Yes, Thomas Marshall Does It All tied for Runner-up in the About.com Readers' Choice Award for Favorite Special Needs Parenting Blog. Thanks readers!
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| Hooray! |
This was an amazing opportunity to share Tom's story with new people and maybe help them understand a little bit about the life of a blind child. (It's not so scary, right?)
Thanks to all the readers who voted for us during this contest. It was a long one and it sorta burned me out. That's why it's been quiet around here. Sorry about that:)
Thanks About.com! Check out About.com's Parenting Children with Special Needs page for great articles, resources, and information.
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| Tommy, humoring me on Easter. "Ok, I'll put the ears on..." |
The contest also coincided with our two week "Marty the SMART Brailler" experience. That was a big learning experience for me.
First, I learned that I'm a big chicken. The brailler sat on my dining room table for three days as I worked up the nerve to try it. I was intimidated. I called in some Braille experts (Ava and her mom) to get me started. Thank god. They got me going and Tom and I really got to spend some time getting familiar with the SMART Brailler.
Second, I learned that Tom is not a chicken. He explored the SMART Brailler with interest and when he got the keys to make noise he was hooked! I spoke with his teacher and she plans to order a SMART Brailler (or two!) for his classroom next year. Wonderful news, right? Audio feedback is so important to Tommy and I really feel that this could make his transition to Braille easier.
Do you want to learn more about the SMART Brailler? Visit the Perkins SMART Brailler page and get to know Marty.
Want to really get to know Marty the SMART Brailler? If you have a blog/website about your blind child then you could be the next family to test the SMART Brailler in your home. Visit the Wonderbaby site to learn more about the Backpacking SMART Brailler event and find out how to apply.
The SMART Brailler is now on its way to Abby and Penny. Check out their blog, It's A Happy Story, to see what Abby (already a Braille reader) thinks of Marty.
Need more incentive? One of the six families who participate in this SMART Brailler event will get to keep it! Wonderbaby readers will vote to decide which family wins.
What are you waiting for? Go over to Wonderbaby and apply!
Apps - Our new favorites
Here you see Tommy enjoying "The Little Red Hen." It is a classic Little Golden Book that you may remember from your childhood. They also have "The Pokey Little Puppy" and I'm hoping they create more apps from the Little Golden Books I loved as a child. Color Kittens, The Tawny Scrawny Lion, Scuffy the Tugboat... There are so many great options! I can't wait for more Little Golden Book apps to come out.
Tom asks for both of these apps by name! You will find him chanting "Hen Hen Hen, or Pokey Puppy." I can't tell you how wonderful it is to have him using language like that. It feels amazing to know what he wants so I can give it to him. I have waited SO long for that.
Don't forget to enter...
The lady that works with technology picked up a smart brailler pamphlet for me and I felt all weepy, I wish things like this weren't so expensive for our kids, it could make a huge difference in progress with literacy.i did enter Grace to host the backpacking smart brailler. ( I know what you mean about being a chicken, it took me a week to open the tube/box with her white cane then almost 2 months for us to actually use it. I am trying not to be hard on myself, it's been a lot to process and we are only six months post diagnosis. Which was only 3 months after she developed epilepsy and we had to navigate those murky waters of anti seizure meds and side effects. 2012 was a hard year) keep up the good work, I will say that the blog that beat you is incredible and has really ministered to me on tough days.plus they serve a broad audience. Blindness can be a very lonely road, so thankful to have found you!
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