Hi, Richard! Recently you wrote in a message to Ardith Hinton:

Our friend's mother wants her to learn Braille because
she's reached a point where the printing has to be
enlarged so much that even at elementary level a single
word may not necessarily fit onto a single page. But
it seems that everywhere Mom goes looking for help she's
told "We don't do Braille any more"... (sigh).

THere is a CAnadian FEderation of the Blind. Have her
look on www.nfb.org, there may be links.

Ah. Thankyou... I'll make sure she knows about it. :-)

There waso might be assistance for her via Canadian
National Institute for the Blind.

Yes, the family now has some materials & equipment on loan from the CNIB. Mom reported a couple of years ago, however, that the CNIB was not very co-operative at the time because her daughter wasn't blind enough yet! One of the problems we have encountered with organizations in general is the way they determine who qualifies for assistance. It's obvious to this girl's mother... and to a certain pair of old schoolteachers... that she's functionally blind & has been for awhile. I guess such organizations have to set limits somewhere. But Dallas & I have been in far too many other situations where it seems we're alone in recognizing what's happening & in making long-term educational plans.

It's important to get the little ones started with
braille asap in these situation, imnsho.

That's my take on it. Others disagree because they believe sighted or partially sighted folks try to cheat by using their eyes. When a kid can't locate white crockery on a black tablecloth without using her fingers, I don't imagine she can see tiny raised dots with no colour contrast at all! A person who can see well enough to read large print and/or who is satisfied with being read to by synthesized voices may not feel motivated to learn Braille, however ... from that standpoint you were fortunate in some ways. At the blind school you probably didn't have a choice & your classmates were learning it too. ;-)

News Update

In our friend's case we're not sure how much of the desire to learn Braille comes from Mom & how much comes from her. Maybe the folks at the CNIB had some reservations about that at first. Mom is not particularly assertive, but she's learning. In September her daughter will be entering high school... where she'll allegedly get Braille instruction from a woman who is blind. :-)




--- timEd/386 1.10.y2k+
* Origin: Wits' End, Vancouver CANADA (1:153/716)