Future Reflections, Win/Spr '91
Future Reflections, Win/Spr '91
Future Reflections
Vol.10, No.1 Winter/Spring, 1991
Barbara Cheadle, Editor
Table of Contents
New Orleans Convention: Where to Start
by Jerry Whittle
JOB Opportunities for the Blind: 1991 Seminar
by Lorraine Rovig
So Your Kid Wants a Computer
by Tom Balek
The Balloon Project: Giving Blind Children A Competitive Edge
by Charles J. Duveen
The Blind and Multiply Handicapped Child: Meet Jennifer Baker
by Susan Baker
PreBraille Readiness
Literature Review
*Teach Yourself to Sight Read Braille: A Workbook
*Beginning Reading/Writing for Braille or Print Users: A
Teacher's Guide to the Psycholinguistic Viewpoint Strengths and Weakness of
Integrated Education and Special Schools for the Blind: An International Perspective
by Else Momrak Haugann
KIDS KORNER
*The Blind Journalist
by Beth Hatch-Alleyne
*Self-Determination of Blind Workers in Chinese Guilds
by C. Edwin Vaughn, Ph.D.
EHA is Out, IDEA is In
Education and Civil Rights: Know the Difference in the Laws and
How to Use Them
by Seville Allen
Problems With Counseling the Visually Handicapped
by Fareed Haj, Ph.D.
HEAR YE! HEAR YE!
NEW ORLEANS CONVENTION: WHERE TO START
by Jerry Whittle
From the Editor: In the last issue of Future Reflections we announced
the upcoming We Are Changing What It Means To Be Blind National Workshop/Seminar
for Parents and Educators of Blind Children. That seminar (which is FREE-no
registration or other fees required for attendance) will be held on Sunday,
June 30, 1991, in New Orleans and is only one part of the many, many activities
of the National Federation of the Blind National Convention which runs from
June 30 through July 7. (If you missed that announcement and want information
about the parents seminar and the convention, write to: Barbara Cheadle, 1991
Parents Seminar, National Federation of the Blind, 1800 Johnson Street, Baltimore,
Maryland, 21230; or call (301) 659-9314.)
For those planning to come
to the seminar and the convention, and for those still thinking about it, here
is an article (reprinted from the Braille Monitor) about the many wonderful
sights and experiences awaiting you in the city of New Orleans. This year's
National Federation of the Blind convention at the
Hyatt Regency Hotel in New Orleans, Louisiana, poses a pleasant problem. Because
of the rich heritage and historic significance of this bustling port city, there
are so many varied and exciting
activities that it will be impossible to find the time to do everything that
is available.
The names and locations of the myriad restaurants, bars, and clubs reveal
the Spanish, French, African, Indian, and Irish influences upon this unique
American city. Brennan's on Royal is famous for its sumptuous brunches and haute
cuisine, including Eggs Benedict and Bananas Foster. Try Mr. B's crayfish fettucini
with a delicious sauce. For that special lunch, try Commander's Palace in uptown
New Orleans on Washington. If it is jazz that tickles your fancy, the Pete Fountain
Club at 2 Poydras Place on the third floor of the Hilton is a popular haunt.
Snug Harbor on Frenchmen's Street offers a wonderful singer; Tipitina's on Napoleon,
Club My-Oh-My on Chartres, The Ol' Toones Saloon, Papa Joe's, Ryan's Irish Pub,
and The Famous Door-all on Bourbon-are just a few of the clubs featuring jazz
and potables. Incidentally, while in New Orleans, almost everyone ventures into
the world famous Pat O'Brien's on St. Peter's for a hurricane. While in your
favorite pub, you might want to try a Ramos gin fizz, which consists of egg
white, orange flower water, and gin. Another popular drink is cafe brulot, which
consists of hot coffee, spices, orange peel, and liqueurs blended in a chafing
dish, ignited, and served in a special cup.
If you want to learn how to prepare some of the wonderful dishes
that have made New Orleans famous the world over for fine food,
perhaps you would like to take a class in creole cooking taught by
a professional chef. The demonstration includes sampling, in
addition to lunch and transportation. Creole cooking has four main
ethnic influences. It blends the Spanish flair for sharp seasoning,
the French mastery of sumptuous sauces, the African skill in fine
cooking, and the Indian's knowledge of special herbs and fruits.
Speaking of Creole, conventioneers will certainly want to try gumbo
while in New Orleans. Gumbo is the African word for okra; however,
there is also a filet gumbo. Filet is powdered sassafras leaves and
is sometimes used as a substitute for okra. Gumbo can include a
variety of meats: chicken, turkey, ham, or fish, to name a few. It
is served with rice as a spicy soup or a main course. Another
staple of New Orleans is andouille. Andouille is a plump and spicy
country sausage that is often served in red beans and rice.
In addition to all the varied cuisines and the festive atmosphere
of New Orleans, one can find other fascinating places to visit.
Plantation homes are popular historic sites for adults and
children. The most famous of these, the Beauregard-Keyes House, was
built in 1826 and was the home of Confederate general Pierre
Gustave Beauregard. It was later purchased by Francis Parkinson
Keyes and has been preserved with many of the original antiques.
Other homes abound, surrounded by lovely gardens and courtyards and
offering elegant dining on the premises, such as the restaurant at
Randolph Hall.
There are many riverboat cruises featuring dixieland jazz, dancing,
and fine food. The Creole Queen is just one of the paddle wheelers
plying the mighty Mississippi. The Audubon Zoo, containing over
1200 species in their natural habitats, is another popular tourist
site. Transportation is provided. Many Federationists might enjoy
a walking tour of the French Quarter or Vieux Carre. This
educational stroll also includes the Cafe du Monde and shopping at
the Riverwalk and Jax Brewery on Decatur. The Aquarium of the
Americas is one of the newest attractions, at the base of Canal
Street in the French Quarter. It features aquatic life of every
description in a variety of authentic natural settings. This stroll
through nature should also whet one's appetite for a unique
American excursion"a swamp tour"replete with alligators, water
snakes, and hundreds of species of birds including egrets.
Transportation and lunch are provided. Perhaps you have heard of
the term Bayou, which is a Choctaw Indian word for creek,
referring to the thousands of inland water passageways that wind
through Louisiana.
These are just some of the possible sights to see in the wild and
wonderful city of New Orleans. When one couples all this variety
with the full agenda of the annual convention of the National
Federation of the Blind, one is almost overwhelmed by the question
of where to start. No matter where Federationists begin, they
cannot lose.
Wonderful accommodations at the Hyatt Regency Hotel are guaranteed.
Southern hospitality at its best will be extended by this year's
host affiliate, the National Federation of the Blind of Louisiana.
As in the past, hotel room rates for the convention are
phenomenally low: singles, $28; doubles and twins, $35; triples,
$38; and quads, $40. An additional occupancy tax of $2 per night
will be added to the room rates, plus sales tax of eleven percent.
There will be no charge for children under twelve in a room with
their parents. Room reservations should be made by writing to:
Hyatt Regency New Orleans, 500 Poydras Plaza, New Orleans,
Louisiana 70140; phone: (504) 561-1234. Do not call the Hyatt
toll-free 800 number. A full convention agenda, including division
meetings, informative speakers, interesting exhibits of the latest
technology, and an exciting banquet are always assured. All we can
say is,"Laissez les bons temps rouler!" Let the good times roll.
JOB OPPORTUNITES FOR THE BLIND: 1991 SEMINAR
by Lorraine Rovig, Director-JOB
Editor's Note: The seminar for parents of blind children
will also be held on Sunday, June 30. However, we have designed the
program so parents who want to participate in both may do so. The
parent seminar will have a general session with speakers and panels
in the morning. In the afternoon participants will be able to
choose three one-hour workshops from among six to eight topics, or
they may choose to attend the JOB workshop. Both seminars—the
parents seminar and the JOB seminar—are FREE of charge.
JOB OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE BLIND (JOB) will hold its 1991
National Seminar on Sunday, June 30, from 1 to 4 p.m. in New
Orleans. Registration will be at the door beginning at 12:00 noon.
The seminar is free.
JOB is a joint program of the National Federation of the
Blind and the U.S. Department of Labor. (Your tax money at work.)
Anyone who is legally blind and looking for work in the United
States is invited to register to receive our free, nationwide job
hunter's magazine on cassette as well as our other services. Some
services are available to agencies and individuals assisting blind
job seekers. Some services are available to employers interested in
hiring competent blind workers. Call 1-800-638-7518 to register or
for more information on JOB.
The national JOB seminar is set up with the blind job
seeker in mind. If you have some of the following concerns, it is
for you.
Do you ask yourself, "What job can a blind person do?"
Do you want to ask questions about the techniques that
allow one to be competItive and successful in real jobs?
Do you want to meet someone who successfully uses only
blind techniques, or do you need advice on combining low vision
techniques with blind techniques?
Do you need to know how to plan now for the future when
you may have less sight and your low vision techniques won't work
for you?
Do you need tips on dealing with interviewers or
employers?
Do you want to meet legally blind people who are
scientists, secretaries, mechanics, telephone operators,
counselors, salesmen, psychologists, English teachers, or in many
other occupations?
Do you know anyone who is blind and has a good job? Do
you wonder how you can find a job for yourself?
Do you have questions about voice output and Braille
output computers or the Arkenstone reader vs. the Kurzweil? Do you
need ideas for funding the purchase of these or other useful aids?
The Job Opportunites for the Blind national seminar is
three exciting down-to-earth, practical, idea-laden hours of
information for blind people seeking work. Join us. If you can't
make it to convention, call JOB to receive the cassette copy.
We'll help you increase your chances of getting the job of your
choice.
SO YOUR KID WANTS A COMPUTER
by Tom Balek, Chairman Technology Committee Parents of Blind Children
Division National Federation of the Blind
Editor's Note: The purpose of the POBC Technology
Committee is to help parents and educators get good information
about technology which may benefit blind children. The committee
members are made of parents of blind children who have a special
interest in technology, and are willing to share their knowledge
with other parents and educators. If you have questions or
information to share about technology and blind children, Tom and
the committee would like to hear from you. Contact: Tom Balek,
Chairman, Technology Committee, POBC/NFB, 5640 South East Croco
Road, Berryton, Kansas 66409; (913) 862-1518.
No doubt about it--computers are here to stay, and your kids—both
sighted and blind—need to be deeply involved. But you already know
that! So let's get to work.
Here are my very personal opinions on some frequently asked
questions:
DOES MY FAMILY NEED A COMPUTER AT HOME?
Yes! Your kids need to fully understand computer concepts such as:
What is a program and how does it work? How are data and programs
organized and stored? What kinds of tasks are computers good for?
Chances are the computer time your kids are getting at school is
spent playing educational games by pushing buttons on an Apple.
This is a good teaching method for academic subject material, but
don't confuse this with learning about computers. Real
understanding of computers comes from hands-on experience and
experimentation. There isn't enough time or equipment in schools
for much of that.
Adults can make great use of a home computer, too. Everyone has
need for printed documents and correspondence. Computer "word
processing" has made typewriters obsolete. Income taxes are a snap
with an inexpensive and easy-to-use tax program. (I use "Turbo
Tax" —just answer the questions and it prints out all your tax
forms, ready to sign and mail. More thorough and accurate than
many tax preparation companies, for about $50!) Other good
applications for a home computer include family (or business)
finances and accounting, club rosters and newsletters, mailing
lists and labels, dialing into subscription services such as
Compu-Serve, connecting with the main computer at your office--in
fact, for every task you can imagine doing on a computer, there are
several inexpensive and effective programs on the market, and the
list grows daily.
Let's not forget that computers are Just plain fun for kids and
adults. For entertainment value Nintendo pales in comparison to the
endless array of inexpensive and intriguing games available to
computer users.
MY KIDS USE APPLE COMPUTERS AT SCHOOL. SHOULD I GET AN APPLE OR AN IBM COMPATIBLE?
No contest. Get an IBM compatible (DOS) computer. Schools are
full of Apples as a result of a brilliant marketing scheme deployed
in the 1970s. In its early years, Apple Corp. gave thousands of
computers to schools, with two aims: (a) to get the schools
familiar with their product so they would buy more of the same, and
(b) to sell lots of software, often at a premium price, to run on
these computers. The strategy worked. But while Apples are found
in most schools, they are virtually nonexistent in the public
sector. Apple computers are generally more expensive than
comparable IBM compatible models, and the selection of software is
skimpy and costly. The Apple MacIntosh set the pace some years ago
in graphics applications and desktop publishing but has since been
surpassed.
In a nutshell, IBM compatibles cost less, do more, outnumber Apples
by a huge margin, and are the machines that people use to help them
earn a living. `Nuff said.
CAN I AFFORD A COMPUTER? WHAT SHOULD I GET?
You can afford one if it is fairly close to the top of your
priority list. A good home computer would be an XT-class computer
with 640K of memory, color monitor and a 30-megabyte hard drive.
This unit should cost about $1000. Add a printer for $250 and
you're in business. This is equivalent to the cost of two packs of
cigarettes a day for a year, a mid-range stereo system, weekday
lunches at McDonald's for a year, or a skiing weekend for two in
Aspen. You can save a few bucks by giving up color and the hard
drive, but I don't recommend it. A few years ago you had to shop
mail-order warehouses to get a good deal, but now you can drive
down to your local discount electronics store and get a pretty good
buy. Don't spend big money on brand names. Do deal with somebody
reputable. There are some excellent mail-order companies (call me
for more opinions!).
Don't worry about your computer breaking down--they are generally
very reliable. I have had two cheap personal computers at home for
six years and neither has ever had a problem. Computers are made
of a few easily replaceable components, but even if you want to
take it in to the shop, repairs won't break your budget because
competition is keen.
Software gets cheaper all the time, and there are tons of good
"shareware" programs available. These are programs distributed
through bulletin boards or sold very inexpensively through the
mail. If you find a program you like and use it, you are asked to
volunteer a modest fee to the author.
WHAT EQUIPMENT DO I NEED FOR MY BLIND KID?
You will need a speech synthesizer card and text-to-speech software
to make your computer "talk". The card plugs into a slot inside
your computer and has a small speaker on it (most also allow you to
plug in an external speaker--a good option). The card works with
the software to channel all text input and output to the speaker.
The program can repeat each keystroke audibly and "read" text as it
is displayed on the screen. Each word is checked against the
"lexicon", a file on disk which contains the phonetic pronunciation
of thousands of words. If a word is not contained in the file, the
program will "guess" how to pronounce it. You should select a
system that has a clear and understandable "voice" and does a good
job of phonetically guessing the pronunciation of words not stored
in its lexicon. It should also offer different "voices" for
keyboard input and different types of screen output, such as
background, foreground, bold, etc., and these voices should be
configurable to different speeds, tones, and volumes.
The system my son uses cost about $750 for the speech card and
software. Prices are starting to go down as more competitors enter
the market.
Older students may get good service from a lap-top personal
computer. They have the same capabilities as their larger
counterparts, and battery performance has improved dramatically.
Users with low vision might want a large print display. There are
new VTEK's which, in addition to magnifying printed material, can
also be connected to a computer for enlarged screen display. This
might be something to consider before purchasing a new print
magnifier. Another innovative new product allows the user to
enlarge part or all of his regular computer screen on demand.
