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| Good Cheer Winter 2011: Prejudices « DeafBlind Hope After a hectic year of fighting some of the usual DeafBlind issues such as needing interpreters for doctor visits and being included in social and family events, ... deafblindhope.wordpress.com/.../good-cheer-winter-2011-prej... |
Showing posts with label disabilities. Show all posts
Showing posts with label disabilities. Show all posts
Monday, March 5, 2012
Good Cheer Winter 2011: Prejudices << DeafBlind Hope
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
First Semester Activities for Severe Profound Students
I have enjoyed making my rounds to all the classes. however, most of you know I have more schools and over twice the number of students to see as I did last year, so if I did not get to make these items personally for your classes, please understand that there is not enough time in the day, nor can I purchase everything from my own pocket as I would like. These activities are/were especially for our children with multiple disabilities.
CALENDAR POSTERS
We were able to make a few and give directions for making them for the rest. If you did not receive one the directions are simple. You will need:
Directions:
OLFACTORY KITS
These kits are what we saved the medicine containers for. I thank all the "regular ed" staff who helped me save these. My husband and I have been saving all of our med containers--and boy, do we take enough meds! LOL! So if anyone who has not started one and needs containers, just contact me because we should have plenty to go around. Ask staf at your individual schools, too. Those of you who no longer have children on my caseload can still get some. Your V.I. teacher will know how to get them from me.
You Will Need:
Directions:
For most of you that needed them, I purchased the giveaway Glad storage containers and glued them together with hot glue in strips of three to six. On the bottom I glued non-skid shelf-liner so the children cannot slide them around very easily as they work with them.
You were to find things that represented the time of day according to your schedule. I had a few things for you to use but I can't supply everyone and you know what objects will be the best symbols to use for your students.
One thing to note is that if you cannot find actual appropriate objects it is okay to use an abstract shape if you use the same one for the same activity each time. For instance, you may have an actual spoon to represent lunch and breakfast and a spoon will fit into one of the squares perfectly. But, try as you may, you will not fit a swing into one tiny square to represent recess or playground time. In one class, we found a few links of chain to represent a swing. In my preschool V.I. class I used a tiny action figure--a baseball player-- and that worked for that child as a symbol for "playground." Although she functioned as a deaf-blind child, I knew she understood when I saw her replace the symbol for "library" with the baseball figure as she laughed to herself, went to the door with her cane and announced, "Playground time, class!"
JingleBell Bracelets
These were not just Christmas toys and I tried to get one to each of you so that you can see how they are made and make them as needed. The purpose for our multi-disabled children is to teach cause and effect. if they have a jinglebell attached to a piece if elastic around their arm and they're capable of moving their arm they may soon associate that when they move, the bell rings. I used rather quite bells on the ones I brought around but you can use velcro straps and larger bells or even clusters of bells--depending on the strength and mobility the child has in an arm or leg and how much jingling your ears can stand. LOL!
I pray these ideas were a help for our multi-disabled visually impaired children this semester and I will have more items that we can work on together for the second semester.
CALENDAR POSTERS
We were able to make a few and give directions for making them for the rest. If you did not receive one the directions are simple. You will need:
- 2 poster boards
- paste or white glue used very sparingly
- Markers
- Post-it notes
- Calendar numbers from Dollar Tree
- Velcro circles or squares with adhesive backing (you can get strips and cut them into squares)
- Braille labeller or stickers if appropriate
- Ziplock bag
Directions:
- Stick post-its to the bottom of the posters seven across in five rows. Pull up every other post-it once they are straight. That will make a checkerboard-looking section for putting on dates. Now use glue or paste to secure the Post-its you didn't take up.
At the top of the poster you may want to make a nice picture, use class photos or write "Mr./Mrs. __'s Class" or "Class Calendar." I can draw some for you while I'm visiting your class if you let me know.- Write a day of the week at the top of each column of Post-its.
- Laminate the poster
- On the calendar markers, write the numbers 1-31 in large print.
- With the second poster, cut 12 strips for the months. Make them colorful. You may want to draw of glue seasonal symbols. You can also find these pre-made at Dollar Tree.
- Laminate the months and symbols. Stick Braille on if appropriate. (Your V.I. specialist can label them for you) If braille is not appropriate for any of your students you can use dry-erase makers to write the numbers on your calendar each day--or allow student who are able to take turns writng the new number each day as in the calendar show in the photo.
- If using braille or if you prefer removeable numbers: Stick the velcro circles or squares in the center of the squares made by the Post-its on the laminated poster.
Stick your number on top. Pull them off and store them in the ziplock bag.
OLFACTORY KITS
These kits are what we saved the medicine containers for. I thank all the "regular ed" staff who helped me save these. My husband and I have been saving all of our med containers--and boy, do we take enough meds! LOL! So if anyone who has not started one and needs containers, just contact me because we should have plenty to go around. Ask staf at your individual schools, too. Those of you who no longer have children on my caseload can still get some. Your V.I. teacher will know how to get them from me.
You Will Need:
- Address labels
- scents or objects with scents that will fit into
- empty, washed medicine containers
- cottonballs
- Wash the containers and make sure the original labels are removed. You may need to soak them in warm soapy water for about 20 minutes.
