Announcer:
Welcome to the Nation's Blind Podcast presented by the National Federation of the Blind, the transformative membership and advocacy organization of Blind Americans. Live the life you want.
Melissa Riccobono:
Hello and welcome to the Nation's Blind Podcast. I am Melissa Riccobono, and oh my goodness, I'm a little nervous. I am flying solo today. Anil Lewis, my intrepid co-host could not be with us today and it's going to be hard, but we are going to need to soldier on without Anil this time around and he has soldiered on without me, but it's been a very long time since I've taken the helm without him.
So it's going to be okay though. It's going to be just fine. It is fall. Welcome to fall. Welcome to back to school. We're a couple months now into the school year, and school is definitely very cyclical. You have the beginning of the year, you have your holiday break at Thanksgiving, you have your holiday break around Christmas time, you have your spring break, and then you have summer, unless of course you're in a year round school, that makes everything different.
But for the most part it's very cyclical and fall certainly means a lot of back to school, a lot of new routines. And for some families, including my own, it means IEP meetings, individualized education program meetings for children who are blind, for children who have other disabilities, and those meetings can be very stressful.
They are meetings where a whole team sits around a table and talks about a child, talks about their strengths, talks about the things that they need to work on and tries to come to an agreement as far as how everyone on the team can work together, what accommodations they can give to the child to level the playing field so that that child can be successful both during the school day, during the school year and beyond.
And we're going to talk about that because I think sometimes that is the thing that school systems get, dare I say, the most wrong, where schools think about a lot about what's directly in front of them, but not at all or very little about what the child might need when they grow and when they're not this cute 4-year-old anymore, but a 14-year-old, what do things look like then?
What things can we put in place so that that child can continue to grow just like his or her peers, and can have the skills that are needed not only when they're four, but also so that they're ready for when they become older, thirteen or fourteen, especially if vision is going to change, especially if work demands are going to change. All of those types of things.
But I'm not here to talk to you alone, thank goodness, because I think you'd get very bored with just hearing me talk. And so we have two wonderful guests here. Both of them participated in the National Federation of the Blind IEP Advocacy Academy and guests, I'd love you to introduce yourselves and just talk a little bit about who you are and what made you interested in becoming advocates and why don't we start with Javier.
Javier Diaz:
Sure. So hi everyone. My name is Javier Diaz. I'm from Miami, Florida. As Melissa mentioned, I was part of the IEP Academy of the National Federation of the Blind for 2025. I got into the program based on my own experience in school as a blind person, I have retinitis pigmentosa, so early on of course, they focused on the good vision, quote unquote good vision that I had, and I didn't need any accommodations or anything to get by within the general education program.
So as Melissa was mentioning earlier, they focused on what was going on in the moment and not what would be happening down the line when I am done with school, which everybody knew given my diagnosis. So I never had an IEP, never received the training that would've equipped me to be a successful blind adult.
So I wanted to make sure that doesn't happen to anybody else. And given my experience as a system technology instructor as well, I thought those will lend itself well to not only providing technical assistance to parents of blind children, but also serve as a role model for them and the school district themselves of how we can look to position the child to be a successful adult once they finish with school.
Melissa Riccobono:
Fantastic. And just a human interest question. Javier, what was your favorite subject or subjects in school when you were going through school?
Javier Diaz:
So mine was definitely math.
Melissa Riccobono:
Oh, you're a math guy. Wow, (Javier and Melissa laugh) that was not mine. I'm on the other side. Though I do really understand and love statistics actually. It just makes sense to me. And I guess because it was introduced in college to me and was very practical because it was a psychology statistics class, so it really talked about research and things that actually made a lot of sense to me as a psychology major.
But my favorite was definitely on the English literature, reading and creative writing side and just writing in general. I always like to read and write and then of course choir, but I don't know if that really counts as a (Javier and Melissa laugh) school subject or not.
