<div dir="ltr">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. <div><br></div><div>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.</div>
<div><br></div><div>Again, I sincerely apologize! </div><div><br></div><div>Amber</div></div><div class="gmail_extra"><br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Sun, Nov 24, 2013 at 12:25 AM, christopher nusbaum <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:dotkid.nusbaum@gmail.com" target="_blank">dotkid.nusbaum@gmail.com</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><div dir="auto"><div>Jill,<br><br>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.</div>
<div><br></div><div> 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. </div>
<div><br>Chris Nusbaum</div><div><div class="h5"><div><br>On Nov 23, 2013, at 6:19 PM, Kyle Richmond <<a href="mailto:Kyle.Richmond2009@comcast.net" target="_blank">Kyle.Richmond2009@comcast.net</a>> wrote:<br><br>
</div><blockquote type="cite"><div>
<div><font face="Arial">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.</font></div>
<div><font face="Arial">Jill Richmond</font></div>
<div><font face="Arial">PS - the Perkins Smart Brailler does look
super-cool, love the new technology and the T-shirt is adorable!</font></div>
<div><font face="Arial"></font> </div>
<blockquote style="BORDER-LEFT:#000000 2px solid;PADDING-LEFT:5px;PADDING-RIGHT:0px;MARGIN-LEFT:5px;MARGIN-RIGHT:0px">
<div style="FONT:10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </div>
<div style="FONT:10pt arial;BACKGROUND:#e4e4e4"><b>From:</b>
<a title="eliaam87@gmail.com" href="mailto:eliaam87@gmail.com" target="_blank">Gmail</a> </div>
<div style="FONT:10pt arial"><b>To:</b> <a title="mdpobc@nfbnet.org" href="mailto:mdpobc@nfbnet.org" target="_blank">Maryland Parents of Blind Children List</a>
</div>
<div style="FONT:10pt arial"><b>Sent:</b> Saturday, November 23, 2013 10:49
AM</div>
<div style="FONT:10pt arial"><b>Subject:</b> [Mdpobc] Fundraiser Campaign for
SMART Brailler</div>
<div><br></div>
<div><span>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. </span></div>
<div><span><br></span></div>
<div><span><a href="http://teespring.com/brailleliteracy" target="_blank">http://teespring.com/brailleliteracy</a></span><br><br>Sincerely,</div>
<div>Amber Elia</div>
<p>
</p><hr>
<p></p>_______________________________________________<br>Mdpobc mailing
list<br><a href="mailto:Mdpobc@nfbnet.org" target="_blank">Mdpobc@nfbnet.org</a><br><a href="http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/mdpobc_nfbnet.org" target="_blank">http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/mdpobc_nfbnet.org</a><br>
To
unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
Mdpobc:<br><a href="http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/mdpobc_nfbnet.org/kyle.richmond2009%40comcast.net" target="_blank">http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/mdpobc_nfbnet.org/kyle.richmond2009%40comcast.net</a></blockquote>
</div></blockquote></div></div><blockquote type="cite"><div><div><div class="h5"><span>_______________________________________________</span><br><span>Mdpobc mailing list</span><br><span><a href="mailto:Mdpobc@nfbnet.org" target="_blank">Mdpobc@nfbnet.org</a></span><br>
<span><a href="http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/mdpobc_nfbnet.org" target="_blank">http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/mdpobc_nfbnet.org</a></span><br><span>To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for Mdpobc:</span><br>
</div></div><span><a href="http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/mdpobc_nfbnet.org/dotkid.nusbaum%40gmail.com" target="_blank">http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/mdpobc_nfbnet.org/dotkid.nusbaum%40gmail.com</a></span></div></blockquote>
</div>
<br>_______________________________________________<br>
Mdpobc mailing list<br>
<a href="mailto:Mdpobc@nfbnet.org">Mdpobc@nfbnet.org</a><br>
<a href="http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/mdpobc_nfbnet.org" target="_blank">http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/mdpobc_nfbnet.org</a><br>
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for Mdpobc:<br>
<a href="http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/mdpobc_nfbnet.org/eliaam87%40gmail.com" target="_blank">http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/mdpobc_nfbnet.org/eliaam87%40gmail.com</a><br></blockquote></div><br></div>