[AERNet] braille instruction

[cmlien at juno.com]

I don't think this came through the first time. So here goes again:

This is a very good question you bring up, Shelley! I think that many of
us have come across a situation such as this at least once, if not more
times.
Research has shown that if a "dual reader" is to become proficient in
braille, this student needs a large commitment of time to devote to
braille instruction.
So my questions would be: Is this student and his/her parents and
classroom teacher and the braille instructor willing and able to devote
the huge amount
of time and effort that are required for proper braille instruction on
the possibillity that braille may be needed in the future? Will the
student be willing
to put in the practice time? Will this take away from the time and effort
that is needed for this student to become a proficient print reader? If
the teacher
and student are only able to commit a short amountof time and practice to
the study of braille, the student will not become a proficient braille
user.
That is just a fact. Also, if the student does not keep up with his/her
use of braille, whatever he/she has learned will be lost over time
anyway. This
is also a fact. So in my opinion, the choice is this: Either decide to
put in the huge amount of time, effort, and resources that are needed to
learn braille
proficiently and to keep up with it, or wait until there is an actual
need, or at least until the need seems to be more imminent.
There have been studies published in the JVIB on the subject of dual
readers within the past few years. I encourage you to look them up on the
AFB web site
and see what these researchers have to say about what is involved in
teaching dual readers.
Candy Lien, TSVI
Braille Teacher and Consultant
ND Vision Services/School for the Blind