[blindlaw] Introduction from Sacramento

[Elizabeth Rene]

Hi Patrick,

I'm treading a very fine line here, because anything that smacks of advertising is not really allowed here.  

But if you're taking the February California bar exam, and haven't enrolled in a bar review course yet, I want to suggest one that should be singularly accessible to you, if you use an iPad or iPhone with VoiceOver.  I used this course to pass the Uniform Bar Exam on  my first try, after being away from law practice for almost two decades.

BarMax, developed first for the California Bar Exam by some Harvard law graduates and professors, is designed specifically for the iPad and iPhone, so you can take your studies with you wherever you go.  It's much, much cheaper than the other courses, and I found the developers and support staff exceptionally helpful and eager to make their materials accessible to me.  I have Cone Dystrophy, and can see very little indeed.

I used both my iPad and my iPhone, alternatively, depending on which was most convenient at the time, along with a Braille display device, but people who learn best auditorially could do without that.  You need a laptop, either Windows or Mac, to download a "welcome packet," which includes practice essay questions, performance exercizes, sample answers, and scoring sheets for the MEE and MPT.  There's online and telephone support available for academic and technical help.  All very good.  I didn't have the laptop available at the time, and the developers broke the welcome packet down into manageable segments so I could load it into my Braille display device.  There's lots and lots of practice available for the MBE, which I found crucially helpful, along with a free MPRE cource.

The lectures for each subject are broken down into small segments, so you can listen to them at convenience and digest them as you need.  

I didn't have to justify myself according to the ADA.  I just asked for the help, and got it.  

Good luck to you, whatever you do.  

Elizabeth Rene, Washington State