[blindkid] Writing Essay and Reports

Arielle Silverman arielle71 at gmail.com
Fri Feb 1 16:23:17 UTC 2013


One hour per month with the TVI is completely ridiculous. I suspect
that blind students placed in special education end up getting worse
services than most, which is really a shame. Although when I was in
high school I had a blind friend who was in special ed and he got way
more TVI time than that. It feels like the teachers are giving up on
her by not teaching her things that most blind kids are learning in
elementary grades. Doing assignments that a para has printed out for
her isn't helpful at all. I'd strongly suggest either sending her to
Perkins or to a blindness center like the Colorado Center for the
Blind, Louisiana Center for the Blind or BLIND, Inc. where they teach
intensive technology skills as well as O&M and daily living. Some of
the centers also have college prep programs where students actually
take classes and receive guidance in notetaking and study skills. Send
her now; not after she turns 21 or 22 or whatever. She simply isn't
being educated in her current school and lack of wi-fi is no excuse
for not teaching her basic screen reader use. Internet isn't required
to learn how to type or to create documents on a PC and plenty of us
learned how to use computers before Internet was invented. I'm not
sure why they are prioritizing teaching her the Ipad before anything
else but for her to be successful in college, learning a computer is
way more critical than learning to use an Ipad. Again, we are all here
to help you.
Arielle

On 2/1/13, Bo Page <bo.page at sbcglobal.net> wrote:
> Good questions. Yes, I have repeatedly asked for more of their time and I
> get
> the same answer every time. The TVI claims that she can only get an hour a
> month
> of her time and that she is getting more than most.  TVI also claims they
> give
> the para the instructions and it's her job to carry them out.  We have
> assistive
> technology goals but TVI blames not being able to get a wifi connection for
> not
> following through.  No one is teaching her how to use technology to help her
> do
> her homework such as research papers.  I'm frustrated because I have no one
> to
> reach out to. The same with the O&M who for the first half of this school
> year
> did nothing until I brought it up at the last PPT meeting and the instructor
>
> added another hour.  I just pulled her from a vocational program because it
> was
> not adding any value so I opted to have my daughter take more classes
> instead.
> Nobody is doing anything about independent living skills.  The TVI made the
>
> recommendation to put her in a foods class, and that was the best idea they
>
> could come up with. I've lost all trust in the services for the blind and
> now I
> want her to attend Perkins for her last year to try to gain some ground on
> what
> was missed.
>
>
>
>
>
> ________________________________
> From: Chantel Alberhasky <chantel at alberhaskylaw.com>
> To: (for parents of blind children)Blind Kid Mailing List
> <blindkid at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Fri, February 1, 2013 10:23:25 AM
> Subject: Re: [blindkid] Writing Essay and Reports
>
> Ask for an IEP meeting to request more services.  Services are based on
> goals.
>  What are her goals?  Do you need new goals?  Does she have assistive
> technology
> goals?
> Did your daughter recently lose her sight?  You mentioned she is going to
> stay
> in school until she is 21 and not graduate with her peers.   I am trying to
>
> understand why the school hasn't prepared her for independent living,
> further
> education and employment.
> Chantel L. Alberhasky, Esq
> 419 Boonville Avenue
> Springfield, MO 65806
> 417.865.4444
>
> The Missouri Bar Disciplinary Counsel requires all Missouri attorneys
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>
> --- On Fri, 2/1/13, Bo Page <bo.page at sbcglobal.net> wrote:
>
> From: Bo Page <bo.page at sbcglobal.net>
> Subject: Re: [blindkid] Writing Essay and Reports
> To: "Blind Kid Mailing List, (for parents of blind children)"
> <blindkid at nfbnet.org>
> Date: Friday, February 1, 2013, 8:09 AM
>
> My daughter is in a public high school in special education, which allows
> her to
>
> attend school until she is 21 or 22 depending on her birthday.  She's using
> this
>
> year and the next to help catch up on her English and math skills and is
> taking
> a Foods course and a sociology courses.  The goal is to give her more
> practice
> in writing and math.  Her TVI gives her only one hour per month, and that is
>
> used mostly on attempting to help my daughter with her electronics--iTouch
> and
> iPad mini.  After a year and a half my daughter hasn't gotten better at
> using
> them and there always seems to be a problem with getting connected to a
> wifi.
> Of course, I don't learn about these things until later because I don't get
> any
> reports. Her para helps her with algebra and English writing; however, we do
>
> most of the homework with her.  I'm frustrated because she's not learning
> skills
>
> that will help her as a blind person, and certainly not at college.  The
> para
> prints out some articles from the internet and highlights points for my
> daughter
>
> to include on her report, but this is ridiculous.  I'm basically expected to
> do
> the homework in order to get it done. The TVI doesn't give my daughter or
> the
> para any direction as to how a blind person should do homework, and so the
> para
> is left to her own devices as to how to present the material to my daughter.
>
>
>
>
> ________________________________
> From: Arielle Silverman <arielle71 at gmail.com>
> To: "Blind Kid Mailing List, (for parents of blind children)"
> <blindkid at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Thu, January 31, 2013 11:49:09 PM
> Subject: Re: [blindkid] Writing Essay and Reports
>
> What kind of class is she in? Are the other students still in high
> school or have they all graduated and also doing college prep?
> Arielle
>
> On 1/31/13, Bo Page <bo.page at sbcglobal.net> wrote:
>> Eric, She is transitioning from 12 and doing college prep work now.  She
>> met
>> all
>> her course requirements for HS, but struggles with math and English so
>> she's
>>
>> still working in these two areas.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> ________________________________
>> From: DrV <icdx at earthlink.net>
>> To: "Blind Kid Mailing List, (for parents of blind children)"
>> <blindkid at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Thu, January 31, 2013 11:07:40 PM
>> Subject: Re: [blindkid] Writing Essay and Reports
>>
>> Hi Bo,
>> What grade is your daughter in?
>> Eric
>>
>> On 1/31/13 6:11 PM, "Bo Page" <bo.page at sbcglobal.net> wrote:
>>
>>>I need some tips on how to best help a blind student write essays and
>>>reports.
>>>Should research papers be brailled so they can access the info
>>>themselves?  Or
>>>should there be a reader for them? I don't know how to best help my
>>>daughter
>>>with this, and I feel like I'm doing all the work for her by reading
>>>articles
>>>over and over looking to answer certain questions about the writing
>>>topic. I'm
>>>not sure how to cite material from the interent. It all seems so
>>>complicated.
>>>If she's not doing the work herself, then what value is there in doing
>>>the
>>>assignments?  My daughter is mainstreamed in a public school and she
>>>barely gets
>>>any time with her TVI to teach her this stuff.  I feel like I'm just as
>>>blind as
>>>my daughter.  There has got to be a better way.  PLease share any tips
>>>and make
>>>suggestions.  Thank you.
>>>
>>>Mom in Connecticut
>>>_______________________________________________
>>>blindkid mailing list
>>>blindkid at nfbnet.org
>>>http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindkid_nfbnet.org
>>>To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
>>>blindkid:
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>>>v
>>
>>
>>
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>
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