[Mdpobc] Fundraiser Campaign for SMART Brailler

Danielle Becker Danielle at BeckerConsultants.com
Mon Nov 25 18:14:59 UTC 2013 

Amber,

My name is Danielle Becker, we live in Frederick County as well. My 
daughter, Rachel, attended school here and if you would like to talk, 
and/or meet off line.  Please contact me at Dani2Becker at gmail.com.
I am unfamiliar with the SMART Brailler, but, Rachel is a braille 
student and is currently in grad school.  We have had a very positive 
experience with Frederick County overall.

Danielle

On 11/24/2013 8:13 AM, Amber Elia wrote:
> 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 <mailto: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
>     <mailto: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 <mailto:eliaam87 at gmail.com>
>>         *To:* Maryland Parents of Blind Children List
>>         <mailto: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
>>
>>         ------------------------------------------------------------------------
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>
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