Category: Let's talk
Hey all, how many of you have learned to handwrite or just print I mean thsoe of us who are totally blind would have a harder time larning it I think. Someone can explain what cursive writing is? Any of you taught others to hand write Thanks.
Anthony
I can't think of a way to explain this to someone who has never seen how writing looks. Don't they have some sort of tool you can use, some embossed chart of the alphabet or something, to help you feel the differences between cursive and print characters? The only differences I can think of when it comes to cursive writing and printing are that with cursive writing you don't pick up the pen/pencil except when crossing the T's, dotting the i's, or crossing the x's. Cursive writing is a style of writing in wich the letters flow together. When it comes to printing though, you're probably going to pick up the pen/pencil on every letter you write. Printing is much slower because of this constant picking up and bringing back down again of the point of the pen/pencil. Visually, cursive and print letters look the same, except for a few loops and slants in lowercase cursive. Upper case letters, both cursive and print, look almost the same; but cursive can look fancier. It's probably easier for sighted people to read print characters though, because cursive can get a bit sloppy. I guess cursive writing will save you some time. And you're most llikely going to use cursive writing when signing important documents. Just make sure you know what you're signing. lol Hope this helps!
Hello, all! This is actually a topic very dear to my heart, so I'm glad someone brought it up. Let's just say before I go into this that I am a totally blind person, and have been since birth. I never remember any sight at all. Also, a warning that this will be a fairly long post.
When I was little, my Mom taught me how to write print. Many people questioned her, but I had expressed an interest, so she taught me. We bought regular toys used to teach small children. They were cards that had really big versions of the print letters, both in upper and lower case, raised up on them. She just added the Braille letter to the card herself. So, that's how I learned to write print, and I am grateful for it. I find myself using it when I want to write a sighted family member or friend a note, and other useful things. I did learn numbers, too. Unfortunately, my handwriting is on the large side, so it still does not work well for me filling out my own checks, though that is a goal of mine someday.
When I was young, I also learned to write my own signature in cursive. I wanted to learn to write the rest of the cursive alphabet like I had the print one, but my vision teacher thought it would be too difficult, and that there would be no use for it. Again, Mom was the one who listened to my interest. She obtained a kit called the Freund Longhand Writing kit. I believe it comes from APH, and it teaches blind folks, especially those who are totally blind, to write the entire cursive alphabet. It is very nifty!
I personally believe that even totally blind children should be taught to handwrite print and cursive. Maybe I should say especially totally blind children, since they are the ones everyone will assume don't need it. Even if we can't read it, it is a useful skill to have in the sighted world. I know some may disagree with me, but that's my feeling about it. *Smile* I'm done with my tanget now. Bye bye!
I learned to write in cursive when I still had sight. Now, I usually use print rather than cursive if I have to write a note to someone, although I do sign my name in cursive. I think all blind people should learn to sign their own name at the very least. I have a co-worker who claims to be very independent and is always putting people down for what she perceives as signs of not being independent. However, whenever she has to sign something she either has someone do it for her or just writes the letter x for her name.
having only gone blind when i was twenty three. i also learned to write. i think they did a pretty good job explaining the difference. the only thing i can add is cursive is more rounded. and just to confuse you a bit. i don't agree with the cursive and print look alike except for there attached. some letters look totally different than prin. like um, b has a loop at the top instead of a straight line and so does d, um how do you explain f, it's a big skinny loop up and a smaller loop down, m has three humps instead of two and n has two! s is different, but i can't explain that one. heheheh so is z maybe someone else can explain them. v is a small hump like you are printing a n and a u attached with a little curve at the top of the u hehehe sorry if i confused you more. heheheh smiles, Shea
I agree with Shea. Cursive and printed letters look nothing alike.
I learned the printed letters for Optacon training. Also, I had a raised-line drawing kit for learning to write them. I can hand-write my signature, but nothing else; it's often too small, I find myself being admonished, "Write Big". Haha. We all should learn to write our signature, at the very least! Being able to recognize the shapes of some printed letters is also a good idea.
Raised line drawing kits rock! Glad there are other people out there who used them, too. And who ever said that cursive and printed letters look alike? That's crazy.
