[nabs-l] STEP Program offered by Junior Blind of America

Thu Mar 14 20:19:52 UTC 2013

My Voc Rehab counselor loves the NFB, but she said that they couldn't afford to send me to LCB, and that LCB wouldn't be my best bet, because she said, (and Pam Allen agreed,) that I didn't need to go to the Braille classes, which are required.
What the NFB centers need to do, is to offer a test.
If someone is already proficient in Braille, they shouldn't have to be required to take the Braille courses.
Then, they could just focus on the independence training.
Blessings, Joshua
________________________________________
From: nabs-l [nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] on behalf of Kaiti Shelton [crazy4clarinet104 at gmail.com]
Sent: Thursday, March 14, 2013 3:13 PM
To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] STEP Program offered by Junior Blind of America

Hi Miso,

Overall, your councelor should offer you consumer choice.  I know
that's a hot topic now as we talked about it at the Ohio state
convention last November.  Talk to the CCB staff and get
justification.  Get specifics on their program as well as the junior
blind program and outline what you could get in Colorado that isn't
available in California.  Also draw on your past experiences with
Junior Blind since you have them and use those to explain why Colorado
would be a better opportunity.  Ultimately they should have given you
this option since it's not like you're asking for them to fund you
flying to Baltimore for a Journigan center program, or even Louisiana
which would bring up higher plane costs, but hopefully once they have
some justification they'll see what you're treally trying to get out
of going to a center.

Josh, I agree with Mike here.  Voc Rehab councelors are not always
very fond of the NFB, and also it takes a little pushing and prodding
to get what you really need out of them.  Look into the center, call
and find out if it would really be a "waste of your time" or if it
would be something truly beneficial for you.  Don't just take the word
of your councelor, who is sighted and probably has no idea what the
centers really do anyway.

On 3/14/13, Mike Freeman <k7uij at panix.com> wrote:
> Joshua:
>
> Did you check out LCB for yourself? Might not your VR counselor be
> prejudiced against NFB centers?
>
> Just a thought.
>
> Mike
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nabs-l [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Joshua Lester
> Sent: Thursday, March 14, 2013 7:05 AM
> To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] STEP Program offered by Junior Blind of America
>
> Hi Miso.
> If you're proficient in Braille, the NFB trainig center wouldn't be your
> best bet.
> Although they do independence training, you have to attend Braille classes,
> every day.
> If you need independence training, you'd be better off getting the skills
> from a VR rep.
> That's what I'm doing, since my VR said that LCB would be a waste of my
> time.
> Blessings, Joshua
> ________________________________________
> From: nabs-l [nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] on behalf of Miso Kwak
> [kwakmiso at aol.com]
> Sent: Thursday, March 14, 2013 1:20 AM
> To: nabs-l at nfbnet.org
> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] STEP Program offered by Junior Blind of America
>
> Thank you everyone for helpful answers.
> To clarify, I was referring to the STEP not Davidson.
> I lived in California barely 4 years, so I experienced JBA only twice.
> I personally didn't like the atmosphere and philosophy very much
> although not unbearable...
> I think at this point, after reading feedbacks, I would prefer one of
> the NFB centers over JBA. I think then the task to do is to get my
> request to attend CCB justified.
> I will contact staff at the CCB and see what I can do.
> Thank you again.
> Miso Kwak
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Hannah Chadwick <sparklylicious at gmail.com>
> To: 'National Association of Blind Students mailing list'
> <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Wed, Mar 13, 2013 10:29 pm
> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] STEP Program offered by Junior Blind of America
>
> Hi all,
> So I just wanted to clarify since I've been to the STEP programs at
> Junior
> Blind of America. There is STEP 1 and STEP 2, and they are both summer
> programs that focus on helping young adults with job interviewing
> skills,
> career research, and during STEP 2, the students are placed on a work
> site.
> They are expected to travel to and from work using public
> transportation.
> STEP 1 is 3 weeks and provides students with various info on the topics
> mentioned above. STEP 2 is 7 weeks and students have the opportunity to
> do
> an internship.
>   I would be glad to provide more info on the STEP programs, however, I
> think
> that Miso is referring to the Independent living program that Junior
> Blind
> also offers.
> The Davidson Program for Independence, DPI is a residential program for
> blind individuals who wish to learn skills such as orientation and
> mobility,
> technology, cooking, Braille, and of course independent living skills.
> I did
> not attend DPI so I don't know specifically what they do and how they
> run. I
> did have friends who attended both the STEP programs as well as DPI.
> They
> told me they learned a lot and they found it very helpful. I'm sure
> there
> are pros and cons to attending any residential program. Please don't
> hesitate to contact me off list if you have further questions.
> All the best, Hannah
> -----Original Message-----
>  From: nabs-l [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Brandon
> Keith
> Biggs
> Sent: Wednesday, March 13, 2013 9:48 PM
> To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] STEP Program offered by Junior Blind of America
>
> Hello,
> It depends where you are at in your living skills. I had been living on
> my
> own for a few months before I went to the Step 2 program and I found it
> only
> good for the few hours of work experience they provided. They aren't
> very
> inventive when it comes to giving each person a unique work
> environment, but
> you do get to do an internship. I did not like however, the step 1 folks
> were mentored by the step 2 people for both sessions and the step 2
> people
> had to sit through classes the step 1 participant's were taking.
> Step 1 is a ton of classes on how to give an interview, talk about
> yourself
> and act professionally dressing wise and so on. When I went it was very
> lecture based and very little real-time experiences, but I could tell
> some
> people really needed the learning. I could already cook, clean, do
> laundry
> and had had a summer job the year before in a much freer environment,
> so I
> found STEP oppressive, but I did learn how to deal with authority in a
> mature way and even though I won't repeat it, I am glad I went.
> The campus is also very oddly situated, so it takes for ever to go
> anywhere
> and they expect people to work around the schedule they set up, so for
> example, I had a 2 hour commute on Para transit to and from work and I
> had
> work to do at home. They were not very accommodating for those of us who
> wanted to become work junkies, working till 10, grabbing food, then
> waking
> up at 6 and leaving. They wanted you to actually be around with other
> people
> and do tasks like instruct the other students on how to use the
> computer for
> example.
> Personally, the YES2 program in Washington state is more my cup of tee
> than
> the STEP2 program, but I know plenty of other people who really loved
> it and
> or who would really like it.
> You can email me off list if you have any more questions.
> brandonkeithbiggs at gmail.com
> Thanks,
>
> Brandon Keith Biggs
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Miso Kwak
> Sent: Wednesday, March 13, 2013 3:55 PM
> To: nabs-l at nfbnet.org
> Subject: [nabs-l] STEP Program offered by Junior Blind of America
>
> Hello,
> I would like to know if any of you have participated in the STEP program
> offered by Junior Blind in California.
> If you have the experience, could you comment on how it was?
> Would you recommend it?
> I am trying to select a summer program that will help me improve my
> independent living skills (mobility, home management, etc) and realize
> that
> there are a few different options available, so I just want to hear from
> someone if anyone on the list has experience with Junior Blind's STEP
> program.
> Thank you.
> Miso Kwak
>
>
>
>
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--
Kaiti

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