Valentine’s Day. As an elementary student I both loved and hated it. I loved the thought of giving special cards to my classmates, especially those I considered friends. I loved the thought of getting cards, especially ones from my friends. :) I hated the fact that I needed someone else to help sort and sign the cards for my classmates in order for them to be able to read them. I hated asking my sister or cousin or an adult to read aloud the Valentines that I received. By the time I was a teenager, my attitude toward Valentine’s Day was similar to Ebenezer Scrooge’s attitude toward Christmas— “Bah, humbug!” As an adult with children of my own, I get a kick out of listening to them sort their cards. This one goes to this friend, and that one goes to that friend. Then, when they come home with Valentines from their friends from church or youth group, I love to hear them tell me, “Soandso gave me this one, and so-and-so put this in their Valentine.”
Hello. S. J. Wells here with you today. I suppose some of my feelings toward the parties in public school were simply what happens when growing up, but the giving and receiving of print cards is not geared toward those with sight loss. So, today, we’re going to talk some about ways teachers, parents and friends can make Valentine’s Day a little more friendly for students of all ages.
- Search the internet for brille cards. If you have a way to make your own, even better.
- If braille cards are out of the question, make sure they are tactal. Glitter, ffelt, raised pictures, anything easy to touch.
- Either use scented markers or let your child use them. All kids, and some adults, too enjoy scents.
- Musical cards. You can buy them anywhere. Some you can even record your own voice in them. A few years ago, my husband bought me a musical card, and I loved it.
- Instead of cards, try candy, flowers or balloons.
- And, when all other ideas fail, tell your friend or special Valentine, “Happy Valntine’s Day.”
Trying to fit in is something all kids struggle with. Disabilities often make it that much more difficult. The enability to see colors makes it difficult to match clothes. Printed labels, cards, homework, signs, mail, all of these can add up to unnecessary stress. Thankfully, though, we live in the age of technology and a lot of these stresses can be avoided. Here are some ideas to look up online.
- Braille clothing labels. You can pin or sew them onto tags.
- Bar code readers. Yes, there are devices that will read a bar code. Omni bar code reader, Digit-Eyes, an app for iPhone and many more.
- Color identifiers.
- Money identifiers.
Many of these are simple apps that can be downloaded to an iDevice. Try Seeing AI, for instance. Google and see what would work best for you. One cool device is called, Pen Friend. Here is a link so you can check it out yourself. There is even a video.
Sometimes, there isn’t much we adults can do to ease those feelings of not belonging. Kids have to go through it and learn for themselves. But, I remember as a fifth grader, our school counselor suggested I read a book. It was called, “The Seeing Summer” by Jeannette Eyerly. You might find it on NLS BARD as a free listen for your student, but here is the link to it on Amazon.
Another book you can check out is “Can You Feel the Thunder” by Lynn McElfresh. The link to it is
Thank you for being with me today. Growing up is hard, and it can seem especially hard for someone dealing with vision loss. But, growing up is something we all must do, and we must learn how to live in a sighted world. I hope these suggestions will be of some help to you, and I hope you will come back to visit us in 2 weeks for our next edition of Interviews to Empower. The month of February, we will be interviewing the authors of “Ducking into UEB”. That’s right, Adkins and Wells will be interviewing each other. We’re going to have fun, and you won’t want to miss it. Mark your calendars for Feb. 22. Until then, keep on keeping on and don’t forget to read that special Valentine meant just for you—the Holy Bible.
Blessings. <3
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