But I was really lucky to have a really, really good music department and have chorus every single day through high school, which is not what generally happens. So there you go. Alright, Katie, how about you? How did you get into this IEP advocacy work and tell us a little bit about yourself and your favorite subject in school.
Katie Filaski:
So my name's Katie Nicks. I got involved with IEP advocacy after experiencing firsthand what my daughter went through every day at school and how hard we had to fight to get her the services and the tools that she needed. The more I got involved with local blind communities in our state and even the NFB, I realized that my story wasn't all that unique.
I realized how common it is that these kids have to fight to get, as Melissa said, and even playing field with the rest of their peers. That really touched my heart and made me want to strive to make it better for these kids. We not only want to see them exceed now, but in their future too. My favorite subject, I'm going to go out of the box here too and say art (laughs).
Melissa Riccobono:
Oh, art is so important.
Katie Filaski:
It's not a core subject, but those I seem to struggle with a little more in school. So I'm a hairdresser now, so I get to play with hair and do art every day.
Melissa Riccobono:
That is awesome. Do you color people's hair? Do they tell you (laughs) that they want it colored and do you use your art color knowledge to help with that process?
Katie Filaski:
Definitely every day (laughs).
Melissa Riccobono:
Nice. Oh my gosh, that's amazing. Well, I love art. So you're more a musicish (laughs) artish person too. Javier, you can be the mathematical logical (laughs). Katie, and I will just lead with our hearts (laughs).
Javier Diaz:
I think they all go hand in hand.
Melissa Riccobono:
They do.
Javier Diaz:
And it actually kind of fits into what we're talking about today because while, like I said, they all go hand in hand to kind of provide that holistic education, our students kind of miss out on that sometimes as well, right? If not for the work that we do as advocates in the IEP process, because sometimes due to the low expectations out there, they might say, "Oh, well that blind kid or that blind child student can't do art or can't do this or the other." And we're here to say, well, of course they can. And part of the IEP process is making sure that they are receiving that holistic whole on par with their peers, education that they deserve and are entitled to.
Melissa Riccobono:
That is a perfect segue and we are going to talk much more about IEP advocacy. But first of all, we are going to pause for this message.
Message:
Walking Alone and Marching Together is a podcast series that brings to life the history of the National Federation of the Blind from 1940 to 1990 based on the comprehensive book of the same name. This podcast is designed to make the rich and complex story of our movement more accessible, engaging, and immediate. The book Walking Alone and Marching Together has been available in nearly every format imaginable, but its sheer size and depth can make it daunting to approach.
That's why we're bringing it to you in a multi episode podcast, breaking it down into manageable, compelling chapters that allow you to experience the history in a way that fits into your life. Instead of simply looking back on events that happened decades ago, our goal is to immerse you in the times, challenges and triumphs of the organized blind movement as they unfolded. Episodes are coming out fall of 2025. Subscribe and follow now. National Federation of the Blind, live the life you want.
Melissa Riccobono:
Alright, welcome back. So we've kind of talked a little bit about why both of you decided to become IEP advocates, and we've kind of touched on this as well, but I'd love to hear from both of you. Do you have anything else to share about why IEP advocacy is so important? Katie, why don't you start this one out?
Katie Filaski:
I believe IEP advocacy is so important because it ensures students don't get left behind. Without strong advocacy, schools often overlook what blind and low vision students truly need. A big part of that challenge is that many educators and administrators are simply uneducated about blindness and low vision, and that's really what I want to be able to do is go into these schools and educate their teachers and their staff about what these kids can do and how that looks for their students.
Melissa Riccobono:
Yeah, absolutely. So true. Javier, how about you? Anything else to share or to add?
Javier Diaz:
Yeah, to add on what Katie was saying, parents just don't know what they don't know and they can be the most prepared, most involved parents, but when they step into that room, especially if it's their first time in an IEP meeting, these are the quote unquote educational professionals and unfortunately with the amount of education they have, a lot of times, like Katie said, they lack the knowledge around blindness and low vision.
