🚀 go-pugleaf

These teens should be able to take the test using a pc, because they are
newly blinded they haven't had ample opportunity to learn Braille. As
educators its important that we make genuine efforts to meet the student
where they are with out lower the standard. When dealing with an atypical
situations such as this, atypical in the sense of the general population, we
have to be willing to commit the extra time necessary to research and
explore the options.

Now let's discuss Braille. some literature may show that most don't learn
Braille, but I don't believe it's as strait forward as that. A number of
professionals in the field of blindness will tell you that they have a tuff
time keeping their Braille skills up. And many profess that they don't know
or remember Braille. This email is not meant to be accusatory, rather it is
just a discussion about why many blind persons do not learn Braille. Another
factor is that some have been pronouncing the near future demise of Braille.
Those in this faction, which seem to be dissipating, tout that Braille is to
bulky and cumbersome, and that it's to hard to learn. Yes Braille is bulky,
but it is no harder to learn then learning to read print. The literature
shows how adults, learning to read for the very first time, have to struggle
and work hard to learn to read. And that is with a cadre of print literate
people available to learn from. An individual who is newly blinded may not
even have anyone available, who is literate in Braille or willing to teach
them. Thus they are told that Braille is antiquated and not necessary with
"todays technology." Whatever the technology of the day may be. What I say
to those individuals is that with out Braille they are illiterate or
non-literate. They have no means of a written form of communication, and the
research out of the American Foundation for the Blind has shown what that
means. Just look at their figures for unemployment rates among Braille
readers and non-Braille readers. The are almost completely the reverse of
each other. Speech on a computer and tape record
Terri Hedgpeth
Program Coordinator
Phone:  (602) 965-1232
Fax:    (602) 965-0441
Email:  terrih@asu.edu <mailto:terrih@asu.edu>