Blindness and Independence: A Report on the July 2, 1988, NFB Parents Seminar

Blindness and Independence: A Report on the July 2, 1988, NFB Parents Seminar

Future Reflections Fall 1988, Vol. 7 No. 3
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BLINDNESS AND INDEPENDENCE

Report on the July 2,1988 NFB Parents Seminar
[PICTURE] Diane Croft (standing in front of the typewriter), Marketing
Manager of the National Braille Press, discusses the
parents' seminar agenda with Debbie Hamm, Secretary
of the NFB Parents of Blind Children Division.
[PICTURE] Mike Delaplane of Illinois has a chat with his son, Matt,
before he takes off for the zoo and Dad attends the
parents' seminar.
[PICTURE] Lori LeBlanc (back row, far right) organized and conducted a trip to the zoo for some thirty children on Saturday, July
2, the day of the parents' seminar. It was a toss-up about who had the most fun-the helpers (back row) or the children.
On July 2, in Chicago, Illinois, about 200 parents,
teachers, and interested blind adults gathered to
explore what "independence" means for blind
children and adults. It was a truly enlightening
and exciting seminar.
While parents and older blind youth mentally explored
what it meant to be blind and independent,
younger children had a chance to do a
different kind of exploration. They were taken on
trips to the zoo and nearby museums by blind
members (volunteers) of the NFB.
The seminar was kicked off with a presentation
by Diane McGeorge, First Vice President of the
National Federation of the Blind. Mrs. McGeorge
talked about her early childhood and
how important it was to her eventual independence
that she had a mother who didn't
tolerate her temper tantrums, and insisted early
on that she take responsibilities just like
everyone else in the household.
Next, a panel discussed how parents can lay the
groundwork for independence during the infant,
toddler, and preschool stages. Barbara Walker, a
blind mother who grew up as a blind child, had a
useful and unique perspective to offer because
her older sister was also blind. Although both of
them are happy and successful adults, they
developed very differently as children.
Jane Kronheim, creator of "Learning Pillows,"
was the next speaker on the panel. Jane talked about her background as an educator of blind
children, and how she came to invent Learning
Pillows; pillows with special features for the blind
child to discover as the parent or teacher tells the
story or poem that comes with the pillow. Jane
emphasized the importance of developing basic
concepts and skills in the early years and of learning
to use the senses (especially touch) skillfully.
The final member of the panel was Charlotte
Verduin, mother of a blind child. Charlotte
shared her experiences within a framework of
what is known about how children develop and
mature. Her knowledgeable and commonsense
approach was inspiring.
We then moved on to a discussion of independence
and the older child. Doris Willoughby,
a teacher of blind children and author of many
excellent publications on the education of blind
children; teamed up with blind adult and former
public school teacher, Dr. David Ticchi; to give a
presentation full of sound, practical advice on
how to promote independence in the older child.
We then changed the orientation some, and
moved to a panel discussion entitled, "What Does
Independence Mean for Blind Parents and Their
Children?" Blind parents Mary Willows and
Gary Mackenstadt both concluded that basic
skills in alternative techniques (such as mobility,
Braille, etc.) are really important to blind
parents. Without the skills and confidence, blind
parents are limited in how much they can get involved
with their child's education and interaction
with the world outside the immediate home
environment. Not only was this panel useful to
the blind parents attending the seminar, but it
was truly instructive to parents of blind children
who want their children to someday have families
of their own.
One of the big hits of the day was the panel of college
students. Melody Lindsey, Tom Ley, and
Patti Gregory shared some very personal experiences
with us. Although each had a different
background--they became blind at different
times in their childhood or youth, and two were
from broken homes--they all emphasized the importance
of becoming independent and responsible
in the small everyday aspects of life, as well
as in mobility and reading Braille.
After lunch, we had an instructive session about
technology and the blind. Debra Bonde, Director
of Seedlings, Braille Books for Children;
Diane Croft, Marketing Manager for National
Braille Press; and Curtis Chong, President, NFB
in Computer Science Division were the panelists
for this session. Debra Bonde talked about how
computer technology has made it possible for her
to transcribe and make Braille books for children available at such reasonable prices. Diane Croft
gave an overview of how advances in technology,
greater public acceptance of the handicapped,
and a growing unfulfilled need for service
workers, is creating a better than ever employment
climate for the blind. She also warned of the
dangers of Braille illiteracy and the adverse impact
this would have on employment possibilities
for the blind. Curtis Chong wrapped the panel up
by placing technology in the proper perspective;
that is, technology doesn't solve problems,
people solve problems.
Finally, Ruth Swenson joined with blind student,
Todd Elzey, to talk about independence and the
blind, multiple handicapped child. Ruth is blind
and has arthritis. She has a son who is blind and
learning disabled. To top it off, she has worked
professionally with blind, mentally retarded
children and adults and is currently a practicing
attorney. She talked about evaluations and
educational placements of the blind, multiple
handicapped child. Todd gave us an upbeat, personal
perspective on what it is like to strive for independence
when you are blind and hearing impaired.
The
formal presentations ended at 3:00 p.m. and
for the next two hours, participants could choose
to attend small group workshops on Cane Travel,
Braille, or Touch-It.
In the cane travel workshop, parents were given
canes and taken out into the halls of the hotel, or
even outside, and given instruction by blind
adults who travel this way all the time. For those
parents who had questions about mobility that
they wanted discussed, they also had the option
of joining a discussion group led by Fred
Schroeder. (Fred is the Director of the New
Mexico Commission for the Blind. He has been
a mobility instructor and an administrator of
public educational programs for blind children.)
One parent commented that she hadn't realized how "illiterate" she was about what was involved
in independent cane travel until she attended this
workshop.
Nadine Jacobson, the Braille instructor at Blind,
Inc. (the NFB of Minnesota rehabilitation training
center), coordinated the Braille workshop.
Parents were given a slate and stylus, a Braille alphabet
card, and Braille paper and then asked to
don sleepshades (blindfolds) for this learning experience.
It must have been a good experience
for a large number of parents chose to buy slates
after the workshop. Teachers of blind children were also on hand to field questions about Braille
instruction for children.
The 'Touch-It" workshop was led by Barbara
Walker and Jane Kronheim. The emphasis in this
session was in how to develop good tactile skills
in young blind children. Jane demonstrated her
products and talked about how parents could use
them to develop skills and concepts (follow the
rick-rack path up and down). Her learning pillows
are also designed to appeal to the visual
sense, and there was much discussion about how
parents can help a child learn to use and integrate
whatever vision he/she has with other methods (such as tactile) of gaining information.
When the day ended, parents were reunited with
the children who had gone on the NFB sponsored
zoo or museum trips. Both parents and children
were tired, but happy. Parents learned how they
could better help their blind child negotiate that
sometimes rocky road to independence and
children and youth had a chance to interact with blind adults who live and work independently as
a matter of course.
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