Page 46 - The Exceptional Harley Fetterman

JUDY K JOHNSON

years old he was mentally solving problems like how much is 3 + 2
and then 3 – 2. By the time he was four, he understood 3 x 2. By the
time he was in kindergarten she and Harley were doing mental math
problems with negative numbers and division. Beth was shocked to
discover he was getting a very low grade in math. She thought that
perhaps the math problems were so easy that he got too bored to
perform well in class. Harley also already knew all his letters and was
reading basic pre-primer materials and writing simple words.

When Harley's vision loss became extremely obvious, Kevin and
Beth were still earnestly hoping that his chemotherapy would shrink
the tumor which was putting pressure on his optic nerve. They prayed
for renewed vision for Harley. When it became apparent that Harley
was having trouble completing assignments that clearly should have
been easy for him, Kevin and Beth knew his education needed to be
individualized for his current needs. In LST meetings, they were
assured that in Harley's situation he would still receive his core
academic instruction in his general education classroom and his only
time outside of class would be with the VI teacher.

When Carolyn assessed Harley's vision needs, it was clear that he
could not clearly see printed materials even with low vision devices
such as use of a CCTV, which is a machine to enlarge materials
placed under a camera. The materials had to be so greatly enlarged
that only three letters filled the entire screen. Carolyn recommended
that the best solution for Harley was to learn Braille. She also
recommended additional assessment to address his mobility and even
his stamina needs during his chemotherapy.
At first, Kevin and Beth were shocked at the recommendation of
teaching Braille to Harley. They worried he would be unable to read
regular text when his vision was restored. But they quickly agreed to
this plan with the condition that when/if Harley's vision returned, he
would be provided necessary instruction on alphabet letters.

That first spring semester in kindergarten class at Kocurek School
District, Harley was assigned an O&M teacher as a part of his special
education IEP which allocated time for O&M and included a regular
class with Sarah Gaetner, his assigned O&M teacher. She trained him
on use of his white cane for mobility in all possible environments at

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