Showing posts with label Visual Impairment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Visual Impairment. Show all posts

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Why Does He Carry a White Cane Beside Him?

My youngest son often carries a white cane. I'm glad he can't see that sometimes people stare or turn their heads. I know I'm not supposed to be a mind-reader but my guess, as I watch them, is that they are wondering: Since he gets around so well, why does he carry a white cane?

You know why someone carries a white cane, right? Many people do. But you see, that's just it. A blind person uses a white cane to sweep back and forth in order to know what's in front of him or her. (Or that's our perception.) So why does this man carry it beside him

We tend to want to define everything and everyone. We tend to want to put things - and unfortunately, people, too - into boxes. This person is blind; this other person is sighted. This person is deaf; this other person can hear. This person needs a wheel chair; this other person does not. But real life is not that simple! 

My friend might need a wheelchair for long days out and about, but she doesn't need it for everywhere or for everything. I might not be able to hear you speaking beside me but I might hear you whisper behind me. My son might be able to lead the rest of the family around but...and that brings me back to the story at hand. 

As those who know my family know, my youngest son is "legally blind". Being legally blind doesn't mean he can't see anything or - as he sometimes says to me when I say something too obvious - "I'm not blind." But it does mean that he can't see quite as well as those of us who are fully sighted. 

The disabilities lady at his first college persuaded him to use the cane. You see, there are several different uses for many things in this world. One use for a white cane is identification (otherwise, why would it be white...and why would no one else be allowed to carry a white cane?). If you see someone with a white cane, you automatically know that person is blind...or occasionally, "just" legally blind. When you are driving and you see that person, you know that he might not be able to see you wave him across the road...or, conversely, he might not see that you're going to proceed turning left on your green light, even if he has a green light too, and you expect him to just darn well wait for you (one of my pet peeves, regardless of whether the pedestrian is sighted or not, but if that pedestrian carries a white cane, that driver may be in a heap o' trouble if he makes such an assumption).  

If you're a teacher, you know right away that this person might not see what you're writing on the board. Not that you have to molly-coddle him. You don't. He will tell you what he needs. But it's good to know, right?  If you're a student, you know that he might not see you wave or smile at him across the hallway; you have to speak up. If you're doing business with him, now you know why you might have to show him where the line is to sign on. (Not to worry, if he needs to know what he's signing, he will probably pull out his pocket video magnifier, but if it's something routine, he might ask you where to sign.) 

Wait. Didn't I say he leads the rest of the family around? What did I mean by that, and how can that be, if he's legally blind? Again, we are all different. Not only can he see large objects but he has good peripheral vision, which is what we primarily use for orientation; he hears very well; he has a good memory; and he has good spatial concepts. So if I'm going someplace I haven't been before, or some place that confuses me, I'm always glad when he's with me. 

So, if you ever see someone carrying a white cane, who doesn't seem to be blind, who doesn't sweep the cane in front of him or her, who carries it some of the time and maybe doesn't at other times, now, hopefully, you won't be puzzled. 



Friday, July 04, 2008

Blind Son Gets Guide Dog

Exciting news in our family! Our college son who became blind a year and a half ago is at guide dog school. He received his dog yesterday, a black male which is a cross between a black lab and a golden retriever.

My son sounded soo happy, and we are all happy and excited with him.

Friday, May 02, 2008

My Magazine Article

You can read my article Homeschooling with Sudden Vision Loss which was published in Home Education Magazine by clicking here. (I'm not sure why it says below the title, "Risks Public Virtual Schools Pose to Homeschools". I think it's simply a mistake, as it isn't what my article is about.)

Thursday, March 13, 2008

Legally Blind Governor Steps Up

As some of you may have read, the man who will be sworn in as governor of New York on Monday is legally blind! Can you tell I'm excited about that?

You know, and I know, that we are not defined by our disabilities but by your abilities and motivations. But it's nice to let the world know!

Saturday, October 27, 2007

Praise God for My Children!

I think I feel a possible magazine article coming. So I want to go light on this post. But I just have to share with you what's on my mind tonight, my dear blog readers.

I attended a social event today with a friend. When my friend asked me something about my kids, I didn't want the other lady who was sitting with us at the table to feel left out of the conversation. So I explained to her that one of my sons became blind six months ago. After discussing this, she asked me a question.

"If you had known about this gene, would you have given birth to your children?"

