I have put off trying the basic eventually master program because I understand that graphs/charts are a required part of it. Are they? I ask because a brain recognition problem makes it impossible to see the symbols on a chart so if it is a requirement I could not do it.
This has been a dream for years but fear of the unknown has held me back. I wrote to the Guild quite some time ago but never got anything but an invitation to join as a member.

I can only speak to Levels I and II of the MHK program, and for those, charts are not required, except to work the Fair Isle mitten, for which the pattern is provided and there is a chart for the color pattern portion. The chart is in black and white, so each color is represented by a symbol, but if you can interpret color changes in boxes, I imagine you could get someone to re-do the chart for you so that the boxes had different colors rather than different symbols. If that is still not an option for you, then you could work with someone who could count the boxes for each color going across a row and you could write it down in a way that you can follow as you knit.

For the Argyle Sock, you select your own pattern. The diamond patterns are usually charted for color for those as well.

There's nothing I know of in the Basics course or Level I that requires charts of any kind. Since you pay for the courses at each level, it seems it would be worth starting out and seeing what you think, and then working out a way to accommodate charts you may encounter for Level II.

Level 3 does have charting. That is, there are several charts that you have to create.

I can understand your frustration; I too have a minimal brain disfunction (actual medical/educational terminology-not an attempt to minimize a real problem) that makes charts difficult.
Rox' ideas about getting an "interpreter" to help you find a format you can use is great. Is there a guild or shop-based knitting group that might be a resource?

Question for a committee person: How far has resonable accomodation gotten with the Master's program? If a person designs the item, writes the pattern and does everything but the mechanical drafting of the pattern, which (s)he outsources, is that acceptable?
If this has not been considered, as an option on a case-by-case basis, could it please be? Thank you.
Monica

One of the speech therapists I work with told me that people with symbol recognition difficulties (which can also include letters & numbers)are often helped by enlarging the scale of the figures and/or adding more space around them so they are not so crowded together. Have you tried this?

Our rehab environment is mostly skilled nursing with issues like stroke or macular degeneration, but also is schools with non-verbal developmentally delayed kids.

We can make accomodations for people with special needs. We just need to know what those needs are. As others have said, it won't be an issue until Level 3 except for the mitten which we can deal with when the time comes.

Arenda

Arenda,
Thank you so much for confirming what I had hoped.
Monica