So they don't know what might be best for that blind student, and it's easy for them to push upon the parents that, "Hey, forget about what you read or however prepared you might think you are, this is the way it goes." And it's easy for the parents to then kind of fold to their will because they just don't know. They don't know the regulations that might be there to back them up on particular things, etc, and what they should receive. So that is definitely an important part of, I believe, of the IEP advocacy work that we do.
Melissa Riccobono:
That is so well said. And let me say as a parent, it is so different as a parent. So a little bit about my story. I had an IEP growing up because I was born blind and I was at my IEP meetings from the time I was pretty little. That was just part of it. My parents wanted me to know what was going on and what was being talked about since I was being talked about.
And so that was just something that I attended all the way along. And I started learning to advocate for my own needs, for my needs with my teachers and things because I knew I wanted to go to college and that was really important. For me it was pretty easy. I was totally blind. There was no print that was going to be big enough for me to see. So there was really no question. I needed to learn Braille, I needed to learn to walk with a cane.
I needed access technology on my computer, bing, bing, bing. Those were the things that needed to happen. Then I went to college, became a school counselor, so sat at IEP tables for students that I was counseling, and then I started advocating also for the National Federation of the Blind. And then I became a parent.
And even though my first child wasn't blind, it really did make me understand a lot more about what parents were going through because I think until you are a parent, you can understand to a certain extent what it's like to be a parent, but there's a lot of emotion that comes once you have that first child and they really steal your heart and your heart is basically walking around outside of your body. And so that changed me as an advocate. And then of course my husband and I had two blind kids, but they were blind in a different way than I'm blind.
They both have usable vision. So what was their future going to look like? What were their IEPs going to look like? What did I and didn't I know as far as what they should have or shouldn't have or what the school should or shouldn't do? And I mean, I know a lot about IEPs. It's very hard to advocate for my own children, and I have made tons and tons of mistakes. And the biggest thing I think too is that schools not only they look toward the future, but they also often will say "They're doing just fine. They're getting Bs or Cs.
They're doing just fine. They're reading large print at 25 words a minute. That's fine for a person who has their visual condition. They don't really need to learn Braille. That's fine. They're really good listeners."
And what I always want to say and want to tell families is maybe it is just fine, but how much better could it be if the students have different tools and their own, if they have other different opportunities, and again, a broader toolbox, not just that they're doing fine, but what can we do to help them excel because blind kids can excel just like sighted kids can.
So Katie, I know that you've had experiences advocating for different people along with your daughter. Do you want to talk a little bit about what it's like, what your experiences as an advocate have been like and maybe share a time when you felt really successful with a student or maybe when you were really frustrated with a school and had a lot of pushback to deal with?
Katie Filaski:
So I'm going to kind of piggyback off of what you said a little bit, Melissa, just so everyone here knows, my daughter is just right over that threshold of legally blind. So we have struggled getting her Braille. They seem to think that blowing big letters up on a piece of paper is sufficient for her. I think a lot of schools misunderstand the concept of having some vision and still being a Braille reader.
And I think that it's important for parents to know that it's okay to push back a little bit on that. We want these kids to be long-term literate, okay? We want them to have literacy just as any other child would. I do want to mention too that the NRMA, National Reading Media Assessment has just about saved my daughter's educational career. So that's really important for parents to ask for that evaluation.
If you guys ever are in a position where the school isn't wanting to give you the type of literacy that your child needs, as far as experiences as advocacy goes, it's been really eye opening and empowering to work with other families. But I've also experienced major pushback and obstacles whenever it comes to my own daughter's IEP.
I will say the most impactful moment I think that I've had is sitting in on another child's IEP, me and the mom advocating on behalf of the child. We were able to double that child's real time every week. Watching that unfold in the IEP meeting and having the team understand why she needs that ample amount of time was really good and nice to see you finally feel like you have kind that breakthrough moment when you've struggled with your own child's IEP for so long. I will say some of the challenges that I've had though is really with my daughter's IEP.
