[blindkid] Braille note

Mon Mar 12 15:32:21 UTC 2012

Hi Rene,

Thanks for this info! I would *love* to bypass the school and just buy a
Braille Note that would be our own. As for the Lions' Club: they were super
helpful in getting us a Ruby, just wonderful! I think while this is a more
expensive piece of equipment, I believe they would still be very helpful to
us. The only thing is: which one??? I want to make a good, informed
request. Since you are a homeschooling mom, I bet you've done a TON of
research... can I ask you what you learned and what you decided upon and
why? That would be SO helpful to me!

When you say you've worked with other deparments and organizations... can I
ask which ones?

As for your analogy about pencils and paper... I totally see your point.
The sticking point for me is that I would easily provide my son with a
Braille Note if it cost something close to what a spiral notebook does!
lol! But that is just not a possibility. The school has a dozen or more and
they all just sit on the shelf all evening and night, and anytime during
the day that they are not in use which is a majority of the hours. The
state pays for them and my son needs one. Seems straightforward enough! :)

Meanwhile, my husband looked into our homeowner's insurance and learned
that they will only pay for it in the case of loss due to fire, flood, or
theft, and then only if that happens while in our home and not if it's away
from home. So accidental damage is not covered. Bummer! But don't the
devices come with some kind of warranty that would protect them for that?

I have about 6 weeks before his next IEP and I'm going to try to learn
about Braille Notes (anyone with suggestions about which ones are good and
why would be GREATLY appreciated!) and pursue the Lion's Club in the
meantime because if that works out, that would be ideal. I imagine that it
may take some time, however, and a Braille Note from the school over summer
would be good, too.

Thanks again, Rene! Appreciate your comments... and everyone! I appreciate
the great advice and information you all have provided!

:) Carolynn

On Mon, Mar 12, 2012 at 9:49 AM, Rene Harrell <rjharrell at gmail.com> wrote:

