Making Braille with Legos - the Secret Ninja Decoder Language!

It has been a busy week learning many new things!  Last week Cole had his first two official Braille sessions with Ms. Valerie.  I joined the second one and was very impressed with how much he remembered.   There are so many parts of this journey that I just have never thought about.  For example, reading and writing Braille are two completely different tasks to learn and are very different.

Cole started using a Perkins Braille Writer this week.  Much like a type writer, he needs to learn all the different parts and keys so he can operate the device.  Luckily it has NO battery so it's very easy to work anywhere.  Although it is definitely prohibitively heavy so not a "road trip" type of activity - they are 10 pounds!  That's like 10 bags of sugar!  But he's learning and that's what matters.  There is one tricky part (I think) and that's converting what he's learning to READ into WRITING.  You can see in this picture he has something called a "swing cell" which mimics the "full cell" that you use to make Braille letters.  So he can take the pegs, create the letter, then "swing" it so it sits in front of the Braille in front of the correct keys.  In this example he is writing the word "all" and the swing cell has the letter "L".  Since it is three dots down the left side you can see he will press keys 1, 2 and 3 simultaneously.  As if this can't get MORE confusing, there are letters that also represent entire WORDS.  As you can see in this Braille print, the letter "L" also represents the word "like".  So in addition to learning the alphabet, translating it to type it, he will also have to learn the context being used to determine if something is a letter or a word.  You can also see on this printed sheet that the letter "C" also represents the word "can".  Cole's initial lessons are to learn the parts of the Braille writer and understand how to use the swing cell to type words.  This includes learning how to lock and unlock the Braille writer to insert and remove the paper and using the carriage return to move to the next line.

Ok, so now let's talk about reading Braille.  As I mentioned, we've been using the cupcake pan with the lacrosse balls and it has been working GREAT.  The only limitation is that 1) the kids tend to start throwing the balls in the kitchen and 2) he can only do one letter at a time.  So we created a little harder task so that he can start spelling words to make it more fun.  While Reagan was at her Black Belt practice Saturday afternoon we took a drive to Tysons's Corner Mall to the Lego store.  We picked up a tub of 2x3 tiles and studs.  If anyone is going to try this, I will warn you that the store ONLY carried this one orange brick in 2x3 and it's the thinner one.  All the other bricks were 2x2 or 2x8 (which wouldn't work for obvious reasons).  Of course with low vision, the contrast is critical so we chose the black studs and stacked the thin 2x3 bricks three high so they would be easier to work with.

I created the alphabet several times so we have a big tub of letters to create words and eventually write sentences.  I haven't learned punctuation yet, but I'm sure that will come next.  Although tempted to write the letter of each brick on the front, I was worried he would try to look at it.  But I did put a black dot on the front of each so it is easier to know the top from the bottom.  I have decided that each day I will write Cole a note while he's at school that he gets to decipher when he gets home.  The first line says "I love you," the second line says "Cole" and the third line says "Bischoff."  I'm still trying to figure out if putting the bricks next to each other makes it easier or harder to decipher the letters so I'm trying both right now.  The last two lines are the entire alphabet and then I added a few letters that are inverse to each other so he can learn them comparatively.  That's the E/I, R/W and F/D/J/H.  The mnemonics for that is Friendly Dogs Jump High but I'm not sure if he's going to get that yet.  Worth a shot!  The mnemonic for R/W is Right and Wrong.

He is still having a lot of fun with the Ninja Decoder idea and I have more props to share in my next post. I am trying to find a balance of fun and learning so this doesn't get old or become a chore. Finding a time to present it when he's not tired is challenging, but we're working at it. Right now he's having fun with the Ninja idea, but I worry over time he's going to see it like something he has to do.  Unfortunately everyone has homework, and this is just a little more than most kids.

He did voice last week that he was frustrated this was something only he has to learn.  His TVI mentioned there are lots of other kids learning it.  He knows one girl at his school and she happened to walk by. He was SO excited to find out she was a secret ninja too!  His TVI is also going to coordinate to have a middle schooler who is learning Braille come visit with him.  Apparently she wants to become a teacher and thought it would be fun to see how Ms. Valerie is teaching him.

