On March 13th one of our Vision Rehabilitation Therapists was invited to Finn Academy in Elmira, NY to speak to the 4th grade classes about blindness and low vision. The “scholars” as the students are called, were reading the children’s novel, “Wonder” by R. J. Palacio. It is a story about August, a child who has facial deformities and has been on home instruction until the 5th grade when he starts attending public school. His journey through school is a learning experience for both August and his peers. August learned that it is ok to be different because we all are. His peers learned that a physical disability does not mean what they think it means and being different is ok too. They learned how to be kind to one another and accept each other just the way they are.
Mrs. Ronda Girardi, a certified vision rehabilitation therapist at AVRE, shared her own experience with blindness and low vision. She also showed scholars how different pieces of technology such as a talking timer, magnification devices, color identifier are, and cell phone apps used in day-to-day life to assist those with low vision or no vision.
The scholars discussed ways to be the most helpful to someone with vision loss. Such as, never touch a person who cannot see because you will startle them; as you approach the person, speak to him/her so that he/she knows you are approaching to see if he/she needs assistance; for guiding, always have the person take the elbow because you never pull or lead the person.
Mrs. Girardi began discussing Louis Braille and the code he created to assist people who cannot see to be able to read with their fingertips, instead of having to listen to someone read the material.
On June 8th the 4th graders participated in a farmer’s market to raise money for an important cause and these scholars chose to donate the money to AVRE to help people be able to gain the tools they need to find and maintain independence. Mrs. Girardi was invited to go to each of the classes to accept the donation and to thank them for their generosity and thoughtfulness in wanting to make a difference in the lives of others, especially those Mrs. Girardi works with every day. After explanation, the scholars readily agreed that the money should be used for a special youth socialization group that AVRE runs to help young people with vision loss experience various activities that they often do not experience due to their vision loss.
As a final thank you, Mrs. Girardi created each student and teacher’s name in braille. The scholars were very eager to learn and to help. School Counselor Jean Coons was on hand with Mrs. Zelaya’s scholars while the kids studied a braille chart to decode the name tag and to then give it to the correct classmate. “All of the kids were so engaged! They were working hard to figure out the spelling of the name on their card, and they had some real insight into the fact, in the moment, they were depending on using their sight to help them to figure out whose name tag they had and give it to them!”
Further, “Mrs. Girardi has now found a home at Finn and each year she’ll be invited to speak with the 4th grade scholars when they read “Wonder” as part of their curriculum and part of their focus on learning about people who are different, but still the same in many ways.