- Collect scents from potpourri, hard candy, body sprays, cough drops, soap, shampoo, scented oils, spices, etc.
- Label each container with the scent it contains.
- For liquids, dampen cottonballs with them. This is for safety, incase one of the children can grab the container the liquid will not spill.
- Make sure that you change some liquids and food items when not using them for a while or they may spoil or grow mold in the containers. Ew!
- Make sure, if you use food items, that they don't have even the slightest essence of peanuts in them because even a whiff of peanuts can be hazzardous to our kids with severe allergies. You know your kids, though.
For most of you that needed them, I purchased the giveaway Glad storage containers and glued them together with hot glue in strips of three to six. On the bottom I glued non-skid shelf-liner so the children cannot slide them around very easily as they work with them.
You were to find things that represented the time of day according to your schedule. I had a few things for you to use but I can't supply everyone and you know what objects will be the best symbols to use for your students.
One thing to note is that if you cannot find actual appropriate objects it is okay to use an abstract shape if you use the same one for the same activity each time. For instance, you may have an actual spoon to represent lunch and breakfast and a spoon will fit into one of the squares perfectly. But, try as you may, you will not fit a swing into one tiny square to represent recess or playground time. In one class, we found a few links of chain to represent a swing. In my preschool V.I. class I used a tiny action figure--a baseball player-- and that worked for that child as a symbol for "playground." Although she functioned as a deaf-blind child, I knew she understood when I saw her replace the symbol for "library" with the baseball figure as she laughed to herself, went to the door with her cane and announced, "Playground time, class!"
Zipper Pulls
These are simply the smaller key rings from the crafts department at WalMart. We use them for helping children with dexterity issues, to grasp zippers on their little pants, coats or bookbags. Put the hook part in the hole that is on the metal part of the zipper and hook the ring, if needed, to the hook.
JingleBell Bracelets
These were not just Christmas toys and I tried to get one to each of you so that you can see how they are made and make them as needed. The purpose for our multi-disabled children is to teach cause and effect. if they have a jinglebell attached to a piece if elastic around their arm and they're capable of moving their arm they may soon associate that when they move, the bell rings. I used rather quite bells on the ones I brought around but you can use velcro straps and larger bells or even clusters of bells--depending on the strength and mobility the child has in an arm or leg and how much jingling your ears can stand. LOL!
I pray these ideas were a help for our multi-disabled visually impaired children this semester and I will have more items that we can work on together for the second semester.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
BIZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZEEEEEEEE!!!!!
I'm in the middle of the first full week of school. Can you say "busy" boys and girls?
I'm now housed at the same school where Mr. Hebrews 13 goes to school. He is SO overjoyed about that. Of course he knows where to find me because my space is located where his class used to be. His class is now in the main building.
I could tell that with the cerebral palsy his little fingers are too weak to press the braille writer keys on the standard braille writer. The new light weight braille writers are supposed to be easier to be more touch sensitive lighter in weight and easier to load but I know what ordering one for him will be like. They are at least $700 and getting such for multi-disabled kids. They are not considered as important for such as "regular" children with visual impairments. For example, with my high school students once we were instructed to take care of ordering their books and materials first because they were readers and college-bound versus the multi-disabled children in community-based/self-contained classrooms. Needless to say, I have been on a soapbox many times on that issue. I understand that those with that attitude don't understand these children.
I showed Mr. H. the keys for the first three braille alphabets. I tested him on his knowledge of which dots make each letter and he had not forgotten any of them. In fact, I could ask him in reverse--"What letter is made with dots one and four?" He gave me the right answer every time. But on the Perkins braille writer he had to use two finger to press one key. Ms. Jessie, his child specific para, wants to work on hand strengthening exercises with him. She is so excited about how well he is reading, she wants him to be able to use the braille writer in conjunction with the Intellikeys so he can read what h has written himself.He read all of his homework. Ms. Jessie went over it with him at the teacher's instruction because his mom did not. She was so excited that she ran him over o my room to show me that he could read all of his homework.
Before I went out to any other schools, I made three more lessons with sight words based on the some of the words we worked on last year, one word he wanted to add and his name. I made cards with all the Dolch words from preprimer to third grade last year, so we will do those as well during the year. He is a little sponge and Ms. Jessie is fantastic with him. She learns new braille with him. Now if Mom keeps him in school and helps him with homework, he will be an excellent reader because he wants to be so badly.
I have seen Matt at his new high school. He's let his beard grow in full--or at least as full as it can get on a young teen. It's so funny to see him like this when I remember this squeaky voice. Looks like his mom has compromised and had a barber attempt to give it shape. He is excited that I am his teacher again. He has an excellent community-based teacher who does not mind actually working with the children and taking Matt's vision into consideration in all of their activities.
I also went to see a graduate of Mrs. Beryl's pre-K class. She and her sister are attending a new elementary school. The class they are in is for exceptional students and the ages and abilities seem so varied. Their teacher is really working with them. She has some writers and some who cannot read and one with Down's who does not talk. Her room is a leftover space that part of a converted auditorium. it is brightly decorated and word rich--which I love. She has made it into a cosy, inviting place. The airconditioner kicked off twice while I was there. She has a window unit which seems to throw the breaker of occasionally in this older model school. Of course they are down at the end of the hall. Often our kids are segregated from the "regular" classes, at the end of the hall, int the special wing or in the portable buildings.
