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<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>good!!</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="FONT: 10pt arial; BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=tlpickrel@hotmail.com href="mailto:tlpickrel@hotmail.com">Trudy
Pickrel</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=mdpobc@nfbnet.org
href="mailto:mdpobc@nfbnet.org">Maryland Parents of Blind Children List</A>
</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Sunday, November 24, 2013 2:51
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: [Mdpobc] Fundraiser Campaign
for SMART Brailler</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV>Thank you all for your comment. I have been in touch with amber off list
and we have put her in contact with several resources. Thank you<BR><BR>Trudy
Pickrel
<DIV>President MD Parents of Blind Children</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV></DIV>
<DIV><BR>On Nov 24, 2013, at 2:47 PM, "Kyle Richmond" <<A
href="mailto:Kyle.Richmond2009@comcast.net">Kyle.Richmond2009@comcast.net</A>>
wrote:<BR><BR></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Chris, yes, totally agree with you. I
thought from the other email that this child was in regular pre-k in a
public school, which I thought was out of the infant and toddler program and
into a real IEP --- but maybe not!! That is why I was leaning
towards the school paying for this device.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>The questions to ask, I guess, are:
is this student already receiving braille services? Does he have
a regular Perkins? And finally, as a pre-K aged child, are his hands
and fingers strong enough to USE a regular Perkins? Maybe not, so
maybe this other Perkins Smart brailler would be an excellent choice.
Just some thoughts!</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>PS - Amber - feel free to contact me directly
anytime at <A
href="mailto:kyle.richmond2009@comcast.net">kyle.richmond2009@comcast.net</A>.
My son is in college now but I can remember when he was that little!!! Best
of luck to you!</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Jill</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
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<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="FONT: 10pt arial; BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=dotkid.nusbaum@gmail.com
href="mailto:dotkid.nusbaum@gmail.com">christopher nusbaum</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=mdpobc@nfbnet.org
href="mailto:mdpobc@nfbnet.org">Maryland Parents of Blind Children
List</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Sunday, November 24, 2013 12:25
AM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: [Mdpobc] Fundraiser
Campaign for SMART Brailler</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<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><BR>On Nov 23, 2013, at 6:19 PM, Kyle Richmond <<A
href="mailto:Kyle.Richmond2009@comcast.net">Kyle.Richmond2009@comcast.net</A>>
wrote:<BR><BR></DIV>
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<DIV>
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<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>
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<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">Gmail</A>
</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=mdpobc@nfbnet.org
href="mailto:mdpobc@nfbnet.org">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">http://teespring.com/brailleliteracy</A></SPAN><BR><BR>Sincerely,</DIV>
<DIV>Amber Elia</DIV>
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