As parents, I think it's easy for us to get frustrated whenever the team is not hearing your concerns and not understanding it from your point of view. And it's easy for emotions to take over. After going through the IEP Advocacy Academy, I have realized that I need to take a step back and try not to let my emotions take over whenever I'm in the room, which is very hard to do as a parent, especially whenever your child is not getting what she needs.
Melissa Riccobono:
Well, yeah.
Katie Filaski:
I have done a lot better being collaborative and educating the team versus getting frustrated with the team. So we're getting there (laughs).
Melissa Riccobono:
Well, that's really good. And finding that balance is really hard, particularly as a parent. And I mean, I think that's been my struggle as well when I'm supposed to be this advocate who's helping other families. So the first thing that I often would think of is I've got this, I don't need, there's only certain number of advocates. So many people need advocates. So many people need help, which is why the NFB decided to start the IEP Advocacy Academy in the first place.
And so I got this, I don't need an advocate. And that's really the wrong way to think because the reason that it's important to have an advocate is exactly for the reasons that Katie was saying. Number one, I don't have all the answers.
Number two, if the advocate can sort of be the person in the room that's sort of that bad cop or maybe that can just say things in a little bit of a different way or take that emotion out of it, that can be really helpful.
But good for you for getting Braille for a kid double the Braille. That is definitely a huge, huge win. That must've felt really good. Save that one. You should have a little jar of wins. And when you're feeling really frustrated, you should just pull out a little piece of paper that says, "I got double the Braille," or "I was able to get better computer training" or whatever it is, because you're going to have some failures too.
So you got to always remember those successes. Javier, I know you're a little bit newer maybe at this IEP advocacy thing, but you were sharing that you do now have a family that you're starting to work with. So how has that been going so far? What's that experience been like?
Javier Diaz:
It's been great. And to follow up on what you were just saying about not having all the answers and how I mentioned about earlier why the work we do is so important that the parents sometimes don't know what they don't know. And the family that I'm working with currently, they actually do know a lot. We actually met them at the National Convention of the National Federation of the Blind in New Orleans this year.
They attended some of the National Organization of Parents of Blind Children's sessions, including our IEP sessions where we were all introduced as advocates and a couple of other, we did a mock IEP meeting as well. They were there. And when they came in contact with me later on to formalize our relationship for me to work with them because they're here from my home state of Florida, they had a whole list of questions ready to go where I was kind of taken aback like, wow, they really know what's going on.
And again, they were there at convention, but this is the only blind student they have amongst their kids. He's going into kindergarten now, so it's not like they've been at it for years. And again, they kind of blew me away with their list of questions that were addressing specific points of the IEP and specific subject areas or the assistive technology, the orientation and mobility, specific blindness skills that we all know are needed for that child to be successful. And they still needed to reach out. And I was still able to provide them with the value of being, again, to what you were talking about earlier, Melissa, just a little while ago, of being that objective voice, right?
Because they definitely did their homework. They definitely know their kid, but I was able to come in and kind of fill in the gaps for them of like, "Okay, you guys want this for your kid, your kiddo, the school is saying this, well, what's missing?"
And kind of being that fourth leg to the stool to kind of fill in any gaps that were missing and go back and review their last IEP. And again, kind of pointing out things that they might've missed, was totally worthwhile for me. And in there, I know we're going to get to some of the challenges, while I was able to provide that to them, we're still working and already this being the first family I'm working with officially, I can see the challenges that I've heard other parents mentioned, like Katie.
School started here in Florida in August, middle of August, and they've been trying to get their meeting scheduled and yet to be scheduled. We had a tentative date for 13th of October, that's for the 10th rather. And now that's being pushed back another week to October 17th.
And from the first week of school, mom was emailing me, letting me know that, hey, they're already providing work or homework that was inaccessible for her kiddo. So there's definitely challenges there. And just kind of staying there with them and helping them support not only in the IEP part of it, the official part of it, but also given my experience as a blind person helping wherever I could there, has also been worthwhile to me.