Low-vision kids sometimes resist using a speech synthesizer because
they have to listen attentively instead of relying on their vision.
But they should give the speech system a good try before giving up
because once they get accustomed to it, it may be faster for
general use than using a large print screen.
DOES THE COMPUTER ELIMINATE THE NEED FOR BRAILLE?
No, quite the opposite—it enhances Braille as an information
medium. The computer makes conversion between printed text, data,
and Braille much easier—a real boon to mainstreamed blind kids. A
sighted teacher can now key or scan a test or workpaper into her
personal computer, print the document in text for her sighted
students on a regular printer, and print it in Braille for her
blind students on a Braille printer. With an attachment to the
standard Brailler a blind student can simultaneously print a copy
in text for his teacher. And portable electronic Braille units
will store data which can be uploaded to a personal computer for
storage and later use.
A device with real promise for educational applications displays
video images from a computer on a raised-dot tactile board. It
also is digitized so that an area touched by the user can evoke a
response from the talking computer.
Still another new device is a Braille display unit, which copies a
line of text on the screen to a raised-dot line of Braille beneath
the keyboard to be read tactilely.
I DON'T UNDERSTAND ALL THIS STUFF. WHAT DO I DO?
Don't be intimidated. The concepts are pretty simple once you get
past the "buzzwords". You don't have to know any math or be a
programmer to use a computer. But you do have to make the effort
to understand a few basic concepts.
Fortunately, there's lots of help out there. There are
introductory computer classes at computer stores and local schools,
at little or no cost. And there are many good books written in
plain language.
Everybody has a friend who is a computer nut. You probably know
somebody at work who would love to help. Don't be embarrassed to
ask questions or for help getting started. Want advice on what to
buy? Having trouble picking software? Call your POBC technology
committee! Call the NFB computer science committee! Call somebody,
but just get going!
THE BALLOON PROJECT GIVING BLIND CHILDREN A COMPETITIVE
EDGE
by Charles J. Duveen
How can we give blind and partially sighted children a clear
competitive edge over their normally sighted peers? How can we
develop education that will provide these children with the tools
they need to demonstrate confidence in their abilities while
showing the public their true potential for meaningful employment?
How do we begin setting our sights beyond equality and place blind
children at a distinct advantage in school and eventually in the
workforce?
Some may think this goal to be lofty and unrealistic. But for any
parent, teacher, school and community leader involved in the
training of blind children, this is exactly the goal we must strive
to achieve in the 90s. We are developing a program that I believe
will become a leading step in this direction. We call it The
Balloon Project.
What is the Balloon Project?
The Balloon Project is a program that requires secondary students
to apply math, science, art, writing, and language skills to a
technical venture spanning the entire school year. They must
design, build, test, and launch a helium-filled vehicle that
carries a small motion picture camera. This launch vehicle must
release the camera from a height of about 200 ft. and return it
safely to a predicted landing point on the ground. The aerial
movies, the bearing and elevation tracking data, and other
information taken during the launch vehicle flight will be used by
the students to analyze the performance of their design. Other
student-designed support equipment such as the helium tank Field
Transport Vehicle (FTV) and the Wind Measuring Station (WMS) will
have to operate flawlessly. And there is more.
To complete this project on time and within the students' proposed
budget, they will need to manage each of five program phases:
Phase I: Start-up
Phase II: Research and Development
Phase III: Design-Build-Test
Phase IV: Launch and Retrieval
Phase V:Data Analysis and Reporting
As in any major program of this complexity, the students must
establish a project organization. The students will form
departments or teams to carry out the program functions:
Management, Engineering, Weather and Ground Control, and
Communications. And finally, a Safety Review Board composed of
four students and one teacher will ensure that all activities,
procedures, and equipment designs comply with the stringent safety
regulations developed early in the program.
Each of the Program phases has milestone completion dates that are
described in a "contract document." Using this document the
students will plan the entire project using dependency schedules
and budgeted spend plans for each department, They will manage the
project and report each month's progress against the planned
objectives.
Since we do not provide any designs for the launch vehicle or other
support equipment, the students will be using natural creativity
and critical thinking skills to come up with their own home-grown
designs. We need only coach them through the processes and teach
them some relevant applications of subjects they learn in school.
These subjects include:
MATHEMATICS: Such as arithmetic, algebra, geometry, trigonometry, and logic.
SCIENCE: Such as physics, chemistry, meteorology, environmental science, experimentation, the scientific method.
LANGUAGE: Such as Braille, research, writing, presentations, correspondence, interviews, reports.
ART/GRAPHICS: Such as technical drawing, design, modeling, fabrication, commercial art, display graphics.
INFORMATION/TECHNOLOGY: Such as word processing, data base, spread sheets.
SOCIAL STUDIES: Such as coordination with local, state, and federal agencies; presentations to community groups and a
school in another state/country.
WORKFORCE: Such as teamwork, safety, budgeting, scheduling, risk analysis, total quality management,
accountability, leadership.
These academic subjects are interrelated. They are used in any
major design development program that requires many skills and
tools to solve technical, managerial, and artistic problems. Blind
students will experience these applications in the context of
achieving project goals rather than in the isolation of topical
classroom teaching.
Braille and Alternative Techniques
As you can gather from the above description, this program has not
been designed specifically for blind children. We start with the
premise that blind children can accomplish whatever sighted
children can. Only the method of reading, displaying, and
exchanging information is different.
Since the students will be holding meetings and giving
presentations to blind and sighted audiences, they will have to
prepare a variety of display media. They must prepare materials
which they can read and use, and materials suited for a sighted
audience. Obviously, the use of Braille and other techniques of
blindness will be important tools in the project.
The demands of the project can demonstrate to the students the
importance of literacy skills and alternative techniques of
blindness in real life work situations. For example, they must be
able to write and read their own: minutes from meetings with action
items, assignments, and due dates; brainstorming ideas; Launch
procedures; test procedures; safety instructions; check lists;
nameplate data; status reports; notes; research materials/information; schedule chart labels; monthly calendar of
events; organization charts; and flow diagrams.
One of the largest displays will be a ten-month dependency schedule
which is used to plan the entire project. This display will be
several feet long and will plot all of the major activities that
students must complete to meet the major milestone deadlines.
Braille and other tactile labels for the activities, target dates
and time lines will allow the students to view the "big picture"
and help them develop work-around plans when delays occur.
Teamwork Development
The success of this project relies heavily on the ability of the
students to work as a team. This is not as easy as it may sound,
especially when you consider the millions of dollars that
corporations spend each year on team training. The four project
departments will function as teams with clearly defined
responsibilities. Each department will receive a grade based on
achievement of their scheduled monthly milestones. It will become
obvious (with the help of teacher and parent coaching) that working
as a team will impact favorably on performance. The early weeks of
the project will usually bear this out. Teamwork is perhaps the
single most important outcome of the entire program, for if the
children learn to work effectively as team members, they will most
probably excel in any workplace environment.
Pilot Programs
In 1989 The Balloon Project was piloted at the Lexington School for
the Deaf in New York City. Twenty-one high school students and five
teachers worked on the project two days a week. The students were
successful in developing a working launch vehicle with a camera
platform, a remote control, a digital timing device, a rat
trap-activated trigger mechanism, two parachutes, and of course a
helium-filled weather balloon.
Were there problems? Most assuredly, but the teachers, the
administration, and I worked hard to overcome them. We learned a
great deal about what will work in a school setting and what will
not. We also learned that many of the students could better link
their academic subjects when applying them to a real set of
problems. This is not a new idea; in fact it is well documented in
research completed over the last thirty years and is intuitively
obvious.
Last September, the Reverend Robert Manthorp invited us to work
with blind students at the Royal National Institute for the Blind
(RNIB) New College in Worcester, England for a period of three
weeks. These children, aged 12 to 16, were brilliant in their grasp
of the technical problems that had to be solved. Collectively they
developed some creative answers to our most difficult question:
how do we get the movie camera back safely? At our last meeting, a
potential launch site had been selected and the first concept
drawings for the helium tank Field Transport Vehicle completed.
Two blind professionals were extremely helpful during my trip to
England. Mr. Les Ball, a computer analyst from Nottingham and Mr.
Andrew Komosa, a teacher from Sheffield, met with me. We discussed
the goals of the program and methods of implementing the project
for blind children. Both were keenly impressed with the idea of
creating practical applications of math and science for blind
children. Mr. Ball, who designs and builds his own electronic
circuit boards, offered to help develop a teaching module for
training blind children to make simple circuits. Although we were
unable to secure funding for a pilot program in England, we
established strong links that will allow us to coordinate future
programs.
In January of this year we visited the Maryland School for the
Blind and introduced the project activities with a short
demonstration to teachers and students at the school. We discussed
calculating the diameter of a spherical balloon by measuring its
circumference. A group of students inflated a 3-foot and an 8-foot
diameter weather balloon with air and measured the circumference of
each. They proceeded to calculate the diameters of the balloons
using the formula C = piD. The two hour introduction covered
geometry, algebra, leadership, brainstorming, measurement,
estimating, teamwork, procedure development, and safety.
Even more impressive were their ideas on how to release the camera
from the launch vehicle. A height sensor, a small computer, and a
remote control were suggestions from students in less than 90
seconds of posing the question. After working with this group, an
observer might have thought that we were dealing with a class of
"gifted" children. Although standard test scores may preclude this
classification, they were indeed acting like gifted students, and
their creative minds were firing off ideas faster than I could
respond to them. These children were functioning as a team of
problem solvers, addressing every issue that I threw their way.
Perhaps we should redefine GIFTED.
Future Planning
We will be working closely with the National Federation of the
Blind to develop special materials needed for blind children to
participate in this program. The resources of the NFB will also
permit networking with blind professionals who can provide guidance
and ideas to improve and expand the use of activity-centered
learning for blind children. If funding becomes available, we will
prepare to start two pilot programs in September 1991. With
experience from those pilot projects the program can be replicated
and improved accordingly and new projects developed for
implementation.
Summary
Our goal is to build the confidence and self-image of blind
children while empowering them with skills they will need in the
current and future workforce. In doing so we can expand their
horizons and educate the public to recognize the capabilities of
blind people in every professional field.
The Balloon Project and other interdisciplinary programs that we
develop will provide work-related skills and experiences usually
not developed or encountered until college or on the job. It is our
responsibility to give blind graduates every competitive advantage
that their schooling can deliver. We cannot start too soon in this
endeavor.
The Balloon Project, Inc. is a not-for-profit
organization established to design creative educational programs
for children with special needs.
Mr. Charles J. Duveen has a Master of Education degree
from Adelphi University and experience in teaching secondary school
mathematics and science. He spent eight years in the U.S. Navy,
after which he joined the management staff of UNISYS, gaining
twelve years' vital experience in project management and the
working of a highly technical engineering and manufacturing
company. Most recently, he has managed and reported schedules and
budgets for the design, development, building and prove-out of
AEGIS weapon system shipboard radar test equipment valued at over
$15 million.
THE BLIND AND MULTIPLY HANDICAPPED CHILD: MEET JENNIFER
BAKER
by Susan Baker
Editor's Note: I first met the Baker family about two or
three years ago. Susan and Howard had brought Jennifer, along with
their son Sheldon, to a state convention of the National Federation
of the Blind of Maryland.
Jennifer has a multitude of disabilities. She has a cleft
lip and palate with an accompanying speech defect; she is deaf in
one ear, she has limited use of her arms (she cannot extend them
out for full use), she has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair for
mobility, she has epilepsy, she has had kidney failure which led to
numerous strokes which in turn led to many, many broken bones, she
is borderline mentally retarded, and she is blind.
But, far more important than all that, Jennifer is a delightful, spunky individual
and an avid, accomplished Braille reader who has twice won awards in the national
"Braille Readers are Leader" contest.
How can this be? The conventional wisdom in our country today is that a mentally
retarded and otherwise physically disabled blind child is incapable of doing
much of anything—much less learning to read Braille! However, Jennifer had a
mother and a father who refused to listen to conventional wisdom. They took
their clues about their daughter's potential from a real expert—Jennifer
herself.
Here is the story as based on an interview and a speech
given by Susan Baker at a Baltimore seminar sponsored last Spring
by the Parents of Blind Children Division of the National
Federation of the Blind of Maryland:
I'm going to start by saying I'm a terrible extemporaneous speaker.
I've written everything down so that I wouldn't make a mess of it,
so bear with me, please.
The birth of a blind multiply handicapped child can be devastating,
particularly if you find out the news piecemeal. For example, you
learn early on that your child is blind. A little while later you
find out that maybe there are hearing problems, too. A little
while later you notice that maybe your child's arms and legs are
weaker than the other kids you see around you. On and on the news
goes. And each particular problem is making everything more
complicated. The new problems compound the old and tear up your
life even further. But, your child is still your child and needs
all the love and nurturing you can give him or her.
However much you love your child you should never smother that child or do
for the child what the child can do for herself. If you do, your child will
never reach his or her full potential—whatever that may be. You may take
your child to doctor after doctor hoping for a cure—an answer—or even to have
the decision made for you. You may be told yes, your child is blind. Yes, your
child is retarded. Your child will never be able to do anything or amount to
anything. But doctors aren't always right. You as a parent know your child better
than any doctor who may see that child once, twice, even three times. It is
you who must ultimately look for the clues that will help you to help your child
reach his or her full potential.
For example, years ago when our daughter was born we went to a
neurologist who told us that our daughter was not only blind (which
we knew), but severely retarded. Jennifer, as an infant, had a very
unusual fear, as a blind person, of strange people, objects, and
toys. Therefore, she never did what was expected of her in
situations that were strange to her. She would scream and refuse to
cooperate. When we tried to explain that our daughter understood
and did much more than what the doctor could see because of her
fear, he treated us like we were imbeciles imagining the impossible
instead of people who knew the child and saw her on a daily basis.
He, of course, was terribly wrong in his judgment. I'm telling you
this to show you that you can look for clues. But if you love your
child don't wish so hopefully that you see things that really
aren't there. You must really be able to see the clues.
As I stated before, it is very important not to smother your child.
Treat him or her as much like his or her normal siblings as
possible. It's okay to yell and admonish the child for doing
something wrong just as you would do to a normal sibling. It is
also very important to seek outside help for your child so that he
or she will be able to accomplish different goals. It is never too
early. An itinerant teacher from vision services in Montgomery
County Public Schools started working with us and our daughter when
she was nine months old.
It is also very important to send your child out to school as soon
as possible. There are many programs for multiply handicapped
children. Some start when the child is eighteen months to two years
of age. This is important for several reasons. Sometimes children
can learn better in an environment that is not so emotionally
charged. The second reason, and this is a very important reason,
too, is that you as a parent need time away from your handicapped
child for your own mental health.
As a child reaches school age you are invited to attend an IEP. An
Individualized Education Program is designed specifically for your
child's needs, or so you are told. If you do not like the
arrangement of the program, you do have the right to try and have
it changed, but this is not always easy to accomplish. For example,
our daughter was not scheduled to learn Braille because they did
not think she was capable of it. I had to fight them to get the IEP
changed to include pre-Braille learning goals for her. As a result,
Jen was put in the class with lower functioning students because
the teacher in there was the district's Braille instructor.
