Post by Ms. Kathy on Apr 19, 2004 11:05:59 GMT -6
This message is just for Ms. Kathy's kids!
You guys are special and different. That doesn't have to be a negative thing.
What concerns me is that very often, my kids with low vision--kids who can see but are legally blind have more of a problem with being different from sighted peers--especially at school. Well, you are different. If you think the other kids don't notice or that you can hide it from them for your entire school career, you're only fooling yourself. They already know... and guess what? Most of them don't really care.
Yeah, you're going to get some kid who doesn't feel good about him/herself who's going to mess with you. But that doesn't mean you should allow them to make you feel bad about yourself. You hold your head up high and don't let ignorance make you act ignorant in return. The people who count, your close buds and family, are the only ones who matter. They are not thinking any less of you because of your vision. There are plenty of friends to meet as well who won't let your vision be a hinderance to becoming your friend.
When you pretend to be someone you are not--someone who can see 20/20 when you actually see 20/400 do you know what it looks like? I've seen it before kids. Let me tell you that it looks crazy! I've seen kids who need glasses trying to walk around without them and they make all kinds of visual mistakes because they want to look "cool" without their glasses. Their peers see this and think at first, "He's nuts!" instead of "He doesn't see well." OK, think about it: What's worse--looking blind or looking crazy?
I realize there are some conditions where glasses do no good but if you're blessed enough to be able to have your vision corrected somewhat, you really oughta where 'em!
Be upfront about your vision and not ashamed because it can help you rather than harn you. Honesty really is the best policy.
I know of another girl who walked out in front of traffic because she didn't want her friends to know that she couldn't see far enough to see oncoming cars. She could have been killed trying to pretend to be a normal sighted person for appearances sake. She really needed a cane for ID purposes of the drivers, too, and she could have told her friends to walk with her. When some of them found out she didn't see well they were still her friends but one of them was upset for a while because she had not trusted her enough to be upfront from the beginning. She said her blindness didn't matter to her but that if they were close buds like she said she was she would have let her in on something like that.
Learn to be your own advocate. When you stand up for yourself and say, "I need this to see this" and tell people what you CAN do you will ultimately help your self and your friends. Your teachers need to know about your vision (--and most of them know within the first week of school how well you can see from just watching you) so that they can make sure you have modifications provided for you in the classroom. Modifications are special changes--not special privileges--that are made for your vision so that you can do the same things that the other kids are doing in her class. You may need a large print version of your textbooks or your teacher my need to make sure your exams are in a larger font. Sometimes people can see well enough to walk around but they still may need to learn Braille or get books on tape. If you need it don't be ashamed to use it!
To help with the way you feel about yourself and your vision, you may wish to locate someone who has been through the same things. You can find a visually impaired mentor by joining organizations like the National Federation of the Blind and the American Federation of the Blind. There are local chapters all over the country and in your community there may even be other organizations for kids.
Bottom line: You don't have to feel ashamed or alone--and please, feel free to come to this board to express yourself or read what another student has posted. As this forum grows, I hope that there will be many other people with visual impairments who will come here and give you hope and encouragement as well.
In the meantime, STAY BLESSED!
You guys are special and different. That doesn't have to be a negative thing.
What concerns me is that very often, my kids with low vision--kids who can see but are legally blind have more of a problem with being different from sighted peers--especially at school. Well, you are different. If you think the other kids don't notice or that you can hide it from them for your entire school career, you're only fooling yourself. They already know... and guess what? Most of them don't really care.
Yeah, you're going to get some kid who doesn't feel good about him/herself who's going to mess with you. But that doesn't mean you should allow them to make you feel bad about yourself. You hold your head up high and don't let ignorance make you act ignorant in return. The people who count, your close buds and family, are the only ones who matter. They are not thinking any less of you because of your vision. There are plenty of friends to meet as well who won't let your vision be a hinderance to becoming your friend.
When you pretend to be someone you are not--someone who can see 20/20 when you actually see 20/400 do you know what it looks like? I've seen it before kids. Let me tell you that it looks crazy! I've seen kids who need glasses trying to walk around without them and they make all kinds of visual mistakes because they want to look "cool" without their glasses. Their peers see this and think at first, "He's nuts!" instead of "He doesn't see well." OK, think about it: What's worse--looking blind or looking crazy?
I realize there are some conditions where glasses do no good but if you're blessed enough to be able to have your vision corrected somewhat, you really oughta where 'em!
Be upfront about your vision and not ashamed because it can help you rather than harn you. Honesty really is the best policy.
I know of another girl who walked out in front of traffic because she didn't want her friends to know that she couldn't see far enough to see oncoming cars. She could have been killed trying to pretend to be a normal sighted person for appearances sake. She really needed a cane for ID purposes of the drivers, too, and she could have told her friends to walk with her. When some of them found out she didn't see well they were still her friends but one of them was upset for a while because she had not trusted her enough to be upfront from the beginning. She said her blindness didn't matter to her but that if they were close buds like she said she was she would have let her in on something like that.
Learn to be your own advocate. When you stand up for yourself and say, "I need this to see this" and tell people what you CAN do you will ultimately help your self and your friends. Your teachers need to know about your vision (--and most of them know within the first week of school how well you can see from just watching you) so that they can make sure you have modifications provided for you in the classroom. Modifications are special changes--not special privileges--that are made for your vision so that you can do the same things that the other kids are doing in her class. You may need a large print version of your textbooks or your teacher my need to make sure your exams are in a larger font. Sometimes people can see well enough to walk around but they still may need to learn Braille or get books on tape. If you need it don't be ashamed to use it!
To help with the way you feel about yourself and your vision, you may wish to locate someone who has been through the same things. You can find a visually impaired mentor by joining organizations like the National Federation of the Blind and the American Federation of the Blind. There are local chapters all over the country and in your community there may even be other organizations for kids.
Bottom line: You don't have to feel ashamed or alone--and please, feel free to come to this board to express yourself or read what another student has posted. As this forum grows, I hope that there will be many other people with visual impairments who will come here and give you hope and encouragement as well.
In the meantime, STAY BLESSED!