Melissa Riccobono:
Wow. Yeah, absolutely. Sometimes I joke because I have some other health issues besides blindness, and once you've had health issues yourself or you've been with other people that have any type of health issues, I always joke about the speed of medical, which is very, very slow and kind of bureaucratic. And one doctor tells you one thing and then another person tells you another, and then it just crawls.
And I think there's also the speed of school and the speed of IEP, and they can also be equally as slow and equally as frustrating as the speed of medical because not all districts are as prepared, as staffed, as ready to kind of leap in and schedule meetings. And of course, it is a team too, so you need to have the people on the team be able to get together. But that can be definitely, definitely frustrating, particularly if as you're seeing with this mom and this family, they're having some issues before the meeting is even happening.
So anyway, I definitely feel your pain there. And I would say too, that as you're talking about the IEP and that type of thing, what a great thing it is that you are coming in when this kid is in kindergarten. Unfortunately, and I'm sure we'll talk about this a little bit later, but sometimes by the time I'm asked to advocate, the relationship between the team and the parents and the school is just so fractured because of all different things that have happened over years that there's really not a lot that I can salvage as an advocate because the parents are just done, the school's kind of done, and there's just not a relationship there.
But you coming in so early, what a gift for that family to be able to come in and try to get this right when this student is just in kindergarten. That is wonderful. So Katie, you've been doing this a little bit longer. How have you grown as an advocate, do you think?
Katie Filaski:
I think I've grown in a way of being able to be more collaborative and try to get more with honey than lemons. I know that I was definitely with my own daughter's IEP to a point where I had gotten so frustrated that I had shut down and the team had shut down, and so many things had happened over the course of years. So it was funny that you brought that up, Melissa.
So it is, after so many things happened and so many things go wrong and your child is the one that's left suffering with it, it can be a lot to go into those meetings and have hard conversations with that team and still try to get what your child needs while being collaborative. I think over time I've gotten to a point where I feel like I can be that person.
I can educate and be collaborative and get them to understand things based on data and not just try to tell them how to do it. I think that that's a way that I've grown a lot. Also, I try to just celebrate small wins, like you said. Sometimes in the midst of everything, you try to go in there and change so many things at one time, those one or two things that you changed are big steps. So I try to stay focused on that as well.
Melissa Riccobono:
Oh, that's such a good point. You might not always, it's like negotiation, right? You go in there asking for the moon and the stars, and then you might only get a half moon and maybe one star, but that's still a win. So I mean, I have talked to parents a lot, and even when I am going through and my husband and I are talking about our own daughters' IEPs, it's very much, okay, what are the things that are non-negotiable that these are the hills, for lack of a better expression, these are the hills we're willing to die on. These are the things that we are not going to back down.
We're going to be reasonable to a certain extent, and we're going to try to come to some kind of compromise. But if they say, no, we're not doing this or we're not doing any part of this, then there's going to be something else that's going to happen.
And then what are things that are still really important, but we're maybe willing to compromise on a little bit more because maybe we can get them in other ways for our girls. And so yeah, that's a really good point. This has been great.
And Javier, you haven't done this as long as Katie has, but I'm sure you still have a lot of advice. So what is your advice for parents of blind children when they're developing an IEP for their child? What types of things should they think about, and do you think that having an advocate by their side is a good idea? I assume you do (laughs).
Javier Diaz:
Most definitely, because that's the thing, right? Our parents should only have to worry about being parents. And I would say to them, to those parents out there, don't feel like you have to know it all. Don't put that pressure on yourself. The National Federation of the Blind, we're here. That's what this program is all about, is to serve as an advocate for that student and definitely go in with the assistance of an advocate wherever possible.
Again, that'll allow you to kind of step back, focus on your part as a parent, the part that you're an expert on. Like you said, Melissa, sometimes the advocate might have to be quote unquote bad cop or again, just providing the knowledge that the parent isn't aware of what their blind student might need as a blind person. And then also too, to kind of go in with an open mind, as Katie was mentioning as well with her own IEPs.
