Full Transcript
Jeff Thompson:
Welcome to Blind Abilities. I’m Jeff Thompson.
Speaker 2:
Okay, so State Services actually played a huge part in everything that I’m doing.
Speaker 3:
Don’t be afraid. Get out there. Meet people. Be friendly. Nobody is judging you.
Speaker 4:
Think big. Look at what do you love to do, what do you enjoy doing, and then, how can you turn that into getting paid?
Speaker 5:
I use my braille display. I use JAWS.
Speaker 6:
Put on your cape, grab your gladiator shield, and go get them, tiger.
Speaker 7:
Don’t limit yourself.
Jeff Thompson:
Career Expo 2019. Such a great opportunity for transition age students to meet up with professionals from a wide variety of professions. It was an opportunity for students transitioning from high school, to college, to the workplace, to ask questions from nearly 25 professionals. What is their job like? What tools they use? And to receive encouragement about the possibilities that they, too, can achieve their dreams, and get the career that they want.
Jeff Thompson:
Welcome to Blind Abilities. I’m at the Career Expo, and I’m with Beth McGarr, and she’s a TBVI, and that’s a teacher of the blind and visually impaired. How you doing?
Beth McGarr:
I’m good. How are you?
Jeff Thompson:
Good. You got quite the stuff to mess around with on your table here.
Beth McGarr:
I do. I have quite the spread.
Jeff Thompson:
So, what is this right in front of me?
Beth McGarr:
Oh, this is a swing cell. So this is something that I use with students who are just learning braille. And it’s kind of a representation of the braille cell. It’s a wooden block with pegs in it. And so, it has the dots, one, two, three, four, five, six. You can take the pegs out and redistribute them according to whatever character you’re making. And then the cell, when it’s, I guess, you could say it’s more vertical, like the regular braille cell. So this is how you read. But then you can open it up. And then, you can Velcro it together, and now, it looks like how you would use it when you are writing braille on a braille writer.
Beth McGarr:
My students who are learning can take this and go, “Hey. This is how I make a P. I can open it up, and then I can look at it, and write it on the braille writer, too.”
Jeff Thompson:
Oh, that makes sense, because that would be the keypad for the braille writer.
Beth McGarr:
Mm-hmm (affirmative). So it’s just a nice teaching tool for kids. They like to play with the pegs. I have a students who likes to use them and pretend that they’re Disney princesses, when she is done with all her work. So, just a multi-use tool.
Jeff Thompson:
Especially when people are just newly getting into braille.
Beth McGarr:
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Jeff Thompson:
So what else do you have here?
Beth McGarr:
I have some APH, American Printing House for the Blind Pop-A-Cells. They’re just little cards with …
Jeff Thompson:
Oh.
Beth McGarr:
A braille cell on them that you can pop in and out the dots.
Jeff Thompson:
And leave the ones that’ll spell the letter.
Beth McGarr:
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Jeff Thompson:
Or the contraction.
Beth McGarr:
Mm-hmm (affirmative). Yep. And these are pretty motivating for some kids who really like the sound. They’re super fun.
Jeff Thompson:
It’s like air bubbles.
Beth McGarr:
I know. And they enjoy playing with them. Sometimes I use them as a reward. We play games. We play matching games with them.
Jeff Thompson:
So what kind of sound is that when all the students are popping them things?
Beth McGarr:
Well, I only have one at a time, so if it’s just me and the student popping it, it’s kind of, you know, it’s super fun. I’m sure we get lots of weird looks from people walking up and down the hall.
Jeff Thompson:
So, what age group are you working with?
Beth McGarr:
I have birth through 21. Kids of all ages, and abilities.
Jeff Thompson:
Oh, I bet. I bet. So what’s it like for a student when they come to you for the first time, and you want to introduce them to braille? How do you sell them on the idea?
Beth McGarr:
Well, a lot of times it’s kind of knowing what their goals are, and knowing what motivates them. First, what I usually do is just kind of get to know the student, and find out more about them. What activities they enjoy. I usually spend a couple of my sessions with them playing, sharing ideas. If they’re an older student, I’ll spend time talking about their interests, trying to get to know them a little better. Because I feel like, you know, when you want to teach them something, it’s important to establish trust and mutual understanding before you start with braille.