It took this instructor one school year to teach our daughter one
half of the Braille alphabet. She said that Jen had been just too
sick that year and she just didn't feel up to doing it somedays or
that the other children needed her too much and she could not take
time away from them to work with Jennifer. That summer, as sick as
Jennifer was, I taught her the rest of the Braille alphabet. By the
time she was ready to go into a graded school program she knew the
entire Braille alphabet and was ready to learn to read. Last year
Jennifer won the national championship for her division in the
"Braille Readers Are Leaders" contest sponsored annually by the
National Federation of the Blind. This was the child who wasn't
ever going to be able to accomplish anything.
Jennifer was late when she started school. She was ten when she
entered first grade. She had not been in the graded program because
they did not think she was capable of doing it. Again, I had to
fight to have her placed into a graded program in a regular public
school. She's in OH (orthopedically handicapped) classes right now
(she is orthopedically handicapped as well as blind). She is the
only blind child in her school.
Next month Jennifer will graduate from sixth grade with all of her
other normal and handicapped classmates. She will go on to seventh
grade this fall. As a matter of fact, Jennifer has been
mainstreamed—that is put into regular classes with the regular
kids—in science and social studies for the past three and one half
years. She has maintained a straight A average. (Her grades are
based on her functioning level. She functions at about grade level
in Social Studies and Science, about grade four or five in reading,
and about grade two or three in math.) As she reads and her world
experience broadens, her IQ goes up. When we first had her tested
we were told she was moderately retarded. On the next test she was
mildly retarded. On the last test given about two years ago she
tested out at the borderline retarded level.
This did not come easily. We had to fight for her and with her to
help her continue to grow and develop emotionally and educationally
as much as she is able. We are very proud of her accomplishments,
especially considering all the obstacles both physical and
psychological that she has had to surmount.
PREBRAILLE READINESS
Editor's Note: This article was originally printed a few
years ago in two parts in the VIP Newsletter, a publication of the
Blind Children's Fund (formerly the International Institute for
Visually Impaired, 0-7, Inc.). I have added to the text, where
appropriate, additional names and addresses of resources.
This article is directed toward parents of three- and four-year-old
children who may be Braille readers when they begin school.
Although technological advances have decreased the dependence on
Braille, Braille is still the major means of obtaining information
for many visually handicapped students. Children who have some
vision will benefit from the suggestions below, since they will
have to use vision along with the other senses. Parents should also
be aware that many children with low vision use Braille because it
is more efficient to read than print. Some students are taught both
Braille and print in the early grades, providing them with the
opportunity to use whichever medium is the most useful for a
particular task.
When sighted children enter school they have already acquired, on
their own, the experiential foundations necessary for learning to
read. They know that letters form words, and that those words
express ideas. Many of them can read simple words and phrases,
their names, names of favorite television programs, stores they
visit with parents. No one taught them. They learned to read by
hearing and seeing, again and again, words coupled with their
meanings.
Braille students learn to read in much the same manner as print
readers. The medium is different, the order of teaching letters and
words may vary, but the process is essentially the same.
Reading readiness for both sighted and blind children includes the
ability to:
converse meaningfully with others, using complete sentences;
listen attentively for short periods of time;
express ideas clearly;
discriminate between likeness and differences;
follow simple directions.
Children who must read tactually can benefit from the same kinds of
exposure to Braille characters that sighted children have to print
characters. Sighted children learn about print materials daily;
every time they watch "Sesame Street" or sit in a parent's lap to
listen to a story, they are learning. Children who will be Braille
readers are denied this form of incidental learning. Intentional
exposure to the tactual medium is necessary.
Many parents begin reading to their children when they are very
young. It's a nice way to be close before nap or bed time. Babies
won't care what you read them, but after a year of age, children
enjoy books especially written for young children. Local libraries
will have a good selection of children's books. Homemade books
about actual events in the child's life are great. Children love to
hear about "Debby's Birthday" or "The Trip to Grandma's House."
By three or four, children should have books which are theirs
alone, which they can "read" and enjoy on their own. For a visually
handicapped child, these books include non-visual appeal. Look in
your local toy or book store for books which incorporate fragrance
patches: Scratch and Sniff Books, Sniff-It Books, or Sniffy Books.
The above include such favorite children's characters as Winnie the
Pooh, Big Bird, the Pokey Little Puppy, and Garfield.
Touch and Feel Books have moving parts and touch activities enjoyed
by both visually handicapped and sighted children. If you can't
find the above books locally, write to the Catalog Department of
Science Products, Box A, Southeastern, PA 19399, and request the
"Vision Aids Resource Guide."
There are also a few tactile books written especially for blind
children: Roly Goes Exploring, Red Thread Riddles, What's That, and
Catching (also available from Science Products.)
Print/Braille books are available, for loan or purchase, from a
number of sources. Most print/Braille books are the print version
of the book with Braille pages added, either on the printed page
itself or as an insert.
SOURCES OF PRINT/BRAILLE BOOKS
National Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped
Library of Congress
1291 Taylor Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20542
(free loan from your regional library)
American Brotherhood for the Blind
18440 Oxnard Street
Tarzana, CA 91356 (free loan)
Howe Press
Perkins School for the Blind
175 North Beacon
Watertown, MA 02172 (purchase)
Braille Children's Book of the Month Club
The National Braille Press
88 St. Stephen St.
Boston, MA 02115
(purchase)
Seedlings: Braille Books for Children
P.O. Box 2395
Livonia, MI 48151-0395 (purchase)
As children sit on their parents' laps and listen to a print
Braille book, they learn naturally that words express ideas.
Encourage your child to move the fingers across a row of dots from
left to right to feel the tiny "bumps." Help her to find the top,
bottom, and sides of a page and show her how to turn the pages, one
at a time.
Many three- and four-year-olds enjoy listening to children's
stories in recorded form. The Library of Congress loans free
talking book phonographs and cassette players, talking books and
cassettes to eligible readers. For an application form, write to
the National Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped at
address given above.
Once you have returned your application, you will receive catalogs
and additional information. The Library of Congress has many
excellent records and cassettes of books for preschoolers in the
"For Younger Readers" catalog. This service involves no cost to the
parents and is supported by your tax dollars.
To help children make the connection between Brailled words and the
objects they represent some parents have used Braille labels. What
can you label? You child's records, books, cans of food, dresser
drawers, containers for toys—whatever is meaningful to your child.
The easiest way to make your own Braille labels is with a Braille
Labeler. Write for "Products for People with Vision Problems,"
American Foundation for the Blind, Consumer Products Department, 15
West 16th St., New York, NY 10011; or for "Aids and Appliances
Descriptive Order Form," National Federation of the Blind, 1800
Johnson Street, Baltimore, MD 21230. Braille labelers use vinyl
tape with adhesive back and or magnetic tape (for reuse on steel
surfaces). You can also use Labelon tape and a slate and stylus
for labels, but more knowledge of Braille is required. [Little
knowledge of Braille is needed with the Braille labeler because the
labeler is also marked in print for the sighted user.]
Most teachers prefer that parents use Grade 2 Braille, with
contractions for certain letter combinations, because that's what
children learn in school. If you don't know Braille, an itinerant
teacher of the visually impaired or your state school for the blind
can help by telling you what contractions are present in your
personal list of words to be Brailled. The American Printing House
publishes Braille contraction sheets for grade 2 Braille
(contractions, word signs, short-form words, and punctuation). Up
to five copies of the contraction sheets are free of charge (write
to the American Printing House for the Blind, P.O. Box 6085,
Louisville, KY 40206-0085 and ask for catalog number 7-3596, the
print form of the Braille contraction sheet).
Many parents ask, "Should I learn Braille?" Once your child begins
to read Braille, you will probably learn along with your child.
It's not necessary for you to become an expert, but you will need
to know some Braille to help with homework; read letters from your
child, and leave notes. If you wish to begin learning about
Braille, the American Printing House publishes a handbook "English
Braille, American Edition-1959," (revised 1972). The handbook is an
excellent resource for a parent of a Braille reader. It includes
grade 2 signs, contractions, short form words, the rules of
Braille, and typical and problem words. For $3.16 a copy, it's a
bargain for a handbook which you will be using for reference for
many years. The order number is 7-35593. [The National Braille
Press also produces a self-teaching Braille instruction book just
for parents. It is called Just Enough To Know Better and is
available for $12.95. A Braille contraction sheet comes with the
workbook. Send check or money order to: National Braille Press,
Inc., 88 St. Stephen Street, Boston, MA 02115.]
If you have ever tried to read Braille with your fingers, you have
realized how fine the differences are between the individual cells.
Before children can discriminate between Braille letters, they
first must learn to discriminate between textures. If your child
can tell you if two items (blocks, silverware, pieces of clothing)
are the same or different and has learned to match like items
(sorting silverware, or putting away toys), you can begin to teach
matching of textures. Begin with textures which differ greatly
(plastic or burlap, for example) and gradually make the task more
difficult.
Cut out small squares of varied textures (sandpaper, felt, tile,
flocked wallpaper, linoleum, cardboard. foil, etc). At first,
present only a few textures: "Are these two alike or different?"
or, of the three squares, "Which two are alike?" Present a number
of texture squares and ask the child to sort them in piles of
textures which are the same. Gradually introduce the names of the
textures and ask the child to identify the textures. Make a texture
concept book from cardboard and loose-leaf rings. As the child
learns the name of the texture, attach the sample to a page of the
book. If desired, label the texture in Braille. Provide the child
with words and phrases to describe the textures—smooth, rough,
scratchy, bumpy. Relate the texture to something in your child's
world: "This is corduroy. Your new pants are corduroy. The oranges
we buy at the store come in a bag of netting just like this."
Once the child is proficient at sorting different textures, you may
wish to adapt your own games, such as the following:
Tactile Dominos: 20-30 pieces of wood 2" by 1-1/2". Cover
the dominoes in halves with several of each texture. To create a
slightly different version, glue real objects (buttons, bottle
caps, etc.) on the halves.
Old Maid: cover cards with various textures, have two
matching cards for each texture except for one which is the "Old
Maid."
Concentration: Use ten pairs of different textures. Place
face down in four rows of five columns.
TEACH YOURSELF TO SIGHT READ BRAILLE: A Workbook
(Burwood Education Series Number 6)
Written by Ena Danielson Available from the Royal Victorian Institute for the Blind
Review by Doris M. Willoughby
Teach Yourself To Sight Read Braille is a clever and appealing book
designed to teach parents and others to read Braille by sight.
The —cloze— approach is used extensively, with the context
structured to help the learner figure out words from new or
incomplete clues. The first selections are mostly in regular
inkprint, with an occasional word shown in Braille instead.
(Braille is shown by inked dots.) Later selections gradually have
less in inkprint and more in Braille. Clever activities add
interest—for example, a task of matching several Braille words with
their inkprint definitions. U.S. readers will especially enjoy the
Austrailian flavor, with drawings of kangaroos and platypuses.
There are also a few differences in vocabulary, such as "full stop"
for "period."
Braille rules are explained in an easy-to-read fashion that does
not give every ramification. (It is assumed that the serious
student will go on to use other instruction books.) There is one
difference from U.S. Braille usage: for words like "dear," the ea
sign and the ar sign are both indicated as acceptable.
BEGINNING READING/WRITING FOR BRAILLE OR PRINT USERS A TEACHER'S
GUIDE TO THE PSYCHOLINGUISTIC VIEWPOINT
(Burwood Educational Series Number 5)
Written by Ena Davielson and Gayle Lamb Available from the Royal Victorian Institute
for the Blind
Review by Doris Willoughby
Beginning Reading/Writing for Braille or Print Users is a methods
book for teachers. It describes a psycholinguistic, individualized
approach, based on personal experiences, for a child's learning to
read and write through the medium of Braille. A variety of
materials is used, rather than uniform basal reading books.
The book is written in a positive vein, with such statements as
"developmental delays and differences in the development of
linguistic concepts of blind children [are] related not to the
absence of vision, but rather to the absence of experience." It is
clearly shown that learning to read through the medium of Braille
is the same experience as learning to read with inkprint.
If this approach is to be used as a guide for the entire
reading/writing curriculum, the teacher must be creative and
well-prepared (with much more background and preparation than is
provided by this book alone). However, any teacher with any
curriculum can easily use these ideas as a valuable supplement.
For information on ordering these books, please contact:
Royal Victorian Institute for the Blind
333 Burwood Highway
Burwood, Victoria 3125
AUSTRALIA
phone: (03) 808-6422
FACSimile: (03) 808-2194
STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF INTEGRATED EDUCATION AND SPECIAL
SCHOOLS FOR THE BLIND: AN INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE
by Else Momrak Haugann
Assistant Professor—Norwegian Institute for Special Education
Reprinted from the ICEVH Educator, a publication of The International Council for the Education of the Visually Handicapped
for the Quinquennium 1987-1992.
Should the visually handicapped receive their education in special
schools or together with the sighted? This question has arisen at
every international conference or seminar in which I have taken
part, regardless of the real theme of the conference. It has struck
me that the points of view brought forward show, as a rule, little
variety. One is either for or against integration, for or against
special schools. One is not capable of seeing—or at least not
willing to admit that there are strong and weak aspects to both
systems.
In the following article I would like to do just that: Discuss the
strong and weak points to both integrated education and special
schools. I will try to give a special reference to the developing
countries. Some of these countries have already started educating
the visually handicapped, and there is an interest in promoting
such an education. I hope it will be possible to learn from our
experience and to avoid at least some of the mistakes we have made.
I have learned, little by little, that in real life we seldom get a simple choice between one
entirely good and one entirely bad thing.
If that were the case, choices would be easy. As a rule we have to
choose between things with both positive and negative sides to
them. We must hold the positive and negative sides up against one
another in order to make the better choice. When this is done one
must try to reduce the negative aspects.
Segregation and integration may be thought of as opposite poles on
a sliding transition scale. The traditional school for the blind is
a boarding school where the blind pupils both live and are taught.
Education tends to extend over quite a number of years, often
comprising both elementary school and occupational training. Such
a school may admit pupils from one region or from a whole country.
As a rule the distance between the school and the pupil's home is
considerable.
We also find special schools, or special classes, where the pupils
live at home but get their schooling in the institution. The
distance between home and school must not, in these cases, be too
great since the pupils must travel to and from school daily. This
means that the school must be situated in a town with a relatively
large population.
The word integration is used to cover different forms for
education. Personally, I would not use the term integrated in
relation to a blind pupil who attends a special class. I use it
first and foremost to describe blind and partially sighted students
who, singly or two or three together, receive their education in a
class for the sighted.
Now something about the advantages and disadvantages of the
different systems. Most blind persons who have had to leave their
families as small children in order to attend a school for the
blind far away will emphatically agree that this was a traumatic
experience. Such an experience may have an indelible impression on
the mind of a child and may lead to emotional problems later. The
right of a blind child to live at home with his family is a strong
argument in favor of integration. Most parents, too, will
appreciate having their child at home. Long absences from home may
weaken or even break the natural ties between parents and child.
