[nabs-l] A blind Fulbright grantee's question

Tue May 10 23:08:19 UTC 2011

Gedi,
I do my own stuff as much as I can too. For books, I've hired readers as I 
much prefer that to electronic text anyway; e-text you miss the tables and 
graphics in the text and my psychology classes had plenty of that.
I ordered books as well from RFB. But you got to go through DSS to get an 
accomodation letter.
If you need a notetaker, you have to go through DSS; same for testing 
accomodations, unless your professor lets you take the test on your laptop 
or something.
But at least at Nova (community college)  they do not let you pick your own 
readers for tests and notetakers. So you are pretty much stuck with them.  I 
think they should provide such accomodations; it should not be our job to 
pay a notetaker for something like a math class, but students should have 
that option.  Often the notetakers and readers are bad quality and a student 
would be better off using their own people.  But you got to use their 
readers for tests.  When I had my own reader and my DSS counselor found out, 
she almost got mad because she thought I used her for the exam and I 
explained I used my college assigned reader.  "You have to use our 
reader/scribes." she said.
I explained that the reader helped me prepare for the test by reading 
material, not take the test. She thought I had used her for the exam because 
the reader tried to get a room in the counseling center for us to study 
since the library was full and that is how word got to her.
Oh and as for professors emailing handouts, I had a lot of issues this 
semester.
So its not as easy to work with professors as you make it seem, at least for 
some professors.
I tried it on my own.  The professor ignored me. Then DSS had to tell him 
and copied the dean on the email request, and then finally something got 
done!

I guess my point here is that we can do it, but I think its good to form a 
good relationship with your DSS staff because you never know when you may 
need them like when I needed them to back me up on following my 
accomodations to get electronic handouts.

Ashley
-----Original Message----- 
From: Jedi
Sent: Tuesday, May 10, 2011 6:42 PM
To: nabs-l at nfbnet.org
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] A blind Fulbright grantee's question

I've decided that, for me on the whole, disability service offices are
highly over-rated. Usually, I just make my own accessible documents,
especially since e-mail is so easy to get at these days. Most
instructors are pretty cool with making on-the-fly adaptations for
assignments and tests as needed. As for books, I usually just order
mine or get my own reader. the only time i tend to use the DSS offices
is for those classes where I can't do something for myself. For
example, I needed a Braille math text that wasn't printed yet, so I got
the DSS office to get me an electronic brf that I read through my
notetaker. I used the DSS for science lab readers and a tactile
interpreter for ASL classes. But this particular office was one of the
better ones. But generally speaking, I just do my own stuff out of the
box. So, I guess what I'm saying is that your need for  a DSS office
will greatly depend on your courses and what you can do for yourself.
If your need is low, then DSS offices might not be as concerning to
you. But if your need is high, you bet that the DSS office will on the
top of your quality control list.

Respectfully Submitted

Original message:
> Jedi,
>   I pretty much agree with you here-although I would add one more
> consideration to the mix.  All disability resource centers are not
> created equal.  Some have the capability to produce braille books,
> others do not.  Some have the ability to scan large textbooks and
> convert them to suitable computer files while others don't.  The
> reliability and quality of volunteer reader programs can vary
> considerably from university to university.
>   Adriana,
>   I suggest you do a little research on the disability centers at each
> of the universities you're considering.  Look at their web sites, send
> them emails-if you can, call them up and see if they can do an
> over-the-phone appointment to talk about their capabilities and
> limits.  If you need any help finding contact info for the disability
> centers, I'm sure someone on this list can be of assistance.  We're
> here to share information, after all.
>   Hope that helps,
> Kirt

> On 5/9/11, Jedi <loneblindjedi at samobile.net> wrote:
>> Adriana,

>> There is no such thing as "the best university program out there for
>> blind people." At least, not in the context you're in. The fact is that
>> you should choose a university you're genuinely interested in. The
>> blindness stuff can be worked out wherever you are. The only concern
>> that might be valid as a blind person is transportation. You want a
>> university that's close to things or that has good transport so you can
>> go places. But beyond that, the world is your apple and I suggest you
>> have a bite.

>> Respectfully,
>> Jedi

>> Original message:
>>>     Hello!

>>> My name is Adriana Pulido. I'm a blind Fulbright grantee from
>>> Colombia, and I'm going to study a Master's degree in communications
>>> and Journalism.
>>> At this moment, a placement officer at LASPAU is working on my
>>> admission process. I have 5 university options, namely: the University
>>> of Florida, the University of South Florida, Temple University,
>>> Northern Illinois University, and the University of Arkansas, which
>>> was suggested by my Placement officer.

>>> Could you please tell me which of these universities is the best
>>> option for a blind student?
>>> I also would like to know which is the best option academically 
>>> speaking.

>>>                                         Thank you for attending this
>>> message.

>>> Best,

>>> --
>>> Adriana Pulido
>>> Filóloga y músico de la Universidad
>>> Nacional de Colombia. Becaria Fulbright.

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