[blindkid] Blind Student & The Sighted Band Camp

[Arielle Silverman]

I agree. I don't know if ADA covers private camps like this, but if
their attitude is so negative already, I'm not sure I would trust them
to treat Ben well even if you successfully get him accepted. Unless
there's something else special about this camp, I'd say keep looking.
When I was a kid I wasn't allowed to attend Jewish camp with my sister
because my mother was the one who thought I would need an aide and she
told me an aide would be too expensive. Good for you to trust that
your son can participate on his own.

Arielle

On 3/6/14, Deborah Kent Stein <dkent5817 at att.net> wrote:
>
>
> 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
>
> _______________________________________________
> 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:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindkid_nfbnet.org/dkent5817%40att.net
>
>
> ---
> This email is free from viruses and malware because avast! Antivirus
> protection is active.
> http://www.avast.com
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> 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:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindkid_nfbnet.org/arielle71%40gmail.com
>