I went blind as an adult, so take my opinions with whatever grains of salt necessary, but in my experience with many blind people, both online and in person, there is such an absolutely massive social gap between blind schooled kids and main streamed kids, even into adulthood.

Many, if not most, of the people I've met who were put through blind school seemed to have an exceedingly hard time reading tone, social expectations, and implied boundaries. The level of empathy tended to be lower in those I'd talked to, and even their level of basic schooling seemed worse, with basic information I had access to in junior high not known by graduates.

Many so-called soft skills, the things that affect your hireability after your resume gets your foot in the door, were either half-baked or nonexistent, to the point that it confirmed some self-ableist things I thought mostly in my first year or two of being blind.

There absolutely are fully functioning, well rounded, intelligent people with good social skills who don't make me immediately uncomfortable who were sent to blind schools, and there are absolutely people that were mainstreamed who still have no idea how to communicate any better than a 10 year old with severe anxiety. But, out of the vast majority of my guesses on people I interacted with, maybe 1 in 25 guesses of mainstream vs blind school were wrong at all, and usually because they did both. There is a very obvious blind schooled person stereotype and a startling number of people adhere to that.

As a parent of a blind student in public school, my opinion is it entirely depends on the school and the student themself. My son, albeit still young, has a vision instructor that teaches him Braille every day as well as the adaptive equipment and teaches him basic life skills. She will follow him through school until he graduates high school. He receives O&M training with his cane two days a week and is part of a social lunch club at school to help kids socialize with each other.

That being said, I specifically moved into the district because I knew they were equipped to handle his schooling and out of a district that would just put a teacher’s aid with him daily then put him in a self-contained classroom in high school.

Once he gets older, I plan to ultimately give him the decision to go to our state’s school for the blind where he would have to board at the school.

I hope I’m doing the best I possibly can for him. Like you mentioned from your personal experience, he has no interest in socializing with those around him right now other than adults. Do you have any suggestions for a parent? I’ll take anything I can get! It’s scary raising a human. Lol

Personally, I'm glad I went to public school. The vast majority of people I have to deal with everyday are sighted. The vast majority of places I go and things I do are made for sighted people. That's just the reality of the world we live in, so it makes the most sense to grow up in that reality, even if it's sometimes harder.

I was legally blind as a kid and mainstreamed and I absolutely regret that decision. I was offered tools to help me but I refused them because I never saw anyone else using them so it made me feel like an outcast. I never had a teacher who was specially trained in how to deal with me so they all did the best that they could an I was not ideal at all, I didn’t even know that was a thing until I started reading this sub. I wished I could have been around kids who were like me, then I would have realized that I was okay to ask for help when I needed it, and I could have come to terms sooner that I was VI.

I lost my sight at the age of 19 so I wouldn't ever have gone to a blind school, but I wouldn't have wanted to anyway.

A lot of people have basically already said this, but I feel really strongly about it. Say what you like, the world is not a blind world. Putting someone in a school where everything is set up for them and everyone is in the same boat is no way to prepare that person for reality. The world is full of people who went through blind schools in decades way past and frankly they have a lot of the socialisation problems people have mentioned. A lot of them end up working for the charities because their whole existence revolves around the disability, and they are listened to about provision for people these days. As a result the blind establishment can have some very strange ideas that everyone should be like them and sort of hover outside mainstream society. This gets even more political, to the point where if you aren't using braille (like me) and don't have a dog (like me) and if you don't live every second of every day as some sort of crusading martyr to the disability then you are a bad person. As you may be able to tell I've had a few disagreements with people over this. And I think it all starts in the schools.

I don't want that for myself and I don't think any sane parent wants that for their children. Mainstream school all the way. As I say I could see fine when I was at school and as a result the only thing I don't have that I would like to have is braille, and that's just for having the experience of reading. It doesn't stop me doing anything because you can just do computers. It'd be nice but it's not the end of the world.

Personally, I think going to a public school is the only way to go. I went to public school and my experience was great. I learned braille at the age of 5, and I got all the cane training skills I could need. I was even able to get a guide dog at 16.

On the other hand, every person that I have ever run across that has gone to the Blind School has been unpreparred for the real world. I will admit for some a Blind School might be good, but the fact of the matter is a Blind School is not the real world, and going to public school teaches you how to advocate for yourself and other skills.