I have been late coming home most evenings and in my after school state which is shoes off and feet up. My sister and her daughter left for Colorado so my mother is feeling the effects of empty nest syndrome. She cannot cook for one or two so we have been visiting each evening. Then I am good for nothing else but sleep after that. Thus the lack of entries here in my blog and the lack of visits to my FaceBook page.
Such a busy beginning of school. I will survive!
I'm now housed at the same school where Mr. Hebrews 13 goes to school. He is SO overjoyed about that. Of course he knows where to find me because my space is located where his class used to be. His class is now in the main building.
I could tell that with the cerebral palsy his little fingers are too weak to press the braille writer keys on the standard braille writer. The new light weight braille writers are supposed to be easier to be more touch sensitive lighter in weight and easier to load but I know what ordering one for him will be like. They are at least $700 and getting such for multi-disabled kids. They are not considered as important for such as "regular" children with visual impairments. For example, with my high school students once we were instructed to take care of ordering their books and materials first because they were readers and college-bound versus the multi-disabled children in community-based/self-contained classrooms. Needless to say, I have been on a soapbox many times on that issue. I understand that those with that attitude don't understand these children.
I showed Mr. H. the keys for the first three braille alphabets. I tested him on his knowledge of which dots make each letter and he had not forgotten any of them. In fact, I could ask him in reverse--"What letter is made with dots one and four?" He gave me the right answer every time. But on the Perkins braille writer he had to use two finger to press one key. Ms. Jessie, his child specific para, wants to work on hand strengthening exercises with him. She is so excited about how well he is reading, she wants him to be able to use the braille writer in conjunction with the Intellikeys so he can read what h has written himself.He read all of his homework. Ms. Jessie went over it with him at the teacher's instruction because his mom did not. She was so excited that she ran him over o my room to show me that he could read all of his homework.
Before I went out to any other schools, I made three more lessons with sight words based on the some of the words we worked on last year, one word he wanted to add and his name. I made cards with all the Dolch words from preprimer to third grade last year, so we will do those as well during the year. He is a little sponge and Ms. Jessie is fantastic with him. She learns new braille with him. Now if Mom keeps him in school and helps him with homework, he will be an excellent reader because he wants to be so badly.
I have seen Matt at his new high school. He's let his beard grow in full--or at least as full as it can get on a young teen. It's so funny to see him like this when I remember this squeaky voice. Looks like his mom has compromised and had a barber attempt to give it shape. He is excited that I am his teacher again. He has an excellent community-based teacher who does not mind actually working with the children and taking Matt's vision into consideration in all of their activities.
I also went to see a graduate of Mrs. Beryl's pre-K class. She and her sister are attending a new elementary school. The class they are in is for exceptional students and the ages and abilities seem so varied. Their teacher is really working with them. She has some writers and some who cannot read and one with Down's who does not talk. Her room is a leftover space that part of a converted auditorium. it is brightly decorated and word rich--which I love. She has made it into a cosy, inviting place. The airconditioner kicked off twice while I was there. She has a window unit which seems to throw the breaker of occasionally in this older model school. Of course they are down at the end of the hall. Often our kids are segregated from the "regular" classes, at the end of the hall, int the special wing or in the portable buildings.
I have been late coming home most evenings and in my after school state which is shoes off and feet up. My sister and her daughter left for Colorado so my mother is feeling the effects of empty nest syndrome. She cannot cook for one or two so we have been visiting each evening. Then I am good for nothing else but sleep after that. Thus the lack of entries here in my blog and the lack of visits to my FaceBook page.
Such a busy beginning of school. I will survive!
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
CEC SmartBrief article from: mskathy
| Ms. Kathy thought you might be interested in checking out an excerpt from CEC SmartBrief. |
This includes blind children with learning differences accompanying their blindness. I've seen "systems" ignore these differences in this same manner and the children are blamed year after year. Sometimes it's the same kids and sometimes it's different kids. This fall was an excellent example. Shame. |
 |  |
 | Designed specifically for special education professionals, CEC SmartBrief is a FREE daily e-mail newsletter. It provides the latest education news and information you need to stay on top of issues that are important to you. SIGN UP TODAY to receive CEC SmartBrief. |
 | Children with learning disabilities are often not given adequate help Children with learning disabilities may be unfairly labeled as lazy, writes Susan N. Schriber Orloff, an occupational therapist who works with such students. Students with such disabilities often fall through the cracks, going unnoticed until it's often too late to get them back on track, she writes. Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The (6/15) |
Saturday, May 16, 2009
CEC SmartBrief article: Artists with disabilities say they express themselves through art
| Artists with disabilities say they express themselves through art Artists with disabilities whose works were recently displayed at a California nonprofit say art gives them an opportunity to express themselves despite other challenges. "From my observation, people with disabilities are still looked upon as not so much 'disabled' anymore but more 'less-abled,' " said Matt Givans, 27, a college student with dyslexia who gets in touch with his Native American roots through his drawings. Appeal-Democrat (Marysville-Yuba City, Calif.) (5/13) |
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Blind Awareness Month in Dominica
DADP observes Blind Awareness Month
The Dominica Association of Disabled People (DADP) is observing May as Blind
Awareness Month in an effort to create a greater awareness of visual impairment
Following link http://www.dominicanewsonline.com/all_news/general/5756.html was sent to you by Ms. Kathy
With this message:
Good job! Praises for DADP!!