Parents want to fight for their kids, no if and buts are bought it. But as Katie said, sometimes you need a little bit more honey than lemon and going in with an open mind ready to be collaborative, but at the same time, you got to have the negotiation in your back pocket. You got to kind of like you said, Melissa, know what's the line, and definitely don't get pushed off that line and know that that's what the advocate is also there as well to do is to help you hold the line, so to speak.
Melissa Riccobono:
Definitely. Katie, how about you? What advice do you have for parents?
Katie Filaski:
My probably biggest piece of advice is I'm going to say put everything in writing. If it's not in writing, it didn't happen. If it's not in the IEP in writing, then it's not going to happen in the classroom. A lot of times whenever you're in these IEP meetings and they're like, Oh yeah, we're already doing that." Okay, we want it in writing because what happens next year when the child moves on and the teacher's not doing that, and it's not in the IEP.
So that's one of the big things is always keep everything in writing, know your child's rights. You want to have a leg to stand on and know what you can and can ask for. And like Javier said, where that line is, we want to be able to be really informed and prepared whenever we go into these meetings, even with an advocate, I am definitely one that the more knowledge I know about these IEPs, the more I feel like I am able to voice my concerns to the team and know what I can and can't ask for.
But definitely collaborate and educate and make literacy a priority. At the end of the day, that's what 95% of us are fighting for is literacy for our children, O&M for our children, assistive technology. We want to make sure that they're looking at the whole picture long term and not just what is happening now.
Melissa Riccobono:
Very, very well said. And I guess the only thing that I would add is just making sure that you also have as a parent, blind adults, so that your child knows what's possible in their future, especially if they want to be a teacher or a counselor or a lawyer or an engineer. Having somebody that's blind that's already doing that job, that is huge. And you as a parent, sometimes the very first blind person you ever meet really is your child.
And so what do you know about blindness? Well, I mean, you know what you want for your child, which is you really want your child to be able to be a successful member of society who contributes. But then the unknowns creep in and the medical model creeps in.
And as President Riccobono would say, the industrial vision industrial complex kicks in, which means basically that society tends to think the more vision someone has automatically, the more successful they're going to be, the less they have, the less likely they're going to be successful, the more things that they're going to be delayed in just because they're blind and it gets really easy to hear those messages and hear the "Well, she's doing great for somebody who's blind" and really having other blind adults or other people who have been surrounded by blind adults and who have been trained as advocates say, is this really true?
Is this really because of blindness or is this a skill that this child is struggling with for some other reason? I mean, that's a whole other part of it, right? Not everybody's just blind. Many people have other disabilities, and sometimes those go undiagnosed, particularly learning disabilities can go undiagnosed because everything is blamed on blindness. And so it's really, really tough.
But making sure you have other blind adults, both for your child and for yourself. So you could ask those questions so you could really see what's possible. And that's really where the National Federation of the Blind comes in. Javier talked about our national convention that happens every year in July, and our National Organization of Parents of Blind Children has a bunch of workshops just for parents. We always have IEP sessions the last few years because of the IEP Academy, we've had great advocates who have been a part of that workshop cycle and who have done mock IEP meetings and who have met, just like Javier said, with families who need some IEP help.
And so that is one really, really great thing. And so if you're not connected with the National Federation of the Blind, please get connected. There are local affiliates in every state, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia. Many of those have parents of blind children divisions, and there's definitely many times advocates, IEP advocates in those affiliates. Or if you're really needing an IEP advocate, the reason we had this academy was to find advocates that are maybe not right in your affiliate, but are close to you.
And because of virtual, now, people don't need to travel so much. They can actually attend meetings over Zoom or other things. And so we can connect you, and I'm quite sure in the show notes, we're going to have ways that you can connect with National Organization of Parents of Blind Children, your state affiliate, and also with IEP advocates. We have some social media answers to share. But before we do that, Javier, do you have anything else that we didn't get to or you think is really important for our listeners to know?
