To Braille or Not to Braille?
To the nay sayers over the years; oh yes she could learn to read Braille!
When Jessica turned 16, she thought she was ready to move far far away from us. (Far far away was one of her favorite sayings. Sometimes it was far far far FAR far away.) She decided she wanted to try living at the school for the blind. While she was there, she had a teacher who believed in her enough to begin teaching her Braille.
This video of Jess was taken about 6 months later… Please watch, it is awesome! Not only is she reading, but also note how Jess is focused and able to process quickly.
In A Vision of Literacy, I addressed the issue of when to teach Braille to low vision students. Please note in the following video:
- posture
- how close she has to get to the print to read
- how large the words are written
- focus and processing not as good as with Braille
In this next very short video (17 seconds), watch as Jess struggles a little more with this word that is written a little smaller in order to fit on the card.
A minimal font typically used on a document is 12 pt. Large print is 18 pt and larger. Most publications available in large print are in 18 pt. According to The American Printing House for the Blind (APH), if a student needs 28 pt or larger, they should be considered a candidate for Braille education. This is an example of the differences between the sizes:
At home, to get her to write required words related to something of great interest like the names of rides at Disney. The writing was legible, but so large as to not be very practical for regular use.
I want to share something that relates back to instructor attitude like I mentioned in To Braille or Not to Braille. The first time I was told Jess would never learn to read she was 7 years old. In middle school, we were still being told she would not learn to read. It was her precious parapro who believed in her like we did that taught Jess how to read and write up to 75 words. And of all things, she got scolded for working with Jess on reading and writing. I believe if Jessica had not been able to at least read and write enough to prove she was a learner, that she would not have been given the opportunity to learn Braille when she went to the school for the blind.
Thank you forever ‘Slawman’. We love you!
As a TVI we need to advocate for literacy for ALL students- including those with visual impairment and additional disabilities. I have had non traditional Braille learners over the years and it’s my job to figure out how to teach them. Often I need to create a customized curriculum of motivating lessons as traditional general education and traditional Braille curriculum won’t work. For some students they will be once voracious Braille readers, for others it may serve a more functional purpose. As I read about your daughter and watch these videos, it is clear she is capable and motivated to learn Braille. What are her Braille skills like now?
Bless you for your position on this issue. I try to not go to that place of ‘what if’ in regards to anything Jessica. However, Braille and literacy is the one thing I find hardest to avoid doing that with. I feel 100% that her life would have been very different if the education system hadn’t given up on her when she was seven. She was completely capable of learning – certainly not traditional curriculum – but she was capable. Moving on…
We occasionally get out Braille flash cards to read. She enjoys it. Once, we didn’t get them out for several years straight, and when I handed them to her she could still read them. She never advanced to contractions so spells the words out letter by letter. If ever in my lifetime I have time to work with her on reading, I’ll pick it back up with her. I have ideas.
Thanks so much for your comments!!!
Val- I read through all your Braille posts again tonight. I wish I lived close- I’m in Boston- as I’d love to work with Jess on Braille. I see many of my former students in Jess. Every time I watch a video I think about what she would have been like as a little girl or what I would try if I was her TVI. She is so very verbal- but you can see the gaps in understanding. If you ever wish to learn Braille, there are some nice resources that come to mind. My friend, Eileen Curran, wrote the book Just Enough to Know Better for sighted parents. It’s available from National Braille Press. Diane Wormsley has written a book called I-M-Able for teaching Braille to students with cognitive/additional disabilities. It includes using highly motivating vocabulary that is often picked by the student. They learn the shape of the Braille word. I could see Jess’s words being… cards, coloring book, Kaycee, mail, crispy crowns, Mama, and mail. 😉
You’re a wonderful mom. Thank you for opening your lives to readers like me. It’s so helpful for me to see the struggles and joys of a child when they grow into an adult.
Annie
Annie, Thank you! I have taken note of those resources and will look into it. When the school system finally agreed to start working on Braille with Jess, she was 18-years-old. They did use words that were meaningful to Jess and it definitely helped. One of my goals in life is to get to a place to have time to work with Jess on things such as this. Thanks again!
Val
Annie, Jess can still read most Braille letters, and she can recognize the words we have worked on. My schedule has been such that I have not had the luxury of time to work with her on this much. I’ve been in survival mode for so long, but I do hope to emerge from that this year. 🙂
Please know if you get to the point of wanting to talk about Braille- teaching and learning resources- I’m happy to talk. I feel very passionately about it and would love to be a resource. You can email me.
Thank you!
I am laughing and smiling with such joy while watching! And I love the side comment “told you so”. Nobody knows a child like a mother!
Not only is that video awesome, it’s also exhilarating! The potential was, and hopefully still is, there. It’s obvious she’s engaged, even excited, and it appears to be easy for her. In the time since that time when she was able to be more focused, the autism has limited the attention span. After seeing this video, I feel even more encouraged that with attention training, Jessica can be taught to read.
On a somewhat humorous note, I was amused at how on the videos Jessica was keeping those cards in her perfect stacks, a classic autistic behavior.