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<div class="moz-cite-prefix">Amber,<br>
<br>
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
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:Dani2Becker@gmail.com">Dani2Becker@gmail.com</a>.<br>
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.<br>
<br>
Danielle<br>
<br>
On 11/24/2013 8:13 AM, Amber Elia wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote
cite="mid:CAP0zUnDg=-kbBUReboFWaQ1Bo5vnByDVuHYY3o76Uv7pUjpJmg@mail.gmail.com"
type="cite">
<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
moz-do-not-send="true"
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
moz-do-not-send="true"
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> </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 moz-do-not-send="true"
title="eliaam87@gmail.com"
href="mailto:eliaam87@gmail.com"
target="_blank">Gmail</a> </div>
<div style="FONT:10pt arial"><b>To:</b> <a
moz-do-not-send="true"
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 moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://teespring.com/brailleliteracy"
target="_blank">http://teespring.com/brailleliteracy</a></span><br>
<br>
Sincerely,</div>
<div>Amber Elia</div>
<p> </p>
<hr>
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