[blindkid] ADA Question Re: Music camp? Another alternative!

[Arielle Silverman]

And the irony is that Braille signs are most helpful in buildings the
blind person is unfamiliar with. Once I get to know my way around a
building, the  signs are kind of  redundant with what I already know
about the layout. It's only really important when I first get there.
But of course, by the time I realize there are no signs and complain,
I've just learned the building without them anyway!
Arielle

On 3/11/14, Richard Holloway <rholloway at gopbc.org> wrote:
> I'd like to know that too, though my guess is that no matter the mandate,
> formal complaints are probably rare.
>
> Our daughter's school is over 50 years old. As far as we are aware, she is
> the first/only blind student there. (Long affiliated staff say she is the
> first, so probably that dates back 20 or 30 years, and 30 years ago, far
> fewer blind students were mainstreamed, at least around here.)
>
> Braille signage should be on some compliance checklist, but what always
> comes up is there is seemingly no penalty for failure to comply.
>
> If you have 100 schools out of compliance in your district, and if you don't
> really want to bother putting signage in 100 schools, why not wait until
> someone complains, then put signs ONLY in the school they complained about?
>
> Or in our case, go with a 5-year "temporary" solution. We were assured
> proper signs were requested from the county while we were still finishing
> kindergarten at a different school, but it could take months or maybe even a
> year. 5 years later?.... Nothing but dymo tape.
>
> I can't see any excuse for new buildings having improper signage, but in
> districts like ours, where probably 80% or 90% of our buildings are at least
> 40 or 50 years old? I don't think they are going to be moved to install
> these thousands of signs as they should.
>
> Should they still put up proper signs after we're through at our school?
> Sure. Are we going to take time to file some formal complaint? Not likely.
> We have bigger fish to try.
>
> One other thing we noticed: Looking at other area schools. We were pleased
> to see more permanent Braille signs in one optional school for us. Only
> closer inspection showed they had pressed some tiny white balls into the
> dark plastic sheets to form this Braille, presumably to make the Braille
> more visible? Well, most of the Braille dots fell out over the years. The
> signs would probably have gotten a pass from any sighted compliance
> inspector but the actual Braille was entirely useless random dots.
>
> If there's a code I can wave at someone and pound my fist over, I'll
> absolutely do it, but the missing leverage in so many of these laws is the
> lack of penalty.
>
> I'd love to hear I am wrong, but I have heard this a number of times from
> different sources and the laws I read tend to only say what must be done--
> why no penalties?
>
> Here are some handy suggestions:
> Comply or loose funding.
> Comply or be fined.
> Comply or be fired.
> Those are things which motivate....
>
> Being in "big trouble" may (or may not!) have worked with our kids, but it
> doesn't seem to motivate our education facilities operators very well.
>
>
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
>> On Mar 11, 2014, at 10:24 PM, Arielle Silverman <arielle71 at gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>> Hi Carol,
>>
>> Thanks for the clarifications about ADA covering the camp. Going
>> slightly off-topic here, but does ADA mandate Braille signs in school
>> buildings? If so, why do the vast majority of school buildings I've
>> frequented lack Braille signs?
>> Arielle
>>
>>> On 3/11/14, Carol Castellano <carol_castellano at verizon.net> wrote:
>>> That is absolutely right.  At first parents fight for their child,
>>> but they also must be training the child to stand up for him or
>>> herself.  Self-advocacy is a critical skill and knowing our rights
>>> and responsibilities is a part of it.  When parents speak about
>>> blindness, laws, and civil rights our kids are listening and
>>> learning.  We are teaching them the vocabulary and modeling attitudes
>>> that they can then use to advocate for themselves.
>>>
>>> Carol
>>>
>>> Carol Castellano
>>> Parents of Blind Children-NJ
>>> Director of Programs
>>> National Organization of Parents of Blind Children
>>> 973-377-0976
>>> carol_castellano at verizon.net
>>> www.blindchildren.org
>>> www.nfb.org/parents-and-teachers
>>>
>>> At 07:27 PM 3/11/2014, you wrote:
>>>> Carol, this is great information for parents and students.  Those of
>>>> us who are blind adults advocate for ourselves regularly because of
>>>> discrimination and I believe it is a critical skill students need to
>>>> learn.  Parents are very important advocates for their children but as
>>>> your sons anddaughters grow up they need to participate in and
>>>> eventually take over advocacy.  The Americans With Disabilities Act is
>>>> a very important law that covers us in and out of public schools.
>>>> Please learn all you can about this law and help your children
>>>> understand it.
>>>>
>>>> On 3/11/14, Carol Castellano <carol_castellano at verizon.net> wrote:
>
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