I mean if you mainstream them out without any supplemental instruction, yes that's going to go badly. They need a TVI and O&M training. So yeah there are several moving parts to the system that all need to be there or yes the kid will have trouble if not fail completely.

​

I probably will never have kids so take this for what it's worth, but if I did, I would never ever consider a blind school if they happened to be blind. I just don't see that kind of thing as healthy or viable. I would teach them everything I could and if there was something that I couldn't, I'd look into in-home training.

​

I know that public schools aren't necessarily great, but they teach not only the class material but socializing as well. If they do nothing but socialize with other blind people, what does that really net them when they'll be dealing with sighted people far more than they will blind people when they go out into the world. It may be more comfortable for them to socialize with people who already know what it's like, but they need to learn to interact in a meaningful way with others. That also doesn't mean they can't or shouldn't have blind friends, it just means I think there's more value in socializing with sighted kids because sighted people are the majority.

​

But your mileage may vary. Some parents just never get the hang of it, others do. My dad was great at overseeing my education without directly interfering when it wasn't needed. He was also great at teaching me the things I needed to know to live independently. When I went to college, I probably knew more about cooking and laundry than a lot of the others did, certainly my room mates. I'd still rather see them go to an independence center for that kind of training if I couldn't provide it after high school and before college than I would seeing them in a blind school for their entire pre-college education.

I was in public school with itenerate support, its honestly dependant on the school system, I got lucky and had a series of amazing teachers that prepped me for the real world.

I've been to a mainstream school all my life (currently 16) and have had fantastic support for the local council here in the north-east of England. The school itself doesn't always think before they act in regards to considering me and my needs for things like trips or events, but apart from that it's absolutely great! Since most of the special needs stuff was handled externally from the school I've never had a problem, not to mention, all of the staff are as accomodating as they can be and it's only when you get into upper management territory that things go a little sideways in terms of organisation. Plus I just seem to get along with sighted individuals easier in most, but not all cases. The social aspect can be a little rough at times, but as long as you keep pushing forward, it can be overcome.

Overall, if mainstream school is done right, which luckily it has been for me, it can be just as good of an experience.

I wish I had been at a mainstream school so I could have learned social skills etc when I was younger, rather than finding a partner who taught me those skills when I was 18. That shouldn't have been her responsibility.

I was a high partial until ten years ago. That said I was mainstreamed and while I wish they had taught me braille at the time I don't regret it. I had a chance to go to a school for the blind but refused because I knew I would be bored with the instruction and not challenged enough.

I had all the mobility training I needed and life skills I needed. I was and am also super bull headed and independent so I was pretty self driven.

Social skills were the biggest plus for being mainstreamed and it kills me seeing so many blind folks that just lack basic appropriate social skills.

It is not for everyone, but it can be a huge help rather than the very small and insulor groups a blind school provide.

I went to a school for the blind and disabled in London.

While I did get taught braille and the basics of computer skills; I had to learn the wrest on my own, I feel that blind schools don’t introduce people to the real world.

I live in Ontario and I had no problem getting Orientation and Mobility training with cane when I needed it, and for most of my elementary school time this was through a cooperation between the Canadian National Institute for the Blind and my school board.

As to Braille literacy I had a great Educational Assistant who had never taught a blind student but who threw herself into learning all of Braille before it was time for me to learn it, and then who learned the necessary scanning and Braille translation software before I was taught typing. I had this same woman (along with other "vision resource teachers") all through elementary and high school.

As to independence I have heard from a few people that I am much further along with independence than I would be from a blind school, and I have flown by myself several times.

As to socialization sure one has to explain themselves as a blind individual but in my opinion it's best to start with that early because if not the blind won't have a reply for questions when they inevitably get asked in work training or in college courses or on a date etc.

Currently I am 28 and I have a university degree in English literature, hoping to get employment either from home or local to the city soon.