Did you get that the first time? "If you had known about this gene, would you have given birth to your children?" I still can't believe that I didn't stand up on my chair and shout it out for the whole world to hear when I answered,

"Absolutely!" There was more to this conversation but I'm not going to discuss it for now except to say that I told her they have a lot to contribute! Let me just add,

Praise God for each one of my wonderful, beautiful, content, faith-filled children!

Praise God from Whom all blessings flow. Praise Him all creatures here below. Praise Him above the heavenly host. Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost.

Tuesday, June 26, 2007

McDowell Rehabilitation Center

Where Paul will be going soon! I'm sooo happy that this is beginning to come together. I am not a patient person by nature... And I know that a person who is blind can lead a normal, full, happy, independent life. But when it first happens, well, there is more than a little training needed. And since we're talking about an adult - living in another state - I can't exactly homeschool here! (Not to speak of the fact that I'm not a blindness professional.)

The following is taken from the McDowell Center's website:
"The purpose of the Charles W. McDowell Center is to empower individuals who are blind and visually impaired to achieve greater education outcomes, become more effective in the workplace and enjoy participation in community life. The training opportunities at the Charles W. McDowell Center are designed to promote independence, family education, problem solving techniques, and employability which assists individuals in achieving their highest potential in career and personal goals. Derrick Cox, Manager of the McDowell Rehabilitation Center"

Saturday, June 16, 2007

Why?

When things happen, do you ever wonder why? Do you ever ask God why? This had not been my habit. My non-nonsense reaction to the crosses of life has often been that "This is life". God allows. That's the way it goes.

I also tended to think it was morally wrong to ask why. But perhaps I've become more honest with myself. Yes, I have asked "Why?" this time. Not rebelliously...well, at least not angrily, but just kind of wondering, you know, like a child asking his Father, just wanting to know.

But every time that I look at my newly-blind son and even begin to ask "why", I have this thought. It's not something I think out carefully and come to this conclusion; it's just there, the answer popping into my head after the question pops into my head. The answer is: "To give glory to God." And it's accompanied by a peaceful feeling, a feeling that we don't have to figure out the "how" -- how will this give glory to God. We don't have to know that. God doesn't need our clumsy attempts at "leading" Him, only our cooperation with Him and, most of all, our love.

Thursday, June 14, 2007

More about the Trip to pick up Paul

Having had my son Peter become legally blind (and somewhat worse than legally blind), five years ago, I thought I could handle it happening to another one. Actually, I'm getting ahead of myself. It would be more true to say that during those five years since Peter first lost his vision, it had been unthinkable that it should happen to anyone else. We simply refused to entertain the possibility - until Paul called that January day, six months ago, with blurry vision. I was shocked and shaken. But his good attitude rubbed off on me. I told myself that if he could handle it so well, so could I. I told myself that I'd been through this before, so I could handle it now. And I threw myself into my blog. It was an outlet, something I could do...and something I could control. When Peter had lost his vision, I could throw myself into helping him learn all that he needed in order to adapt. Not so with someone who's an adult and lives in another state. There wasn't much I could do but pray. I couldn't even hug him across all those miles.


Paul's attitude did a lot to help the rest of us, as he was so faith-filled about it. His first words to me after he got the diagnosis were a serious but cheerful, "The Lord gives and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the Name of the Lord." That doesn't mean, of course, that he doesn't have an occasional difficult moment or day. That doesn't mean that he doesn't ever get bored or frustrated because of all the things he can't do any more (like drive or see the t.v.) and all the things he can't do yet (like use the computer or read a book).


Over the months, Paul and Mary and Joe have all said that they thought Paul's vision has become worse than Peter's. We here in Baltimore thought they might possibly be wrong, or more accurately: "surely they are mistaken". After all, Peter was so much younger and probably adapted more quickly. It will just take time for Paul to be able to do as well as Peter. Various members of the family have had many a telephone debate on this topic. Perhaps it was optimism on our part or just a refusal to accept what we didn't want.


Yesterday Mary picked me up from the Cincinnati airport and took me to the house where our absolutely wonderful friends are hosting Paul like a member of the family. Paul came down to the kitchen and looked at me. But he didn't, really. Over these past years I've been around a lot of blind people and I knew as soon as I saw the unseeing look in Paul's eyes that his vision is, indeed, worse than Peter's. I'm not saying he is totally blind; he isn't. And please pray with us that he can keep what vision he has. I've found that however little vision someone has, that little bit is still something they treasure. Well, when I saw him I wasn't shocked (as I had feared I might be), just sorry. And maybe part of the reason that it didn't hit me as hard as I had feared, once again, was his attitude. He looked - how shall I say? - perfectly comfortable with who he is. And that, after all, is very important. At last I could hug him! And he's so grown up; even his hugs are more grown up, more comfortable with who he is than when we moved away nearly a year ago.

