[nabs-l] questions and assistance neededforstartingonlinecollege

Fri Aug 3 00:04:43 UTC 2012

This one is really small maybe twenty inches or something? It wasn't that
much either. I know they have moddles I am not sure if they have any that
you could touch but it wouldn't hurt to look in to it. Contact the people on
the site and ask.
Rania,

-----Original Message-----
From: nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Ashley Bramlett
Sent: Thursday, August 02, 2012 9:58 PM
To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] questions and assistance
neededforstartingonlinecollege

wow, I didn't know you could buy little skeletons; thought only colleges 
bought them from some private vendor.

-----Original Message----- 
From: Rania Ismail CMT
Sent: Thursday, August 02, 2012 7:16 PM
To: 'National Association of Blind Students mailing list'
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] questions and assistance needed 
forstartingonlinecollege

Yes if she goes for massage therapy it would be in her best interest to go
to a school so she can get the hands on experience needed in order for a
blind person to really understand ware the bones and muscles are on the body
because as a massage therapist I work on the muscles but the bones serve as
landmarks for the muscles.
I have a Tiny Tim skeleton. I got it and used it when I was learning the
bones. It helped me because I was able to use it to practice finding the
bones when I didn't have an actual person to practice on. I got the skeleton
from www.anatomywarehouse.com
Rania,

-----Original Message-----
From: nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Ashley Bramlett
Sent: Thursday, August 02, 2012 9:03 PM
To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] questions and assistance needed for
startingonlinecollege

Rania,
How nice of you to add advice. You had access to skeletons and other models
because you were on campus. Maybe Melissa will
be able to find a campus to go to as I think that would offer benefits an
online school does not. Some schools have satelite campuses, especially i f
you reside in the northern Virginia or DC area.

If you go the online route, you could probably access such models and
skeletons at a university orcommunity college. A blind friend of mine took
biology at the Annandale community college campus, Nova. She got to
tactially explore many models there.

-----Original Message----- 
From: Rania Ismail CMT
Sent: Thursday, August 02, 2012 6:40 PM
To: 'National Association of Blind Students mailing list'
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] questions and assistance needed for starting
onlinecollege

Hi Welcome to the list.
My name is Rania and I am a Certified massage therapist in the state of New
Jersey. I had to take anatomy and physiology. I used play doe so I could get
a better understand of some things.
When it came to learning the bones and muscles we the class and I touched a
skeleton and found the bones and muscles on our selvs and each other.
Feel free to email me off list with more questions about massage therapy.
I also serve as a mentor for students who are in school for massage and
those who are interested in the field. I have had quite a few mentee's
graduate as well!
My email address is raniaismail04 at gmail.com
I look forward to answering any questions you have.
Rania,

-----Original Message-----
From: nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Mystical Charm
Sent: Thursday, August 02, 2012 7:11 PM
To: nabs-l at nfbnet.org
Subject: [nabs-l] questions and assistance needed for starting online
college

I have copied and pasted below an email that I sent to the VABS (Virginia
Association of Blind Students) moderator but, I have not received any
response so, I am writing here in hopes I can receive some assistance of
some kind so that I can begin my studies.

------------------------- 

Greetings to you Angie Matney,

I wanted to write you in hopes that you may be of some assistance to me. I
was unsure if I would correctly qualify to join the list or not for the
Virginia Association of Blind Students or not so, I wanted to write you
directly and find out if you can give me any information or a direction to
go.

Now to tell you a little bit about me and my situation.

My name is Melissa, I am 32 years old and I am blind; I was born with a
visual impairment, Glaucoma. Over the years I did have the normal
treatments; the usage of multiple eye drops and in hospital surgery as well
as laser surgery but, none of these were effective so, my vision declined
over time and I am left with no usable vision.

I truly believe I belong in the health field however, the particular area in
health is viewed by some as absurd, while others try out different methods
and can take it or leave it and others still like having the option to
incorporate in methods in their life's and others truly believe in the
benefits. What I am talking about is natural medicine. This covers
complementary methods as well as alternative therapies. It includes anything
from holistic dentistry and Chiropractics to Acupuncture to Homeopathy and
Massage therapy and goes into the subjects of Vitamins and Minerals and
exercise/fitness to energy work and meditation and so many more other
topics.

The average university/College may only have a course or two in a subject
named above or something similar if they offer them at all. The only
colleges that I know of that deal specifically with these subjects are
Naturopathy Colleges and there are only perhaps 3-5 of them in the United
States. I don't desire to move to one of these states in which one of these
Naturopathy Colleges are located, the only alternative I have is searching
the internet for legitimate schools online so that I can do the schoolwork
from home. I have found a couple of Colleges that are of interest to me with
what they offer and I have checked to see if their accreditation is
legitimate or not and they do seem to be so.