So I lost vision after graduating high school, so I can't exactly speak about that personally. But my condition is genetic, so this situation is something that I've spoken with them a lot with. I've also spoken with many people I've met at blind rehab schools.
The parts you mentioned about braille illiteracy and other skills are obviously dependent on what resources are available depending on one's region/state. Assuming statistics don't contradict me, I don't think this has anything to do with integratino of blind children into public schools, it's just how much support is offered to those students. Clearly there should be numerous support for them.
The real world isn't always accesible, nor understanding at all times. The best skills a person with vision impairments can have is how to navigate around these times. Because of this, learning how to socialize around sighted people and operate in a classroom is vital. Knowing these skills would help immensely once someone got to college and eventually the workplace.
You mentioned also about socializing and interaction. This is an area where I think segregation is not helpful at all. Yes it's far easier because everyone understands vision loss, people introduce themselves by name to identify themselves, and other things like that. When I was in various rehab schools, people would greet one another by announcing their name, etc. But the real world isn't like that. People you meet say at a college campus or coffee shop will rarely ever do that. They will see your cane and still hand you things and you don't know it. They will say hi and you won't know who it is. A lot of these situations (for me at least) involve explaining visual impairment an a concise, understandable way. Some people understand vision loss and have a great deal of empathy. Other people, not so much. It's another skill to learn how to interact and be comfortable interacting with sighted people. It's definitely not easy and as a person who is really awkward and has social anxiety, it's extra hard, but learning how to explain visual impairment to people and explain things to them really quickly is a difficult but important skill. Is socializing in college as a person with a VI? Hell yes it is, but like any other skill you have to work at it and have a lot of practice if your not good at it.
I'm probably rambling, but my main points are that preparing people for the real world is the number on priority, and limiting interaction with the sighted isn't always helpful. It's quite a shock and likely takes a lot of time to develop skills when going form really VI friendly environments to not so much, such as a blind rehab school to a college campus as was the case for me.

Disclaimer: my opinions are my own, and do not reflect those of my employer, the Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind. Yeah, social Media policies suck. How about that opinion?

For me, both were complicated.

I began at the blind school, failing first grade twice, second grade, and probably third grade. All throughout school, I was most of the time that kid that had no idea how to act, and nothing the school did would change that. They tried just about everything I can think of to enforce learning habbits, and nothing worked. I had to grow out of it myself. Of course, me being born prematurely, weighing 1 pound and 6 ounces, probably didn't help. And believe me, I'm still slow at grasping things, although I am much more focused than when I was little.

I went to public school for the fourth grade, and half of fifth. There, I read a few more books, up to, I was told, seventh grade reading levels. Reading and writing have always come rather easy for me, although keeping track of an ever-expanding plot I'm writing, and linking everything together aren't always an on-the-spot inspiration. I also dated my first girlfriend, a chubby, shorter girl whom I had no idea about, which is probably common around the age of 11, my age at the time because failing grades isn't the best of situations in the long run.

Gradewise, I am not sure how I did. Teacher aids helped me, and wrote down my answers to questions, which could have been what I gave, or could have been the correct answer, or both, or neither. In math class, I was always able to use a calculator because it takes too long for this poor blind boy to do math in his head because bless his poor little blind heart, he can't see to do it. I mean, my god, he should be like, at home mashing buttons on his Atari or Nintendo, or whatever the kids have nowadays, instead of wasting our time making us do his work. Yes, I'm very cynical.

Of course, it isn't their fault that I was a very spoiled, selfish person. My family didn't really do much in the way of teaching me values and life lessons, they were more about making me happy, giving me anything I wanted, and occasionally spanking me when it all got a little too much, when their hard work of giving me the life any kid would love to have, paid off in a kid who turned out to be spoiled.

After the first semester of fifth grade, my family began pestering me about returning to the school for the blind. I don't know why. Perhaps they could not handle having me there all the time, and missed the days when their bundle of joy was simply around on the weekends. Maybe they were concerned about my independent living prospects, as this poor country bumpkin school was not equipped to teach me these things. In all this, I have not mentioned a TVI. This is because in the small town in Alabama I come from, 30 minutes north of Huntsville, we had none.

Eventually, there promises of seeing old friends, of learning more (notion of more = good and make mama proud), and who knows what else, drove me to accept going back to the school for the blind. Then again, I was a very impressionable child, even if what one would tell me at the time made no difference to me.

I was greeted when I returned, at least by students. I'm sure that staff members did not look upon me at the time with half as much favor for the trouble I had, and would still, cause them. Things were just about the same as before up until high school.