However, some parents reject their blind children. This reaction is
perhaps due to fear and a feeling of guilt. In some cultures
blindness is considered to be a punishment from the gods for
earlier sins. This is a stigma which causes the whole family to
lose status.
Other parents overprotect their child. They are full of compassion
and have low expectations regarding what the child may manage to
do. The child receives no training in managing for himself. There
is no expectation of his achieving anything, and this will in turn
lead to the child's becoming passive, lacking in initiative, and
failing to learn the everyday activities which all children must
know.
Then there are parents who will look at the school for the blind as
a welcome opportunity to rid themselves of the burden which the
blind child represents. In such cases we are not always justified
in moralizing. The reason may be rejection, but some families are
so poor that they are glad to have fewer mouths to feed.
In any case, leaving home in order to attend a school for the blind
will emphasize the child's deviation from the norm. Not only is the
child blind, but she/he also grows up in different surroundings
from her/his brothers and sisters. If, however, conditions in the
home are particularly difficult due to extreme poverty, rejection,
or overprotection of the child, then the school for the blind may
represent a better environment in which to grow up.
In that case, the school for the blind must be of a certain
standard, with personnel capable of satisfying the needs of blind
children both for stimulation and education. There are many blind
children who have suffered deep emotional injuries after a period
at a school for the blind which had uncaring and inefficient
personnel and tyrannical fellow pupils. I think I may maintain that
even a good school for the blind is not a substitute for a good
home, but such a school may of course represent a good alternative
to a bad home.
It is often said that special schools show better results in
education, whereas integration has its strength in the social
rehabilitation. There may be a good deal of truth in this, but in
my opinion the picture is more differentiated. At a school for the
blind one has access to books and technical aids necessary for the
education of blind pupils. There are teachers with knowledge about
and experience with the blind. One can also teach special skills,
such as mobility and orientation, training of intact senses, and
Braille. The classes are small, at least smaller than in ordinary
schools.
To compare the academic achievements with integrated schools where all this
or at least most of it—is lacking is obviously unjust. If integrated education
is to function at all then the minimum condition is that the blind pupil have
access to the necessary books, either through Braille books, talking books,
or being read to aloud. A service with itinerant teachers is also important.
How else is a blind pupil to learn, for example, Braille? But when conditions
are right, we find that blind pupils can show good academic progress in ordinary
schools.
The teacher is a central figure in all education. Many teachers in
ordinary schools have no knowledge whatsoever with regard to
teaching the blind. Some are perhaps directly negative, others only
confused and afraid, still others overlook or overprotect the
pupil.
I would like to point out one dangerous and frequent effect of
these varying negative attitudes: The teacher's expectation
regarding the pupil's achievement is far too low. We all tend to
fulfill expectations. Pupils are the same, whether blind or
sighted. When little or nothing is demanded of them, they soon stop
working. One gets accustomed to bad study habits and does not learn
what one should. At the next crossroads, one loses out in the
competition: one is blind and in addition one has less knowledge
than one's classmates.If integration is to function both at school
and elsewhere, then it is vital to teach parents, teachers, and
everyone else that the blind are capable people.
However, low expectations and negative attitudes towards the
visually handicapped are phenomena not only met within the public;
but we find such negative attitudes even among experts who work for
the blind. These persons may have become accustomed to placing the
blind person in the role of a client. In such cases attitudes are
even more tenacious and difficult to eradicate. This may also be
the case of a teacher in the school for the blind. Many visually
handicapped pupils have told of the sense of relief they felt on
being transferred from the school for the blind to integrated
education because they were treated more like ordinary human
beings.
The social adaptation to a sighted environment has been considered
the great advantage of integrated education. At a school for the
blind it is difficult to get in touch with sighted pupils of one's
own age. An isolated group culture develops, and the blind pupils
do not learn how to behave amongst the sighted. This strengthens
the deviation from the norm. It is more than understandable that
the pupil, after a stay of many years in a school for the blind,
finds it extremely difficult to adapt himself to the sighted world
outside the institution.
But integrated education is not a key to open all doors,
just as segregated education is no guarantee for academic success.
It goes without saying that the chances of developing good
relations with sighted comrades are much better when you are among
them, but many blind pupils feel bitterly isolated in ordinary
schools. Far from feeling "one of the gang," they receive continual
confirmation that they are different. This is not good for the
development of their personality. Perhaps one becomes accustomed to
expecting that everyone should show consideration on account of
one's blindness.
We all need to be a part of a social community. We would like to be
equal partners in a group where we may all take part and give and
receive emotional support and practical help. A blind pupil does
not want to be socially isolated, however well he may be integrated
in an educational sense. Nor does he want to be the subject of
pity, that is, regarded as inferior. In my opinion it is important
for everyone with a serious visual handicap to meet others in the
same situation in order to develop a sound personality where one's
identity as a blind person is neither rejected nor becomes the
overshadowing side of one's character.
In order to achieve this, it is not necessary to go to school with
other blind persons, but one should at least have the chance of
meeting and having contact with other blind persons. The good
companionship with fellow pupils is, more than anything else,
emphasized as a positive aspect at the schools for the blind.
From what I have said so far it should be obvious that I regard
segregated and integrated education for the blind not as
irreconcilable opposites but, on the contrary, as supplementary to
each other. Both systems have advantages and disadvantages.
If we do not want the education and training of blind children
restricted to a few occupations, then this education and training
must be given in an integrated environment. It is impossible to
construct special schools with a wide selection of educational
paths. But in order to ensure the proper functioning of integrated
education, it is necessary to establish centers for technical aids,
teaching aids, and a service of itinerant teachers. In many
developing countries it may be difficult or even impossible to
establish this kind of services. It demands a good system of
registration of the visually handicapped and effective
communications, something which is lacking in many countries.
On the other hand, if we were to choose a segregated system of
education, would we be able to afford to build blind schools for
the millions and millions of blind children and youth in the
developing countries? Will this not lead to only a few, mainly
those who live in towns, being offered an opportunity for education
while the vast majority are doomed to drag out their days without
a chance of receiving an education?
In my opinion there should not be a choice between either special
schools or integrated education, but a combination of both systems.
We must have special schools for the blind, but we must also
endeavor to develop education for the blind in the local
environment.
I believe that an important task for blind schools in
developing countries is to become centers of strong organization of
the blind.
We must all have as our goal the changing of conditions of society
in our various countries so that it becomes easier for the
handicapped—for the blind—to function. This will never come as a
gift from above. The blind themselves must take part in the fight
for these changes, and that is why strong organizations of the
blind are vitally important.
In conclusion, I am aware of the fact that I have posed more
questions than I have answered, but I have tried to illustrate the
complexity of the subject. There are enormous differences between
living conditions for the blind in developing countries and in the
industrialized countries. Even so, I believe it should be possible
to learn from the mistakes we have made with regard to organized
education for the blind.
We could wish for many things: that everybody had an opportunity to
receive an education; that there were enough books, technical aids,
and well-educated and committed teachers; that there was freedom of
choice with regard to occupational training, and so on. However, we
must realize that all this is in short supply. On the other hand,
this must not prevent us from trying to improve matters; establish
educational facilities where these are not to be found; and improve
existing facilities.
The goal which must always be kept is sight is independence, full
participation, and equality for the visually handicapped. I believe
that education is a vital weapon in the fight to achieve that goal.
THE BLIND JOURNALIST
by Beth Hatch-Alleyne
Reprinted from the January, 1991, Slate and Style, the magazine of the National Federation of the Blind Writers Division.
In my study of journalism I have developed alternative techniques
involving conducting interviews, doing research, and writing
articles for publication. I hope some of the following ideas and
insights will be helpful to anyone considering, or presently
working in, journalism.
Having competent readers or "visual assistants", is a must when
your job requires research, proofreading, or accessing a dictionary
or any reference materials not available in a usable format, such
as Braille, tape, or computer disk. Sighted journalists utilize
computers, tape recorders, dictionaries, and other reference
materials such as almanacs and newspaper style books. There is no
reason why a blind journalist should not do the same. Tape
recorders have been in use by blind people to access information
for years. Although computer technology is by no means perfect it
is possible to produce good work with the use of speech and Braille
computer aids.
If reference materials are not available in Braille, on tape, or in
other usable formats, take charge of the situation by writing a
list of words or other information to be read or looked up and
supervise your reader in doing these tasks.
If an editor assigns a story, it is your job to find sources. The
editor may help you with a name or give you a meeting to cover, but
you are responsible for writing interview questions and doing your
homework on the topic. One of the best ways to find a source
independently of a reader is the telephone. Journalists use it to
conduct interviews, keep in touch with sources when working on a
"beat," or when on a particular type of assignment, like city
government or the police blotter. If you are strapped for time use
the phone to obtain information available without direct
interviewing.
Read community bulletin boards in libraries and churches and attend
local club meetings and meetings of boards or legislative events.
No one else will have the contacts you've worked to obtain, and
this will help you sell your work.
You can pick up information without the use of a reader. Reporters
are taught to "keep your eyes open". As blind people we know we can
take control of any situation and, with or without the use of
readers or drivers, we are capable of observing the world around
us. Sight is the information sense for most reporters, so they tend
to stress the visual ways of observation rather than techniques
such as listening and the ability to ask questions. Reporters must
be curious and approach people to ask what they and others nearby
are doing. People like talking about themselves. If someone asks if
you need help crossing a street, or asks if you are lost when you
happen to be sitting on a bench observing people, whether or not
you choose to accept the help you can use the opportunity to ask
questions you need answered.
Radio and television are not the only sources of information!
Co-workers or people in the street may prove to be excellent
sources: You may find you know someone in common or learn about
some public event or individual who would make a good story. Being
in the right place at the right time enabled me to find many human
interest and political stories for my college newspaper.
When covering a meeting or press conference, obtain an agenda from
the city clerk who can also give you the name and phone number of
the chairperson. The agenda will help you decide on your topic and
enable you to budget your time, since some meetings last into the
night.
In a large gathering ask the chair to recognize you by name if
questions are taken from the floor. Seek out someone who will
introduce you to people in top positions or to those who have made
points worth quoting. You now have the opportunity to make contacts
and to educate others about the capabilities of people who are
blind in the process of doing your work.
I take notes in Braille with slate and stylus, which allows me to
carry notebook and tape recorder just as my sighted colleagues do.
Computers and word processors are great to write the story, but
there is nothing like taking down quotes, impressions of your
source, and phone numbers of prospective contacts.
I tape my interviews on a four-track recorder at the lowest speed
so that I need only bring one or two tapes per interview. My
recorder enables me to use tone indexing to mark my quotes or any
other pertinent information. Using Brailled notes in conjunction
with a tone indexed tape, I am able to get quotes word for word
without worrying if I should happen to miss part of the speaker's
address. Since my notes are in the same order as the taped speech,
I can abbreviate the speaker's name, or his topic, and find my
quote in two or three minutes rather than having to listen to the
tape for hours.
I believe Braille is better for proofreading than speech
synthesizers. Braille allows quick and efficient proofreading with
a Braille display hooked up to a computer. One finds spelling
errors quickly without dealing with synthesized pronunciation. I
have on occasion corrected a word that sounded wrong, only to find
I had originally spelled it correctly.
The most important thing to remember is to always have control in
dealing with any situation. Your readers must accept your blindness
on your terms, not in terms of the preconceived notions society
tends to use when dealing with the blind.
You must be flexible and be willing to try many alternative
techniques to accomplish what is expected of you in bringing news
to your readers.
SELF-DETERMINATION OF BLIND WORKERS IN CHINESE GUILDS
by C. Edwin Vaughan, Ph.D.
Editor's Note: This following article was published in the April, 1988 Braille Monitor.
(Dr. Vaughan is Professor of Sociology at the University of
Missouri at Columbia. He is also one of the leaders of the National
Federation of the Blind of Missouri.)
In the United States the history of blind people has been characterized by
the domination of agency-based programs. Until recently blind people themselves
had little influence on the direction of agency programs and philosophy. The
struggle is now intense, as blind people require agencies to provide programs
and activities consistent with goals of independent living and full participation
in society. In the United States most of the—professional—writing
about rehabilitation and blindness describes narrowly focused inventions or
programs aimed at helping blind people adjust to the world as seen by blindness
professionals.
Almost never do we see articles describing self-determination
alternatives for organizing opportunities for the blind. This
article provides an historical and comparative perspective of one
instance of self-determination by blind people—The Guild of the
Three Emperors, a guild of blind entertainers in Beyshing, China.
As early as ancient Rome and Greece individuals of like interests
organized themselves into guilds in order to more efficiently
pursue religious, social, or economic concerns. Guilds were
frequently organized to protect the interests of members, either
from forces within a society where government was weak, or from
government itself when its representatives could easily exploit
individuals.
In medieval Europe many occupational areas were organized as guilds
for either craftsmen or merchants. These guilds regulated access
to employment opportunities and provided training to enable
individuals to enter and progress to higher levels of employment.
In medieval China for at least 1,000 years guilds of craftsmen,
workers, and merchants were common. Their purpose was to prevent
exploitation from government officials and to provide internal
regulation of trade and craft areas of employment. There was in
Beyshing, formerly Peking, a guild comprised of blind persons who
made a career of singing, entertaining, and storytelling. Parents
would seek to place a young blind son into this guild so that he
might learn a trade for his future lifelong employment. As he
mastered the required skills, he would rise in status in the guild
to the level of master.
Blind guild members in China were self-governing. The guild was
governed by a board of forty-eight members of whom forty-seven were
blind. The secretary was the only sighted person. The guild
governed itself with regard to membership, including the discipline
of members, the charges for services, and the recruitment of new
members into the guild. The guild met twice each year, and, not
unlike some of our annual conventions, the meetings lasted until
5:00 a.m.
"The Gild of the Blind, who make a business of singing,
storytelling, and entertaining holds its meetings on the 2nd of the
3rd month and the 8th of the 9th month, celebrating the Chinese
festivals on the 3rd of the 3rd moon and the 9th of the 9th moon,
as the meeting lasts until 5 o'clock the next morning. It was our
good fortune to be given the privilege of attending one of these
meetings. As the gild has no gild hall, it borrows the Ching Chung
Miao, a temple in South City outside of Hatamen, and there, all day
long, a constant stream of blind men was coming and going. They
were greeting their friends, discussing politics and conditions of
business, and enjoying the tea and cakes that had been provided;
and it was a strange sight to see so many blind people together,
each with his long bamboo cane, tapping, tapping, tapping, as they
moved around the hall."1
Note the use of long bamboo canes for mobility purposes. Had they
been taught by sighted, "credentialed," orientation and mobility
specialists? The field work on which these observations were based
was completed by 1925. Apparently custodial treatment was not the
dominant form; the blind master assumed no responsibility for the
safety of blind apprentices. A special understanding relieved the
master from any responsibility for his blind students who might
possibly be injured in the course of their training.2
Self-discipline characterized this guild.
Blind members who broke the guild rules were punished by other
guild members, punishment ranging from seventy to one hundred
strokes with the bamboo cane. Younger members were punished by the
cane while older members were required to pay a fine.
