[nabs-l] waver

Mon Jan 10 01:43:45 UTC 2011

I would say, yes, simply because you will need to prove that you are
able to handle almost any task thrown at you in the workplace.
Everyone has different challenges; the rules should not be different.
Granted, I would have loved to be exempt from certain requirements
that required accommodations that I didn't necessarily need, but it
would have been taking the easy way out.

On 1/9/11, Joe Orozco <jsorozco at gmail.com> wrote:
> Robert,
>
> I think you raise a good point, but think of it this way:  Should students
> at the NFB training centers take wood shop even if they never plan to go
> into woodwork?  Clearly, for the centers this class is about confidence, but
> just like colleges, the required courses are there to enhance general
> competence.
>
> Joe
>
> "Hard work spotlights the character of people: some turn up their sleeves,
> some turn up their noses, and some don't turn up at all."--Sam Ewing
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org
> [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Rob Blachowicz
> Sent: Sunday, January 09, 2011 8:19 PM
> To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] waver
>
> ?
> The question I have if it's a college requirement and doesn't
> really pertain
> to your major should you be required to take it if it requires a lot of
> accomidations.  Should we stress our selves out twice as much
> as sighted
> students for something that isn't even our goals.
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Arielle Silverman
> Sent: Sunday, January 09, 2011 4:05 PM
> To: Ashley Bramlett ; National Association of Blind Students
> mailing list
> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] waver
>
> Hi Josh and all,
>
> I can think of very few cases in which getting a course waived because
> of blindness is justifiable. I know this has been mentioned already,
> but in my experience almost any course can be completed with the help
> of a good human reader, regardless of the accessibility of necessary
> software. A reader will be much, much less expensive than SuperNova or
> other software.
>
> I think one of the biggest misconceptions, held by blind and sighted
> people alike, is that if a blind person can't do a task independently,
> they can't do the task at all. But decades of blind students who were
> educated prior to the computer era have proven that true success is
> possible through appropriate collaborations with readers and other
> assistants. Many state agencies for the blind have provisions in their
> statutes requiring them to pay for reader services. If not, it is
> possible to hire readers on a volunteer basis, offering to provide a
> service such as food, babysitting, etc. as compensation or working
> with volunteers from an organization that requires them to complete
> service hours. Many college clubs, such as fraternities and sororities
> or service organizations, or even groups at a church or other
> religious organizations require their members to perform volunteer
> service.
>
> For example, I have been successful thus far in my doctoral program in
> psychology despite not being able to independently enter data or make
> poster presentations. I work with research assistants who enter the
> data and help me with formatting my posters and graphical
> presentations of my research. I also cannot independently grade
> handwritten tests for my teaching assistant jobs, but I can do so by
> working with a reader who reads the tests to me. It would be a real
> shame if I, or someone in my graduate program, thought I couldn't
> participate in the program because I can't do these tasks all by
> myself. Similarly, some people think a blind person cannot teach
> elementary school because they cannot watch all the kids at once and
> ascertain whether they are fooling around silently during class. Yet
> many blind elementary school teachers work with assistants who help
> with visual classroom monitoring so they are free to instruct the
> class. In both of these cases, the blind person is still performing
> the important work. I still independently develop the content for my
> data presentations and I decide what grades students will get on their
> tests after the reader has told me what the students wrote. The blind
> teacher is still the one in charge of the classroom and the one who
> decides how mischievous students will be disciplined after they are
> identified by the teacher's aide. It is also important to remember
> that in many of these professions, sighted people also work with
> similar kinds of assistants. Some sighted teachers have
> paraprofessionals (teacher's aides). Although my sighted classmates
> don't use their RA's to help them with presentations, they do often
> work with RA's who provide data entry assistance.
>
> My point is that I would caution against saying something is
> impossible just because it can't be done without assistance. Of
> course, the ideal is to have software designed to be accessible out of
> the box so we can do everything independently. But until that day
> comes, I would not give up on a class or an activity until all
> options, including use of human readers, have been exhausted.
>
> Good luck!
> Arielle
>
> On 1/9/11, Ashley  Bramlett <bookwormahb at earthlink.net> wrote:
>> Josh,
>> Sorry to be blunt but your ideas seem like dreams.  Do you
> think your voc
>> rehab agency will buy you a different screen reader for one class?  I
>> highly
>> doubt it because budgets are tight and its not cost effective to buy
>> something you'll use three months.  Any adaptive technology
> purchase has
>> to
>> be justifiable and related to your employment goal.
>> Next for the companies to script their screen readers and make them
>> accessible its a large undertaking and will not happen in the
> time you
>> need
>> it to.  Even if you take a semester off as you said you would, do you
>> think
>> the companies will be ready?  Did you ask them the time frame of the
>> scripting process?
>> If MS project is graphical it may not be something that is rendered
>> accessible; some software is just not.
>> Also there needs to be a large demand for this.  Are many blind people
>> needing Ms project and made the request? I have no idea.
>>
>> Rather than getting a waver, I suggest some things.  Hire a
> reader to help
>> you; get a course substitution for the class.  Could you use another
>> program
>> to accomplish the same goals of the class?
>>
>> Anyway, good luck figuring this out but I don't think asking
> companies to
>> script their software, and expecting it to be ready soon is a
> realistic
>> idea.
>>
>> Ashley
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Josh Kennedy" <jkenn337 at gmail.com>
>> To: <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Sunday, January 09, 2011 2:13 PM
>> Subject: [nabs-l] waver
>>
>>
>>> Hi
>>>
>>> I used to think I would need a waver for this project
> management class.
>>> You see if I can get gwmicro or serotek or both to make their readers
>>> accessible, great. if not, I will get voc rehab to get me supernova.
>>> supernova is the only screen reader which makes
> ms-project2007 and 2010
>>> accessible.
>>>
>>> Josh
>>>
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>>
>>
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>
>
> --
> Arielle Silverman
> President, National Association of Blind Students
> Phone:  602-502-2255
> Email:
> nabs.president at gmail.com
> Website:
> www.nabslink.org
>
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-- 
Robert Spangler
The University of Toledo
Student Senate - SSIPS Committee
Student Government Cabinet - Advanced Team
Mentoring Collaborative - Student Mentor