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

Sun Jan 31 09:10:05 UTC 2016

Try to connect through your VR. If they fail, go through client assistance program,, (CAP). Every state has a client assistance program. CAP has to report to RSA in Washington. I hope this helps.

Sent from my iPad

> On Jan 29, 2016, at 11:53 AM, Amanda via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> Hi Elizabeth,
> I know that it can feel frustrating to have to battle for your accommodations and always have to find solutions for yourself. I would love to try and help you deal with this frustrating and difficult situation. Do you have FaceTime or Skype? Where do you live? I live in Canada.
> Hope to hear from you soon.
> 
> Amanda
> 
>> On Jan 29, 2016, at 11:42 AM, Elizabeth Mohnke via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>> 
>> Hello Aleeha,
>> 
>> Thank you for your response. However, I am not quite sure how this advice is
>> goint to help me get through this class. And going to an NFB training center
>> would be absolutely great except for the fact that I do not have the money
>> to attend an NFB training center. Plus, I am still not quite sure how I
>> would be able to manage all my health issues while attending an NFB training
>> center either. So some practical advice on how I could make it through this
>> class would be great.
>> 
>> Thanks,
>> Elizabeth
>> 
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Aleeha Dudley [mailto:blindcowgirl1993 at gmail.com] 
>> Sent: Friday, January 29, 2016 10:57 AM
>> To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
>> Cc: Elizabeth Mohnke <lizmohnke at hotmail.com>
>> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] A Struggling Blind Student Looking for Some Advice
>> 
>> 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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>> 
>> 
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