The guild was named the Three Emperors Association after its three
patron gods: The God of Heaven, The God of Earth, and The God of
Men.3 After the initial religious ritual the meeting progressed with
elements that may strike a familiar note:
"After all forty-eight of the officers had worshiped before the
gods, the musicians gave a two-hour concert with their best songs
and music. Any who had written new songs during the past year were
called upon to give them at the time. Following the concert, the
business meeting was held from 12 to 2. It consisted of reports and
the discussion of methods for strengthening the gild, and of ways
and means for making the business of the blind entertainers more
prosperous. At the end of the meeting a report giving a statement
of the condition of the gild, a resum of the business the past
year, and the names of all the officers, musicians, committeemen,
and subscribers was burned on the alter so the gods might have a
complete report of the work and development of the gild."4
The book from which these remarks are drawn had no special interest
in blindness. We know little about the condition of the blind in
the China of that day except for that of guild members. We do
learn that this group of blind workers was self-determining. Such
examples from the past and other cultures can give us a vantage
point more clearly to view modern day custodialism.
1. Burgess, John Stewart. 1928. The Guilds of Peking. New York:
Columbia University Press. p. 103.
2. Ibid., p. 160.
3. Ibid.,
p. 104.
4. Ibid., p. 105.
EHA IS OUT, IDEA IS IN
Editor's Note: The following two articles are reprinted from the Winter,
1990 issue of Counterpoint, a publication of the National Association of State
Directors of Special Education, Incorporated.
INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES EDUCATION ACT BECOMES LAW
President Bush October 30 signed into law the Education of the Handicapped Act Amendments of 1990, changing the name of the EHA to
"Individuals with Disabilities Education Act." The amendments, now Public Law 101-476, 104 Stat. 1103, reauthorize
Parts C through G of the IDEA through fiscal year 1994.
U.S. Secretary of Education Lauro Cavazos praised the newly enacted
Education of the Handicapped Act Amendments of 1990 for recognizing
the complex needs of a changing population of students with
disabilities.
"The 1975 Education of the Handicapped Act guaranteed that students
with disabilities would receive a free and appropriate public
education—an opportunity to become independent and participate
fully in society. The measure signed into law by President Bush
October 30 extends that guarantee to protect the future of more
children." Cavazos said.
"The new law also includes many significant improvements, such as
programs to promote research and technology and transition programs
to help students succeed after high school."
Cavazos also cited new initiatives in the law to address the needs
of "crack babies" born to drug-abusing mothers, and to reach
ethnically and culturally diverse children. He noted that an
estimated 4.6 million children received special education services
during the 1989-90 school year.
A Little Getting Used To
In comments on the Senate floor when the Senate approved the
conference report on the EHA amendments, Senator Paul Simon (D-IL)
noted that the name change will take a little getting used to.
"Some of us who have worked for years in this area may need some
time to adjust to referring to the IDEA rather than the EHA." Simon
said.
"But it is not insignificant that we move away from terminology
that focuses on a condition rather than a person. As we did in
passing the Americans with Disabilities Act, we are recognizing the
individual first. This is particularly appropriate in the IDEA
since its educational services are designed to meet the needs of
the individual."
REGULATIONS FOR NEW IDEA ARE DUE IN MID-FEBRUARY
The Office of Special Education Programs in the U.S. Department of
Education expects to publish in mid-February regulations for the
changes in the Education of the Handicapped Act that became law
September 30.
After a period for public comment through March/April, OSEP will
publish final regulations in June or July. The regs will become
effective 90 days after publication.
According to the Deputy Director of OSEP, Bill Wolf, at least five
substantive regulations requiring public comment will be published.
Among them are proposed definitions for autism and
traumatic brain injury, categories of disability that Congress has
added to the law.
OSEP will also define the terms "assistive technology
devices" and "rehabilitation counseling", which have been added to
the law. Wolf also noted that current definitions of "special
education" may not be broad enough to include transition services
now required by the law.
Wolf also said that data requirements for the Comprehensive System
of Personnel Development will be open to comment, and OSEP will
publish selection criteria for new research and demonstration
programs now authorized under services to deaf-blind children.
There will also be selection criteria for proposals under a new
program for seriously emotionally disturbed children.
Wolf pointed out that the new law required that one percent of all
discretionary funds must be used for outreach to minorities, and
OSEP will announce —at least one funding priority in this area.
By the new law, all applicants for funds in all discretionary
programs must cite specific actions they are taking to address the
needs of minorities.
EDUCATION AND CIVIL RIGHTS: KNOW THE DIFFERENCE IN THE LAWS
AND HOW TO USE THEM
by Seville Allen
Editor's Note: The following article is based on a speech
given by Ms. Seville Allen to the 1990 Dallas, Texas, annual
meeting of the Parents of Blind Children Division of the National
Federation of the Blind. At that time Ms. Allen was an equal
opportunity specialist with the Office of Civil Rights. Currently,
she works for the U.S. Department of Defense as a system analyst.
Please note that we used the new title—Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)—instead of the original, more
familiar term, Education of the Handicapped Act (EHA). Please see
the preceding article, "EHA Is Out, IDEA Is In," about the
amendments which made this change and others to the Education of
the Handicapped Act of 1970.
The purpose of this discussion is to show how the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)—formerly called Public Law
94-l42, the Education of the Handicapped Act (EHA)—and Section 504
of the Rehabilitation Act of l973 (Section 504) are different and
how they complement each other. The IDEA is a statute dealing with
how handicapped children are educated. This legislation covers
only educational issues. All states which receive federal funds
for school programs under IDEA must abide by the IDEA regulations.
Section 504 is a civil rights statute which protects the civil
rights of all disabled persons who are otherwise qualified to
participate in and benefit from programs and activities which
receive federal funds from the U.S. Department of Education. This
includes the right of blind/visually impaired children to a free
appropriate education. (Although Section 504 covers colleges and
other post-secondary programs which receive federal education
funds, for the purposes of this discussion we will concentrate on
only elementary and secondary education levels.)
Although the focus is different, there are many similarities
between these two laws. Both have similar (sometimes identical)
provisions about a free appropriate public education, related
services, evaluation and placement procedures, and due process
procedures.
Before we discuss the differences between IDEA and Section 504, here is a
brief overview of the IDEA requirements. The IDEA contains specific definitions
of handicaps, one or more of which a child must have in order to participate
in special education programs. (The definition for visually handicapped is:
"a visual impairment which, even with correction, adversely affects a child's
educational performance. The term includes both partially seeing and blind children.")
In addition to having a disability defined by the law, the child must, because
of that impairment, "need special education and related services."
To enter a special education program a child must be evaluated (again, according
to procedures laid out by the regulations) showing that he/she meets these qualifications
for special education placement. An Individualized Education Plan (IEP) is then
developed for that child. The parents or guardian of the blind child would be
invited, by law, to help develop the IEP. The school district must document
that genuine efforts were made to give the parents an opportunity to participate
fully in the IEP process. The IEP must list annual goals and short-term objectives
for the special education and related services the child needs as determined
by the IEP team. Thus, for a blind child, the IEP ideally would contain goals
and objectives for learning alternative techniques such as Braille, cane travel,
and typing.
The IDEA also contains a due process section. This means that the
parent/guardian or school officials can appeal a decision made
concerning his/her child and a hearing officer (or panel of hearing
officers) not connected with the school administration will
consider decisions regarding the child. This is called a due
process hearing. This is not a court proceeding, although there are
some similarities. For example, one can call witnesses and
cross-examine the opponent's witnesses. Parents will also be
subject to cross-examination if they testify in the hearing. The
details of who, what, when, where, and how of a due process hearing
are left mostly to the individual states to decide. This means
parents/school districts must go to their state departments of
education to find out just how the due process hearing is arranged
and conducted in their state.
These are some of the basic provisions of the Individuals with
Disabilites Education Act (IDEA)—formerly the Education of the
Handicapped Act (EHA). How does Section 504 differ from the IDEA,
and what is the significance of those differences?
The provision of services to students in the regular classroom is
the most important difference between IDEA and Section 504. Under
IDEA the child has no protection UNLESS he/she qualifies for
special education. But Section 504 protection applies as long as
the blind/visually impaired child is eligible to attend a public
school or non-public program (such as Headstart) that gets federal
funds. The child does not have to be in a special education program
to be covered by Section 504. The reason for this difference is
that IDEA is concerned with education and Section 504 is concerned
with civil rights.
Another difference between IDEA and Section 504 is in the definitions of who
is handicapped. While the IDEA is concerned only with how students are educated,
and specific handicaps are identified as those which will qualify a student
for special education, Section 504 does not specify handicapping characteristics
protected by this civil rights statute. Rather, the regulations governing this
law (504) protect anyone who has a disability limiting a major life function,
such as working or, for this discussion, learning. Handicapped persons means
any person who has a physical or mental impairment which substantially limits
one or more major life activities, has a record of such an impairment, or is
regarded as having such an impairment. This is an important difference. It is
possible that a child who does not qualify under the IDEA definition of visual
impairment may still qualify for protection under the Section 504 definition
of handicap.
Another significant distinction between IDEA and Section 504 is in
their methods of resolving disputes between parents and the school
district. The IDEA due process hearing, as it was briefly described
in the beginning of this article, requires that parents and school
districts prepare their cases by gathering documents, soliciting
witnesses, and finally defending that case against each other
before a hearing officer or a panel of officers. The Section 504
process is very different. If parents believe that their child's
civil rights have been violated under Section 504, they contact
their federal regional civil rights office and fill out the
appropriate forms and provide the necessary documentation. The
civil rights office then assigns the complaint to a federal civil
rights investigator. That investigator examines the evidence,
interviews the parties involved, and then makes a recommendation to
the civil right attorney based on the evidence and merits of the
case. In many ways this method is less painful and confrontational
than the due process procedure under IDEA.
Therefore, if you believe that your child is not receiving
appropriate educational services, it is your right to file a
complaint with the Office for Civil Rights (0CR) in your region,
and that office will investigate your allegation. If you should
decide to file a complaint alleging that a school district is
discriminating or has discriminated against your child, here are
some pointers on things to emphasize: If the complaint is in
academic areas, emphasize interference with learning; if the
complaint is in the area of participation in nonacademic
activities, including school-provided transportation, emphasize the
denial, based on a handicapping condition, of an opportunity to
participate in a school-sponsored program.
The question now is, in what situations might one use Section 504
protection instead of, or in addition to, the due process
protection under IDEA? Here are some examples.
A. A visually impaired child is evaluated and denied
special education services because her visual acuity doesn't meet
the state requirement: She has a visual acuity of 20/40 and the
state says they can't serve anyone unless they have a visual acuity
of 20/70 or worse. The parents argue that her vision is
deteriorating and that she cannot see the blackboard or read
regular print books. They want large print books and adaptations in
the classroom so she can participate in and benefit from the
educational program. In this case, a complaint under Section 504
and a IDEA appeal for a due process hearing are appropriate.
However, the parents may get faster and better results from the
Section 504 appeal. Although the parents may eventually win an
appeal under IDEA, they might be more successful arguing that the
child meets the Section 504 definition of "handicapped." They can
also argue, under Section 504, that she is being excluded from and
denied the benefits of the educational program because the school
will not provide large print books or necessary adaptations in the
classroom.
B. The parents of a partially sighted blind child have
requested that Braille instruction be added to the child's IEP. The
school district has denied the request even though a private
evaluation obtained by the parents recommends Braille instruction.
There is evidence that the child is unable to participate equally
with her classmates because she lacks Braille reading and writing
skills. In this case the parents may utilize both, or either,
statutes—IDEA and Section 504. The parents may be able to argue
successfully that the child has been denied her civil right to an
education because her ability to learn has been blocked by the
denial of Braille instruction.
C. Parents of a blind high school student have applied to
a private high school. The private school receives some federal
funding from the U.S. Department of Education. The private school
denies the application on the basis of blindness, while in all
other respects the student qualifies for admission to the school.
What protection does the student have? None under IDEA, but Section
504 will apply to this situation providing the student does not
require special education services or instruction not offered by
the private school. If the student will only require materials and
reasonable adaptations in the classroom, and the school is subject
to Section 504 jurisdiction, then the parents may be able to file
a successful 504 complaint and compel the school to enroll their
blind son in the program.
D. Another example, similar to the one just described, is
that of a blind student who attends the public school but no longer
requires special education instruction. She only needs materials
(such as Braille or large print textbooks), adaptations in the
classroom (such as a method of getting information from the
blackboard), and adaptations so she may participate in regular P.E.
(equal alternatives to ball games or adaptations to the game so she
may participate), home economics (such as tactile markings on the
oven and sewing machine), computer class (such as a live reader or
speech output so she may read the screen) or technical education
(such as a click rule for measuring). Because of Section 504
protection the school may not refuse to provide the related aids
and services which will make it possible for her to have an equal
opportunity for participation.
These two laws, the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act (formerly the Education of All Handicapped Act—EHA)
and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, have provisions
which guarantee the rights of blind/visually impaired children to
a free appropriate education. However, we must still be advocates
for our children. These laws will not work if we are either not
aware of them or do not learn how to apply them.
For more information about the Individuals with Disabilities
Edcuation Act (IDEA) write to: OSERS, 400 Maryland Avenue, S.W.,
Washington, D.C. 20202.
For more information about how Section 504 of the Rehabilitation
Act of 1973 applies to the education of handicapped students, contact the
appropriate Office for Civil Rights regional office as listed below:
U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights
Regional Civil
Rights Offices
REGION I
Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts,
New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont
Regional Civil Rights Director
Office for Civil Rights, Region I
U.S. Department of Education
John W. McCormack Post Office Square
Room 222
Boston, Massachusetts 02109
(617) 223-9662 TTY (617)
223-9324
REGION II
New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico,
Virgin Islands
Regional Civil Rights Director
Office for Civil Rights, Region II
U.S. Department of Education
26 Federal Plaza, 33rd Floor
New York, New York 10278
(212) 264-4633 TTY(212) 264-9464
REGION III
Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland,
Pennsylvania, Virginia,West Virginia
Regional Civil Rights Director
Office for Civil Rights, Region
III
U. S. Department of Education
Gateway Bldg.,
3535 Market Street, Room 6300
Post Office Box 13716
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104-3326
(215) 596-6791 TTY (215) 596-6794
REGION IV
Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky,
Mississippi, North Carolina, South
Carolina, Tennessee
Regional Civil Rights Director
Office for Civil Rights, Region IV
U.S. Department of Education
101 Marietta Tower, Suite 2700
Atlanta, Georgia 30301
REGION V
Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Michigan,
Ohio, Wisconsin
Regional Civil Rights Director
Office for Civil Rights, Region V
U.S. Department of Education
401 South State Street, 700-C
Chicago, Illinois 60605
(312) 353-2520 TTY (404) 331-2010
REGION VI
Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico,
Oklahoma, Texas
Regional Civil Rights Director
Office for Civil Rights, Region VI
U.S. Department of Education
1200 Main Tower Building, Suite
2260
Dallas, Texas 75202
(214) 767-3936 TTY (214) 767-3315
REGION VII
Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska
Regional Civil Rights Director
Office for Civil Rights, Region
VII
U.S. Department of Education
10220 North Executive Hills Boulevard, 8th
Floor
P. O. Box 901381
Kansas City, Missouri 64190-1381
(816) 891-8026
TTY(816) 374-7607
REGION VIII
Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Wyoming
Regional Civil Rights Director
Office for Civil Rights, Region
VIII
U.S. Department of Education
1961 Stout Street, 3rd Floor
Denver,
Colorado 80294
(303) 884-5695 TTY(303) 844-3417
REGION IX
Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada,
Guam, Trust Territory of the Pacific
Island, American Samoa
Regional Civil Rights Director
Office for Civil Rights, Region IX
U.S. Department of Education
221 Main Street, 10th Floor
San Francisco, California 94105
(415) 227-8020 TTY(415) 227-8124
REGION X
Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Washington
Regional Civil Rights Director
Office for Civil Rights, Region X
U.S. Department of Education
2901 Third Avenue, Room 100
Seattle, Washington 98121
(206) 442-1636 TTY(206) 442-4542
PROBLEMS WITH COUNSELING THE VISUALLY HANDICAPPED
by Fareed Haj, Ph.D.