Javier Diaz:
To kind of piggyback what you were saying there, Melissa, about parents who might be out there with their kiddos, we all know us here on the line, is that low expectations lead to low achievement. So that's one of the main things we're looking out. Aside from any specific training area, we want to make sure across the board that those expectations are not lowered just because the student is blind, they need to be on par with their peers in the general education, if not higher, because again, high expectations lead to high achievement.
And I definitely want to instill that as a blind person to all those parents out there with their blind kiddos might be the only blind person in their life to let 'em know that it's possible. Just keep those expectations high if you feel that it's hard to do on your own. Again, the National Federation of the Blind, they're out there. We are here. Us as advocates are here for you as well. And just keep on pushing and don't let anybody tell you otherwise.
Melissa Riccobono:
Very well said. Katie, how about you?
Katie Filaski:
I'm going to kind of piggyback off of what both of you guys said. I just want to make sure everybody knows to get connected with the N-O-P-B-C affiliates in your state. Also look into BELL camp, and they also have STEM to you nights, things like that where your kids can go interact with other blind and low vision kids.
You can meet other moms and other dads in your state locally. That was a really big deal for my daughter, was the first time we attended BELL camp, and I think it was really eye opening for all the things that she can do. I remember standing in the kitchen and all of the kids baking cookies and they started opening ovens, and I went, oh, no (Katie and Melissa laugh).
But then I realized they all loved it. Nobody, they all did it in their own way. They were all able to do it successfully. They all learned something. And that was, for me as a parent, really, eye opening to all the things that they can do.
Melissa Riccobono:
Wow, what a great story. We might need to do a podcast on that kind of stuff, the letting go, because sometimes that can be the hardest. We hold on because we love so deeply. And then sometimes it's really the letting go that brings the most growth and kind of those uh oh moments that kind of lead to aha moments. So anyway, what a great idea. So on social media, we asked why do you think that individualized education program, (IEP) advocacy is important for blind students?
And we have a few responses here. Rocky from Minnesota says, "Many educational administrators and teachers do not understand what blind students need, which is why students must have advocates to speak for them when they are unable to speak for themselves." And Jodi from Colorado says, "My son is not blind, but has a specific learning disability.
As a blind mother, I wanted to make sure I could help advocate every step of the way through his school years. Being a part of the NFB and learning different ways that I could advocate for what he needed has helped him thrive. He is now a junior in high school and doing great. Plus, I have taught my son to advocate for himself now."
And that's so important that we kind of start out as our kids' biggest advocates, but they need to also learn to advocate for themselves. And I mean, these are definitely skills not only for blind kids, but for kids with all kinds of disabilities that are very needed. And lastly, Carolyn from Missouri said, "It is a structure to help give students the resources and training they need. It is not the full picture.
Advocacy is still needed to ensure the student has the resources and support needed to participate fully and have a fighting chance at success in education. Without advocacy, students risk getting left behind, not getting the education or training needed to be an independent, successful adult later." Very, very good. Thank you so much, Javier and Katie for being with us. Is there anything either one of you would like to add in closing?
Katie Filaski:
Just thank you for letting me come on. I enjoyed it very much, Melissa.
Javier Diaz:
Yeah, for sure. Thanks again for inviting us, Melissa, and just for the parents out there as well (speaks Spanish). So for all of our non-English speakers as well, there are resources available as well for your blind kiddos.
Melissa Riccobono:
Oh, such a good point. We now have Future Reflections, the Braille Monitor in Spanish, and there's other brochures and things, and they're definitely, definitely are members of our Federation that speak Spanish and Arabic and Hindu and Nepalese and (laughs) all sorts of languages.
So that's a really, really good point. Thank you so much to Javier and to Katie. Thank you so much all of you for joining us. We will be back with you in our next episode, but until that point, remember, you can live the life you want. Blindness is not what holds you back.
Announcer:
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