[Mdpobc] Fundraiser Campaign for SMART Brailler

Sun Nov 24 13:13:49 UTC 2013

Hello, everyone. I sincerely apologize for mistakenly sending my initial
email to the mailing list. That was not my intention and I am embarrassed
by that mistake.

Thank you to all the emails that I have received and those people who have
informed me of I CAN. I was not aware of that foundation and what it can
offer families dealing with blindness or low vision. My son is enrolled in
Pre-K through Frederick County. I haven't broached the idea of the school
system purchasing a SMART Brailler for him because I have been pushing for
longer hours that he is at school. Currently, he attends the mandated Pre-K
hours, about 2.5 hrs a day. His day is being extended until 1 pm, very
soon. And, there is the potential that he will end up attending a regular
full day of instruction. The school has been very willing to listen to me
and what I think provides Max with an adequate learning environment. He
does well with the Perkin's Brailler, that I am not sure they will say he
will benefit more from a SMART Brailler. At the NAPVI conference, Max was
able to explore it and just knowing how he learns I see that a machine like
that will be a great tool for him. I am just trying to "pick my battles". I
am still learning about the IEP, but the stories and experiences that have
been shared with me have always been tough. I don't want to stretch the
luck I have been experiencing by bringing up too much at once.

Again, I sincerely apologize!

Amber

On Sun, Nov 24, 2013 at 12:25 AM, christopher nusbaum <
dotkid.nusbaum at gmail.com> wrote:

> Jill,
>
> While I understand your reasoning for asking these questions, I must point
> out that the child in question is currently in preschool. So it is likely
> that the preschool in which he is enrolled is not affiliated with a County
> school system and therefore is not under the same legal obligation. In
> addition, the IEP process has probably not yet begun. I would advise that
> this family wait until their blind son is fully enrolled in the public
> school system and an IEP has been drafted outlining the basic services he
> needs before they start pursuing school system funds for technology. For a
> child of this age, there are many more fundamental aspects of blindness
> services which must first be taken care of: Braille, TVI services, O and M,
> etc. Without these fundamentals in a child's initial IEP, any assistive
> technology the school system might purchase for him/her would, in my
> opinion, be useless.
>
>  Please understand that I am not saying that school system funding for
> technology should not be pursued or that the school's legal obligation
> should be ignored; quite the contrary. I am only trying to make sure we
> don't put the cart before the horse. Please also understand that I am only
> basing my opinions on my experiences as a blind student in the public
> schools, and that Amber is free to correct me if any of my assumptions are
> wrong. In our experience, however, my family and I have found it better to
> go after the schools for technology funding only after my basic services
> were provided for under my IEP.
>
> Chris Nusbaum
>
> On Nov 23, 2013, at 6:19 PM, Kyle Richmond <Kyle.Richmond2009 at comcast.net>
> wrote:
>
> Has the school said this child would benefit from a Perkins Smart Brailler
> and/or needs a Smart Brailler to participate at school?  If so, why is this
> parent having to pay for this device herself?  Shouldn't the school be
> paying for this?  I don't know enough about this situation to make
> suggestions but just want to ask these questions!  Finally, parents of very
> young blind children, try not to set a precedent that you will pay for
> everything, let the school provide for what it legally needs to provide
> under the IDEA laws.
> Jill Richmond
> PS - the Perkins Smart Brailler does look super-cool, love the new
> technology and the T-shirt is adorable!
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> *From:* Gmail <eliaam87 at gmail.com>
> *To:* Maryland Parents of Blind Children List <mdpobc at nfbnet.org>
> *Sent:* Saturday, November 23, 2013 10:49 AM
> *Subject:* [Mdpobc] Fundraiser Campaign for SMART Brailler
>
> Hi Trudy! My name is Amber and my son, Max, is a totally blind 3 year old.
> We are up in the Frederick area and he is enrolled in Pre-K already. I am
> trying to get the word out about a fundraiser I am doing in the hopes of
> being able to purchase him a SMART Brailler. It's a tee shirt campaign and
> I have attached the link below. Do you think you can send it out to the
> listserv? I appreciate your help getting the word out.
>
> http://teespring.com/brailleliteracy
>
> Sincerely,
> Amber Elia
>
> ------------------------------
>
> _______________________________________________
> Mdpobc mailing list
> Mdpobc at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/mdpobc_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
> Mdpobc:
>
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/mdpobc_nfbnet.org/kyle.richmond2009%40comcast.net
>
> _______________________________________________
> Mdpobc mailing list
> Mdpobc at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/mdpobc_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
> Mdpobc:
>
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/mdpobc_nfbnet.org/dotkid.nusbaum%40gmail.com
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Mdpobc mailing list
> Mdpobc at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/mdpobc_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
> Mdpobc:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/mdpobc_nfbnet.org/eliaam87%40gmail.com
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/mdpobc_nfbnet.org/attachments/20131124/8cfe02b8/attachment.html>