Monday, April 13, 2009
Brother Hermann
Another good thing about Kairos Prison Ministry is how we are all there for each other. I wrote earlier (3/20/09) about how we had a prayer vigil for Brother Hermann at his hospital room a few weeks back. I just received an email this afternoon reporting that he passed this past Friday, April 10--Good Friday.
I went to the visitation this evening. (Hunnee couldn't go because of pastor's meeting. He missed the last one because he was getting his teeth fixed and last week he was soooo sick.) He has such a lovely family. There was a photo album of his and Mrs. Zoey's wedding. He used to happily say how they y were married over fifty years. He talked about his wife all the time so that even if you'd never met her you felt you knew her.
If you ever sat by Brother Hermann in a Kairos meeting, you'd be well-entertained. He was hilarious and very smart. He'd retired from Exxon as an engineer. We went to Kairos Advanced Training together. You could see his face all aglow when it was time to start a new Kairos team He was always happy to be there. He told us a couple of times over that when he started getting grouchy at home, his wife Zoey would say, "Isn't it time for you to do another Kairos?"
He had the best hugs and the best stories. When he found out I worked with children with disabilities, he told me about his daughter who was in Heaven. He said she couldn't walk or talk and that doctors advised he and Mrs. Zoey put her away in a home. They kept her with the rest of the family and took her with them on family vacations. He knew she was already covered by the blood of Jesus and that they'd be together again.
In thinking of Brother Hermann and what joy he had the thought kept coming that he knew where he was going, so we know where he is.
I went to the visitation this evening. (Hunnee couldn't go because of pastor's meeting. He missed the last one because he was getting his teeth fixed and last week he was soooo sick.) He has such a lovely family. There was a photo album of his and Mrs. Zoey's wedding. He used to happily say how they y were married over fifty years. He talked about his wife all the time so that even if you'd never met her you felt you knew her.
If you ever sat by Brother Hermann in a Kairos meeting, you'd be well-entertained. He was hilarious and very smart. He'd retired from Exxon as an engineer. We went to Kairos Advanced Training together. You could see his face all aglow when it was time to start a new Kairos team He was always happy to be there. He told us a couple of times over that when he started getting grouchy at home, his wife Zoey would say, "Isn't it time for you to do another Kairos?"
He had the best hugs and the best stories. When he found out I worked with children with disabilities, he told me about his daughter who was in Heaven. He said she couldn't walk or talk and that doctors advised he and Mrs. Zoey put her away in a home. They kept her with the rest of the family and took her with them on family vacations. He knew she was already covered by the blood of Jesus and that they'd be together again.
In thinking of Brother Hermann and what joy he had the thought kept coming that he knew where he was going, so we know where he is.
Friday, April 10, 2009
Cheap Finds to Use with Children with V.I.
LASER TOP: This toy was at Walgreen's drug store in the sale bin It requires batteries. I thought of it as visual stimulation for low vision multi-disabled kids as it can be spun for them on their wheel chair trays. It lights up, spins and makes a sound. It has a hazardous choke warning so for children who can grab and handle it themselves I'd be certain they have an MA of 5 years and over, as it says on the package, so they will not be tempted to put any parts of it in their little mouths.
VIBRATING BALL: I've had this one for a few years, also with multi disabled children in mind. I had a child with cortical visual impairment and deafness. Pull the string and this one vibrates. Use much supervision as the string may detach. For the kids I used it with, I would pull the string for them. Some were able to let me know they wanted the action repeated by either grabbing my hand or in the case of a nonverbal child with modified signs, she would sign "again." It doesn't make a sound, though. This one is hand sized. There is a larger version of this one that runs by batteries and makes a sound as it vibrates.
TEACHING COINS: I saw these in another teacher's class and thought, Wow! I have needed something like that for my low vision kids when I was teaching money!
She was going to let me borrow hers to make copies. But in my travels I saw these at Dollar Tree in the school supplies section. I have found coin worksheets on line AND placed real coins under the CCTV for students with low vision. When you don't have access to a CCTV or can't carry several in your back pocket, these are a cool alternative. They are printed on front and back. The adult size scissors didn't show up too clearly, but I placed them in the picture to give a size reference.
I've had these laminated and I will have them brailled for low vision students who read braille
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Reading Rights!!!!
Here is a quoted paragraph from the web site. Please go to this site at http://www.readingrights.org/ and sign the petition.
As technology advances and more books move from hard-copy print to electronic formats, people with print disabilities deserve the opportunity to enjoy access to books on an equal basis with those who can read print.
People with print disabilities cannot effectively read print because of a visual, physical, perceptual, developmental, cognitive, or learning disability.No Need for Greed
We Want to Read!