If you guys had read more carefully what I said in post 2, you'd see that I never said cursive and print characters look identical. And I think "uppercase" cursive and print characters are almost all the same. I hope you're all now happy that Tony is going to be confused. lol
upper case print and cursive letters aren't the same either. sorry. heheheh
When I was in kindergarten I had the same sort of cards that have already been mentioned, with the raised print letters. They worked quite well for me. I actually had an easier time learning to write print than Braille, but that's a long story and nothing to do with this topic. Lol. I pretty much only use print for signatures and to wow sighted people who are amazed by my ability to do such things, but it's a useful skill to have. Cursive is another adventure entirely, and I think attempting to describe the relationship between print and cursive letters is just going to confuse the original poster of this board. My writing tends to be a bit on the largeish side, but I can write smaller if I'm made aware of it. I know that with a lot of my blind friends there are problems with the letters overlapping, but I've never had that problem myself. I'd never win any handwriting awards, but I can at least write legibly and think that it's something all blind people should learn to do.
I am full blind. i sign with hand write, can read raise letter both uppercase and lower case. And its easy to learn for any full blind.
Just using model of letters, and during practice to write, use braille arts instruments. sorry don't know actual name of that instruments. Those instruments we use for geometry.
I learned to write in cursive, but use the computer so much anymore that I don't recall how to write anything but my name.
All I could ever hand-write is my name. Used to need one of those signature frames. I've been told my writing is "blocky"; someone who does hand-writing analysis even called it "aggressive". lol.
All I cad write is my signiture but I'd like t to write more.
So, WX1G, if your handwriting has been analyzed as aggressive, I wonder what would be said of mine? Scatter-brained? LOL.
I use print to write print, including my signature, although I feel like I have trouble staying at an even size at times. I make sure to write carefully because I'm told that I sometimes overlap my letters, especially when I write fast. Although I've also learned cursive, I don't remember how to write all the letters, so that's why I don't use it. But I have a sheet each of the uppercase and the lowercase letters in thick raised ink, so once in awhile I look at that and sometimes try to write them.
Well for me, I don't do much printing at all unless I'm writing my signiture on my paperwork when I go to the doctors or when I'm somewhere else and I need to write my name, and I don't write my whole name from first to last, I write initials, and I don't do cursive cause I've never learned it. Like Sister Dawn, I too had the little plastic letters that someone bought me for Christmas when I was a little girl, and out of all print letters of the alphabet, I only know how to write the print letter C, I may know a little bit of an H with the 2 lines going down and the line going across I believe I was taught that in headstart as far as I can remember. But that's all I do as far as hand writing.
Oh I can write straight I's, I can write the letter M and a t and l, and maybe an e like the e in my last name.
My hand write is impressive, people say. hee hee. and can read anything raise print, by hand.
I've just learned how to write my signature in cursive. People tell me it's actually ledgible and quite small. lol
I only know how to write my first initial and last name in cursive, though I used to know all the letters from a book of raised cursive letters I had in high school. (Errgh, what a terrible sentence! LOL) I did learn to write my first name, but it's so long that I didn't see the point in doing it each time a signature is needed, so started using the initial instead. My last name has two I's in it, and I have a bit of trouble dotting them.
Yes, I agree that knowing how to recognize--and write, if possible--print letters is very helpful. It's immensely satisfying to be able to read embossed titles on books, and such things. I also had those plastic, magnetized letters as a child, but I had enough vision to read magnified print for my first few years of school. I was taught to read both Braille and print, even though it was too much a strain to depend on the print regularly, but I'm glad I was taught, nonetheless.
Thanks Sister Dawn for the mention of the APH kit; I'll look it up and see if it's still available, or if they have a similar item. I'd like to re-learn to write. :)
Having gone blind at 11, I knew how to write print. Cursive is iffy. I remember most of the letters, but after like, third grade, I didn't see it much.
When signing, i usually sign Cala in cursive and Estes in print. haha, I hate cursive S's. They look funny.
Handwriting is an important skill. I went to have my ID made, and the guy there was like um, maybe you could just print an X and my braillest who was with me goes, She is, literate...
so that's my two cents.
I want to learn to write in print...But I suck at it. I forget all of it. It's very annoying. Any tips?
Btw I can write my name. Haha.
I've been blind since birth, and my grandmother taught me print when I was about five. I know she used a raised line drawing kit plus these big letters that were made for little kids. It's something I've never forgotten how to do because I use it often.
I know how to write in print or cursive because i can still see. Its hard to explain it, but what i did when i was a child is to copy the letters on a book and try to write it. Practice makes it better. It will be easier to understand the whole concept if you know what each symbol means. I know most of you are good with braille. I don't know how to do braille at all, but for this one. If you want to learn how to write in print. I suggest you try wooden letter blocks. You don't have to see the letter to know how it looks like. Try to get the shapes, lines, and curves of each letter of the alphabet by holding the wooden letter blocks. I'm sure you can create a picture on your mind on what it looks like. You may not try this one because children in kindergarten use this one to understand the concept of letters, but i'm sure it works.