The following is reprinted from the July, 1990 Braille
Monitor.
From the Associate Editor: In 1970 Mrs. Jernigan was
doing some affiliate organizing in the state of Florida. While she
was working in Miami, she met a young educator who was interested
in the things she had to say about the National Federation of the
Blind. He had received his Ph.D. from New York University two years
before and was profoundly aware of the discrimination faced by
blind people whose ambition is to live active, contributing lives
as fully participating members of their communities. The name of
this young man was Fareed Haj. He has kept in touch with members of
the Federation through the years and has continued to read the
Braille Monitor.
Dr. Haj has worked in special education in Dade County,
Florida, for the past twenty-three years. Initially he was hired to
teach twelve visually impaired students but was soon given an
additional twelve youngsters who used wheelchairs, all without the
help of a classroom aide. He then spent some time teaching honors
English and social studies to regular students and then served as
a high school guidance counselor. For the last ten years he has
been an Educational Specialist in the Florida Diagnostic and
Learning Resources System, which does psychological testing of new
students, trains teachers to work with youngsters having various
disabilities, maintains a resource library, conducts a computer lab
for training staff and developing special programs, and publishes
a newsletter. Dr. Haj actually works in a resource center,
providing support to teachers all over the school system who need
help in dealing with handicapped students.
Dr. Haj earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the Hebrew
University in Jerusalem in English and philosophy. Simultaneously
he earned an external degree in the same disciplines from the
University of London. He was short of funds at the time and decided
that if he was unable to complete one degree for financial reasons,
he could be sure of finishing the other. He then traveled to New
York City, where he earned a master's degree from Hunter College in
rehabilitation counseling. His Ph.D. from New York University is in
counseling with strong emphasis on special education and
psychology. He has also done a great deal of post-doctoral work,
primarily at Teachers College, Columbia University, but also at
Harvard, Fordham, and a number of other institutions.
On April 1, 1990, Dr. Haj delivered an informal talk to
a group of special education teachers. His views about blindness
and the education of the blind were so refreshingly sensible (one
is tempted to say despite his impressive credentials) that it seems
useful to reprint the speech in full. Dr. Haj's views are another
reminder that competent blind laymen are not the only ones
advocating the use of Braille, rigorous teaching for blind
youngsters, and treatment of blind students as though they were
capable of being educated normally. There are professionals out
there who do believe in and work toward enabling blind people to
reach their full potential. Many, like Dr. Haj, are themselves
blind, but increasingly others who are sighted are winning our
respect by their willingness to learn about blindness, not just
from books and other professionals, but from blind people, speaking
for themselves. Here are Dr. Haj's remarks:
My topic this morning has to do with problems of counseling the
visually handicapped. I do not propose to talk about personality
theory. Any of you who have been in a classroom with visually
handicapped children or in meetings with blind adults know that
there is no such thing as a unified personality of the visually
handicapped. Consider a group of six, and you find that one is
outgoing and bubbly, and another is quiet and reflective. One is
very friendly, another is private, and so on.
Nor do I propose to talk about the psychology of the disabled. I am
skeptical that there is any such thing because if there were,
society would be justified in stereotyping the disabled. After all,
if they have a certified psychology, then why not stereotype them?
But obviously the handicapped are different for many reasons. The
time of the onset of the disability is very important. There is a
big difference between a child who is born blind and someone who
has led a very active life for seventy or eighty years before going
blind. There is a big difference between somebody who has visual
acuity of twenty over two hundred and can read print with some help
and somebody who doesn't have any vision at all. So the time of the
onset of the disability is very important, life experiences are
important, socio-economic considerations are important. You really
can't talk about the psychology of the handicapped with so many
variables.
The only thing that the blind have in common is that they cannot
see, and even then there are differences. Consider the distinctions
between a totally blind person and one who has a lot of vision. So
even when you talk about the blind, you are talking about the
legally blind, and what they can see depends a great deal, not only
on the visual acuity, but on the amount of light. You can talk
about tunnel vision or peripheral vision—there are so many
differences. It doesn't make sense to me to talk about either the
personality of the blind or the psychology of the handicapped.
I am going to assume for a moment that the blind have serious
problems requiring counseling. This is not a given; I assume it
only for argument's sake. The reason I have called my talk
—Problems with Counseling the Visually Handicapped— is that I don't
think there is a unique problem in counseling the visually
handicapped. As a group, we are not more messed up than the
population at large. The problems we have are with the counseling
we receive. I am going to talk about some of the practical problems
of counseling: who is qualified to do it, when to do it, where to
do it, and what to counsel about. These are important topics; we
could spend a day on each of them.
Let us start with who is going to do the counseling. Believe me,
that is not an easy question. The visually handicapped child spends
a great deal of time with the regular teacher if he or she has
normal intelligence—especially on the junior and senior high
levels. And in my long and varied life I have dealt with many, many
teachers—thousands of them. Having gone through elementary and
secondary school myself; having attended thirteen universities on
three continents; having served as a special education teacher,
working with all exceptionalities; having been a counselor for all
exceptionalities; and having been an education specialist for the
past ten years, it has been my good fortune to work with many, many
regular teachers. And I find that, broadly speaking, they all fall
into one of three categories. None of the three is qualified to
counsel the blind.
The first kind of regular teacher that the blind encounter is
superficially very warm, very supportive, very understanding, very
friendly. There are fringe benefits to being this type of teacher.
The administrators congratulate you on how wonderful and positive
you are with that poor blind child. The parents are delighted that
you have discovered their kid is gifted—after all, you're giving
him A's. And you feel good about yourself for being such a
wonderful human being. What's more, the child is delighted.
Somebody has discovered him and made him feel welcome.
There are advantages for the child in being in such a setting. I
have found over the years that when you get a teacher who is
interested in you, your classmates become interested. When you find
a cold, rejecting teacher, your classmates will also leave you
alone. The advantage of that kind of teacher is that your
classmates will become more friendly. But believe me, the
discrimination practiced by this kind of teacher is as harmful to
the child as is any other kind. There are two reasons for this.
First, by being so warm and by knowing on day 1 that you are going
to give the blind kid an A no matter what, you are also giving him
an inflated self-image, and he is going to be very badly shattered
once reality hits. Eventually he will discover that he is not a
forgotten genius, and that is going to hurt.
The other problem with this kind of disguised rejection is that the
child is not going to learn much, and that is going to hurt him
down the road. Because if he feels that he is doing okay, he will
not learn to give his very best. It also gives his classmates the
wrong impression of the blind. The blind child may be too young to
understand the subtleties of discrimination, but when that child is
being treated more like a pet kitten, he is being told (even if he
doesn't understand it) that he is not equal.
No one can ever be both privileged and equal. Either you
insist on privilege, or you insist on equality.
You cannot have
both.
In my own life I have experienced this truth many times, and
sometimes it hurts. Sometimes you cause people to become your
enemies when you really don't want them to. But there are times
when you have to stand and be counted.
I ran into a teacher like this in graduate school. He came to me one day and
said, "You know, you haven't missed a session this year; all your assignments
have been A's; if you don't want to take the final, don't. I am giving you an
A." Believe me, that was a tempting offer. I was living two hours away,
and we were poor at the time. Traveling on the bus cost money that was hard
to come by, and I was sure of an A. For a moment I was tempted. I am sure that
man concluded I needed counseling because I said, "No sir, I don't want
to do that. I want to come and take the exam, and I would prefer a B to an unearned
A." I went on, "Look, if you really want to do this, make an announcement
that everyone with an A average doesn't have to take the test. Then I will be
very happy not to take it, but I will not be the only one not taking the test
and making an A." I am sure that I dropped a few notches in his estimation,
but I didn't care. I was fighting for a principle. People have to understand:
either you insist on fulfilling your obligations, or you don't. Either you insist
on your rights, or you don't. A man who fights to fulfill his obligations is
going to fight for his rights, too, and deserves to do so. I have fought for
my rights many, many times, but always with the knowledge that I was equally
willing to demand my responsibilities.
Many of these battles have been private, and I will not bore you
with them. But there have been times when I have had public fights.
Sometimes I won, and sometimes I lost. Twenty years ago, soon after
I got my doctorate and joined the school system and became an
American citizen, I decided that the best way to show my
appreciation, to be useful to my adopted country, was to offer my
services to the State Department to be sent anywhere they could use
me as a Foreign Service Officer—to show the world that this country
believes in the value of the individual, that this country treats
people according to what they can do, not according to what they
can see.
Naively I applied to Civil Service to take the Foreign Service
exam. The local officer agreed. But then I said, "Look, I need
someone to read the exam to me because I am blind."
Nonchalantly she said, "Oh, but we don't take the blind." I said,
"That's nice; who is your supervisor?" She gave me the name of her
supervisor, who at the time was a bit nervous toward political
appointments (it was the early seventies, and civil rights was a
big issue), and she said, "I'm going to pass the buck by sending
you to the Atlanta office."
I said, "fine," and I called the Atlanta office.
They said, "Oh no, no, no, that is a Washington decision."
So I called Washington, and I got someone who sounded intelligent.
I said, "Lady, I am trying to do something, and without knowing
anything about me you are telling me that I cannot do it? The
Department of Health, Education, and Welfare is spending hundreds
of millions of dollars rehabilitating the handicapped, and another
department in the same government is telling me that you have no
opportunities for the blind? I insist on taking this test, and if
I have to go to a class action suit, I will."
She said, "Now just calm down. There is no law that says you can't
take this exam, but I promise that we are not going to pass you."
I said, "Ma'am, one step at a time. Let me put a foot through that
door—let me crack open that door, and let me take that exam." She
said, "You are wasting your time." I replied, "Am I not allowed to
waste my time?" She said, "Okay, if you feel that way." I took the
test, and she kept her promise, and of course, I was rejected. You
know, it took twenty years before a blind person was recently
admitted to the Foreign Service by the State Department.
That was an early disenchantment. I began to lose my idealism very
quickly thereafter. But to go back to teaching, all this is why I
feel that the teacher who is too warm and too accepting is subtly
rejecting you as surely as any other kind of person. That is why I
told my professor that I did not wish to be privileged.
When I did school counseling, many times blind kids would come to me and say,
"Write me a note for my regular teacher to get me out of class ten minutes early."
When I would ask why, they said, "Oh, we don't want to be in the halls between
classes." I would act horrified and say, "You're telling me it's going to take
you fifteen minutes to get from room to room? Are you blind or something?" The
child would grin and say, —Okay, not ten minutes, just two." I would say,
"All right, if you really insist, I will give you two minutes; but to be honest
with you, I would rather give you no minutes at all. I would rather you go out
in those halls between bells like everybody else. If you need somebody to guide
you, let them guide you. I don't care. I'd rather have you do that than leave
before the end of the class." I said that for two reasons. "Every
time you get up out of that seat ten minutes or two minutes or even thirty seconds
early, you are alerting the whole class to the fact that you are different—you
need special treatment. This is not why we put you in this class. We put you
there because we believe you can be an equal. We don't want you gaining notoriety.
Besides, in those last two or three minutes you'll be looking at your watch
all the time to make sure that you are leaving two minutes early instead of
concentrating on what the teacher is saying. Many teachers sum up at the end
of the class, reviewing what they have covered that period and telling you what
the assignment will be for the next time. If you miss that last two or three
minutes, you aren't going to know what the homework is or when the exam will
take place. Is it worth all that?" Sometimes I would convince them, and
sometimes I would not. That's all right because as a counselor you honestly
have to learn to listen to the child and, if he makes sense, do what he says.
We should not be playing God with people's lives, not even children's.
We have to respect their opinions. So that kind of warm teacher is
not going to be able to counsel the blind child.
There is a second type who is more honest about his or her
feelings. These teachers reject the child outright. On the junior
or senior high school level teachers see about one hundred fifty
youngsters a day. Some of them work six periods a day because they
are needed or they need the money, so they don't even have a
planning period.
Some of them have after-school activities to supervise. Some are advancing
their careers by getting a master's or specialist degree so they can earn more
pay. Some are teaching adult education. They look at a blind student coming
in on top of all their other responsibilities, and they say, "Oh my God,
what did I do to deserve this?" They say, "We aren't going to take
this out on the child; we are simply going to pretend he isn't here. We aren't
going to flunk him, but no matter what he does or doesn't do, we are going to
give him a D. Out of the goodness of our hearts, we might even give him a C."
That child will just sit there—tolerated but not accepted. Proximity does
not mean equality. The fact that he is sitting in that class doesn't mean he
is an equal. The year goes by, and that child does not learn very much. I have
had more than my share of that kind of teacher on college campuses, both undergraduate
and post-graduate level. I have sat in classes when the teacher was passing
out papers, and he would give a handout to the person on my right and to the
person on my left, to the person in front of me, to the person behind me but
skip me. Eventually, you learn to say, "Hey, I paid for the course, too." Would
you like to have your child counseled by that kind of teacher? Not me. The third
type of teacher is my favorite. This is the learner, and I have known some of
those. Years ago, I sent a blind student to a music class. The teacher saw the
kid, and immediately he called the office to have somebody sent to cover the
class. He marched down to my room and said, "Guess what, they have given me
a blind kid!"
I said, "I know, I sent him there."
He said, "You know it is a music class?"
I said, "I know, and I wish I could help you, but I don't know the
first thing about music. Years ago I took a whole year of music,
and on my best day I imitated a cat fairly well on my violin. I am
not the person to help you; I am sorry."
He said, "I want this kid out, right now. Put him somewhere else."
I said, "Sir, you are a teacher, and others are teachers. If I took
him out of your class and put him somewhere else, the next teacher
is likely to feel the same way you do. Do me a favor. Keep this
child in your class for two weeks. Let's find out what he can do.
