[blindlaw] New Member Intro and Questions

[Aimee Harwood]

Thank you very much Sy.

I really have my heart set on Penn State. I spoke to someone there yesterday who answered a lot of my questions and clarified some things for me especially about how they view the extra time accommodation.

Do you find it difficult or at least a struggle to do everything that needs to be done say read all the material, do your outlines, and whatever other assignments in a day's time? Given the nature of visual impairments and the extra time it takes us to do the same thing as a sighted person does, what will it be like? I've been out of college for 11 years. I just want to hear what it is like for a visually impaired person to be successful in law school. What have you found to be the most effective and efficient methods?

Think I'll stop there for now. I am known for asking deep and somewhat obscure questions. :-)

Aimee
Sent from my iPhone

> On Apr 25, 2014, at 4:17 PM, "Sy Hoekstra" <sy.hoekstra at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> Hi Amy,
> 
> I think the lack of response here is due to the fact that you ask a number
> of large questions on which we could probably all write short books. I have
> found though that the legal profession in general is pretty good about
> accommodations, considering it is decently well-aware of the legal
> obligations surrounding disability rights. I have had no trouble in law
> school getting accommodations I need (I'm a 3L), and the LSAT, MPRE, and bar
> exams are getting slowly more and more comfortable for visually impaired
> people to get through. Though the accommodations process for the bar exam
> can be a nightmare depending on the state you're in. I do all of my note
> taking, outlining, and reading using JAWS, and I find that legal casebooks
> are quite easy to get ahold of in electronic, accessible formats. 
> 
> If you have any things you are particularly worried about, I would certainly
> be happy to answer questions.
> 
> Best regards,
> Sy
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: blindlaw [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Aimee
> Harwood
> Sent: Tuesday, April 22, 2014 2:52 PM
> To: blindlaw at nfbnet.org
> Subject: [blindlaw] New Member Intro and Questions
> 
> Hello everyone. I hope this email finds you all well.  My name is Aimee. I
> am seriously considering law school. I have read about the issues with the
> LSAT and would like to see if anyone has any suggestions and or
> recommendations to make that process more successful. I haven't narrowed
> down what schools I would be most interested in attending. I would like to
> see if there are schools that are more blind friendly than others. Could
> some of you please tell me about your experiences at the schools you
> attended? How difficult was it to juggle the 16 hour semesters and what
> methods did you use to accomplish all of the reading, assignments,
> outlining, and or whatever methods used to keep everything straight. Sighted
> people use highlighters, underlining, and many other visual aids to manage
> the massive amount of information covered in law school. How will a blind
> person manage all of this information so that when it comes exam time, I
> won't be studying unnecessary information. I totally understand that this
> will be totally different than undergrad and really would like some insight
> on how we manage it all. 
> 
> Everyone says I will make a great lawyer. It is really great to have the
> genuine support from those who know me well enough to make a statement
> regarding my suitability for the profession. I look forward to learning
> everything and anything related to being a lawyer. It is something I have
> been interested in doing sins I was a teenager. I just didn't have the
> connection to other blind individuals or organizations and didn't think
> Blind people could be lawyers. I wasn't introduced to JAWS and computers
> until long after high school. Here is a funny joke. I thought I would be
> able to be a horse trainer more than I would be able to be a lawyer. I
> suppose that was because I had been working with or at least riding horses
> since I was a young girl.I am going into law school as a non-traditional
> student. I am making a later in life career change. Unfortunately I am not
> able to do the horse life any more. The president of my chapter said to me
> one evening, "Why don't you go to law school?" I had already been thinking
> about it, but that was the start of this new chapter.  
> 
> Again, I really look forward to this journey and hearing the good, bad, and
> the ugly that you all have to share with me.
> 
> 
> Aimee
> Sent from my iPad
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