Beth McGarr:
And then, depending on the student, you kind of pick an approach that fits their learning style. Whether they’re a more functional learner, or more academic learner. And then you start. With younger students, I’ll start with the alphabet, using different curriculum. With older students, sometimes we’ll do … Well, with all students, I work on tactile discrimination, making sure they can follow a line of dots, and start recognizing braille shapes. And then with kids with multiple disabilities, we play lots of games to try to improve finger dexterity and fine motor skills, before we even start with braille. Just to make sure they have all of the prerequisite skills. But then we do target words that are motivating to them to try to get them to enjoy it. We try to make it fun. Reading and writing, it’s schoolwork, so it’s not all fun. But we really do try to make it enjoyable in some way.
Jeff Thompson:
I didn’t know where I was going to go with braille, and then a girl wrote me a note, and I was in.
Beth McGarr:
Yep. That’s how I learned how to type, was chatting online. In the 1990s, when it was actually safe to chat to people online, I learned how to type on the computer that way, and my typing speed increased really quickly.
Jeff Thompson:
There you go. So Beth, what you’re saying is that there is just no one way of teaching all the students. You’ve got to teach to the individual.
Beth McGarr:
Absolutely. Each student, even if they have the same eye condition, can learn vastly differently. So it’s important to examine all of the information, and find out who they are, and how best they learn. And that’s why we call it an individualized education plan. We need to meet them where they need it the most. So that’s kind of how we look at it.
Jeff Thompson:
Yeah, I remember a few years back, there was a group of people that wanted to do a manual. Something that would … You could do a manual on how to teach students like, woodworking, in my situation. And I thought, I need a manual for every student.
Beth McGarr:
I know. Well, and you know, it’s nice sometimes to have guidelines for teachers to follow, to help them, especially for people who haven’t taught these things before. But you definitely can’t put together an entire manual, because every student is a little different, like you said.
Jeff Thompson:
One size doesn’t fit all.
Beth McGarr:
Right.
Jeff Thompson:
Well, there’s some news that just came out. Lego is now, in 2020, going to come out with some Lego blocks with braille on it.
Beth McGarr:
I saw that. I’m super excited. I want them to play with, and to share with my kids.
Jeff Thompson:
I think it’s great, because it’s just not to pick the colors, but it’s kind of … it’s a learning tool. We built that into it, and that’s really exciting.
Beth McGarr:
It is really exciting.
Jeff Thompson:
So Beth, in your journey, where did you get training from?
Beth McGarr:
Well, I received a training through my own teachers of the blind and visually impaired from when I was a child. And then, after college, my first round of college, because I did … My first degree is in music, before I became a special education teacher. I went to the Colorado Center for the Blind where I did a nine month … Well, it was more like six months, for me, but it was a six-month independent training program where I took braille, orientation and mobility, or travel, independent living, or home management, and woodworking, wood shop, and technology classes, through the NFB Training Center.
Jeff Thompson:
So even after going to college, that all helped you.
Beth McGarr:
Yes. Absolutely. Because I lived 10 minutes from my parents. And I love them, but they were down at my dorm every day, getting me groceries, and helping me wash my dishes. And so, for me, really, to be able to be independent, I needed to leave, and do that training program, in order to feel like I could really be out on my own, and doing things for myself, and relying on myself, and knowing that I could.
Jeff Thompson:
And that’s a residential training program where you are responsible for your laundry, your cleaning, your household. So it’s not just the skills and techniques that you’re learning in the curriculum, you’re also, after hours, you’re also learning, too.
Beth McGarr:
Correct.
Jeff Thompson:
What advice would you give to someone who’s transitioning from high school to college, and possibly, to the workplace?
Beth McGarr:
I would say, make sure that you are doing something that you enjoy. Think about what really makes you happy. But also make sure that you have the independent skills to go to college and have a career. So make sure that you are working on all of those pieces, so that you can be successful.
Jeff Thompson:
That sounds great. Skills and confidence. Well, thank you very much. And thank you for being here, for everyone, and sharing your advice, and knowledge, and all that other good stuff.
Beth McGarr:
You’re welcome. And thanks for stopping by.
Jeff Thompson:
Be sure to contact your State Services for the Blind, your [inaudible] rehab, and find out what they can do for you. Live, work, read, succeed. A big shout out goes out to Chee Chau for his beautiful music. And you can follow Chee Chau on Twitter @LCheeChau. Chee Chau. Chee Chau.
Jeff Thompson:
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[Music] [Transition noise] -When we share
-What we see
-Through each other’s eyes…
[Multiple voices overlapping, in unison, to form a single sentence]
…We can then begin to bridge the gap between the limited expectations, and the realities of Blind Abilities.
Jeff Thompson:
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