[Mt-blind] Parent Sets the Record Straight on Braille

[Beth Underwood]

Thank you to Marty for all his hard work and dedication to support 
Braille literacy.  There is nothing more important to ensuring 
confidence and success in a blind child's or a blind adult's life.  And 
you are absolutely right - the earlier begun (as with all literacy 
programs) the better!

Beth Underwood

Jerry Hutch wrote:

>PLUK News 
>
>Tuesday, February 13, 2007
>
>Parent Sets the Record Straight on Braille
>
>Marty Greiser, a Dillon parent of a son who is blind, is the secretary of the National Organization of Parents of Blind Children (branch of NFB). Marty writes, "I have accompanied representatives from the Montana Association for the Blind to Washington D.C. along with more than three hundred individuals representing more than forty-eight states in 1995, 1996, and 1997 to lobby for, among other issues, a strong Braille literacy provision in the final reauthorization of IDEA. We also participated in and contributed greatly to the language of this provision which IDEA now contains. No other group of or for the blind has contributed the time, effort, resources or magnitude of input into this issue as did the NFB."
>
>Through personal experience, Marty knows the effort that it takes to influence national legislation, and he also knows the satisfaction of being able to put into law something that is vitally important to people who experience blindness. According to Marty, "the strength of this provision lies in its language: 'The IEP team shall...provide for instruction in Braille..' This makes Braille the default medium of literacy for blind children."
>
>Marty rightly notes that the new language in IDEA '97 requires that blind children will receive instruction in Braille, unless the IEP Team rules out the use of braille for a particular child. As a result of this change in law, every blind and visually impaired child's IEP should begin with Braille included. In other words, the decision to be made by the team is on "ruling out" rather than "ruling in" Braille. It is significant that the law uses the word "provide," rather than "consider the need," for Braille--leaving no doubt that Braille is the preferred medium for teaching literacy to blind children.
>
>Also according to IDEA '97, if a dispute over including Braille instruction arises and progresses to an administrative hearing, Braille instruction must be provided until that hearing resolves the dispute.
>
>The reason that Marty and other parents like him have worked so hard to get this language into the law is that, just as with all children, blind children need to develop literacy and for most blind children Braille is the medium which allows them to become literate. If a blind child does not have the opportunity to learn Braille, preferably at an early age, the child is in effect being denied the chance to become literate--a basic purpose of public education.
>
>Thanks, Marty, for you hard work and for setting the record straight about the inclusion of Braille in the IEP!
>
>
>http://pluk.mt.typepad.com/pluk_news_archive/2007/02/parent_sets_the.html
>
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