[AERNet] braille instruction

[Mario Cortesi]

Maybe I don't know IDEA that well after all, but isn't the language that if 
a student is legally blind (which, functionally, is "can't read newsprint") 
that the student is to be provided instruction in braille UNLESS there is a 
documented, PRESSING reason not to?

In addition, even if the student is still going to be using print for a 
significant amount of time and even if the teacher is only providing 
once-a-week itinerant instruction, just introducing the tactile tracking 
skills and one new character configuration each session (with reviews of 
previous characters) puts the student ahead. S/he may not become a braille 
reader NOW, but at least a foundation has been laid and this opens up the 
possibility for continued instruction when and if the need arrives.


I disagree. i didn't teach braille or have a braille reader for the first 12 
years of my TVI career and was able to come up--and surpass--my previous 
levels with braille with just some review and a few slaps to my forehead 
(Doh! That's right, it's this way).  Now this is not a data-based 
observation, but even the gen ed students regain unused skills with a little 
review.

>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.

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