Return-Path: <nifl-womenlit@literacy.nifl.gov> Received: from literacy (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by literacy.nifl.gov (8.10.2/8.10.2) with SMTP id hA6JBlV28592; Thu, 6 Nov 2003 14:11:47 -0500 (EST) Date: Thu, 6 Nov 2003 14:11:47 -0500 (EST) Message-Id: <000001c3a496$297cf2d0$1a01a8c0@cccchs.org> Errors-To: alcrsb@langate.gsu.edu Reply-To: nifl-womenlit@literacy.nifl.gov Originator: nifl-womenlit@literacy.nifl.gov Sender: nifl-womenlit@literacy.nifl.gov Precedence: bulk From: "Sylvan Rainwater" <sylvan@cccchs.org> To: Multiple recipients of list <nifl-womenlit@literacy.nifl.gov> Subject: [NIFL-WOMENLIT:2784] RE: challenges in addition to low literacy X-Listprocessor-Version: 6.0c -- ListProcessor by Anastasios Kotsikonas Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook, Build 10.0.4510 Content-Type: text/plain; Status: O Content-Length: 4433 Lines: 87 Interesting! We haven't really served people who have severe vision problems or severe learning disabilities. We do have parents who turn out to have vision problems, and struggle to find resources to get them glasses. That's quite enough of a challenge, actually! But it often shows up when they begin using computers, and also it can show up when they are trying to read the blackboard. When they have to come up to the front of the room and stand next to the blackboard in order to write down what they see then, it's a red flag to have them get their vision checked. Occasionally they find problems when they go to get a driver's permit. These kinds of vision problems are fairly common, and we have to work with at least 3-4 students every year. As for learning disabilities, we've had some of those over the years, not formally diagnosed, but I can see them. We don't have really good ways to deal with those either, but we try to be patient and provide a lot of different ways for them to access learning. What they really need, usually, is one-on-one tutoring, and maybe a different environment, and we can't really provide a lot of that. As for very low literacy, yes, we are finding more very low literacy people every year. This year we have someone who never went to school, and a couple more who didn't complete first grade. We've had a few people with some physical disabilities, and of course we do our best to accommodate them. We are in rented space (a church), which is somewhat accessible, but are limited in what we can do ourselves to change the space. We would work with the church if needed if it came up. As for deaf people, we have no facilities for them at all (i.e., interpreters). There are some deaf parents in Head Start, and they struggle because the Mom's literacy level is very low in English, and also her sign language is not ASL but learned in another country. Multiple layers of translation/ interpretation. Most of our students are female. It seems like a big issue for many of them is having an older / more powerful (read, richer, has a job, has citizenship or at least legal status) male that they are married to or tied to in some way. That creates all sorts of difficulties in terms of their ability even to think of themselves as a real person, who has the right to make goals and take steps to achieve them. On the other hand, women in general are very strong -- and they have the ability to establish relationships with others and find networks to get needs met. Many of them have low expectations, which can sometimes be a plus in terms of surviving horrendous situations. ------- Sylvan Rainwater mailto:sylvan@cccchs.org Program Managaer Family Literacy Clackamas Co. Children's Commission / Head Start Oregon City, OR USA -----Original Message----- From: nifl-womenlit@nifl.gov [mailto:nifl-womenlit@nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Daphne Greenberg Sent: Wednesday, November 05, 2003 1:35 PM Last Friday, I attended a conference on bridging the gap between organizations that work with individuals who have vision difficulties and organizations that work with individuals who have literacy difficulties. All of my work has been with sighted individuals and although I have realized it before, it really reinforced my realization that in literacy we often ignore the needs of our blind and deaf constituents. I am wondering if any of you would like to respond to any of the following questions: 1. How accessible is your program to individuals who need physical accomodations (railing in bathrooms, ramps instead of stairs, etc)? Have any of you had to turn down a learner because your program was not accessible enough? 2. Do any of you have literacy programs for blind/deaf learners? 3. Have any of you worked with individuals who are physically/sensory challenged, female, and have low literacy skills? What do those of us who are not challenged in those ways need to know/think about? 4. What strengths do individuals with physical/sensory challenges bring to the classroom? 5. What is unique to females who have low literacy skills and are physically/sensory challenged compared to males? 6. Anything else????????? Thanks-I look forward to the discussion! Daphne Greenberg Associate Director Center for the Study of Adult Literacy MSC 6A0360 Georgia State University 33 Gilmer Street SE Unit 6 Atlanta, GA 30303-3086 phone: 404-651-0127 fax:404-651-4901 dgreenberg@gsu.edu
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