Future Reflections Convention Report 2005
“I have a student who is transitioning from print to Braille. If he could exchange letters with another Braille reader I think that would greatly motivate him to learn.”
“My 12-year-old daughter is the only blind child in her school. She would very much like to correspond with another blind girl her age who may share some of her concerns about fitting in.”
“Ever since my son read about Louis Braille he has been fascinated with the Braille system. He wants to find a blind boy his age (ten) so they can write Braille letters back and forth. Can you help us?”
These are only a few examples of the Slate Pal requests we receive
throughout the year. Slate Pals is a program for children in grades K-12 that
matches students who want Braille pen pals. The program is sponsored by the
National Organization of Parents of Blind Children (NOPBC) of the National Federation
of the Blind (NFB), and is available, free of charge, to children around the
world.
Slate Pals enables children who are blind to correspond with one another in
Braille. It also finds blind pen pals for sighted children who are interested
in learning the Braille code.
Slate Pal requests have come to us from all fifty states and
most of the Canadian provinces. We have also received requests for Slate Pals
from many nations overseas, including Taiwan, South Africa, Denmark, Hungary,
Uganda, El Salvador, Germany,
Australia, and Great Britain. In matching Slate Pals the primary considerations
are age range, gender, and interests. We also try to match each prospective
Slate Pal with someone who lives in a distinctly different geographic locale.
If you have a child or student who would like one or more Slate Pals, please complete the enclosed form. Send the form in print or Braille or via email to:
Debbie Kent Stein
5817 North Nina Ave.
Chicago, Illinois 60631
Phone: 773-631-1093 * Fax: 773-792-8245 * Email: [email protected]