[nabs-l] Accessibility of apartment documents

Sun Apr 24 17:50:36 UTC 2016

Hello Kaiti,

I encounter paper forms on a fairly regular basis, and I believe it is
important for a blind person to find a way to deal with print forms in a way
that works best for them. I agree with you that sighted people are often
just as concerned about how information is formatted as much as the
information itself. Since I do not have the luxury of being able to bring a
sighted person with me every time I need to fill out a printed form, I
usually ask the person giving me the print form if they can help me fill it
out. Alternatively, you could pick the print form up ahead of time, or have
someone mail the print form to you, and you can then ask a reader to help
you fill it out. Or you could scan it without keeping the format of the
print form, and simply print it out for them. Despite all the technology out
there today, print forms still appear to be rather common to me.

As for the information on the lease, you can simply ask the landlord to go
over it with you. When I signed the first lease to my current apartment, I
asked my landlord to go over the information in the lease with me before I
signed it. Although she did not read it word for word, she was willing to go
over the important parts of the lease with me and explain them in a way that
made sense to me. I felt as though I received enough information from the
landlord to feel comfortable enough to sign the lease. 

However, I understand some people may feel more comfortable reading it word
for word before signing it. In this case, you could ask the landlord to
email a copy of it to you so you can read it on whatever technology you
choose to use. Additionally, you could simply ask to receive a print copy of
the lease, and then sign it after you have the chance to read it either by
scanning the lease or asking someone to read it to you.

However, I feel like if I cannot trust someone to fill out a print form
accurately, or provide an honest summery or reading of a print document,
then perhaps it simply is not best for me to be doing business with this
person in the first place. If the form asks for personal information I do
not feel comfortable sharing in front of other people, I simply make sure
the form is being filled out in a private room. When I am asked to give
someone my address, I will simply give them a copy of my state
identification card, and ask them to copy it from there without reading it
aloud.

I think it is good to ask for reasonable accommodations whenever you feel as
though you need them. However, it seems to me that simply because there are
rules and laws stating we should receive reasonable accommodations, this
does not necessarily mean that people will actually follow these rules and
laws. I understand it is not fair to be discriminated against because of
blindness, but based on my experience, this is simply a part of life.

A couple of months ago, people suggested that I attend an NFB training
center as a means for trying to deal with a particular situation in my life.
Although I understand an NFB training center is not for everyone, I am
curious if you have ever thought of attending an NFB training center. I
often receive the impression from the messages you post to the email list
that perhaps you may not necessarily be so sure of yourself as a person. I
also get the sense that you may have a rigid sense of how something needs to
be in order for it to be deemed acceptable. I am not sure if these are
accurate descriptions of you, or if I simply see these things in you because
I see these things in myself in my own life. However, I think it is
important for everyone to learn how to be okay with who they are as a
person, and understand that simply because they choose to do something
differently, it does not automatically make them wrong. I wish this was
something I could have learned earlier in life, so I simply wish to pass
this important lesson on to others.

I hope what I say in this message helps you, or at the very least, helps
someone else on the email list.

Warm regards,
Elizabeth

-----Original Message-----
From: nabs-l [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Kaiti Shelton
via nabs-l
Sent: Friday, April 22, 2016 11:13 PM
To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Kaiti Shelton <crazy4clarinet104 at gmail.com>
Subject: [nabs-l] Accessibility of apartment documents

Hi all,

I'll be moving into my first big kid apartment (on my own with no
roommates) this August.  I met with one of the realty agents that works for
the apartment company today and really like what I saw in the viewing.  It
looks like it will be a pretty good living situation, and although I've
enjoyed having roommates I'm looking forward to having a little more control
over my space (No more randomly moving things in the fridge, unexpected
changes in the thermostat, etc).

I'm a little concerned about finding out what my accessibility-related
rights are.  This is new for me and I am doing research on my own, but I
thought turning here would also be useful.  I was a little disheartened when
I found the company didn't have an electronic way for me to complete the
apartment application.  The agent was nice enough to fill out most of it
with me and was amenable to having my parents scan the completed copy as a
PDF and email in their co-signer portion since they're in a different city,
but as far as me filling it out in an accessible format she didn't seem to
know of a way to make it work without messing up the formatting of the
application form.
I'm kind of feeling "whatever" about it at this point because the form was
pretty short and painless/not necessarily worth a huge fuss over
accessibility, but I am more concerned with making sure I get an accessible
copy of the contract/lease so I can reference it if necessary while I am in
the property.  I understand that having independent access to this kind of
documentation is very important, and want to make sure I start working with
the company in advance if necessary.

My questions are: If the company doesn't already have an electronic copy of
the lease how, exactly, would they be required to share it with me in a
format I can use?  What would be acceptable options to tell them if they
have no clue?  If they decide to send it somewhere else to be brailled would
that come out of their pocket or my own?

Of course, I recognize that they could/should have a scanner somewhere in
their offices, and therefore scanning the lease and making an accessible
copy wouldn't be too terribly hard.  However, I'm not sure who's
responsibility it would be and am a little skeptical of that working out if
they were unable to make the application available to me in a format I can
use.  I really don't mind the application, but I honestly don't want to sit
down with a reader and go through a 60-plus page document if I can help it.
2 pages are one thing, ut from what I understand leases are much longer.

Any tips or bits of knowledge anyone could pass on would be appreciated.

--
Kaiti Shelton
University of Dayton-Music Therapy
"You can live the life you want; blindness is not what holds you back!"

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