a Christine: ‘Neal, ‘teacher of the
visually-impaired and multi- ©
vhandicapped, who brings with
. her the enthusiasm of a teacher

“working in the field she loves.

_ by Nancy Orr

“. Christine, who grew up in
North Vancouver, has always

chad an interest in people with

‘handicaps. In her early years,
- She worked in child care and

“ support groups, group homes

and recreation programs while

“continuing to study and learn

“first at Capilano College, then
Simon, Fraser University, post

‘graduate work at UBC and

finally .at Langara College,
where she earned a diploma in

Special Education,

: Jt was at Langara that Dave
Manze, the provincial co-
ordinator, spoke to the class
about the various areas of the

- province that were most in need
of special teachers. Christine

“asked around”? and talked to
others who had been in different
parts of the province before

‘deciding where to go. The
‘Northwest won out.

— “7 liked the coastal area and
the mountains,” she said. ‘‘And
Terrace seemed to have the
facilities and the life style-that I
was looking for. So — here I
am!’? ‘
For the last several years, Ter-
race has only had the services of
a visiting consultant teacher
~ from Kelowna, who has flown in
two or three times a year.

. Christine travels regularly to

the Nass Valley to-work with
students in §.D. #92, and to
- Hazelton and Kitwanga in

District #88.

Working in conjunction with
the classroom teacher, Christine
does in-depth testing and assess-
ments, She sets up programs and

advises the best way to help a
‘student acquire the skills to
function.
. “A&A good program must make
_ learning miulti-sensory,’’ she
~ said. ‘‘Students have to learn to
orient themselves and to learn
_ for themselves, It is not good for
them to learn from the memory
_Of sighted people and their des-
- criptions of the world. .
‘*‘Just imagine a tree,’’ she

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said. “‘To a sighted person, the
most obvious characteristic is its
height. But to a person who has
never seen a tree, it will be iden-
tified quite differently —
perhaps by the feel of its sur-
face, or of the earth around it;
the trunk or the limbs; or maybe
the feel of the shade, or from

- smell. Height would only be a

learned, or memorized, compo-
nent,

“My blind friend who rode.
_the bus regularly in Vancouver

always knew exactly where we
were, by the sounds of the wires
and the connectors and the
clicks. But I had to scramble to
find out where I was at any given
time, But she always knew. She
was oriented,.”’

Christine recalled Helen
Keller, and her words, “I am

blind and yet I see; I am deaf-
and yet I hear’ when trying to

‘her students have.

explain the special faculties that

She will be. working with the
multi-handicapped, too, because
**80 percent of the multi-handi-
capped are visually-impaired.
And 50 percent of visually-
impaired have si other

-handicaps’’,

Equipment is on loan from a
central agency which was set up
when Jericho School for the
Blind closed a few years ago (not
to be confused with the Jerico
School for the Deaf which is still
operating). But the school
district will be purchasing some

of its own Braille writers, she

hopes.

In the meantime, .Christine- ~

will be enjoying her travels
around the Northwest and is
looking forward to cross coun-
try skiing and other social ac-
tivities.

Terrace Review — : - Wednesday, November 8, 198!

Christine Neal, one of a scarce group of specialty teachers

who work with visually impaired and multiply handicapped

children, chose School District 88 from a number of oppor.
tunities. She’s a strong asset to the district’s staff, and she
likes it here.

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