I do know that being a doctor is possible for a person who is blind; I once
went to a lecture/discussion at my local hospital and the man that was
speaking had been a doctor for a number of years and he was blind. At the
time, I wasn't interested in being in the health field, I was a young
teenager and was still trying to have fun and be me. Later, as I explored
the internet and searched for doctors, I found these articles:

blind doctor sees patients in a different way

http://nfb.org/legacy/bm/bm01/bm0105/bm010514.htm

blind medical student earns his me.d.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7318398/ns/health-health_care/

This next article is about a woman who went to one of the Naturopathy
schools I had briefly mentioned above:

PAC Mate User Story: Chris Cooke, Medical Student
http://www.freedomscientific.com/fs_products/PAC_Mate_HQ_ChrisCooke.asp

This woman does have her own practice, which I hope to have one day, and she
also does have a website:

http://www.healing4you.net/

I believe that Holistic Practitioner is what I am aiming for because again,
the Naturopathic Colleges are just not possible for me to attend. I would
eventually do what others would need to do by becoming board certified and
then having a license to practice.

One of the biggest challenges is the tuition for these programs/courses
online and I am not sure how to go about finding out if there may be any
possible scholarships I could apply for or not. Both of the Colleges that I
would like to study from does not participate in any federal or state
financial aid programs at this time, therefore, no federal grants are
applicable (including Stafford and Pell). I would like to mention here some
of the possibilities that the Admissions had told me about from one of the
Colleges-- 

-I was told that a private loan or alternative loan is possible, most big
lenders (e.g. SunTrust, Wells Fargo, Citibank) will offer such options.
However, I would like to stay away from loans if possible.

-Other suggestions that were mentioned to me either do not apply or that are
not possible for me. One of the Colleges does have a scholarship available
to students however, with the requirements to be able to apply, I do not
qualify. Also, an employer tuition grant does not apply to me.

-Local Community Service Organizations such as Masonic Organizations,

Eastern Star(OES), Moose and Elks Lodges, or Chambers of Commerce may
provide grants.

I was possibly thinking about contacting one of these but, didn't know how
successful I would be. What came to mind was the Lions Club since they
assist with people who are blind. I am not sure if they would have a
grant/scholarship or what they may be able to provide. I did notice in the
list of mailing lists the NFB has available to the public is the NFB Lions
so, I would like to know if you recommend me writing to that list and
providing this same information that I am sending to you?

-Another suggestion that was mentioned was

Vocational Rehabilitation Programs

for assistance. What came to mind was the Virginia Department for the Blind
and Visually Impaired. I know I would need to deal with the one located in
Fairfax since that is the closest to me and I have also dealt with them in
the past. I am apprehensive about contacting the Virginia Department for the
Blind and Visually Impaired because my experiences with them in the past
were quite unpleasant and some were even unprofessional. I don't know if the
Virginia Department of the Blind and Visually Impaired can be of help in
assisting with expenses or  what they may be able to do in my situation or
if it would be willing to assist me in making my desire to help others come
true.

-Other suggestions were for women who have been harmed violently and again,
this does not apply to me.

I am willing to do what is required to earn a scholarship of some kind so
that I may be able to proceed with taking these programs/courses if a
scholarship's requirements apply to me.

The only other thing that concerns me is, when I am enrolled into certain
programs/courses, how to have certain materials more accessible or even in
an alternative method like having something tactile. The doctors who are
blind have had to have alternative and/or tactile materials of some kind.
Whether in the Allopathic field or the Holistic field of health care, you
need to study Anatomy/Physiology and reading the text book is good and all
but, having something tactile to possibly go over the different areas of the
body would be wonderful and also knowing where to get something like this is
a question of mine as well that I need some assistance with how to find. In
Holistic health care, you also have to identify the different types of herbs
and the woman I had mentioned above, would have had to do so when she was
going through her schooling and I would like to find out ways to be able to
do this. I don't know if she had sighted assistance and someone did a very
thorough job of explaining the look while she may have had the chance to
examine the herbs tactily or not.

So, what i would like to know is:

-if the Virginia Association of Blind Students mailing list would apply to
me or be of benefit.

-if you have any suggestions of other lists or people I can contact to find
out more about how to proceed with scholarships or finding out about certain
alternative materials I will need and where to locate it so that I can have
them as I move through the programs/courses.

-If the Lions Club would be of help.

-any other suggestions you may have for me.

Thank you for your time and any help would be appreciated. Helping others in
a more natural, holistic way has been a passion of mine for quite some time
but, I really never knew where to begin and the more I looked into it, the
more questions I had about beginning the process because of the finances as
well as the materials I may need because of my disability.

Thank you,

Melissa Hambleton

mysticalcharm at comcast.net

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