Honestly, I don't know what he can learn from you if you feel that
way. I don't know what you can teach him with this kind of
attitude. And I don't know anything about music; I don't even know
if I made a wise decision. But let's give him two weeks and find
out what goes on." Reluctantly he agreed but assured me he would be
back in two weeks. A week later he came back and said, "I
apologize to you. I was too harsh last week. That kid has the best
attitude and attendance in the class. He is no trouble at all. He
is eager to learn. I feel so ashamed; I shouldn't have rejected him
that way. I am here for you to advise me on how I can help this
child." For the balance of that year he was the kind of teacher who
took assignments home to tape for the student. He worked with the
kid productively all year, and it was a wonderful experience. I
wish we had more of that type of teacher. If anyone could do the
counseling, this third type of teacher would be the one, but of
course, he is not the right one because he is more the counselee
than the counselor. So we have now eliminated regular teachers as
potential counselors.
Who, then, should do the counseling? The guidance counselor? Some
of you work at the junior or senior high level. Let's not tear down
guidance counselors. But you give any man five hundred counselees
and a lot of paperwork, especially on the high school level, where
the counselor has to make recommendations for college, deal with
crises, schedule classes, advise students about courses, counsel
the kids who got F's, hold parent conferences, cope with
emergencies, and you have overload. In my experience regular
counselors have as little to do as possible with special education
as a whole, and with the blind in particular. They keep as far away
from these students as they can. They don't have time, they don't
have experience, and they don't know anything about the speciality.
All right, in our center we have a Special Education Administrator.
Maybe he should do the counseling. In many of the centers we have
a hundred, a hundred-fifty handicapped children. The person in
charge is getting the paperwork ready for psychologicals, making
sure that the IEP's are in place, conferring with parents, and
attending meetings. The director may well have no time for
counseling. Just because he or she has probably majored in learning
disabilities or administration, he or she is not necessarily expert
in the visually handicapped either. So the special education
administrator is not the person to do it.
That by default leaves you, the special ed teacher, the vision
teacher; and the counseling may have to fall on you. Are you
qualified to do this counseling? (Oh dear, here it comes. I have to
stand before an audience and tell you why I don't feel you're
qualified. I am sorry.) Some of you are undoubtedly qualified and
very good. I commend you for choosing to work with the visually
handicapped. Your hearts are in the right place. But some of you
are itinerant teachers. You may have ten or fifteen kids in six or
ten schools. Maybe some of you are luckier and see the kids more
often. But it is not uncommon for the itinerant teacher to see each
student one hour a week. So such a teacher sees each student
thirty-six clock hours a year, assuming the following: the teacher
is never sick, is never absent, does not have a biologic child who
is ever sick or absent, her car never breaks down, the blind child
is never sick, is never on a field trip, is never at an assembly.
Do you believe that all these assumptions are going to happen? Even
if they did, you have only thirty-six clock hours to work with that
child. How much can you accomplish in thirty-six hours? How well
can the child get to know and trust you in thirty-six hours?
Not only that, but can you honestly justify to your conscience
chatting with that child when he needs help with English, math, and
science; when he doesn't know what to do with the homework
assignment that is due; when there is a test to be administered?
There are so many other pressing duties for you. Frankly, when I
see a teacher chatting away a few of those thirty-six hours, I get
concerned. Counseling can so easily degenerate into chatting, and
there are many, many academic needs for that blind child.
Counseling may not have the highest priority.
Now I come to an even more ticklish point. Let me stipulate in the beginning
that I am not including any of you. In the vision field there is a rumor of
a tremendous shortage. We are taking people cold who do not know the first thing
about teaching the blind or visually handicapped. We are saying, "Okay,
here is a class; go ahead and teach." I feel bitter about this for a number
of reasons. First of all, I ache for the blind children, who need all the help
they can get, and instead of a knowledgeable teacher they get somebody who is
totally illiterate in their own medium. That child will not learn much.
I also feel sad because it is a poor reflection on our own society.
We are told that we have a tremendous shortage of teachers of the
visually handicapped, yet there are hundreds and hundreds of
visually handicapped graduate students who are working on second
and third degrees just to mark time because nobody will employ
them. Wouldn't that blind person with three degrees be better for
the blind child than someone practically taken off the street? How
much more could that visually handicapped person teach that blind
child? Good heavens, they could teach, not only literary Braille,
but music Braille, mathematical notation, computer Braille.
There is a rumor that Braille is a dying thing, and nobody
needs it anymore.
This is a sellout.
This is betraying our blind population. The reason that people tell
you that is frankly that they don't know Braille and they don't
want to learn. So they tell the blind that Braille really does not
matter. It does matter; I assure you that it does matter! I would
never have gotten my degrees without it. I use records and tapes,
computers, scanners, and sighted readers; but when I am really in
a jam and really need to know something, I have to read it in
Braille.
Another thing we have done is to take a person who sees at about
five over two hundred and say that he can see some, so we aren't
going to give him Braille. Never mind that he can read for only
five minutes before getting tired. How many text-books is he going
to cover in five minutes? Wouldn't that child be better off with
Braille?
So we are getting teachers who are definitely not able to counsel
with the blind because they don't know anything about the blind.
They just came into the field when they were drafted. Why have we
stopped taking the blind into our classrooms as resource people,
where they could not only teach the blind but serve as role-models?
(if we have time, I want to tell you how important role-modeling
is.) We haven't taken them because we have changed the rules of the
game. In their wisdom, the experts have decided that it is better
for a teacher to spend half her life in the car, going from school
to school, spending an hour with the kid, instead of having a
resource room, where six or seven or eight children can come to her
and spend all day. In that classroom the blind could have
functioned, but they cannot do so when teachers are required to
spend the day on the road in a car. We change the rules of the
game, and then we tell the blind, "I'm sorry, you are not qualified
to teach the blind."
I have applied to teach at colleges and high schools, and the argument they
give me is, "How can you teach, you can't read print?" Yet nobody
makes the same argument to the sighted teacher who can't read Braille. This
is bad. So I tell you that many vision teachers are not qualified to do the
counseling. I'm sorry; this is what I believe. Some of you in the resource room
may, of course, be qualified to do this counseling. This brings me to the question
of when to do the counseling. Okay, you are a resource teacher; your heart is
in the right place; you have chosen the right profession; you're dedicated;
you're wonderful. All right, you want to counsel the blind? When do you do it?
When you have six or seven kids around, all asking for your help? When do you
ever get the kid all by yourself to sit down and really counsel with him? Do
any of you have that luxury?
Years ago, we had a serious problem. Somebody wanted me to counsel
a blind youngster; it was an urgent thing. Do you know when I had
to choose to do it? Both of us had to give up our lunch periods. We
gave him another assignment, but my break was gone. Lunch is the
only time a teacher can sit down privately and talk with a child.
As a classroom teacher, you are not often going to have only that
one kid. You cannot really expect the kid to open up, and if he
does, he might get into trouble because the other kids might start
teasing him about the private issues they have overheard. So we
conclude that you don't have time to do the counseling.
All right then, let's send him to a qualified psychologist or
psychiatrist for that matter. You know, there are teachers of the
visually handicapped who seldom see a blind child, and most
psychologists have never dealt with a blind child. They really
don't know how to begin counseling. They want to do it, but their
concept of the blind is no different from that of most of the rest
of the population, and they really don't know what that kid can and
can't do. The psychologist may not be any more qualified than
anybody else to do the counseling, and the same goes for the
psychiatrist, because he has had so little exposure to the blind.
In other words, there really is nobody to do the counseling. And if
there were a professional who could do it, when could it be done
and where? If you are, let us say, an itinerant teacher, you are
lucky if you can find a quiet place. In a library people are
walking in and out. Maybe in a closet under a stairway? Maybe in a
corner of the cafeteria? I've been in schools; I know what goes on.
Should that child gain your trust and openly start talking to you
in the cafeteria or in the library or under the stairway? There are
problems with talking—where and when and who does it.
Let us assume we have found a psychologist with experience, willing
to work with the blind. Who is going to pay for it? Maybe the state
rehabilitation agency? If that agency pays for it, then is that
counselor working for the client or for the agency? That is really
an ethical problem, and I wish we had more time to go into it. When
the state rehabilitation agency or another agency sends a blind
client to a counselor, it is saying directly or indirectly, openly
or implicitly, "Shape that blind person in our image." And knowing
what I know about agencies, it is not an image I want to be shaped
in. That counselor is not your agent; he is the agent of the
agency, and the blind counselee will view him as such. He is going
to tell the blind person to shape up, that society is right, that
the system is correct, to take that chip off your shoulder. He's
not working for the client because the client is not paying him. He
is working for whoever is paying—in this case, the agency.
I wish psychological counseling were like legal counseling, where
you pay your lawyer, and he is honestly working for you,
facilitating your objectives, giving you what you are trying to
get, not telling you that you are messed up and you are wrong and
you had better shape up.
But let us assume that we have a situation in which the parents are
paying for their child's counseling and the counselor is going to
be on that child's side and that he is not working directly or
indirectly for any agency that potentially may be sending him other
clients, when is he going to schedule the appointments? Kids in a
metropolitan area like Miami have to get up at five in the morning
to catch a bus at 6 so they can be in school by 7:15 or 7:30. They
leave school at 2:30, and they don't get home till 4:00. Many
latchkey kids, after that kind of day, go home to an empty house.
When are they going to see a counselor? When do they have time, and
how are they going to get there?
So far, the counseling problems we have discussed are who, where, when, and
how. Now let's talk about what, and here it gets worse. I have been a blind
person for a long time—since the age of nine months. And the counseling
I have gone through with professionals led me for years to pray every night,
"God save me from the experts." Let me tell you what I am talking
about, and if I have to be personal to make a point, I will-I don't mind.
My parents grew up in a south Lebanese village. As soon as they got
married, they wanted to strike out on their own, go to the land of
opportunity, and really make it big—like all young people. They
traveled fifty miles to the south to the port town of Haifa, in
Palestine at the time. They established a home; they rented a
little flat. My father got a job, and within a year of their
marriage I was born. They thought that their cup of happiness was
full. They had a healthy baby, a home, and a job. Things had never
been better, and they had every hope that things would go from
better to better. Nine months later that child was blind-totally,
finally, irrevocably. They were plunged into such a depression that
it took them a very, very long time to recover. They lost their
appetite for food; life had no meaning. For years any time they
heard about a quack anywhere in two countries, they went to see if
he could help me. If they had received the right kind of
professional advice, they could have saved a lot of time and money
and effort and much aggravation. But they did not mind. No one had
trained them to be the parents of a blind child.
They did not know anymore about it than anybody else, and their
concept of blindness was that of the entire population. Just
because you have a blind child, it doesn't mean that you feel
different about blindness, not initially, at any rate. What were
the experts telling my parents? "Oh, you're twenty-one,
twenty-two; you can make another twelve kids if you want. Forget
about this one, or assume he was born dead; many kids are born
dead. Put him away somewhere, forget about him, and start again."
That was not the kind of advice they wanted to hear. Finally an
expert came and said, "Look, put him in an institution. True, it's
only an asylum, but at least they will teach him some Braille."
That was better advice than some we give families today. At least
they did not tell my parents to forget about Braille.
Anyway, that could have been the end of the story. If I had
survived in that asylum, I would still be there today. The only
reason I am standing before you this morning is that my parents
went to visit me there after two months. They had no degrees, they
had no college education, they were not professionals, they were
not even high school graduates, but they had hearts, and they
allowed their hearts to guide them. They looked at that place, and
they said, "This place is not for our son." They took me out. Had
they not done that, I know I would still be there, and any spirit
would have been crushed, even mine. My history would have been
totally different. It was only because my parents allowed their
hearts and minds to rule the situation that I have achieved what I
have in life. This was the first pernicious counseling I received
from professionals.
There are many other examples. When I began college, my teachers were so impressed
that one of them came and said, "I want you to go on to graduate school in America,
where there are more opportunities." He thought it would be a good idea to get
some advice from the experts on blindness, so he wrote to one of the American
institutions. He explained that he had a blind student who seemed to be talented
and whom he wanted to help, and he got a letter from the expert which said,
"We don't believe in college education for the blind. We believe that the
blind should go into open industry." That man, having heard from the experts,
decided, "Well, what can I do?" And that was the end of that attempt
to give me greater college opportunity. God save us from the experts. I encountered
another expert at about this time. I had applied to an international organization
for a scholarship. It was very interested; in fact, I was the highest applicant
on their list.
They ranked people, and I was number 1 in the entire population of
my country, not the blind. I was certain that I was going to
receive a good scholarship and be placed at a good college in
America. The first year nothing happened. The second year nothing
happened. By the third year I had found another way to come to this
country to further my education. That international organization
never came through. Upon investigating the matter after I was
already here, I learned that an expert somewhere decided, without
consulting me, of course, that I needed a small community, where I
would be given a room and could go to college. If that had gone
through, it would have been the worst thing for me because what I
really needed was a huge metropolitan area, where I could draw on
volunteers, where I could find resources, where there was variety.
But the experts thought I needed a small community. Where they got
that, I have no idea; they didn't ask me. What did I know; it was
only my life. The expert advice we get is often poor advice.
Does that mean that blind people don't need counseling at all? No. We need
counseling, and a lot of it. But the kind we need is more in the realm of education
than psychology. When you walk around a class of blind kids, you may see one
who is sitting there, rocking back and forth. His hands may be flying all over
the place or he may be twirling a handkerchief. Maybe his head is shaking side
to side. Do you just call the ambulance and commit him to the psychiatric hospital?
In an autistic child these are indicative of deep psychological problems. Among
the blind they may or may not be. The blind child with a lot of energy, having
to sit still, not seeing what other people are doing, may develop these mannerisms
without being aware of them. He does not need counseling that will reveal things
about his grandmother. He needs for a teacher to say, "Look here, this
is not acceptable behavior." Do it gently; do it firmly; do it as often
as it is needed. If you have done this for a couple of years without any results,
then you know that the problem may be more deep-seated. At least try the educational
approach first; I have known it to work in many, many cases. Very often it is
not that the blind are messed up; it is that they do not have enough information.
Maybe I should not talk about this in public, but I will anyway.
Years ago I had contact with a blind student. The principal came to
me saying that he was disturbed about a boy who was taking regular
courses and was masturbating in class. This problem is, or can be,
serious, and I was very concerned by it. It could have been
indicative of serious psychological trouble. We had worked for
years to build a positive image of the handicapped, and all we
needed was a few incidents like this to ruin everything we had
done.
I told him I would see what I could do. I did not make light of the
situation. I talked to the child, who did have problems. There were
some autistic tendencies. But it turned out to be that the child,
who was born blind and was not particularly bright, had no idea
what vision entailed. And I don't blame him; I'm not sure that I
know what vision entails either. I can't be certain that any
profoundly deaf person understands what hearing entails. For a deaf
person it is very difficult to know what people can and cannot
hear, what hearing people can and cannot do. The same is true of
the blind. Vision is confusing. If the blinds are drawn, people
outside can't see you, and another time with the blinds open, they
can see you. If the glass is transparent, they can see you; if it
is one-way, they can't. It is very difficult, particularly for a
person blind from birth really to know what vision involves. After
talking with that young man, I concluded that he honestly believed
that because masturbation was silent, nobody could see him.