We had a few hours until time to catch our flight back to Baltimore, and Mary, bless her heart, hauled us all over town at my whims. As we went shopping, I told Paul that Carla had taught me that if I'm guiding a cane user, the cane user should use the cane in his or her right hand and take my right arm. I said laughingly, "Of course, I won't be able to hear you if you talk," (being totally deaf in my right ear). He said, "I can use my left hand for my cane." I said, "Are you ambidextrous?" Mary said, "He is now." I felt a little guilty about "making" him use his left hand for his cane, especially since he's only been learning the cane for a very short time; but hey, it seemed to work out okay for us.

As we maneuvered through airports, sometimes I gave Paul my left arm and sometimes my right. I certainly kept him on his toes, with him trying to figure out where I was and where to put his cane, and my sometimes walking off without him, expecting him to just follow me as Peter would. We had some good laughs over that.

Our first crisis was when we came to an escalator...but it wasn't his crisis, it was mine. "Paul, we're coming to an escalator," I said with panic in my voice. He didn't undertand my concern, so I added, "I have a phobia of escalators," (especially down escalators). He hadn't known. I had always used escalators in spite of my phobia; I still do. "But", I explained to him, "if I had a baby with me, I always either took the elevator or handed the baby off to someone else. I can't let you take my arm and guide you on an escalator," I said, with rising panic at the very thought. He accepted the fact that I wouldn't guide him on the escalator and reassured me that with his cane he would know when he reached the bottom, so I guided him to the rail. He did fine, and after that, whenever we had an escalator, I didn't hesitate. I just helped him to the rail, dealt with my own interior struggle, and we were on.

And I suppose that experience helped prepare me for the fact that we were flying on a commuter plane, the kind where you walk outside and up a narrow, steep staircase onto the plane. When it came time to get off the plane, I was ahead of him and looked down that staircase in concern. The rails seemed to me to be in all the wrong places. We both had backpacks, I had my purse, he had his cane, and I have poor balance and bifocals, and there, looming before us was this down staircase. An employee looked up at me and asked, "Would you like us to get a lift?" Oh no, no way. First of all, they don't know that Paul is new to being blind, and I don't want them to think blind people are helpless. Secondly, all I need is for someone to think I can't do something and I will prove them wrong. Thirdly, I'm very afraid of this lift idea, and fourthly, what a huge delay that would be. All those thoughts swiftly and subconsciously came together in the space of a millisecond, but I think that the main feeling was a thought of Peter and what he would answer in that situation. I'm ashamed to say I didn't even consult Paul. I just processed all those thoughts in that millisecond of time and answered confidently, "No thank you; he can do it!" And as the man took my backpack, I guided Paul's hand to the rail. No problem at all. (Please understand, as you read this, that this was less a problem of my confidence in what someone who's newly blind can do as my own personal phobia of going down anything.)

As we waited for the plane, we talked, and I discovered that Paul is not only anxious to learn how to use adaptive technology (i.e. get back on the computer), but that he would love to learn Braille too. We had a nice conversation with a lady who was waiting for the same flight. She and I happened to go to the restroom at the same time, so I briefly told her our story, how Paul had only begun losing his vision a few months ago. Later on, after the flight, she and I were once again together, buying food, and she told me how well he is doing for his vision loss having happened so recently. Ah, praise of our child is always music to a mother's ears, isn't it?

We did have a lot of good laughs. Once I took Paul to the men's room and being restless, I forgot to wait outside the hallway to the doorway, and instead paced my way into that hallway, where a man walked in, turned on his heel and began to walk away quickly. I called him back, informing him with a chuckle that he hadn't made a mistake. I said, "I'm waiting for someone who is a cane user." I then asked myself why I said that? Why "cane user"? Why not someone who is blind? I really don't know. Maybe because someone once told me that someone was "a braille user". It felt less like labeling, and more like focusing on the strength. And believe me, cane use is a strength, as I saw on every staircase and (deep breath) escalator.

