I was impressed with the below op ed for several personal reasons. The
author mentioned the blind person's need to redefine the relationship of
his body to his surroundings, to find a new self-definition and new means
of expression.
These factors are the most important aspect of blindness in my life. My
screenplay, Blind-Sided, which is currently in search of an agent, is
about the above issues, and deliberately glides over issues of mobility,
reading, and the medical particulars. They are perhaps exotic to
outsiders, but they are not interesting to me. Likewise, the issues of
psychologically adjusting to the trauma of blindness may be uninteresting
to a person who was born blind, to whom blindness is not associated with
loss.
I am interested in creating a website that centers on the issues that
emmerge from being blind-sided in early adulthood. There are many
important issues that pertain only to this group and they are neglected,
or maybe I should say, I have not met, in 15 years, a blind person who
wants to talk about them.
If anybody on this list wants to be part of such a group, please email me
at [log in to unmask]
If anybody knows how I can reach the author of the below article, please
contact me with that info.
Thanks.
Peter Seymour
On Sun, 11 Apr 1999, Kelly Pierce wrote:
> Here's an op/ed from the News-Observer In North Carolina, where educators
> allowed four newly blinded teens to take a reading comprehension test
> using adapted technology with speech synthesis. The previous policy
> permitted only permitted Braille. Passage of the test is necessary to
> receive a high school diploma. The op/ed from the blind computer user
> below discusses the issue of whether diplomas should be denied to those
> who cannot read braille satisfactorily.
>
> kelly
>
>
> Point of View: The key in testing the blind
>
>
> By BILL STEVENS
> OBERLIN, OHIO -- I'm a fourth-year student at the Oberlin College
> and Conservatory and am totally blind. Since my family recently moved
> to the Raleigh area, my attention was caught by the current struggle
> regarding mandatory high school tests and the educational needs of
> four recently blinded students at the Governor Morehead School.
> My concerns are particularly potent since I
> myself, having been legally blind since birth, lost my usable vision
> during my freshman year in high school.
> Throughout my life as a student, attending
> public schools in Maryland and Kentucky before coming to Oberlin, I
> have made heavy use of adaptive technology. Even before I lost the
> rest of my vision, when I could get around without a cane and read
> large-print texts, I did much of my work on a laptop computer that has
> a speech capability.
> I did learn to read Braille, on becoming
> totally blind seven years ago. The role that Braille has since played
> in my education has been minimal. Indeed, since matriculating at
> Oberlin I have used Braille exclusively for putting labels on the dorm
> microwaves and my compact discs. This has in no way inhibited me from
> maintaining a triple major and a 3.9 grade point average.
> The issue of learning for the blind is not
> one of Braille vs. technology. Rather, the blind student who is
> versatile with both of these mediums has the best potential for
> achieving success. The students in question at the Morehead school are
> learning to read Braille, a skill that will serve them well.
> It is ludicrous, though, that the state would
> even consider denying them graduation from high school based on their
> inevitable inability to complete a standardized reading exam in
> Braille. Considering that, according to census figures, more than 70
> percent of working-age blind people are unemployed, preparing our
> students for success is critical. As taxpayers, we all have a stake in
> this issue.
> The shortcoming of any bureaucracy is that
> the system is designed for the sake of its own preservation.
> Responsibility is stripped from the individuals maintaining the system
> and placed almost exclusively on policies and bylaws. The difficulty
> is that the rules are designed to meet the needs of the prototypical
> human being. Negotiating such a system as a disabled person requires
> those working within the system to reclaim that responsibility and
> respond sensitively to the needs of individuals.
> We should not neglect to recognize the degree
> of vulnerability that these students at Morehead are almost certainly
> feeling. To lose one's sight is a traumatic experience, requiring many
> redefinitions, from the relationship between one's body and the
> physical world, to one' s identity and methods of personal expression.
> The experiences that these students have with the education system
> will do much to mold the rest of their lives as citizens.
> When I returned to high school, after two
> major eye surgeries and two months of home study, my friends and
> teachers were very supportive, both personally and educationally. My
> guidance counselor, on the other hand, would not believe that I could
> be capable of fulfilling my responsibilities as a student. It was
> rarely easy, and survival usually meant a great deal of hard work,
> advance preparation and creative thinking.
> But, three years later, he was always the
> first to brag about me being the school's Outstanding Senior, a
> National Merit Commended Scholar and 1995 Presidential Scholar in the
> arts.
> The fact is that these students need an
> advocate. The system itself is seldom embracing, and without external
> assistance it is too easy for a blind student to fall through the
> cracks. We look then to Chairman Phil Kirk and the state Board of
> Education to respond appropriately to this issue, under the Americans
> with Disabilities Act of 1990, and actively support these students.
> Oberlin student Bill Stevens graduated from
> high school in Louisville, Ky.
>
>
>
> VICUG-L is the Visually Impaired Computer User Group List.
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>
>
VICUG-L is the Visually Impaired Computer User Group List.
To join or leave the list, send a message to
[log in to unmask] In the body of the message, simply type
"subscribe vicug-l" or "unsubscribe vicug-l" without the quotations.
VICUG-L is archived on the World Wide Web at
http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/vicug-l.html
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