Learning Without Sight Part III

I think out of all the self-help things I had to learn, brushing my teeth had to be the most challenging. I admit I hated to get dressed and undressed when I first started learning, but in time I got better at it and didn’t mind as much. Especially when I had the extra incentive of getting to swim longer the faster I got. But brushing my teeth….YUK! I couldn’t get the motion down and I couldn’t squeeze the toothpaste tube. Mom, how did I finally master this task?

MOM: I brushed Nicki’s teeth until she was in the first grade. We worked on it each day, using the hand-over-hand method. But her hands just would not cooperate, and she ended up swallowing most of the toothpaste and making herself sick. And her hands weren’t strong enough to squeeze the toothpaste tube, so I always had to load the paste on the brush for her.

In the first grade, her physical therapist ordered her a device that was supposed to help with the toothpaste tube. You loaded the tube into the device and pushed down on a handle, which squirted the paste out. Then, we had to work on getting the brush under the opening so the toothpaste went onto the brush and not out onto the counter. We tried and tried, but to no avail. Nicki just could not manage the brush and the tube and everything at once. So…I gave up and bought her a Sonic Care. This particular one has a place for the paste in the handle and you just push a button on the front to load the brush with paste. Nicki can just feel of the brush head to feel it coming out and stop pushing the button when it gets as full as she wants. That was a life saver!!

NICKI: Yes, and I still use it. We just replace the brush head every 3 to 6 months and buy toothpaste refills. I am very glad they make those!

Another thing I had problems with, and still do, is washing my hair. We have a spray nozzle on the tub, but I always seem to get it pointed in the wrong direction. I spray myself in the eye, spray the bathroom, and everywhere. I can’t balance enough to lean over into the tub and wash my hair under the faucet, and I can’t stand independently in the shower. I’m not tall enough to use the kitchen sink and can’t balance well enough to use a step stool. Mom usually ends up washing it for me, but I have to figure out a way to do it myself. I wish I would grow a little taller! But meanwhile, we are going to try to use a bath chair so I can sit under the shower and wash it. I don’t particularly like the idea, but if that is the only way I can do it independently, I guess it will have to do.
 
I never had a problem learning to read, but I did have trouble using the Braille writer. It is a device that looks a lot like an old fashioned typewriter, but with only six keys, a space bar, and two keys for going forward and backward. You load Braille paper, which is thicker than normal paper, into it just like a typewriter, set your margins, and away you go. But the keys are manual, not electric, so they are pretty difficult to push down on. I don’t recall how I was finally able to use it, but maybe mom remembers.

MOM: It is even difficult for me to push down on the Braille writer keys. We had to do exercises to strengthen our fingers. One exercise is where you put all your fingers on a table and try to raise one at a time without lifting the others. For a long time, I had to hold Nicki’s fingers down as she raised one, then another. She got very discouraged at one point and thought she would never be able to do it. But, day by day, she got stronger and stronger. We also worked with playdoh and silly putty to strengthen her hands. Manipulating the dough is very good exercise, and making shapes is fun too. We even made some homemade dough out of a floury paste. By the time Nicki’s hands were strong enough to use the Braille writer; she knew all her letters and could go to town!

NICKI: Learning to read was very easy for me. Mom and I would use flash cards with Braille letters on them. She would hand me one, and I would identify it. It was just a matter of repetition. And after I learned to read, I couldn’t stop. I began reading everything I could find. I just couldn’t get enough…and still can’t.

MOM: When Nicki was in second grade, her teachers called me in for a conference. I didn’t know what had happened! Nicki was always well behaved and I couldn’t imagine why I was being called in. When I arrived, they told me that Nicki had devoured all the age appropriate books in the library and they didn’t know what to do next since the older books might be inappropriate. I told them I wanted her to continue to read, and that she knew to disregard any bad words, and she already had questioned me about sex, so that wasn’t an issue. Nicki started reading 8th grade books when she was 6, so I wasn’t surprised that she had gone through the available stock at school. Her teachers continued to challenge her and by the time she went to 5th grade, she was reading on a post high school level. This can be a blessing and a curse. I am so happy that she is smart and caught on so quickly, however talking like an adult in elementary school doesn’t get you many friends. And when you are so advanced, school becomes boring. There just doesn’t seem to be a happy medium.

NICKI: I must admit I have had trouble making friends through the years, partly due to my disabilities because we have trouble finding common ground, and partly because I have always preferred the company of adults rather than kids my own age. Perhaps that comes from being an only child, or maybe not….I’m not sure. I do hope that it gets easier; everyone needs friends!