And the latest quote from Cole, "Hey mom, don't you think it would have been better if we were all born in Heaven so we could see what it was like before we come to Earth?  Then we would know we really want to go there."

And with that, let's celebrate that Spring is here, the snow is melted and Easter is right around the corner!

Functional Vision Assessment, learning Braille and First Penance !

Well Spring is in the air and the flowers are blooming.  It has been a slow start to the year with doctor's appointments and I'm NOT complaining!  We did get the results of the Functional Vision Assessment for Cole, however.  This was a battery of tests performed by his Teacher of the Visually Impaired (TVI) and a representative from the Department of the Blind and Visually Impaired (DBVI).  The outcome of that assessment is that the optimal font size for Cole to be able to access his education is 28 point font.

Currently, most print is larger because he is in Kindergarten so he isn't experiencing a great deal of eye strain.  The concern increases, however, as books have more words and less pictures, have smaller font, and the classwork increases around third and fourth grade. There are services that provide "large print books" but it really is a misnomer.  Actual printed books can only be printed up to 18pt font and they are apparently so big they are cumbersome and difficult to hold to read.  We will be able to get his books electronically so that with the use of monitors the font can be increased for reading on a computer, but the concern is that with increased size comes more right-left scrolling which could decreased comprehension.  The concern is that his eyes will strain to read and he will start to fall behind in classes.  Currently he has content magnified on his already large monitor to 150-300% depending on the size of the text to begin with.

So we had an IEP amendment meeting this week to add Braille to his curriculum, not as his only learning method, but as a dual media. So he will now be expected to learn like sighted kids and like kids without sight.  If he were to learn only Braille, he would not be taught to write.  So we decided as a team that he needs to learn both.  Although nervous about this new path on our journey, I know it can't hurt to have more options if the day comes that he is struggling to keep up with his classwork.

Given it takes most people three to four years to learn Braille, I also requested he be provided summer school (Extended School Year or ESY) to get a foundation before classes start in the Fall.  He was approved, but unfortunately they can't provide more hours than they provide during the school year.  So he will have 1.5 hours per week during the four week summer school.

We have also enrolled him in the Braille Enrichment for Literacy and Learning (BELL) Academy through the National Federation of the Blind.  This is a two week summer camp for children with visual impairments.  They will do crafts, games and other projects to learn Braille and learn how to use touch to navigate their environment.  Although I know he will be in good hands, it will be very exhausting for him.  It starts at the beginning of August in Arlington for 6 hours every day.

Although this news is discouraging to me, we are so blessed the option is available.  I expect 20 years ago there may not have been this option at his school and he may have had to get bussed to another location.  I know it's just another way to give Cole everything he needs to succeed, but it does break my heart.  I've started talking to him about it and preparing him. I told him it's like a secret Ninja decoder language that not everybody gets to learn.  Only extra special, lucky kids.  It's all about the spin and perspective right?  In order to get started, we borrowed some of Reagan's lacrosse balls and a cupcake pan (and a printed cheat sheet) and started learning letters.  Over the weekend Cole learned to spell his name and started to master the alphabet.  We were at church last week for Ash Wednesday and he looked up and asked, "Mom, in Heaven will I be able to see like everyone else and not have to wear my glasses."  I said, "yes honey."  And he said, "Mommy, don't be mad, but I really can't wait to go to Heaven."  As my eyes welled with tears I gave him a big hug and thanked God He chose this little boy to be in my life.  His sweet mind and caring heart will carry him far.  He also asked me recently, "Mom, if we don't take our body to Heaven then where do angels put their wings?"  You have to admit, he asks some good questions!

Reagan also had a big week receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation and getting her First Penance.  She was very nervous to tell the priest about all her sins.  But she did a really nice job (or at least that's what she said).  So next up is First Communion for her in May!  She is very excited to start receiving communion!

Next up...Reagan's EEG in April and hopefully a fun Spring Break trip!