For me, growing up has been a very slow process. My mind is not swift, and neither is it an oncoming train with great power. I'm afraid you won't get any great dissertation out of me on any philosophic ideas. But it has improved substantially over the years, and not because of teachers, not because of learning styles, but because of books. From classics like The Time Machine, to epics like The Dark Tower, books have expanded my mind. In the case of the Dark Tower, the ending was a large shock to my system which made me quite a bit more empathic. Although, the Dark Tower came later.

During high school, my knowledge of, and aptitude for, technology grew. While most kids just looked at the pretty colors then walked off, as it were, or learned enough to write a document then lost interest, I kept going. I learned to navigate the Internet as well as I could in 2008, middle school actually. Wow, I should work on presenting things in a linear way, lol.

Anyways, we got iPads in high school, and I used mine the most, specifically, email. When they figured out how much I emailed in class, I simply paired my braille display to my own iPod Touch, and used that. Really, nothing will stop a student from texting in class except a great reason not to.

All throughout school, I was taught plenty educational stuff, little of it applicable today besides English and a little math, and career training. There was no teaching on values, because of course parents will teach the students that at home. We were taught somewhat, at a very early age, about David and Goliath, Daniel and the lions, maybe even Samson. Good, action-packed stories from the Bible. But, as time went on, and dorm staff changed, and the age of Obama brought greater regulation to all states, not just the liberal ones who could have simply left the Conservative ones alone, that stopped. The messages, which were never very substantial to begin with, well besides the few times when I stayed during the weekend and went to the church services, became no messages of leadership at all. We were left to find our own truths, because 2 + 2 might equal 5 for some people.

I have become a center-leaning Conservative, center-leaning because no private company would ever do what the NLS does for us, and while law and order is very important, so is mercy and forgiveness. I set my hope in Jesus the Christ, who, since he raised himself from the grave, will do the same for me, and will raise the world also, to what it should be, making it right, according to his joyful will. Because of this, I am mostly at peace with my life, and what the Eternal God has given me: a job, which almost all blind people don't have, a place to live outside of my family's home, which most blind people may not have, and an abundance, at least to me, of money so that if something awful happens, I won't be without a way to live on.

Seriously, from my bratty childhood, to my adulthood which feels more like teenage years, to having to "grow up" as it were very fast in the last few years, it is nothing less than a miracle that I have all this.

Now, I did manage to graduate, with a diploma. After that, I went to an adult education facility, where I finally realized that this is about my life, my future. To keep things a little shorter, I was slaited to become an IRS phone representative. Could you imagine this gentle, malleable soul being twisted into a hardened, meanspirited, ultra cynical person who hates humanity? Yeah, I wouldn't like the person that would have came from that life. Luckily, we found an alternative: Assistive Technology Instructor.

After a year there, learning to be less loud announcing myself in the morning, learning a bit of woodworking, and learning quite a bit of work ethic, I went off to Arkansas. There, while eating turkey bacon, turkey sausage, turkey burgers, turkey chicken, turkey turkey, and maybe even turkey human, I learned to teach people. My technical skills by that time were grand. I knew plenty of keyboard commands, and had used every popular operating system, along with the not so popular ones. But, the instructors there were both blind, so after I got back, I had to break some bad habbits regarding my physical appearance and hygene.

So, in conclusion to all this: parents, teach your kids, don't depend on the government to do it for you, because they will not. If they lack skills after high school, send them to your state's adult education center, and if your state rehab disagrees, find the way to dispute that. Students, try as hard as possible to learn well in school. Ask questions! Have teachers explain it to you, and don't give a crap if others groan at you because you'll most certainly have better grades than them. And please, read as much as you can! i don't mean read the Dark Tower at 14, but good, thought-provoking books. And, finding something to put your faith in won't hurt either. And if dorm staff are like some of mine in high school: lazy, just sitting on the couch and yelling for students in their rooms because couch is comfy and kids better learn to listen to their elders hyuck hyuck, and just have to slam your door after waking you up, try not to let it get to you. Try to be around friends more, because if you're anything like me, you'll develop this irrational fear that if you're seen, someone will find fault with you, or someone will yell at you, or anything. Yeah, blind school can really mess more soft people up, if they are placed with dorm staff that have little to no empathy for people of other cultures than their hard, loud one.