> I just wanted to chime in after Richard's informative note to say that the
> Lion's Club can absolutely be an excellent source of funding/support for
> equipment. We homeschool and therefore the only equipment Clare has must be
> privately purchased. Every lion's club is individual, but we move a fair
> degree and we have worked with several different Lion's Clubs who have all
> been eager to work with us to help Clare get needed adaptive equipment.
> We've had to get  very creative at times (including getting health
> insurance to pay for a mountbatten brailler as DME!), but we have been
> mostly successful at partnering with various groups, organizations,
> departments etc. etc. to get Clare ownership of material and equipment
> necessary to her learning.
>
> I can see how their can be advantages to the school owning the equipment
> and lending it to the student (they're responsible for routine maintenance,
> a child is not locked into owning a piece of equipment as it ages and
> becomes outdated etc. etc), but there are also distinct advantages to
> ownership as well. As Richard says, we don't expect our sighted children to
> leave their pens and paper at school when the school day ends....but we
> also wouldn't consider it reasonable for the school to own all our sighted
> children's pens and paper either. Of course, their are programs within
> schools whereby all children get a school-owned laptop to take home etc.
> etc., and it goes without saying that schools should be held accountable to
> all aspects of providing FAPE, including equipment. However, if you were to
> determine that it would be beneficial to your child to own his BN, in
> addition to holding the school accountable for providing it for home use
> through his IEP, it could be possible to for him to own one.
>
> :)
> Rene--- mom to Miss Clare, age 10
>
> On Sun, Mar 11, 2012 at 10:16 PM, Richard Holloway <rholloway at gopbc.org
> >wrote:
>
> > This may have nothing to do with your situation, but is your daughter
> > exclusively a braille reader? These machines are expensive and all too
> > often, low vision kids aren't pushed towards braille when it may be more
> > appropriate for them than large print, etc., in the long run. This may be
> > largely because schools feel the expense is not justified. Not just the
> > expense of the BrailleNote, but all the associated expenses of making
> > braille work in general. Braille seems to be a last resort in far too
> many
> > systems planning and approach.
> >
> > If I might ask, what are they providing for her at this time? Large
> Print?
> > An adapted computer? Just a Perkins Brailler? Sounds like it may be time
> to
> > start gearing up for a push in a different direction at your daughter's
> > next IEP.
> >
> > At first, I was amazed that they bought some of the expensive equipment
> > they did for our daughter's needs (she has no light perception so there
> is
> > no question about braille for her) then I realized that things like a
> > braillenote with a braille embosser that has a print attachment actually
> > saves them money as compared to paying someone to convert manually
> brailled
> > homework into print for her classroom teacher.
> >
> > Kendra does her homework on the braillenote in many cases and then they
> > just print it at school either in print only for the teachers to review,
> or
> > in print and braille if she will need feedback. Same thing for school
> work,
> > quizzes and tests much of the time. Her embossing equipment should last
> for
> > many more years at school, but I expect it has already paid for itself
> many
> > times over in the past three years just in man hours saved for the
> school.
> >
> > If the argument cannot be made for this equipment to be bought simply
> > because it is appropriate by itself, that cost savings might prove a
> useful
> > "back door" approach. Perhaps something to think about? There may be
> other
> > approaches as well. Does she have the same computer access at school as
> the
> > other children, for example?
> >
> > I know this must be terribly frustrating, but I'll bet there is an
> > approach to get your daughter a more appropriate solution!
> >
> > Richard
> >
> > On Mar 11, 2012, at 11:30 PM, Janice wrote:
> >
> > > Geez-- my daughter is 11 and in 4th grade and has not even been
> > introduced to a BrailleNote. It is SO frustrating knowing the technology
> is
> > out there but it is not accessible to her. We moved from Idaho to
> > Washington because the education was better here. Sounds like we are
> still
> > behind the times. I am at a loss. Janice
> > >
> > > Sent from my iPhone
> > >
> > > On Mar 7, 2012, at 3:48 PM, DrV <icdx at earthlink.net> wrote:
> > >
> > >> My 4th grade son has been taking his BrailleNote to & back from school
> > >> since Kindergarden.
> > >> For us it was never even a question - He needs the tool to do his
> > >> homework.
> > >> It is a vital part of his educational experience.
> > >> How is a child expected to keep up or excel if they are not allowed to
> > >> appropriate access & tools?
> > >> I would argue that the BrailleNote is needed to access the mandatory
> > >> general ed curriculum at home & school.
> > >> My 2 cents.
> > >> Eric
> > >>
> > >> On 3/7/12 2:53 PM, "Dr. S. Merchant" <smerchant at vetmed.lsu.edu>
> wrote:
> > >>
> > >>> I really think the maturity of the individual student needs to be
> taken
> > >>> into
> > >>> account, so to deny access to this piece of equipment at home until a
> > >>> certain age doesn't make sense.  However, the Braille notetakers can
> be
> > >>> somewhat fragile as concerns their pin movements to create the
> Braille
> > and
> > >>> the functioning Braille display sometimes doesn't survive intact when
> > >>> dropped, but on the other hand it isn't thin glass either.  My son
> and
> > a
> > >>> few
> > >>> of the students that were in his self contained VI class were taking
> > their
> > >>> Braille note takers (school bought/owned) home in the first and
> second
> > >>> grade. It then never left his side through high school.
> > >>>
> > >>> Sandy Merchant Taboada
> > >>>
> > >>> -----Original Message-----
> > >>> From: blindkid-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:
> blindkid-bounces at nfbnet.org]
> > On
> > >>> Behalf Of Penny Duffy
> > >>> Sent: Wednesday, March 07, 2012 3:49 PM
> > >>> To: Blind Kid Mailing List, (for parents of blind children)
> > >>> Subject: Re: [blindkid] Braille note
> > >>>
> > >>> I know in our district the students bring their braille notes and or
> > >>> laptops
> > >>> home. Many kids use them for their homework. They are provided by the
> > >>> district.  I am pretty sure IDEA mentions home use. I don't have the
> > >>> wording.  I am just dragging it out of my memory. Which could be
> wrong.
> > >>> On Mar 7, 2012 4:44 PM, "Carly B" <barnesraiser at gmail.com> wrote:
> > >>>
> > >>>> Hi everyone,
> > >>>>
> > >>>> IEP season... oh, yay!! :) I am going to be making a request for my
> > >>>> son having a Braille notetaker (MPower or other) to bring home. I'm
> > >>>> convinced that having it at home will support his Braille
> acquisition
> > >>> considerably.
> > >>>> He's in 3rd grade now and this would be for his 4th grade year. I'm
> > >>>> wondering at what age/grade kids have gotten Braille notetakers for
> > >>>> home and school use, and whether it was provided by the school or
> from
> > >>>> some other agency (or from you), and what have been benefits of
> having
> > >>>> it at home?
> > >>>>
> > >>>> Thank you so much for any input on this question.
> > >>>>
> > >>>> :) Carolynn Barnes
> > >>>> _______________________________________________
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