And Paul is our strength, too, in many ways. Yesterday we had a tornado warning; one was sighted about eight miles away, heading in our direction. We went to the most interior part of the apartment, but first I grabbed my flashlight. Being deaf in one ear, I don't do well in the dark...and if a tornado should hit, I wanted to be prepared. Paul grabbed his... cane? Nope, his rosary beads. Well, I grabbed his cane, because if a tornado should hit, I wouldn't want him to be without it. (By the way, I'm not phobic about everything. I just like to be a good girl scout and "be prepared".) So, we got settled in and I asked Paul to lead us in the Rosary. He led us with so much devotion; not because he lost his vision, by the way, but because he's Paul. And then we were done and the danger had passed, and he led the boys in playing animal, vegetable or mineral.

As he sleeps in, I look at him and forget that he's blind...and then I remember, and I wonder if he ever wishes he could wake up and find that it was just a bad dream. But I don't ask him that question. That, I think, is just my own thought, my own adjustment that I am struggling to make as I am able to spend a little time with him at last. For him, the waking up from a bad dream will be learning how to adapt. He has his books on CD. Now he's begun learning his cane use. When he can learn how to use computers, and hopefully at some point learn Braille, and learn all those adaptive techniques, his life will be as full as ever. Life does go on. The Lord gives and the Lord takes away. And the Lord gives again in mysterious ways.

Sunday, April 01, 2007

News of Peter and Paul

I posted the following today at my VIP Homeschooler Blog:

News of Peter: We are finally getting settled into our new area, as Friday I took Peter to a homeschool P.E. group. While he joined the other kids, I introduced myself to the instructor (a personal trainer), and told him, "Peter doesn't see very well. He can see to get around, but if you demonstrate something, he might not know what you're doing." He was smiling and nodding confidently. And then I said, "But he doesn't like attention called to his having a vision problem." He was still smiling, and I don't remember what he said next, but I realized then that I hadn't given him any time to think about how to handle this. I'm wondering now why am I still learning how to do this after all these years? Do we ever really get life figured out? However, the instructor handled it superbly. And Peter loved the class, and connected with the new kids.


News of Paul
: (As background, for anyone who doesn't know, Paul is the second of my six children to have a vision problem. While Peter suddenly became legally blind five years ago at the age of eight, Paul's vision problem began this past January at the age of 21. He, too, is now legally blind.)

Last week Paul was voted president of the Newman Club on his college campus. I guess he is taking the advice of Our Lord about the leader serving, because a couple days later found him making pasta and baked pears for the group. It doesn't look like Paul's new vision loss is going to hold him back in life!

Monday, February 26, 2007

Getting Kids Writing

Is this how the kids feel when they're supposed to write something, and they sit and look at a blank screen? (Remember when we used to call it a blank piece of paper?)

This morning I am wondering just how I've been coming up with posts nearly every day! I hope this morning's blankness isn't related to my having split my mind into two blogs. (Smile. Not that my mind wasn't already scattered here, there and everywhere.)

This staring at blank whiteness makes me think of my youngest son - the one who is visually impaired - who struggles to write. He is extremely good at talking, expounding, articulating. Can I think of any more verbs for him? You get the picture. But all he has to do is sit down to the keyboard to write a book report, and suddenly he doesn't know what to say. I finally figured out that it was the process...that if I sat myself at the keyboard and had him dictate, he could think and speak as fast as his mind works, and yes, I can type that fast. So he dictates; I type. Then on another day, I dictate what I've typed for him, and he types it. So, in the end, it's "all his".

This is, of course, a temporary plan, as he prepares to enter high school level work. I hope to get him typing faster, and in the meantime, I would like to get him doing this process using a tape recorder.

But the other day he had a little spare school time, so he watched a show on the history channel about Fort Knox, which he found fascinating. The next time he needed to write, he said he wanted to write about Fort Knox. Instead of sitting down at the computer, he got a pen and paper, and began writing (in his one-inch print). He wrote about six pages and did a great job. He said that on another day, he will type it. Who would have thought he'd be more comfortable writing by hand?

One thing I love about homeschooling is the flexibility it allows us. We can push the children to do what they aren't comfortable with, but at the same time, allow them to find ways to overcome their discomfort, grow, and even become enthusiastic.

Well, I hadn't planned what I was going to write, and as it turns out, this one is appropriate for BOTH blogs. (Smile).

Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Homeschooler a Finalist in Braille Challenge Contest

The Braille Challenge is a national contest that tests students on their Braille-reading skills.

A homeschooling student is one of the finalists who finished first in her category this year. Congratulations, Dasha! It's always nice when homeschoolers excel in national contests!

You can read about this year's contest here.

Saturday, February 17, 2007

Leber's What??

