<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1" http-equiv=Content-Type>
<META name=GENERATOR content="MSHTML 9.00.8112.16520"></HEAD>
<BODY bgColor=#ffffff>
<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>
<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; 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>
<BLOCKQUOTE type="cite">
<DIV>
<META name=GENERATOR content="MSHTML 9.00.8112.16520">
<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">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>
<STYLE>.hmmessage P {
PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px
}
BODY.hmmessage {
FONT-FAMILY: Calibri; FONT-SIZE: 12pt
}
</STYLE>
<P></P>
<HR>
<P></P>_______________________________________________<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">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">http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/mdpobc_nfbnet.org/kyle.richmond2009%40comcast.net</A></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE type="cite">
<DIV><SPAN>_______________________________________________</SPAN><BR><SPAN>Mdpobc
mailing list</SPAN><BR><SPAN><A
href="mailto:Mdpobc@nfbnet.org">Mdpobc@nfbnet.org</A></SPAN><BR><SPAN><A
href="http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/mdpobc_nfbnet.org">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><SPAN><A
href="http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/mdpobc_nfbnet.org/dotkid.nusbaum%40gmail.com">http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/mdpobc_nfbnet.org/dotkid.nusbaum%40gmail.com</A></SPAN></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE>
<P>
<HR>
<P></P>_______________________________________________<BR>Mdpobc mailing
list<BR>Mdpobc@nfbnet.org<BR>http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/mdpobc_nfbnet.org<BR>To
unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
Mdpobc:<BR>http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/mdpobc_nfbnet.org/kyle.richmond2009%40comcast.net</BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>