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
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.
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
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:
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
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
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
A Chance to Belong
A Chance to Belong
by Crystal McClain
Reprinted from Advocacy in Action, a publication
of the Ohio NFB Parents Division.
The chance to belong. Isn't that one thing we
want for our kids? Just because our kid is blind doesn't mean we erase that natural
instinct of wanting them to be a part of something. As parents of blind children we may be
tempted to let "belonging" slip away. Here is one example of how I helped to
make sure my daughter Macy did belong.
Socialization for Blind Girls and Women
Reflections on the Importance of
Socialization for
Blind Girls and Women
by Barbara Pierce
Editor's Note: Barbara Pierce, Editor of the
NFB publication, the Braille Monitor, is also a member of the Committee on the Status of
Blind Women, North America/Caribbean Region, World Blind Union. Mrs. Pierce developed the
following document as a framework for focus group discussions sponsored by this committee,
Never Laugh at the Teacher's Jokes
Never Laugh at the Teacher's Jokes
by Srikala Ashok
Editor's Note: Srikala Ashok, a teacher of
blind children, was asked to do a presentation to the 1996 National Federation of the
Blind of Illinois Convention Parents' Seminar on the topic of socialization of blind
children. The presentation was so well done and so well received that Debbie Stein, a long
leader of the NFB of Illinois, encouraged her to submit her remarks to Future Reflections