Helpful Hints for Parents
Helpful Hints for Parents of Blind
Infants and Toddlers
by Christine Faltz
Reprinted from the Summer, 1997, issue of
Stepping Stone, the newsletter of the Long Island Chapter of the Parents of Blind Children
Division of the NFB.
Editor's Note: Blind herself, Christine is
the mother of a beautiful little girl, Samantha, who is also legally blind. Christine is a
former NFB scholarship winner, and an attorney who has chosen to stay home to be a
Pediatric Physical Therapy
Pediatric Physical Therapy:
Focusing on the Whole Child
by Gail A. Hatch
Editor's Note: Many blind children today have
additional disabilities. It is not uncommon for a blind baby, toddler, preschooler, or
older child to work with many different specialists, such as an occupational therapist, a
speech therapist, and a physical therapist. The physical disabilities which create the
need for these services may vary from mild and eventually correctable, to profound and
Munchkin Mobility
Munchkin Mobility
Twelve to Twenty-Four Months
by Jane Bartley
Reprinted from VIP News 13/2, March/April 1997, a
publication of the Visually Impaired Preschool Services of Louisville, Kentucky.
Editor's Note: If the name
"Bartley" rings a bell, it's because you may remember reading items printed in
Future Reflections by or about Dr. Ralph Bartley, Superintendent of the Kentucky School
for the Blind. And yes, Jane is related. She is his wife, and she is a well-known and
Miss Idaho 1994 A Special Friend
Miss Idaho 1994: A Special Friend
by Ramona Walhof
Reprinted from a 1995 issue of the Gem Stone
Milestones, the newsletter of the NFB of Idaho.
Editor's Note: Can blind children learn to
move gracefully? Can they learn to dance? The following article, which describes how one
outstanding young woman shared her talent with underpriviledged blind children, seemed a
good campanion to the preceding one about "Creative Movement." Here it is:
Sharing Creative Movement With Your Child
Sharing Creative Movement with
Your Child
by Edwina Peterson Cross
Reprinted with permission of the author from
Welcome Home, Volume 13, No. 12, December, 1996, a publication of the national nonprofit
organization, Mothers At Home.
From the Editor: It's wonderful to be told,
as parents of blind children, that our children are more like sighted children than not.
And it's reassuring to hear that blind kids, given the opportunity and training, can
Teacher Recognition
Teacher Recognition
Mr. Scott Smith
Orientation and Mobility Instructor, California
September 10, 1997
To: Future Reflections
From: Mary Beth Phillips
Re: Teacher Recognition
In reading through the Future Reflections issue
from Winter/Spring, 1997, I saw that there is a way to acknowledge the work of excellent
teachers. I would like to submit this letter I sent to the Contra Costa County Office of
Education regarding Scott Smith, my daughter's mobility instructor last year.
My Cane Is Great
My Cane is Great
by Susie D'Mello
From the Editor: The following item was sent
to me by Sue Drapinski, one of the hardest workers in the NFB of Michigan. This is the
brief note Sue sent with the article: "Mrs. Cheadle: This was written by 12-year-old
Susie D'Mello from Troy, Michigan. She and her family found the NFB about two years ago
through our "Saturday School" tutoring program." (The tutoring program is
Parent Win Fight with School Board in Virginia
Parents Win Fight with School
Board in Virginia
From the Editor: Readers may remember that in
the Winter/Spring, 1997, issue of Future Reflections, we carried an article titled
"Virginia Parents Battle Teacher Shortage." At that time parents were pressing
the Hampton school district in Virginia to hire more teachers of the blind and visually
impaired students. Parents, at that point, had won a partial victory—the board had
The Cody Greiser Story
The Cody Greiser Story: A Work in
Progress
by Jim Marks
From the Editor: The following article is
reprinted from The Observer, Spring/Summer, 1997, a publication of the Montana
Association for the Blind (MAB), an affiliate of the National Federation of the Blind.
Some of our long-time readers may remember an
article about Cody which appeared in Future Reflections several years ago. At that time
his parents were trying to get the services they needed in his local school district so he
Can Braille Change the Future?
Can Braille Change the Future?
by Denise Staulter
Reprinted from the March, 1997, issue of Michigan
Focus, a publication of the NFB of Michigan.
As an itinerant teacher of the visually impaired,
I often teach my students for many years. More than four years ago I met a lovely little
girl in her second year of school who had very little usable sight for reading. Before she
came to me, she had the use of a CCTV and other magnifying equipment, but was not doing