We represent 15 million Americans who cannot read print because of blindness, dyslexia, spinal cord injury, and other print disabilities. We include school children, the elderly, professionals, college students, returning veterans, and your neighbors, family members and friends. We want to buy books. We have fought very hard for many years to have equal access to technology and information. For the first time, now that the Amazon Kindle 2 offers text-to-speech, which will read a book aloud, we can purchase and enjoy books like everybody else. Sadly, the Authors Guild does not support equal access for us. The Guild has told us that to read their books with text-to-speech we must either submit to a special registration system (that not all may qualify for and that would expose disability information to all future eBook reader manufacturers) and prove our disabilities -- or pay extra. The Guild’s position is contrary to the principle of equal opportunity for all and discriminates against millions of people with print disabilities.
Please support us by joining our informational protests and Sign the Petition: We Want to Read.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Retinopathy of prematurity - Pediatrics Videos - The Doctor's Channel
Here's a video from The Doctor's Channel about Retinopathy of Prematurity.
CLICK HERE or copy and paste this URL into yoour browser area.
http://www.thedoctorschannel.com/video/1636.html?specialty=24
CLICK HERE or copy and paste this URL into yoour browser area.
http://www.thedoctorschannel.com/video/1636.html?specialty=24
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Brother Neville
This is my Brother Neville. This picture was taken by another brother, Jim Lambert, as they made their way home to Lafayette from a Kairos meeting in Baton Rouge.
Brother Neville is very active in Kairos Prison Ministry and he is an inspiration. You can see that he has a sense of humor, but what you cannot see is that when Brother Neville was in college, he was in a horrible car crash which put him in a coma for a time and left him with traumatic brain injury, or TBI. Sometimes he is on a walker or a cane and sometimes on long stretches he is in a wheelchair. When the guys go into the prison they have to walk a distance so they make sure they take a wheelchair for him.
Because of the TBI, sometimes Brother Neville may not remember that he's already asked a question of you. Sometimes he can't remember if he telephoned or a word he was thinking of or how he was going to end the sentence he started.
What he doesn't remember is not as important as what he does remember. He knows God loves him so much that he saved him on more than one level. He knows what a blessing the Kairos Ministry is for the prison residents and for those of us who serve. He knows we love him and he loves us very much. He has claimed my husband and myself and we claim him.
When I asked for prayer after discovering I had lymphoma, Brother Neville went into action. He let his church family know to be in prayer and he contacted a sister who had been through the same thing and had her contact me. He would call every other week from Lafayette to keep up with my treatments and he'd keep me in the forefront of the minds and prayers of others. I truly appreciated that.
Now when you are ready to complain when someone asks how your life is going, remember my brother, whose favorite saying is: "It's all good!" Then he points up.
I
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
EYE Facts Sheet for ROP
Some doctors may have this sheet in their offices but here is where they order them.
Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP) is an eye disease that occurs in a small percentage of premature babies. My preschool class was of all preemies ages three to six with ROP and other complications due to premature birth. A parent may also be able to order this fact sheet and hand them out to teachers and specialists at the child's school. They are published by
American Academy of Ophthalmology
P.O. Box 7424, San Francisco, CA 94120-7424 http://www.aao.org/
I may see if I can order them to use in my situation. Hmmm.
Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP) is an eye disease that occurs in a small percentage of premature babies. My preschool class was of all preemies ages three to six with ROP and other complications due to premature birth. A parent may also be able to order this fact sheet and hand them out to teachers and specialists at the child's school. They are published by
American Academy of Ophthalmology
P.O. Box 7424, San Francisco, CA 94120-7424 http://www.aao.org/
I may see if I can order them to use in my situation. Hmmm.
Friday, March 20, 2009
FVA
The other day I went to a school to observe a little girl and give her a function vision screening as part of her educational evaluation. The child was in a pre-K class. I will call her "BabyGirl" here. (So cute!)
This happens to be the same school where Mr. Hebrews 13:1-3 is enrolled. [By the way, that little rascal has not returned to school YET!]
The kids were coming from breakfast and I introduced my self to the teacher. She seemed delighted to see me. During the time I was there I discovered that she was a truly dedicated teacher, thus to have someone come to help one of her babies---well, certainly she would be happy to meet them! I can appreciate that as I have been the same way when I had a classroom of children--or students under any situation.
She pointed out the child to me at the rear of the line--a cute baby with two little Afro-puffs on top of her head. You could tell that mom took time to make sure she was dressed neatly and that the hair was just so. The whole class was cute--full of little people about waist high! The child was very quiet and although she looked at me and gave me a half smile, she did not speak, She focused on her spot at the end of the line.
I knew that part of the morning routine was a line to the potty after breakfast so I told the teacher that I would just follow the class rather than interrupt the routine. I unpacked my vision testing equipment and my camera while the kids went to the restrooms just outside the classroom.
When some of the children began to return to the class, they found their names on a table and began to "sign in" meaning that they took another sheet of paper and attempted to copy or scribble their names on another sheet of paper before going to their seats.
BabyGirl was one of the last of the little girls to return. She happily came outside with me to have her picture taken. I heard her gasp as she covered her face from the direct morning sunlight.
"Oh my!" I said. "It is very bright out here. Let's have you face this way so that the sun is not in your face so."
Even sideways, from facing the sun she continued to squint a bit.I made a mental note as I showed her several photos on the camera's view finder to see if she could point out her own picture on the two-inch by two-inch screen. She looked at the screen but didn't point to anything.
