Mike,

I am not a professional in the blindness business, I'm just a blind
professional.  But your comment below made me want to know why blind
children born today had so many more disabilities than those of us who were
born a generation ago.  The first thing that comes to mind is that there
certainly more disorders defined today than there were before.  Everything
seems to be a disorder;  there don't seem to be as many personality flaws to
be worked on.  A kid who  behaves badly, blind or not, has a "disorder."

I have heard the comment that you make below made about the residential
schools for the blind of today but not of blind children in general who are
being mainstreamed from kindergarten on.

In the 50s, I was mainstreamed when I went to high school which I feel was
too late.  However, I think that there are certain skills, like Braille,
that need to be taught in a nurturing but competitive environment.  these
kids will be in a competitive world all of their lives so they need to learn
and use all of the tools at their disposal.  Competition in learning these
tools within a peer group is a widely accepted way to learn.

          Bud Kennedy

          [log in to unmask]

> Second, how much of the lack of braille literacy in the population of
blind
> children and youth is the result of cognitive issues, resulting from the
> condition that also caused their blindness?  For many blind children born
> today, blindness is there least important concern, do to other severe
> disabilities.


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