I worked with a bright middle schooler as her mobility instructor. When she entered school her vision hovered right around the tipping point between Braille and print. Eventually, her TVI felt print was the better choice and started scaling back Braille. Eventually, against the mother's wishes, the CSE dropped Braille from the girl's IEP and her mother wasn't strong enough to argue against the Committee. As part of her community training, my student was investigating the entertainment that is vending machines. The soda machine had Braille labels for each of the contents and the code to be entered on the alphanumeric pad. No matter how hard she peered through the glass she just couldn't make out which can was which. She brushed her fingers over the Braille and told me she bet if the school had continued to teach her Braille, she could get the soda she wanted and not have to get help.  Dual and trio readers shouldn't  be expected to learn only one reading access. Instead, it should be a case of what works best, and no matter how consistent one is at a system, there are going to be that miserable day when Plan B has to be called in. The file headings in my file drawer are bright color 3x5 cards, folded over and stapled to the top of the file and labeled in big marker. On the back of each print tag the same label in Braille. Nine times out of 10 the print is fine. But the tenth time, when my eyeballs are trying to emigrate to Canada and I'd have to sit on the floor and read through the file names one at a time, I can reach down and check for the needed file file by scanning through the Braille.  Multiple method readers are not what works tomorrow, or yesterday, or three weeks from Wednesday, or I'm sure she could have read that with just print because the recording distracts the other students; it's  what combination works now to efficiently perform a task.  Laura Nickolainear Syracuse, NY

I am behind on my reading and just wanted to make a few comments on this topic.  Here are some guidelines on the use of braille and print that may be very helpful.  These are mine, so feel free to add, or disagree (kindly). I would look at them in total not just if any one of these appears.

1.  Start with a Learning Media Assessments – there are several very good ones.  Be sure to include the parents observations.
   

2.  Does reading print cause headaches, general fatigue, blurring out time and/or eye fatigue?  Does the young child demonstrate poor behavior later in the day (a sign of fatigue – irritability, lack of focus, etc.) Consider braille.
   

3.  When print reading speed is less than XX wpm. What number you think should be filled in here is up to you.  Although there may be some, I am not aware of any specific research in this area, but remember a good braille reader – if taught early and with reinforcement can easily read 80 wpm, and more likely over 100 wpm by high school.  With low vision and especially with a progressive eye condition, the reading speed in print is going to go down.  This will become an issue in employment.  A sighted person may be reading 250-400 wpm.
   

4.  As an adult service provider, I can list many stories of people with low vision who wish they had learned braille as a child.  It is much more difficult to become fluent as an adult.  One young man even mentioned that he requested braille but was not taught it – even though he was attending a school for the blind!  Braille is more difficult to learn as an adult.
   

5.  If you require at least double time to take a test, you need to learn  another strategy.  Schools may be willing to make that accommodation, but employers are not.  They expect you to do the same amount of work in a day. You need a combination of tools that will prepare the student for that reality.
   

6.  If your student is concerned that they want to appear “normal” and that is why they don’t want braille, consider that braille is normal for someone that has difficulty seeing.  A person may appear more awkward or less normal if they do not use braille.  Braille is cool!  There may be adjustment/acceptance/self-esteem issues that need to be addressed. Or perhaps as a teacher, you need to make an effort to make braille more fun. As they say, “Denial is more than a river in Egypt.”
   

Just thoughts….

BJ

[cid:image001.png@01D286D2.8612F850]

B. J. LeJeune, CRC, CVRT
National Research and Training Center
on Blindness and Low Vision
P. O. Box 6189
Mississippi State, MS  39762

P:  662-325-2694
F:  662-325-8989

bjlejeune@colled.msstate.edumailto:bjlejeune@colled.msstate.edu
www.blind.msstate.eduhttp://www.blind.msstate.edu/

From: AERNet [mailto:aernet-bounces@lists.aerbvi.org] On Behalf Of Shelley Mack
Sent: Saturday, January 28, 2017 9:07 AM
To: lnickolai@juno.com
Cc: AER aernet@lists.aerbvi.org
Subject: Re: [AERNet] Dual Readers

Laura,
I agree wholeheartedly that readers should have as many tools in their box as possible. One of my students told me she handles those machines with her phone, taking a picture and enlarging it. She is amazingly quick with it. So technology needs to be a tool as well.
The issue I have had with dual readers is finding the time for instruction without interrupting academics. Some districts are better than others in allowing ESY for that extra modality practice.
Shelley Mack

On Sat, Jan 28, 2017 at 6:23 AM, lnickolai@juno.commailto:lnickolai@juno.com <lnickolai@juno.commailto:lnickolai@juno.com> wrote:
I worked with a bright middle schooler as her mobility instructor. When she entered school her vision hovered right around the tipping point between Braille and print. Eventually, her TVI felt print was the better choice and started scaling back Braille. Eventually, against the mother's wishes, the CSE dropped Braille from the girl's IEP and her mother wasn't strong enough to argue against the Committee.

As part of her community training, my student was investigating the entertainment that is vending machines. The soda machine had Braille labels for each of the contents and the code to be entered on the alphanumeric pad. No matter how hard she peered through the glass she just couldn't make out which can was which. She brushed her fingers over the Braille and told me she bet if the school had continued to teach her Braille, she could get the soda she wanted and not have to get help.

Dual and trio readers shouldn't  be expected to learn only one reading access. Instead, it should be a case of what works best, and no matter how consistent one is at a system, there are going to be that miserable day when Plan B has to be called in. The file headings in my file drawer are bright color 3x5 cards, folded over and stapled to the top of the file and labeled in big marker. On the back of each print tag the same label in Braille. Nine times out of 10 the print is fine. But the tenth time, when my eyeballs are trying to emigrate to Canada and I'd have to sit on the floor and read through the file names one at a time, I can reach down and check for the needed file file by scanning through the Braille.

Multiple method readers are not what works tomorrow, or yesterday, or three weeks from Wednesday, or I'm sure she could have read that with just print because the recording distracts the other students; it's  what combination works now to efficiently perform a task.

Laura Nickolai
near Syracuse, NY

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