[At this point a member of the audience commented that sighted people have
a hard time knowing how much a partially sighted person can see. In front of
a college class a professor once indicated his surprise that she could see him
at all. She commented that a tactful person would never have made such a comment
in public. Dr. Haj then continued:] And how many professors talk about you as
if you couldn't see them? How many of them ignore you. I wish I could tell you
the number of times I have gone to a classroom that was empty because the teacher
had written on the board, "I am not going to be here next week." Or "Next week
is a vacation." Or "We are going to meet somewhere else next week." A good teacher
would have had the courtesy to speak while he wrote. I cannot tell you how many
midterms I could have done better on if I had known that the test was coming.
A teacher should have the courtesy to say, "We will be covering chapters
thirteen to sixteen." Such an instructor should have the courtesy to say
these things even if there were no blind student in the class. But, like every
other profession, not everybody is perfect.
So many of the things that seem to be in the counseling domain may
not be. Many of them are more properly in the realm of teaching.
For example, take a blind kid who is unkempt. His hair is always
flying, and his shirt is always hanging out. Frankly, he is not
very clean, and he is not brushing his teeth often enough. Is that
a counseling situation? Maybe it is, but I think it is more
effectively handled as an educational one.
When my own boys were teen-agers, we went through a nightmare. They
wanted to buy the most expensive clothing because it carried a
certain tag. Surely that was not a personal need. That was an
acquired need—just to be like the other kids. It was because their
peers were doing it. People learn so much from their peers. When
you have a blind child who is not handling his food properly, who
is not dressing himself properly, that doesn't necessarily mean
that he needs a psychologist.
It may do so, but it may simply mean that he never had enough
environmental clues, enough visual clues to be able to imitate
accurately. He doesn't know what is involved. This is why it is
appropriate for the teacher to take the time to teach him how to
cut his meat, to eat spaghetti, to handle all his food. I see
nothing wrong with that. If this is what he needs, then it is an
appropriate educational objective.
A hundred years ago home economics was taught at home. Nobody went
to school to study the subject. A girl was taught to make her
dresses, set the table, and cook at home. When the need eventually
arose to study home economics outside the home, students took it in
school. If the blind person needs education in grooming, eating,
or social behavior, why not tackle it in school—what's wrong with
that? This brings me to two points. Though we may assume that we
can give the blind counseling because they have all the time in the
world, the truth is that they don't. A blind person who really
wants to accomplish a lot has to spend much more time on his or her
books than the sighted. If a teacher tells you to go to page 153
and study it, you flip to the page and begin studying. If I am
using tape, and the teacher says page 153, I don't know which tape
or track the page appears on. It might take me fifteen or twenty
minutes to find the right place in that book. A sighted child
reading that book would have a pencil handy, he can mark important
passages. If I want to mark that passage, I have to play that tape
again and again, writing it down in Braille a few words at a time.
If you tell me that I have to spend time in counseling, too, I
don't know when I am going to do it.
Have I ever had a counselor? Yes I have. I have been fortunate to have very,
very good counselors. The ones who had the greatest influence on my life never
said, "Come, I want to counsel with you." One of these was a nun.
When I finished elementary school, I returned home, and because a war had just
ended and there were no laws requiring the education of the handicapped, there
was no place for me to go. My parents applied to one school after another but
were told there was no place for a blind child. I was cheering the schools on
because I didn't want to go to school, so I hoped my parents would just give
up. But they were stubborn; they didn't.
Finally they found a Catholic school for girls which said they
would take a chance as long as I never talked alone with a girl. I
went to that girls' school, and I did my best. Am I glad I went
there! The curriculum was English. Had I not improved my English,
I don't know how I would ever have studied because English is one
of the few languages in which you can get all the Braille you want.
I have found that, when you are handicapped, you can turn anything
to your advantage. The fact that no school would have me turned out
to be the best thing that ever happened to me because I was able to
go to that English-speaking girls' school. As a handicapped person
I have found in life that it is necessary to follow the motto: if
you are given a lemon, make lemonade. Turn everything you can to
your advantage.
The Superior of that school was a very, very wise woman. She had
perhaps completed high school, but she was one of the best
educators I have ever encountered. When I had been there three
years (it was one year before I was to graduate), she called me
down and said, "Look, we need to talk." In those days in Israel we
still took British degrees. Students received the matriculation
certificate, later called the general certificate of education,
both of which were issued from London. She said, "Those people
don't know you. I am not sure if we can give you the matriculation
certificate that is issued to everyone else. But we will give you
a school certificate of completion stating that you have finished
our program."
I am not an aggressive person, but there are times when a principle is involved
and I surprise myself by standing up for my rights. Here I was, in the eleventh
grade, talking to my school principal, who was a mother superior, and I said,
"Mother you are wrong. I am not going to do that." She was rather
taken aback, but she told me to go on. I said, "I have worked as hard as everybody
else. A certificate of completion from you will not have the same weight as
a regular national diploma from London, and I am not going to accept it. I have
worked too hard."
She asked, "What do you propose that we should do?" "I think that
you should write a letter saying that you have a blind student, who
you think deserves to get the regular diploma, and let them make
arrangements. Tell them that I can type my answers." She was the
kind of counselor I respect because she was not too big to learn
from a child.
She said, "You know, you have a point. Why don't I do that?"
Students were supposed to take exams in three ordinary subjects and
in two advanced ones. I took six ordinary level and four advanced
(double the load of everybody else), and I was the only one to pass
everything that year. I did get the diploma. That nun was the best
kind of counselor—one who was willing to listen.
I had already met another counselor like this in elementary school. When I
was in the sixth grade, I discovered that I had been retained. I couldn't understand
why. I wasn't brilliant, but I wasn't that bad. So I marched off to the principal's
office, knocked at the door, and asked to talk to him. I surprised myself with
my boldness, but I asked him why I had been retained in the sixth grade. He
explained that, because of the war then going on, he was afraid that, when I
completed the seventh grade, there would be no place to send me afterward. They
could not contact my parents, and they feared I would become a refugee and that
I would be turned out on the streets. His concern touched me, but I said, "Sir,
civil wars have been known to drag on for twenty years. If we have to face this
problem in two years, why not face it in one?" I guess he thought I was
not so stupid after all. He admitted that he was no wiser than I in this matter
and agreed that, if this was what I wanted, I could have it.
That man had a greater influence on my life than any other educator
that I have ever had. He was a totally blind man himself. Fifty
years ago in Palestine he was appointed the principal of a school.
Look around you here today. How many handicapped administrators do
we have in Dade County, Florida? Ten percent of our educational
employees (2,000 people) are employed to help the handicapped.
Where are the handicapped in important staff positions? If we want to influence
the handicapped, their parents, and the legislature,"I am reminded of a
song—Don't Speak of Love; Show Me." We can talk about opportunities
and rights for the handicapped, and in the meantime we are employing thousands
of able-bodied people to help the handicapped. But wouldn't it be more effective
if we had handicapped people in high positions who could really influence decisions?
This is a disgrace! That man in a third-rate country fifty years
ago was made the principal of a special school, and he had the
greatest impact on all of us blind children and on our families. My
parents, who knew nothing about the blind, thought that this was
the worst thing that could have happened to me, until they met that
man. They saw that he was married, had children, and held a
job—that he was living a normal life. His example, more than any
counseling, gave them the courage to go on, the conviction that
something good could happen. Until they met him, they had a
terrible image of the blind. One day, when I was about two, they
looked out the window during lunch and saw a blind beggar. They
both ran after him to try to give him something. Their lunch was
never eaten that day.
It's inspiration and role-modeling in counseling that are more
important than any talking we do. Actions always speak louder than
words. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then an action is
worth a million.
HEAR YE! HEAR YE!
BRAILLE BOOKS FOR SALE
Editor's Note: For many years blind people dreamed of a
time when they could buy (at affordable prices) their own Braille
books. In 1984 an important step in this direction was taken when
National Braille Press announced its "Children's Braille Book of
the Month Club" featuring affordable Print/Braille children's
books. Later, in 1986, the National Library for the Blind and
Physically Handicapped (NLS) announced that it would permit Braille
book manufacturers producing books under contract to NLS to produce
and sell extra copies to individuals at a cost in line with the
cost of print books. Now, the American Printing House for the Blind
is getting into the act. Here is part of an announcement that was
recently published in the APH Slate.
The American Printing House for the Blind (APH) proudly announces the creation
of the Century Series, a special selection of Braille books. This series is
designed to enable Braille readers to obtain Braille books at the same cost
as the original print editions. APH has set aside monies from its Endowment
Fund to produce 50 Braille copies of each of 100 titles over the next several
years. It is intended that these titles will not conflict with titles produced
by the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS)
or by any of the other major producers of Braille books. The reading levels
and interest levels of these books will range from kindergarten to adult. The
first four titles selected for the Century Series are: Mouse Tales, by Beatrix
Potter. Four short Stories for children. 1 volume, Catalog number 5-84300-00,
price $9.00. My favorite Goodnight Stories, by Linda Yeatman. A collection of
25 retold bedtime stories for children. 1 volume, Catalog number 5-85000-00,
price $10.00 Tekway, by William Shatner. A science fiction novel for young adults
and up. 2 volumes, Catalog number 6-40100-00, price $18.00.
The City of Gold and Lead, by John Christopher. Science
fiction for young adults. 1 volume, Catalog number 5-23250-00,
price $4.00.
These Century Series books are available as long as the
supply lasts. For more information contact: American Printing House
for the Blind, P.O. Box 6085, Louisville, KY 40206-0085. Phone and
Fax: (502) 895-2405.
EXPECTATIONS
We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
Braille Institute's 42nd edition of Expectations, A
Braille anthology of the latest children's literature, soon will be
available free of charge to English-speaking blind children in
grades three through six. This annual volume, produced in grade II
Braille, stimulates the imagination of blind children around the
world. The theme is an international one, with stories by authors
from many countries. Children can receive the book at home or at
school. Libraries also can receive copies.
Expectations is supported entirely by donations. Those
who would like to receive the 42nd edition or make a donation
should write to Douglas Menville, Braille Institute, 741 North
Vermont Avenue, Los Angeles, California 90029.
HOME-SCHOOLING NETWORK
Maryanne Hutchins, a parent from Vermont, is interested
in starting an NFB sponsored home-schooling network for parents of
blind children. Maryanne states that inability to work out an
appropriate IEP with the local school district was the catalyst for
her and her husband to begin home-schooling their eleven-year-old
blind daughter. The network would be a way for parents to share
information about resources, helpful teaching tips, solutions to
common problems, and to offer mutual moral support—all within a
framework of positive attitudes about blindness. If you are a
parent of a blind or partially sighted child and you are
successfully home-schooling, or you simply want to explore the
possibility, please contact: Maryanne Hutchins, 91 Saybrook, Essex
Junction, VT 05452; (802) 879-1413.
BRAILLE RELIGIOUS MATERIALS
SURVEY
We have been asked to print the following announcement: HAVE YOUR SAY! You
are invited to participate in a survey being conducted to determine the availability
or lack of religious materials in Braille for children. State your opinions
and/or needs. Write for a survey form to EYES OF FAITH MINISTRIES Survey, 47316
Riverside, Newberry Springs, CA 92365.
NATIONAL BRAILLE PRESS
RECEIVES AWARD
We are very pleased to print the following news release: National Braille
Press, Inc., a nonprofit Braille printing and publishing house located in Boston,
received the 1990 Literary Market Place Special Award "honoring excellence
and innovation in the book publishing industry" at a special dinner ceremony
held in the United Nations Delegates' Dining Room on January 22, 1991. This
is the first time that a Braille publishing house has received this distinguished
award.
National Braille Press is committed to publishing in
Braille practical information important to the independent
functioning of blind people. For example, Take Charge: A Strategic
Guide for Blind Job Seekers, by Rabby and Croft, is a practical
self-help manual based on experiences of successful blind job
seekers. Take Charge received the 1990 Book Award from the
President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities.
In 1984, NBP established its Children's Braille Book Club. The club
produces a new print-and-Braille children's book each month.
DEAF-BLIND MANUAL AVAILABLE ONE STEP AT A TIME: A Manual for Families of Children
with Hearing and Vision Impairments is a booklet designed to help parents of
the young deaf-blind child—interpret the world to your child, one step
at a time. This 37-page guide, written by Sharon Bolton, edited by Kris Strom
Williamson, covers the topics: communication, eating, play (including a list
of suggested toys), self-care skills (dressing, toilet training, and bedtime),
motor development, and general resource information. The booklet was funded
by the Association for Persons with Severe Handicaps (TASH), Technical Assistance
Project, and is available for $10.00 per copy from: Teaching Research Publications,
345 N. Monmouth Avenue, Monmouth, OR 97361.
ROADBOARDS
Editor's Note: Barbara Pierce, associate editor of the Braille Monitor,
recently called to tell me about a nifty handmade toy she had discovered. A
woman in her area (Beth Glenn) made a board toy for children who were recuperating
from broken bones, or some other ailment which kept them bed-bound but no longer
seriously ill. She soon discovered that healthy children enjoyed the toy, too.
Mrs. Pierce (who is blind and was once a blind child) took a look at the "Roadboards"
and was very excited about its potentiality as an educational toy for blind
kids.
Beth Glenn describes the toy as a "original wooden toy with road and
parking places for matchbox-sized (about 3") cars." The brightly painted
(non-toxic) 18"x26" wooden board is grooved so that the little cars
won't slide off and streets and parking areas are easily distinguishable from
the sidewalk and lawn areas. Mrs. Pierce immediately saw possibilities in the
toy for teaching compass directions and concepts about intersections, parking
lots, driveways, gas station islands, and other features in our environment.
The board is uncluttered (you add your own toy buildings if you want them) making
tactile exploration easy and comprehensible to the blind child.
Here is the information about Roadboards and how to order
one:
Roadboards: an original wooden toy with road and parking places for matchbox-sized
cars. Features: encourages imagination; is fun for one or more players; rounded
corners; no pieces to lose, break, or pick up; washable; bright colors (non-toxic);
easy to store (can be hung by strong nylon handle). Models: Roadboard: 18"
x 26" $34.00; Tray Roadboard (for hospital bedside trays): 13-1/2"
x 30-1/2" $34.00. Roadboards, Beth Glenn, 24426 Bruce Road, Bay Village,
OH 44140; (216) 871-9013.
SUMMER FUN
What do you like to do in the summer? Fish? Swim? Sail?
Bird-watch? Have you considered sharing these pleasurable leisure
time activities with your blind son or daughter, or have you put it
off because you didn't think, or didn't know how, a blind person
could enjoy it? In fact, many blind persons enjoy these
recreational activities. If you and/or your blind son, daughter, or
student would like to get more information about these activities,
contact the Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS)
and request one or more of these free leisure time booklets:
FISHING, An Introduction to Fishing for Fun and Food for Blind and
Physically Handicapped Individuals; SWIMMING, An Introduction to
Swimming, Diving, and SCUBA Diving for Blind and Physically
Handicapped Individuals; BIRDING, An Introduction to Ornithological
Delights for Blind and Physically Handicapped Individuals; SAILING,
An Introduction to the Wonders of Sailing for Blind and Physically
Handicapped Individuals. Each is available in print, large print,
flexible disc, and Braille. Send your request (please be sure to
designate the format desired) to: Reference Section, National
Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped,
Washington, D.C. 20542.
Share a Comment