In case anyone was wondering:

My sons' (two of my sons') condition is called Leber's Hereditary Optic Neuropathy. Whew, what a long name. About a hundred years ago (more or less), I studied medical terminology. "Optic neuropathy" would mean there is something wrong with the nerve that sends signals from the eye to the brain. Of course, everyone knows that "hereditary" means you inherit it from a parent. So, what does all this mean about this condition, sometimes called LHON for short?

LHON is caused by a gene that is passed on to children, only from the mother. A man who has LHON cannot pass the gene to his offspring. It's hard to trace this gene back because it wasn't defined and named until 1988! Yet, in this short time they've been able to do some research and put together some statistics. One thing they know is that it is possible for all of the children in a large family to have the gene and yet for only one child in that same family to actually have vision loss. No one knows for sure what causes the vision loss in someone who has the gene, or why someone else can have the gene and not lose vision.

What kind of vision loss occurs? The onset is often sudden and may continue for a few weeks or possibly a few months. It often affects one eye first, and then the other. Much of the time it is painless (except emotionally). It is not known to cause total blindness nor "light perception only". In other words, the person with this condition can usually see, even when he has stopped losing vision...but it does usually cause legal blindness or worse.

Now there's another definition to consider. What is legal blindness? "Perfect" vision is 20/20. Legal blindness, in this country, means that someone has a vision of 20/200 or worse in the better eye, after any correction, such as glasses. In the case of LHON, glasses don't help, since it's the optic nerve. As a matter of fact, there is no treatment or cure for this condition, which affects primarily the central vision. The peripheral - or "out of the corner of the eye" - vision usually remains pretty effective.

(NOTE ADDED MONTHS LATER: The "unthinkable" can happen more than once. Although we were totally caught off guard when our son Peter became legally blind, we also never dreamed our son Paul would be an exception in this exceptional condition...and become nearly totally blind. However, he may not have sight but he has a vision...to paraphrase his campaign when he ran for senator of his student government association. He is active, confident and competent.)

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Math Resources and Ramblings

Today I came upon an entry in someone else's homeschooling blog where she was just wondering whether or not to get tutoring help for math. Ahhh, makes me feel better. It's good to know that I'm not alone in struggling with teaching math. Of course, sometimes one can afford tutoring and sometimes one can't. I don't just mean different families, but also different stages in a family's life.

Now, I do have one advantage. My husband is a mathemetician by college degree and by profession. However, since he works a lot of hours, we did hire a tutor one year. Ha, that's one year out of twenty-plus. (You see how I love math. I never want to figure out what comes after the twenty in our homeschooling years.) Well, he has helped a lot of kids through a lot of high school math...but sometimes he's just way too busy at work, and sometimes the kids just don't think to ask him for help when evening rolls around.

So I'm always on the lookout for math programs that will work better for us. I'm glad Saxon works well for so many homeschoolers. For good or for ill, we made the decision many years ago to no longer use Saxon. What my high schooler is using this year is yet another experiment on our part: Algebra II by Teaching Textbooks. I bought the books this past summer...only the books, although the accompanying CDs are recommended. This month - with hubby working into the night - I finally bought the CDs to go with them, so that my son can use the CD Solutions Manual if he gets stuck. (The CDs have lectures, not just a Solutions Manual, but it was the solutions my son wanted for those times when he couldn't figure it out.) So far he hasn't complained much about this book, and seems to be progressing well with it!

For Peter, my son who is visually impaired, I love using workbooks for math, since he does his math under the CCTV (video magnifier) and can only see a little bit at a time. Toggling back and forth between an over-sized textbook and a spiral notebook would be more challenging for him. So, through the years we've been using Mathematics, Skills, Concepts, Problems Solving by Continental Press. I haven't been as excited about this book now that we've gotten into more algebraic concepts in the eighth grade, but for grade school I loved the series! (Considering that eighth grade is where my own math weaknesses begin, I wonder if this says something about the explanations in the book. The kids and I sometimes say that we think it's maybe supposed to be used as a workbook to accompany a textbook...but it has kept him on target through the grade school years.)

What I'm considering now for Peter for high school is an Algebra worktext I came upon the other day on the web. If anyone is reading this post who has experience with this series, please get in touch with me. It's called Algebra 1: A Fresh Approach by Christy Walters, and is available from A+ Education Services. We read a review of it, and it looks good to me, and even looked good (from the review) to my husband! When it comes to math, he's not an easy sell.

Last, but very definitely not least, the other day I found a blog by a homeschooling Mom who loves Math and shares her knowledge with us! Some of the entries are over my head...or I don't have time. But she has lots of valuable ideas and resources! So, if you like math...or if, on the other hand, you have math phobia, like I do, check it out!

