   RW>  requisite paperwork to get the reader paid directly on   
   RW>  the user of the reader.   
      
   AH>            Dallas & I managed to find a few good programs and obtain   
   AH> help with certain expenses.  In general, however, we had to do our   
   AH> own research WRT such matters... and we tolerate the endless   
   AH> paperwork in order to get the most bang for the buck.  We have the   
   AH> power to hire & fire & train our own employees now, but we are older   
   AH> & more experienced than the average university student.  It's   
   AH> important to remember also that many people (regardless of age)   
   AH> prefer to have others take care of all the arrangements and/or tell   
   AH> them what they should do. If you're not like that it may be more   
   AH> difficult to get what you want....  ;-)    
      
   RIght, but even though you might prefer to have that lifted   
   from your shoulders in college, that's when you need to   
   develop those skills.  cOllege is supposed to be the end   
   game of prep for life.  IF you're going to live as a blind   
   person part of preparing for life out there on the rat race   
   course is to learn how to manage your readers effectively,   
   obtain services you *do* need, and say no to those you   
   really don't.  Iow empowerment is more than a buzz word with some of us >   
      
      
   RW>  MOre later, I have to run a network on the ham radio   
   RW>  later this morning so better organize myself .   
      
      
   AH>            And in view of what's been going on in Japan & various   
   AH> other places I'm completely supportive of what you're doing!  First   
   AH> we have to survive on a physical level, then we can afford to   
   AH> ruminate on what makes people tick.  :-)    
      
   YEp, in fact that net was working with some vessels in the   
   pacific that day, advising many to turn back instead of   
   heading *for* shore, telling them to stay out another day or two, in open   
   waters they had a better chance of surviving it without damage.   
      
   Regards,   
              Richard   
   --- timEd 1.10.y2k+   
    * Origin:  (1:116/901)