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State Convention
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eCONNECTOR Number 4 Dear Subscriber, In this issue, you will find some announcements about winter events that are right around the corner (please take note of some RSVP dates coming up as early as next week!). Also, I’ve included an article from the Future Reflections archives pertaining to the need for our children to be both receivers and givers, especially during the holiday season. Further, a new addition of our “Ask Advo-Cat” column offers thoughtful input on the topic of teaching our blind children to cultivate meaningful friendships with their sighted peers. Eagerly, I would like to invite each of you to attend the annual Christmas party of the Denver chapter of the National Federation of the Blind of Colorado, to be held on Saturday, December 15 at the Colorado Center for the Blind (see details, below). Our parent group will meet at 9:30 a.m. prior to that party, and we would welcome the participation of all of our membership at both of these gatherings! Sincerely,
ANNOUNCEMENTS:ANNUAL "DAY OF INSPIRATION AND INFORMATION" A SUCCESSI would like to thank all those who helped to make our annual October Seminar, or “Day of Inspiration and Information” a success. Julie Hunter coordinated the fascinating segment on daily living skills and home management. Andrea Beasley and her husband Jeremiah organized an important piece on technology and its place in the education of our children. Brent Batron and Julie Deden, from our very own Colorado Center for the Blind, made vital contributions on the subjects of mobility and travel and holding positive attitudes towards blindness”, respectively. These folks and many others, from as far away as Maryland and Virginia, offered their expertise in a way that was fun and beneficial to us all. We will look forward to the planning of our fall 2008 event, and welcome input from our readership as we consider possible seminar themes. DENVER CHAPTER CHRISTMAS PARTY IS DECEMBER 15The Denver Chapter of the National Federation of the Blind of Colorado (NFBCO) will hold its annual Christmas Party at the Colorado Center for the Blind on Saturday, December 15, 2007, from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Santa will be arriving around 11:00 a.m. and will have gifts for the kids. Be sure to RSVP to Brent Batron at 303-778-1130, x222 or email him at bbatron@cocenter.org no later than Wednesday, December 12 if you would like Santa to be prepared with gifts for your children! The Denver Chapter will provide light brunch fare, and families are invited to bring a side dish or dessert. There will also be a gift exchange for the adults. Those wishing to participate should bring a wrapped gift valued at no more than ten dollars. The Colorado Center for the Blind is located at 2233 West Shepperd Avenue in Littleton (visit www.cocenter.org, or call 303-778-1130, for directions).BLIND KIDS CAN RECEIVE BRAILLE LETTERS FROM SANTAOnce again, Santa Claus has enlisted the help of the National Federation of the Blind to respond to letters from young Braille readers. Blind children who wish to send Braille letters to Santa can submit their letters to the National Federation of the Blind Jernigan
Institute, which will then Braille Santa's response. This exciting and fun program is designed to promote Braille literacy, which is the key to success and opportunity for blind children. Letters must be received by December 18 to ensure a return letter is received before Christmas. For more information about this and other programs of the National Federation of the Blind, visit the NFB Web site. HUMANWARE BRAILLE LITERACY SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAMHumanWare is proud to launch a Braille Literacy Scholarship Program that compromises two awards. The Mountbatten Learning System Award, comprised of a Mountbatten Learning System and all associated software and accessories will be awarded to one child in the U.S. Applications are to be written by parents or professionals on behalf of children between the ages of 3 and 8 years who are learning Braille or are assessed as future Braille learners. Submissions must include an essay of one thousand words or less, explaining why Braille literacy will be key to the child’s success, and describing the role the Mountbatten Learning System would play in his/her future. A second award, the Jot A Dot Notetaking Award, will grant five separate winners a Jot a Dot Pocket Brailler. The award is open to applications from students in primary or secondary education who use Braille. Using a maximum of 15 lines of 20 characters, students must describe in Braille why notetaking is an important skill in their lives. Students can submit any number of entries and use various writing styles including poetry, verse or humor. Applications can be sent directly from students or on their behalf by a teacher or parent. All winners must be willing to participate in promotional events and to attend a public award ceremony. Entries should be mailed, postmarked no later than December 31, 2007, to: HumanWare, Braille Literacy Scholarship Program, 175 Mason Circle, Concord, CA, 94520.