Friday, February 09, 2007

Blind Photographers

An interesting article appears on Happy News, telling about blind photographers in Israel.

http://www.happynews.com/news/292007/blind-photographers-show-work-israel.htm

Saturday, February 03, 2007

Tweaking the Blog

Last night I was giving some serious thought to my writing, past and future. I wrote down everything I've had published (whether for money or free; whether published by someone else or by me on the web). And then I wrote down projects, plans and ideas of things I might like to get published in the future. Would you like a peek?

Braille Drills for Young Readers to teach children and youth - who already read in print or have already begun to learn Braille - to become fluent in reading Braille words.

A First Communion Book, written at the child's reading level, that teaches in a devotional way.

Lesson plans for homeschool parents of legally blind students who use books on tape from the Library of Congress Talking Books...for subjects such as history.

The first two potential books have been long "in process". Maybe I won't share with you any of my doubts about these projects, so I don't put ideas into anyone's heads. Ha....And I don't mean doubts about my ability to write them. I don't have a lot of doubt about that (given enough time). My doubts are about whether they would be accepted, published, marketed, bought. Any comments will be accepted and welcomed. (Well, I THINK so. smile. It might depend on the comment as to whether or not it will be welcomed. smile. )

This morning something occurred to me about my blog! You could read my daily entries and check out my links, and never even realize that part of my passion is promoting education adapted to students who are visually impaired! So this morning's project has been to tweak my blog. First I added this topic to the blog title. Then I added links in the template to two websites which provide information in the blindness education field. In "Blindness in Depth", my good friend Sarah tells of her own experiences and provides a plethora of resources. At Kester Braille, another dear friend who is a retired Braille teacher, explains her Braille books that parents can use to teach beginning reading in Braille...even parents who don't already know Braille.

Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Where's the School in Homeschool?

As I was browsing homeschool blogs this evening, a thought occurred to me. I share about our home life, but I don't say much about our schooling. You might begin to wonder if we really ARE homeschoolers. Yep, bona fide, card-carrying members of both Home School Legal Defense Association and our local umbrella school. Sometimes we even do schoolwork. Ha. Just kidding about that last. We do schoolwork every day! We do religion every day, we do math every day, and well, you get the picture...

We might do it a little differently, though. Certainly we do some things differently than I did twenty years ago. Because we live in an apartment, if the boys occasionally want to use their spending money to walk to the pop machine, I figure the exercise balances out the calories. And the treat (as well as the caffeine) boosts everyone's mood and production level. Ironically, I heard that soda pop has been banned in Baltimore County Public Schools, a decision I would undoubtedly have applauded a very short time ago. (And some of you may be shaking your heads at me.)

We do math a little differently, too. Robert (16) works on his own math, then looks up to see what Peter and I need help with. Math is not my strong suit and I tend to get through seventh grade math before struggling. (Peter is in eighth.) I always thought I'd learn upper level math right along with my kids, but there was always something else...babies and toddlers, and so on. Just when I thought I'd be able to learn math along with the youngest, I decided to work on learning Braille with him instead.

And of course, that's another thing we do differently. Almost every day Peter reads in three different "modes", as I call it. He listens to books on tape, reads to me in Braille, and reads to himself a few pages of a book under the video magnifier.

This isn't a picture of our whole schoolday, but just some snippets to let you know that yes, Virginia, there really is a homeschool here.

Thursday, January 18, 2007

Meet Paul

This is the son you're praying for. (If you weren't, you are now.) Paul woke up one day last week with blurriness in one eye. Yesterday he was diagnosed with the same thing that caused his youngest brother Peter to suddenly and unexpectedly become legally blind at the age of nine. It's called Leber's Hereditary Optic Neuropathy or LHON for short. At this time, there is no treatment. Paul may or may not keep the vision in his other eye.

(In the picture above, he's only squinting because of the flash. There was nothing wrong with his vision before last Wednesday.)

Paul is an artist and as he says, a storyteller. He is a college student in Kentucky, enjoys his family and friends, and likes a good laugh. He has a strong faith and is in good spirits with a good attitude. He appreciates all your prayers.

Tuesday, January 09, 2007

Peter's Gingerbread House






























Here is the Gingerbread House that Peter assembled after Christmas (the kit was a Christmas present). He actually refrained from eating it until it was completed and all the pictures taken. Of course he is sharing it with us all. From Lego structures and Gingerbread houses, maybe some day he will get to build his own house...or at least repair and remodel.