[blindkid] Blind Student & The Sighted Band Camp

[Deborah Kent Stein]

Dear Crystal,

This story is very disturbing to me!  Back in the late Sixties my brother, 
who is also blind, applied to several music camps (including the famous 
Interlocken in Michigan) and was told that they categorically did not accept 
blind students.  I would like to think we've gotten beyond that level of 
discrimination in the past 45 years, but clearly we have a ways to go.  Our 
parents kept looking until they found a music camp that was very receptive; 
my brother had a great time and returned for several more summers.  You 
could try to fight this band camp and negotiate to get Ben accepted, but it 
may be a better bet to look for other options instead.   Somewhere there is 
a camp where he will actually be welcome from the outset, where he can make 
friends and learn music and have fun without the stress of feeling that 
people are constantly afraid he is going to cause them extra trouble.

Debbie

-----Original Message----- 
From: Crystal Schumacher
Sent: Thursday, March 06, 2014 8:42 PM
To: blindkid ask
Subject: [blindkid] Blind Student & The Sighted Band Camp

My son Ben is 13 years old and is in 7th grade. He is blind with light 
perception. He attends middle school with seven hundred other students. He 
has an aide in 3 of his classes, Science, Math, & English. His GPA is 3.8. 
He is in his second year of band and plays the trumpet by ear. He has just 
recently started learning the Braille music code. He wants to attend a band 
camp, which is a private camp that we would pay for. If you are a special 
needs student, you must first get permission from the camp to register.

I called and talked to the camp and in the 40 years of existence they have 
never had a blind student attend. The camp does not offer or is unwilling to 
provide any additional support. I think the only support Ben would need is 
in navigating the camp, as it is very large. I have told them that Ben would 
do orientation and mobility training before the camp starts, as well as 
create a tactile map, use a Braille copy of the schedule, and a talking 
watch to get to places on time. They are unwilling to allow Ben to attend 
without an Aide. I was trying to avoid an Aide because it gets in the place 
of making friends and Ben wants to be as independent as possible. They said 
if he had a friend going, who would be his buddy, we may be able to avoid 
the Aide. He really doesn't have that kind of a friend, more acquaintances. 
One point of him going was to try and make a friend or connection.

I am wondering if anyone out there has been in this situation. What did you 
do? Did you go as your child's Aide? Did you hire someone? Did you pay for 
another student to attend with your child? Did you give up? I have already 
sent a dozen emails and on top of it his school found out about his desire 
to go to band camp. They made it a topic during his IEP meeting and wanted 
input from his teachers as to weather he should be allowed to attend. But 
mind you, it is a private camp that I would be paying 100% of the tuition, 
and has nothing to do with public school. Frustrated in Oregon!

Crystal

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