When we went back inside, I realized why she was not interested in the camera any more. The children were gathering on the carpet at the front of the class for circle time. Each child sat on his/her name on a piece of tape on the carpet. BabyGirl was letting me know that she had to follow the routine to feel comfortable--so I let her go. I'd observe her in her routine and jump in there with questions or get something out of her while she did her usual thing.
The teacher sat at the front of the circle next to the calendar which was at eye level for little waist high beings. "What did you do at home yesterday?" she asked each child.
"I played my games and I ate my supper. Then I went to bed," said one child.
The little woman next to BabyGirl who is obviously a 44-year-old impostor, ran off a list of things she did at home the day before after she got off from work. I believe she cooked dinner for her family and righted a derailed train after leaping a skyscraper with a single bound. Her teacher grinned at her: "You're full of baloney, aren't you?"
They both chuckled and the forty-four year old laughed, "Yes ma'am, but I did eat hotdogs last night."
Then it was BabyGirl's turn. She didn't say anything. "Did you play?" the teacher asked. BabyGirl nodded.
Modeling the Amslang for "I played" the teacher slowly said, "Then say 'I played'."
That signaled the whole class to sign and say "I played!"
By this time I was on the floor behind BabyGirl. She barely shook her hands to sign "play" when Forty-four said to me, "She didn't learn to talk yet."
I smiled as I thought of one of my husband's favorite lines from the movie "Inside Man." Thank you bank robber! I'm learning so much today!"
The teacher called the children's attention to the calendar. It was another lovely little girl's turn to use the pointer for the days of the week. She chose the star pointer, which the teacher said seemed to be everyones' favorite. I was partial to the ones with the Mickey Mouse-looking white gloved fingers on the end. Those were cool. I think I will find one for myself.
The children had a rhyme and rhythm for saying the days of the week. BabyGirl moved her hands to the rhythm like the other children and smiled---but she didn't say anything. Nor were her hand movements for any Amslang for the days of the week.
I noticed, too, that as the teacher pointed to anything on the calendar, BabyGirl was not focusing on anything in that direction. Of course she knew that the teacher was in front of the class, but by the unfocused look, she was not aware of anything that was being pointed out up there. She simply was not seeing it. She was following the routine and following along with the other children as often children with low vision will do.
Then it was center time and Babygirl was to take a card with her picture on it and take it to the center where she wanted to play. Since she was a bit more comfortable with me, I followed her to the block center.
There I saw some manipulatives that looked like miniature poker chips. They were either yellow, green, red or blue. There were also some giant pegs and Legos in those colors. If she was going to confuse colors I had to give her a choice between the green blue and red objects. I pretended I wanted to play with some of the objects and asked her to help me with the red chips, then the green pegs and the blue pegs. She never confused the yellow objects as obviously they are lighter, but the others seemed always confused. As I explained to her teacher, it is difficult to tell if some of that would be cognitive or true color blindness. But when the teacher told me later that she follows directions very well it made me think. When I returned to my office, I saw my notes on her and in the email from my supervisor BabyGirl has been diagnosed as having optic nerve atrophy. Some sensitivity to light and color blindness is common with optic nerve atrophy.
The teacher asked if there was something she could be doing. I mentioned the calendar and that I was unsure bout colorblindness. I told her about allowing her to step up to certain charts rather than pint them out across the room because she was not seeing clearly beyond a few feet in front of her. Arms' length was no problem, though.
The teacher started to feel bad. "I haven't been thinking about her vision! Just handling the other things like the speech...and that she needs time to keep up--she sometimes moves very slow. I didn't even think that that poor baby..."
"No, no, no," I comforted her. "It is easy to see total blindness. Children with low vision will fool you. Not because they are trying to deceive you at this age, but they just do what the other children do and that gets them by."
I suggested I take her out for a few minutes. Iusually see if a child can take me to three places on a school campus. She gave BabyGirl the lunch envelope and told her she was picked to take it to the cafeteria. We would walk behind her and she could lead us there.
The little hands took the big envelope. Then a finger of one hand went into her mouth as if she were saying,"Hmmmm.I'm not sure bout this."
When we got outside, BabyGirl stopped and waited for guidance. She didn't seem sure of which way she should turn when she was asked. She just stood and looked back and forth between the two of us.
Finally her teacher took a few steps ahead and said," OK, where do we go from here to get to the cafeteria?"
BabyGirl stepped next to her teacher but that was a far as she was going. her teacher prompted her to walk ahead. She did so very reluctantly, looking behind her for her teacher. She did not know her way to the cafeteria without prompting. On the way back I asked her if she'd feel more comfortable holding hands with one of us adults. of course she reached for her teacher's hand.
For about a month, BabyGirl had been walking in the middle or at the end of the line using the other children to get around the school. the teacher felt so bad. "That is why there is so much confusion at the end of the day when our line meets with other lines in the building. All of the children wear the same color uniform shirts and she gets totally confused in the halls with large groups of children!"
I assured the teacher that I would have a good report written and that she would be fine. When I got back to my office, I wrote a report of my observation with my recommendations and emailed it to the appropriate pupil appraisal personnel.
This happens to be the same school where Mr. Hebrews 13:1-3 is enrolled. [By the way, that little rascal has not returned to school YET!]
