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From: Gary.Petraccaro@f90.n129.z1.fidonet.org (Gary Petraccaro)
Newsgroups: misc.handicap
Subject: Re: Setting the record straight
Message-ID: <19152@bunker.isc-br.com>
Date: 4 May 91 04:07:49 GMT
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[This is from the Blink Talk Conference]

Margo,

     Yep.  If you can't get any speed with print, go to braille.  No
question.  On the other hand, and bear in mind that I'm not sure if this is
even possible, if a person can use a hand-help magnification device to read
normally obtainable print, then stick with it.  Let me be as clear as I can
be, and then I'll shut up.  Say I can use a device which will let me carry
it around and read regular sized print at a reasonable clip, whatever a
good braille reader can read braille at, in that case, I stick with print.
If there's no such device available, and it's a question of aggravation and
headache, I go to braille.  I believe that there's more braille stuff
around than large print.  Until the publishers get it into their heads that
our aging population will mean more bucks for them with large print
versions of books available, I suspect that will continue to be the case.
Now, everything I've said in the first part takes for granted that the
person has a reasonably stable condition which, for what it's worth, I
define as something that will last for better than 5 years.  I figure that
if a condition deteriorates slower than that, the kid will resist switching
back and forth.  Probably if the time scale goes faster, the kid can be
gotten around.  Kids can normally be taught stuff and they're so
retentative when young that they will remember in spite of themselves.
Even a retentative kid will forget over time, though, and I guess that the
time period would be 5 years--might be shorter or longer.  Anyhow, anything
you have to do twice, you should put off.  There are enough tactile games
you can use to keep people aware of their senses until you need to do
something more.  How's that?

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