[blindkid] service time and cross country

[Richard Holloway]

This is an evolving process and it sounds like you're doing just what  
most of us try to do-- going with the flow as much as possible and  
making adjustments when needed.

On the BrailleNote  / PacMate issue, I would mention that we bought a  
PacMate and then the school issued our daughter a BrailleNote. She's  
only seven (second grade) and yet she switches between the two devices  
with relative ease. Since she uses the BrailleNote more, she's no  
doubt a little quicker on it, but we had a problem with the  
braillenote charging for a while, and also a couple of times the  
BrailleNote has been left at school and she can pretty quickly do what  
she needs to on either one. Save to say that both are leaps and bounds  
beyond using a perkins all the time. Yes, we have conventional  
braillers too and they have their place, but I don't think we'd be  
nearly so far along with Kendra yet without a BrailleNote or PAC Mate.

Richard




On Aug 20, 2010, at 6:13 PM, Rosina Solano wrote:

> Okay, thanks for all the great input.  As for the cross country the  
> doctor (not ours but the school physical one) oked Roman with a few  
> adaptations.  So that is okay for now.
>
> As for his service time, he runs cross country after school so I  
> can't substitue that time for any other as we are an extremely small  
> rural school and that is the only time he can run with the team.  He  
> is choosing to "trade in" his elective or 7th rotation for his time  
> with his TVI but will only meet with her every other day.  This time  
> will be used to go over anything he didn't understand clearly in  
> class (mainly some math codes in Nemeth) and now this year to work  
> on technology.  As for how he gets his work done.  Right now he  
> drags the Perkins brailler from class to class and does his work on  
> it.  Then it is turned in to the TVI and she converts it to text for  
> the classroom teacher and then it is graded.  I have told them that  
> if Roman could use his laptop or Pacmate then it could be printed in  
> text and given straight to the class teacher saving valuable time  
> for the TVI (in my opinion).  Luckily they agree!  Roman is also a A/ 
> B student and
> sometimes just an A student!  He is very proud of the fact he is at  
> the top of his class, and no, not just for a blind kid.  I have seen  
> his work.  I was at the top of my class and I know good work.
> Anyway, he does get regular O&M instruction 4 times a month, but in  
> those cases he has to pull out when we can get her here.  She  
> travels about 90 miles so we are not fighting that.  He gets around  
> very well and is confident in almost everything accept crossing very  
> busy intersections.  We do not have bus travel here or even taxi's  
> (we are very rural Ozarks), so a couple times a year he gets to go  
> to bigger town to practive those things.
>
> He is very nervous about using new technology even tho he wants it,  
> we just don't know what to fight for.  School has pacmate, but we  
> are trying to get braillenote for home as everyone tells us it is  
> easier.  Right now he does not take notes or anything like that, he  
> just uses his incredible memory, but as he gets older and the work  
> gets more he is really going to have to know how to do those  
> things.  His work is 95% provided in braille and then he brailles  
> his anwsers.
>
> I like the idea of a technology assesment but what more info could I  
> find on that?  Also, Roman wants to learn music notation braille,  
> but everyone tells him that it would be too confusing for him right  
> now what with nemeth and technology too.  I think not as sighted  
> kids can learn print, math, music, and sometimes additional  
> languages and they seem to handle it.
>
> I just don't know where we should go from here.  School seems  
> willing to work with us, but none of us know what he needs at this  
> age.
>
> Thank you again to all who have helped us in this endeavor;
> Rosina and Roman
>
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