The kids were coming from breakfast and I introduced my self to the teacher. She seemed delighted to see me. During the time I was there I discovered that she was a truly dedicated teacher, thus to have someone come to help one of her babies---well, certainly she would be happy to meet them! I can appreciate that as I have been the same way when I had a classroom of children--or students under any situation.
She pointed out the child to me at the rear of the line--a cute baby with two little Afro-puffs on top of her head. You could tell that mom took time to make sure she was dressed neatly and that the hair was just so. The whole class was cute--full of little people about waist high! The child was very quiet and although she looked at me and gave me a half smile, she did not speak, She focused on her spot at the end of the line.
I knew that part of the morning routine was a line to the potty after breakfast so I told the teacher that I would just follow the class rather than interrupt the routine. I unpacked my vision testing equipment and my camera while the kids went to the restrooms just outside the classroom.
When some of the children began to return to the class, they found their names on a table and began to "sign in" meaning that they took another sheet of paper and attempted to copy or scribble their names on another sheet of paper before going to their seats.
BabyGirl was one of the last of the little girls to return. She happily came outside with me to have her picture taken. I heard her gasp as she covered her face from the direct morning sunlight.
"Oh my!" I said. "It is very bright out here. Let's have you face this way so that the sun is not in your face so."
Even sideways, from facing the sun she continued to squint a bit.I made a mental note as I showed her several photos on the camera's view finder to see if she could point out her own picture on the two-inch by two-inch screen. She looked at the screen but didn't point to anything.
When we went back inside, I realized why she was not interested in the camera any more. The children were gathering on the carpet at the front of the class for circle time. Each child sat on his/her name on a piece of tape on the carpet. BabyGirl was letting me know that she had to follow the routine to feel comfortable--so I let her go. I'd observe her in her routine and jump in there with questions or get something out of her while she did her usual thing.
The teacher sat at the front of the circle next to the calendar which was at eye level for little waist high beings. "What did you do at home yesterday?" she asked each child.
"I played my games and I ate my supper. Then I went to bed," said one child.
The little woman next to BabyGirl who is obviously a 44-year-old impostor, ran off a list of things she did at home the day before after she got off from work. I believe she cooked dinner for her family and righted a derailed train after leaping a skyscraper with a single bound. Her teacher grinned at her: "You're full of baloney, aren't you?"
They both chuckled and the forty-four year old laughed, "Yes ma'am, but I did eat hotdogs last night."
Then it was BabyGirl's turn. She didn't say anything. "Did you play?" the teacher asked. BabyGirl nodded.
Modeling the Amslang for "I played" the teacher slowly said, "Then say 'I played'."
That signaled the whole class to sign and say "I played!"
By this time I was on the floor behind BabyGirl. She barely shook her hands to sign "play" when Forty-four said to me, "She didn't learn to talk yet."
I smiled as I thought of one of my husband's favorite lines from the movie "Inside Man." Thank you bank robber! I'm learning so much today!"
The teacher called the children's attention to the calendar. It was another lovely little girl's turn to use the pointer for the days of the week. She chose the star pointer, which the teacher said seemed to be everyones' favorite. I was partial to the ones with the Mickey Mouse-looking white gloved fingers on the end. Those were cool. I think I will find one for myself.
The children had a rhyme and rhythm for saying the days of the week. BabyGirl moved her hands to the rhythm like the other children and smiled---but she didn't say anything. Nor were her hand movements for any Amslang for the days of the week.
I noticed, too, that as the teacher pointed to anything on the calendar, BabyGirl was not focusing on anything in that direction. Of course she knew that the teacher was in front of the class, but by the unfocused look, she was not aware of anything that was being pointed out up there. She simply was not seeing it. She was following the routine and following along with the other children as often children with low vision will do.
Then it was center time and Babygirl was to take a card with her picture on it and take it to the center where she wanted to play. Since she was a bit more comfortable with me, I followed her to the block center.
There I saw some manipulatives that looked like miniature poker chips. They were either yellow, green, red or blue. There were also some giant pegs and Legos in those colors. If she was going to confuse colors I had to give her a choice between the green blue and red objects. I pretended I wanted to play with some of the objects and asked her to help me with the red chips, then the green pegs and the blue pegs. She never confused the yellow objects as obviously they are lighter, but the others seemed always confused. As I explained to her teacher, it is difficult to tell if some of that would be cognitive or true color blindness. But when the teacher told me later that she follows directions very well it made me think. When I returned to my office, I saw my notes on her and in the email from my supervisor BabyGirl has been diagnosed as having optic nerve atrophy. Some sensitivity to light and color blindness is common with optic nerve atrophy.
The teacher asked if there was something she could be doing. I mentioned the calendar and that I was unsure bout colorblindness. I told her about allowing her to step up to certain charts rather than pint them out across the room because she was not seeing clearly beyond a few feet in front of her. Arms' length was no problem, though.
The teacher started to feel bad. "I haven't been thinking about her vision! Just handling the other things like the speech...and that she needs time to keep up--she sometimes moves very slow. I didn't even think that that poor baby..."
"No, no, no," I comforted her. "It is easy to see total blindness. Children with low vision will fool you. Not because they are trying to deceive you at this age, but they just do what the other children do and that gets them by."