FEATURED ARTICLE:A Christmas Wish by Barbara CheadleI remember, as most of us do, I suppose, how exciting Christmas was when I was a child. My parents didn't have much money, so I and my brothers and sister never got much, but it didn't matter. There was always something: a new doll complete with wardrobe (my mother was an excellent seamstress), a tea set, a toy truck -- something. Actually, the anticipation of that "big moment" when we would rush to the tree to unwrap those mysterious packages, gave as much excitement and pleasure as the actual gift ever could. I also remember how that excitement seemed to diminish as I reached my teenage and young adult years. I recall wondering if Christmas would ever again hold the same magic and charm that it once did. It didn't seem possible. Then I became a wife, then a mother. I remember when our first child was old enough to truly anticipate Christmas. You could feel the gathering excitement and tension in him as Christmas morning approached. But on that morning, as he was tearing open his gifts with shouts of delight, I knew his pleasure could not equal the joy and satisfaction that was mine. The old magic of Christmas was back. Not even the excitement of my childhood Christmases could rival the pleasure I was receiving by "giving". Giving to my son, to my husband, to all those I loved. If it is true that the ability to give is a sign of emotional maturity (and I'm talking now in the larger sense, not just material gifts, but the ability to give affection, love, of oneself, etc.) then I had finally "grown up". But it also seems to me that the ability to "receive" is as important as the ability to give. Children do not have much problem with that. They receive gladly, but also selfishly -- with little thought for the giver. We adults are different. Some of us just can't seem to accept a gift. Perhaps we subconsciously see it as "charity" or as an "obligation" that we must pay back. Perhaps we really feel that the gift-giver is in the superior position and the gift-receiver is in the inferior one. Whatever the reason, (and I have only been speculating here... I am no psychologist) there is no doubt in my mind that the person who does not know how to receive suffers from as much emotional immaturity as the person who cannot give. And that brings me to my Christmas wish for you and your family. It is a sad thing to see blind adults who cannot give, only take. All their lives things have been done for them and no one has expected -- much less taught them -- how to give in return. They have been deprived by parents, by educators, and by the rest of society of the joy and pleasure that comes with the mature ability to give. Then there are those who do know how to give, and want to give; the blind who have talents and abilities to contribute, but whose gifts are rejected by a public mind that cannot see the blind as equals, but only as objects of charity. The tragedy is that everyone is diminished when we force the blind to be only "takers" and the sighted never learn to "receive". My Christmas wish for your blind child this season is this: I wish for your child the opportunity to learn the satisfaction and joy of giving. I also wish for them a world in which their gifts will be received gladly. Barbara Cheadle is the President of the National Organization of Parents of Blind Children. This piece, a somewhat abbreviated version of the original article, was taken from Future Reflections, Vol. 2, No. 5, September- December 1983)
ASK ADVO-CAT:
Dear Mrs. S.: Making friends can be a struggle for any child, blind or sighted. What can parents do to help? First ask yourself this question: Is your child “friend ready”. Step back and take a critical look. Does she behave like the other children her age? For instance, does she turn and face a person who is talking? Does she have good table manners? Does she have some jobs around the house like other kids her age such as setting the table and picking up her toys? Does she dress herself and help choose what she will wear? The bottom line is your child needs to act like the other kids her age. That means that you, the parents, must do everything you can to give your daughter the skills she needs to be independent and age appropriate. Independence leads to self confidence and self confidence is the key in making friends. Beyond these skills, your child must be ready for the play interaction itself. There are three elements that are required of your child as he/she begins to play with others. These are: 1. Shared interest; 2. Communication; and 3. Opportunity. Parents can help their children develop each of these areas. Here are some tips for doing so: Shared Interest: Take a look at what the neighborhood kids are doing and determine which activities your child would enjoy. Talk to the other mothers about their children’s favorite toys and activities and work on developing skills in those areas so that your child can participate. Once you have identified the toys and games that are being played, start to create some adaptive techniques that might enable your child to join in. For instance, a beeper ball and a structured game might be a fun alternative for all the neighborhood kids who like to play ball. Games of tag can be modified so that there are teams of two. Buy some board games or card games that have been adapted for Braille such as Braille UNO cards and teach your child to play. Create an environment in your home and in your yard that attracts kids. Communication: A relationship is strengthened when the people involved are able to let each other know that they are interested in one another. You, the parent, can assist in several ways with your child’s ability to be a good communicator. First, you can develop your own communication with your neighbors. You might start by inviting a neighborhood child and her mother to your house for a play date and ask that they bring a favorite toy. The neighbor mom will have the opportunity to observe some of the ways the two children can enjoy playing together and you can point out how Ginny explores the same toys by employing her sense of touch. A follow up phone call to the other mother should help to put her questions to rest and hopefully enlist her commitment to supporting a friendship between your children. Secondly, you can directly help your child communicate through rehearsing different play behaviors with you. Given that sighted children are sometimes reluctant to approach a visually impaired child, you might help your child become more comfortable in making the first move. For instance, practice appropriate greetings, such as “Hi, my name is Ginny, what’s yours?” and other conversational conventions. Have your child begin to recognize and communicate the adaptive techniques that work for her. For example, you could teach her to say “If I hold on to your hand, we can go to the sand box together.” It’s equally important for your child to learn when to say “No thank you” when another child or adult is being too helpful. This comes with maturity, but it’s never too early for children to begin recognizing that they need to stand up for themselves when they are able to do something independently. As your child gets comfortable talking frankly about her blindness and how she does things, the issue will become de-mystified and the other children and adults in the neighborhood will begin to see Ginny as more alike than different. Opportunity: We all know that friendships develop with time. It’s important to provide plenty of opportunities for interaction. Here are some hints:
All of the above suggestions require a lot of parental involvement, but remember that your goal is to minimize your own presence and intervention as your child plays with friends. Parents must not hover over every activity; once you have done your job getting the children together and facilitating their play you need to back away. Your child’s individual personality needs a chance to bloom and grow independent of you! If you have a question for our superhero, the Advo-Cat, send an e-mail to the editor: Kiwimagi@msn.com.
The eCONNECTOR, a newsletter from the Colorado Parents of Blind Children, is a publication sent to all who have provided an Email address. If you want to sign up, change, or remove your name from any future general Email distribution, please contact Julie Hunter at jhunter@cocenter.org. Your address will only be used within the NFBCO and its entities. We do not sell, rent, or exchange Email addresses.
eConnector ArchiveIssue 3 Fall 2007
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