Letters From Parents

Letters From Parents

Future Reflections Fall 1987, Vol. 6 No. 3
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LETTERS FROM PARENTS
The letters we receive from parents reveal a
pattern about the problems and progress of the
blind.
We hear heartbreaking stories of how schools
and professionals are failing our children. They
are failing to teach them skills, such as Braille,
mobility, even typing, that they need. They are
failing to surround them with a positive attitude
about blindness and the skills of blindness.
But we also hear from parents who are putting
behind them the old myths of blindness and are
beginning to believe that blindness really can be
reduced to a physical nuisance.
We hear from parents who are coming to understand
how public attitudes affect the future of
their children, and who want to do something to
change those attitudes.
There is some irony in the fact that while
educational services are deteriorating, parents of
blind children are becoming more knowledgeable
about blindness and confident about what
their child needs.
What will parents do about it? How will they
use their new knowledge and confidence? What
does any of this have to do with the adult blind or
the National Federation of the Blind?
Here are some samples of letters from parents
which speak to these very questions.
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May 19, 1986
Upon becoming the parent of a blind child I
began sending for as much information as I could
in regards to blindness from every source I could
find. It has taken me some time to "weed out" the
useful from the non-useful. Future Reflections
and the Braille Monitor have done the most in educating me about blindness and my attitude
regarding blindness....
Sincerely,
Kathy Frasier
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June 17, 1987
Dear Gentlemen:
My son has been blind since the age of 12 and
has been receiving your magazine for about a
year. He is now now fourteen. I have never listened
to your magazine till now, but the other day
I decided to hear what your magazine was all
about. I was throughly appalled when I heard the
story of Kevan and Debra Worley in your April,
1987 issue.
I realized my son's life would be difficult now,
but I had no idea [of] the disrespect and humiliation
some blind people are put through. The account
of Kevan and Debra has made me fear for
my son's future.
We live in a small town and as far as I know,
my son is the only blind child here. It is very hard
to get any information about services for the
blind here. The people I have asked here (social
service organizations and the like) don't seem to
know of any organizations, services, or schools
outside of this area. Would anyone at your
magazine know where I could write to obtain a
list of blind schools in the western states? We
should like to move to an area where my son
could get good training to prepare him for the future.
Also, would it be possible to get a printed
copy of your magazine each month?
Thank you for your help and for your enlightening
publication. Keep up the good work.
Very truely yours,

Suzan Palmer
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February 14, 1987
Dear Friend,
Thank you for all of the interesting material
which you have been sending us. My husband and
I are especially interested in the current news article.
We are gratified each time we read about
the undying efforts of the National Federation
members striving for a better understanding
world for the blind; and especially [gratified]
when new pathways have been opened [for the
blind]. We truely admire and respect those who
seek their rights and believe in standing up for
them, even at the cost of suffering disrespect,
humiliation, and prejudice. We say--"Fight on,
brothers and sisters. Let perseverance be your
reward!"
Our interest in the Federation, incidentally, is
the wonderful privilege and experience we've enjoyed
of having raised a daughter who was totally
blind, almost from birth. Now that she is a
grown woman--well educated, gainfully
employed, and happily married--we have, as
parents, resolved to spend the remainder of our
lives trying to convince others about what we
learned.
Our conclusion is that blind people are not
"different" people, unless we make them so. The
only possible way they could be regarded as different
is their method of "seeing" and reading.
We learned the real truth of this by witnessing life
through our daughter's eyes--and she has none!
There will always be people in this world who
prefer to remain ignorant and filled with useless
sympathy towards the blind. We, as members of
the National Federation of theBlind, should continue
to uphold the rights, honors, and privileges
of the blind in order to attain...a better understanding
by the public.
Wishing you continued success!
I remain, (Mrs.) Irene Gryskiewiez
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July 16, 1987
Dear Sir:
Could you please send me a cane for my daughter
along with instructions on cane travel. I'm afraid
our public school system is not going to be very
cooperative with is on teaching our daughter...to
travel by cane. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Linda Mors
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The following is a portion of a letter from a
parent of an adopted, legally-blind child to the
California affiliate of the NFB.
July 6, 1987
As my child is four and will be in an integrated
preschool another year, our concerns over his
education plan can stay on the backburner
another year. However, we will be going through
another "informal assessment" and I.E.P. in the
fall.
...I met the resource teacher at the elementary
school. Of the eight children involved in that
program, all had come out of the preschool run
by the city school who had "multi-handicaps and
visual impairments." She did have a totally blind
child who was classified autistic who was receiving
Braille. The rest were learning print from her
"marvelous machines." There is one kindergartener
girl, diagnosed with 20/800 vision, she is
teaching print to, as well as a visually impaired
boy in third grade who is, "getting behind in his
reading because he can only make out two letters
in a word under magnification." I mentioned
Braille and she said she received her graduate degree
from the Michigan school [university
program for teachers of the blind/visually impaired] and they said the only way a child with any
vision will learn Braille is with a paper sack over
their head. The itinerant teacher said she also has
tried to teach children like our son Braille, and
they (the children) always favor print.
Gee, I hear all these experts talk and figure,
"maybe they are right." But my husband and I
would always feel uncomfortable with their approach.
Then the mobility/orientation specialist
says, "Cane travel? Oh, he is too young. I always
wait until they are Junior High school age to
teach them." I asked the resource teacher and she
says, "Oh, Mr. comes every Tuesday to our
school and teaches cane to most of the children."
We say, "wait a minute. Two 0 & M specialists
teaching cane at different ages!"
When our son's ophthalmologist asked me
two months ago when special education was
going to start Braille and I told him their approach,
he lost his usual controlled calm and asked what in the world they thought they were
doing. "Don't they realize he has glaucoma and
can't see the Allen cards preschool visual screening
more than six inches from his face?"
Now my husband and I knew they all didn't
think alike...
It finally took us to go to the NFB conventionn
to finally have a hammer hit our heads to realize
... [our] reservations were correct and that these
so-called professionals will have the interest of
our child at heart--to a point. It will take an NFB
advocate as well as our continual education to
realize we're going to have to fight (diplomatically
at first-- forcefully later) for a literate, independent
education for our child. Also we know
other parents are out there and [we need] to
spread the word about the NFB.
Sincerely,
Carol Keir
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