[nabs-l] Braille in Class

[Haben Girma]

Hi Sarah,

Braille is on time 80% of the time. Most of my professors have been 
great about handing me a braille copy of  handouts in class at the same 
time they hand out the print copy to other students. Some professors 
have suggested that I just pick up the braille copy at the DSS office, 
but I just argue that I can't respect an assignment if the professor 
doesn't give it to me herself. I have to read the braille copy in class 
when everyone else is reading it and talking about it. Some professors 
have required several lectures from me about equal access and the true 
spirit of academics, and that usually gets them to email handouts and 
readings ahead of time to the DSS. The woman at the DSS who does the 
brailling does not read braille, but she's learned to work with Duxbury 
and the embosser amazingly well.

Sarah, what's your experience been with braille?

sarah.jevnikar at utoronto.ca wrote:
> Hi Haben,
> I'm impressed you get all your stuff in Braille. Is it all on time and 
> everything? That's amazing - that has not at all been the case for me.
>
> Quoting Haben Girma <habnkid at aol.com>:
>
>>
>> I agree Bill, it's really nice to let the DSS do all the work of
>> explaining logistics. It means I get to walk into class and get taught
>> without having the professor visibly contemplate whether I can actually
>> be taught.
>>
>> I read all my textbooks and articles in braille, so it is absolutely
>> important that my professors stay in communication with the DSS office.
>> So, either a letter or an in-office conversation needs to be in place.
>> From talking to people, I've come to the conclusion that it is not
>> common for blind students to exclusively use braille for class handouts
>> and readings; so I'm not describing the typical situation here.
>>
>> best,
>> Haben
>>
>> Bill wrote:
>>> Hi,
>>> I think there is a significant likely difference in the two cases.  
>>> I think
>>> that being a blind person you probably have more accomidations then the
>>> person in the wheel chair.  Here the letters are not of introduction 
>>> but
>>> rather of the accomidations you require.  Obviously if you have none 
>>> i see
>>> no reason to bother with the letter.  I think the letters make it more
>>> likely that professors will cooperate with requests when they have 
>>> the DSS
>>> office tell them they need to do something.  You might just chat and 
>>> if the
>>> professor is being unaccomidating, ask the DSS person to send them a
>>> letter.  I personally like the letters so when i tell the professor 
>>> i need
>>> this, they already know how it is supposed to work and i don't have to
>>> explain the legistics.
>>> Bill
>>>
>>> On Thu, Apr 16, 2009 at 7:02 PM, Serena <serenacucco at verizon.net> 
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>> Hi Jordan
>>>>
>>>> Do you really think you or the DSS Office has to write a letter to 
>>>> your
>>>> profs. in the first place?  Blind people have a right to simply 
>>>> walk into
>>>> class, without any special explanation, just like sighted people.  
>>>> When I
>>>> was in college, the disability person wrote letters for me, without 
>>>> asking
>>>> me if I wanted her to.  I guess, I didn't think to say no to it at 
>>>> that
>>>> time.  My wheelchair using friend Anthony, however, requested that the
>>>> disability person not write accommodations letters for him cuz he 
>>>> believed
>>>> he didn't need any special introduction just cuz he uses a wheelchair.
>>>>
>>>> Serena
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jordan Richardson" <
>>>> lilrichie411 at gmail.com>
>>>> To: "National Association of Blind Students mailing list" <
>>>> nabs-l at nfbnet.org>; "MnABS listserve" <mn-abs at nfbnet.org>; "WABS 
>>>> listserv"
>>>> <wabs at nfbwis.org>
>>>> Sent: Wednesday, April 15, 2009 7:58 PM
>>>> Subject: [nabs-l] Accommedations Letter to Professors
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> hi all,
>>>> i just talked to the person at the DSS office today and one of the 
>>>> things
>>>> that we talked was the accommedations letter to the professors.  
>>>> Now, i had
>>>> heard about this through Jeff Thompson and MnABS.  Is it better to 
>>>> have the
>>>> DSS office write the letter and send it to me for revisions, or for 
>>>> me to
>>>> just write the letter and to send it to my professors myself.  If i 
>>>> do the
>>>> latter, should i tell the DSS office that i will write the letter 
>>>> myself?
>>>> thx,
>>>>
>>>> -- 
>>>> Jordan Richardson
>>>> lilrichie411 at gmail.com
>>>> “What is a friend? A friend is a single soul dwelling in two bodies”
>>>> --Aristotle
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