I suggested I take her out for a few minutes. Iusually see if a child can take me to three places on a school campus. She gave BabyGirl the lunch envelope and told her she was picked to take it to the cafeteria. We would walk behind her and she could lead us there.
The little hands took the big envelope. Then a finger of one hand went into her mouth as if she were saying,"Hmmmm.I'm not sure bout this."
When we got outside, BabyGirl stopped and waited for guidance. She didn't seem sure of which way she should turn when she was asked. She just stood and looked back and forth between the two of us.
Finally her teacher took a few steps ahead and said," OK, where do we go from here to get to the cafeteria?"
BabyGirl stepped next to her teacher but that was a far as she was going. her teacher prompted her to walk ahead. She did so very reluctantly, looking behind her for her teacher. She did not know her way to the cafeteria without prompting. On the way back I asked her if she'd feel more comfortable holding hands with one of us adults. of course she reached for her teacher's hand.
For about a month, BabyGirl had been walking in the middle or at the end of the line using the other children to get around the school. the teacher felt so bad. "That is why there is so much confusion at the end of the day when our line meets with other lines in the building. All of the children wear the same color uniform shirts and she gets totally confused in the halls with large groups of children!"
I assured the teacher that I would have a good report written and that she would be fine. When I got back to my office, I wrote a report of my observation with my recommendations and emailed it to the appropriate pupil appraisal personnel.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Big Money!
I found these giant plastic coins at a dollar store--Dollar Tree, to be exact. As soon as I saw them I scooped them up because I thought of them as a good tool for kids with low vision and regular cognitive abilities for learning coins. I have put coins under the CCTV before, but suppose you're traveling from school to school and you don't have one in your back pocket? besides that these are accessible by touch and just plain fun. I may take close up photos of these--front and back-- to use in an Intellitools activity. The program comes with some photos of coins but they can be enlarged only so much without losing clarity.
Zipper Pull
I found this pull at Wally World. Although it is the right size, on never knows who may find the design inappropriate. I actually found this before I found the bag of 80 rings 'n' things. It's functional though! This is light weight and easy to pull on the pants zipper of a child with cerebral palsey.
The clip next to it (left) came in the bag of rings 'n' I spoke of in an earlier post (March 4).
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Words of the Day Part 9
Ephemeral: (Adjective) :Lasting a short while. Christy's sentence: "I had a fish that had an ephemeral life."
Adjective: (noun) A describing word. "Adjectives can tell us color, size, shape and how many."
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Mysterious Valentine’s Day Greeting Placed on School Lawn
[Such a nice story. ~K]
Someone created this Valentine on the Perkins School lawn.
Perkins Deafblind Program Has Snowy “Secret Admirer”
Mysterious Valentine’s Day Greeting Placed on School Lawn
Watertown, MA - Teachers, staff and students in Perkins School for the Blind Deafblind program arrived for school this morning to find an anonymous Valentine heart fashioned from sticks and twigs on the sloping lawn in front of the Hilton Building where classes are held on the Watertown campus.
Perkins Deafblind Program Has Snowy “Secret Admirer”
Mysterious Valentine’s Day Greeting Placed on School Lawn
Watertown, MA - Teachers, staff and students in Perkins School for the Blind Deafblind program arrived for school this morning to find an anonymous Valentine heart fashioned from sticks and twigs on the sloping lawn in front of the Hilton Building where classes are held on the Watertown campus.
“We have no idea who did this, but how sweet is that!” exclaimed psychologist Pamela Ryan, who has been at the school since 1971. “Nothing like this has happened before that I recall.”
Barbara Mason, Perkins Deafblind Program Supervisor, speculates about the origin of the image, “Someone had reported seeing a guy out there making it on Wednesday. Maybe a Perkins employee or a parent? We couldn’t even see any footprints, so it’s a bit of a mystery.”
Many of the students in Perkins Deafblind Program have partial vision and were able to enjoy the message lovingly placed atop the fast-melting snow. What did the students think? Mason says, “They liked it. It’s fun, sort of like a gift. I think it’s fabulous.”
The greeting brightened an otherwise damp, muddy school day. A light-hearted investigation continues in hopes of solving the mystery before the snow melts away and the twig-and-stick heart sinks into the soil. At least one student speculated it was “a gift from Helen Keller” who, like the current students, was deafblind and one of Perkins most illustrious pupils.
One of the leading institutions in educating children who are deafblind, Perkins’ experienced staff is geared toward maximizing individual potential, whether the student focuses on basic communication and daily living skills, or preparation for college.
Perkins School for the Blind, the nation’s first school for the visually impaired, provides education and services to help build productive, meaningful lives for more than 94,000 children and adults who are blind, deafblind or visually impaired with or without other disabilities in the U.S. and 63 countries worldwide. Founded in 1829, Perkins pursues this mission on campus, in the community and around the world. Learn more online at
Source Link: http://blogs.townonline.com/watertown/?p=29592
Friday, February 13, 2009
Intellitools Activities
I like Intellitools Classroom Suites. I have some braille lessons there like this one which uses apples for the braille dots.
If you go to the Intellitools web site and sign in to the activities exchange (http://aex.intellitools.com/), look for my screen name "MsKathy0724." Then you can look at all of the activities I created.
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