[nabs-l] A Struggling Blind Student Looking for Some Advice

[cape.amanda at gmail.com]

Hello Elizabeth,
I believe that you have received a few suggestions and advice from students who have been in similar situations. Please feel free to contact me off list. I am sorry that you are feeling so frustrated.
Try to keep your chin up.

Amanda

> On Jan 29, 2016, at 12:09 PM, Elizabeth Mohnke via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> Hello All,
> 
> I am so sorry that that I sent my message asking for help with my situation.
> It seems to me like no one really understands me, and I guess I do not know
> how to communicate with other people so they can understand me anymore.
> 
> Elizabeth 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nabs-l [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Karl Martin
> Adam via nabs-l
> Sent: Friday, January 29, 2016 12:04 PM
> To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
> Cc: Karl Martin Adam <kmaent1 at gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] A Struggling Blind Student Looking for Some Advice
> 
> Christina, the point of her attending a training center would be to learn
> braille well enough to use a slate and not need the technology she can't
> afford.  I'm not sure that would be feasable, but that was the suggestion
> that was being made.
> 
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Christina Moore via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org
> To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list <nabs-l at nfbnet.org
> Date sent: Fri, 29 Jan 2016 11:53:56 -0500
> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] A Struggling Blind Student Looking for Some Advice
> 
> Hi,
> 
> I am sorry to here about the struggles you are having. They are very
> unacceptable and I hopw that you can find some solace in that you are not
> alone in having difficulties of this sort.
> These things should not happen but they do and we all can do our best to
> educate others but at times that falls on deaf ears as they say.
> First, in my opinion a reasonable accommodation for you is to be allowed to
> have a recorder in your lectures. I am not sure what devices you are
> using/have access to currently but you should be able to record your
> lectures so you can listen to them later to study the information.
> Second, if you do not mind me asking, why is your vocational rehab not
> helping you? You are pursuing an educational degree and need technology that
> it is not surprisingly, too expensive for you to pay for. They should be
> willing/able to help you pursue your educational goals.
> Third, the suggestion to attend the NFB center is an interesting one.
> I have never attended such a center myself but I believe it would put off
> your education considerably which is something you should consider when
> weighing your options. I hear the centers are very useful but I am not sure
> how it would benefit you since yes you would go home with skills but still
> without the resources to use those skills. 
> Advocacy
> can go a long way but only to a point. If someone does not have the
> economical means to pursue their education and their state and other
> organizations are not willing to help, than a training center will do
> nothing. Just my thoughts on that suggestion.
> Fourth, it seems like you are in a position where a tutor for this class
> would be beyond necessary. The tutor can read the notes from the TA and
> others, ask you questions, be a scribe for exams/reader and they can get
> paid for it.
> I hope this helps you get somewhere. Your disability services should provide
> the reader/tutor/scribe that is a reasonable and essential accommodation for
> your circumstances.
> 
> On 1/29/16, Aleeha Dudley via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> One of the big things that I want to say to you is this: do not give up.
> One  of the things that would really help you is to get the Braille skills
> and  problem solving skills from an NFB training center. You will gain
> confidence  in yourself and be able to do whatever you want to do. I think
> that would  really help you when it comes to getting accommodations for
> yourself and  truly succeeding in your college life.
> On Jan 29, 2016, at 10:50 AM, Elizabeth Mohnke via nabs-l
> <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> Hello All,
> 
> There was a message thread on here not too long ago about someone being
> upset about not being able to use a computer in the classroom. 
> It seems
> as
> though people on here were offended by my response to this message.
> However,
> from my point of view, being able to use a computer in the classroom  seems
> to be more of a privilege rather than a right because not everyone can
> afford a computer that they can take to class.
> 
> I really wish I had the money to buy a new computer that I could take  with
> me to class because then maybe I would not be so worried about failing my
> exams due to a lack of accommodations by my college. When I took classes
> before, I was able to use a computer in the testing center for answering
> short answer and essay questions that were on my exams. However, it  appears
> as though the college no longer offers this as an accommodation. 
> The
> college
> is supposed to have computers on campus with JAWS on them, but most of  the
> time, these computers do not work correctly, and every time I ask about  the
> status of the computer with JAWS on it in their new testing room, there
> always seems to be something wrong with it. So I am really at a loss as  to
> what to do for my exams, and I am really scared that I am going to fail  my
> class because of a lack of accommodations.
> 
> So what exactly am I supposed to do if I do not have a way to write out  my
> answers for the short answer questions that are going to be on my exam?
> My
> college seems to rely heavily on the disabilities office to provide and
> approve accommodations on campus. Therefore, if I talk to my professor,  she
> will most likely tell me that I would need to talk to the disabilities
> office in order to get any accommodations for my exam. But the  disabilities
> office does not appear to provide the accommodations I need, so I feel  like
> I am just caught up in some bureaucratic mess.
> 
> It seems to me the only reliable accommodations the disabilities office
> provides for exams are readers. However, this does not work for me when
> answering short answer questions on exams because I find it rather
> difficult  to write anything longer than a couple of words by dictating it
> to  someone  else to write down for me. So the best accommodation for me in
> this  situation is to use a computer since I do not know Braille very well.
> But  since I do not have my own computer that I can take to class, and the
> college does not appear to know how to properly maintain the computers on
> campus that have JAWS on them, I feel as though I am at a loss as to what
> to  do for my exams. If I had known this was the situation I was going to be
> facing, I probably would not have signed up to take this class.
> 
> I guess some days I just really hate being blind. And I get frustrated
> when  I see other blind students get pretty much everything handed to them
> from  their vocational rehabilitation agency. Not everyone gets privilege of
> receiving services from a vocational rehabilitation agency, and not
> everyone  has the privilege of having others help them advocate to receive
> services  from the vocational rehabilitation agency either. And I guess I
> just find  it  rather difficult to make anything out of my life given my
> limited amount  of  resources and a lack of support from other people.
> 
> Anyway, I am sorry if I have offended anyone with any of my messages to
> the  email list. This is not what I mean to do. I am just really frustrated
> by  life right now, and I am really struggling in trying to figure out what
> to  do. It seems to me like nothing in my life ever works out, and that I
> can  never really get the support I need from others when I need it. 
> The NFB
> has
> never really been there for me before, so I am rather skeptical that I
> will  be able to receive any help or support from the NFB, but I thought I
> would  at least give it a try.
> 
> Thanks,
> Elizabeth
> 
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