[nfb-db] My thoughts on training centers blind, and deaf blind.

Mon Nov 11 01:51:36 UTC 2013

Hi Randy,
I am very curious as well.  I hope to learn tactile ASL.  I do not want 
my total blind to limit my ability to learn something.

I do not think I have ever had so much talk at a NFB State Convention 
about adapting and learning skills so that blindness becomes a 
"nuisance" rather than a disability.  It was motivating; but when the 
ALD did not work and Christine Telford from DORS was sometimes permitted 
by her boss to voice for me so I could hear.  I find it very frustrating 
much of the time to to the lack of hearing.

However,  the SSP resolution was unanimously passed.
Janice

On 11/7/2013 11:06 AM, Marsha Drenth wrote:
> Randy,
> I'd like to know more about these methods in how to learn ASL? Very very curiously.
>
>
> Marsha drenth
> Sent with my IPhone
>
>> On Nov 7, 2013, at 10:33 AM, "Randy Pope" <randy.pope at aadb.org> wrote:
>>
>> Hey Scott,
>>
>> Whatever you do, don't let these people advise you to stick the Rochester
>> method.  That is a very bad idea.  Many of the DB people would not have the
>> patience to communicate with those using this method.
>>
>> With the right people, you will...not maybe....you will master ASL somehow.
>> There are deaf ASL teachers out there who would be willing to work with
>> people like you.  For those DB people who cannot see, there are other method
>> to teach ASL.  I know of several who are teaching ASL to totally blind
>> students, successfully,
>>
>> Randy
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: nfb-db [mailto:nfb-db-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Scott Davert
>> Sent: Wednesday, November 06, 2013 8:33 PM
>> To: NFB Deaf-Blind Division Mailing List
>> Subject: Re: [nfb-db] My thoughts on training centers blind, and deaf blind.
>>
>> Hi marsha.
>> Sadly, my vvocabulary is maybe 100 signs. The classes until very recently
>> have been so infrequent that I haven't benifited much from them. My
>> receptive skills are certainly better than my actual signing ones. People
>> have started to tell me that I should just stick with the Rochester method,
>> but I want to keep trying to learn, you know?
>>
>> Scott
>>
>>> On 11/6/13, Marsha Drenth <marsha.drenth at gmail.com> wrote:
>>> Hi Gene,
>>> sounds like you have some things to do. In all due time it will get done.
>>> Good luck, perhaps you will get to come up while I am there.
>>> Keep us updated.
>>>
>>> Marsha drenth
>>> Sent with my IPhone
>>>
>>>> On Nov 5, 2013, at 10:00 PM, "gene richburg" <gene5402 at austin.rr.com>
>>>> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> Hi Marsha, well I have either some time in Jan or Feb, but that
>>>> hasn't been determined yet.  I still have to develop my iep plan with
>>>> dars, the department of asistive rehabilitation services, HKNC can't
>>>> give me a date with out that I e p plan, but I have to have a prep
>>>> meeting  that will include my mom and everyone else.  We were gonna
>>>> have it on the 24th of october, but Molly Rimer had a death in the
>>>> family, her niece passed away that morning at age 22, or 23, I for
>>>> get which, so hopefully things will work out on the 8th of this
>>>> month, then after the prep meeting then we will be able to develop
>>>> the actual I e p.  The reason I need a prep meeting, is so my mom can
>>>> help me figure out what I will be able to expect from Dars, and what
>>>> they will expect of me.  It's really frustrating, I was supposed to
>>>> get in back in either august but couldn't because every one that was
>>>> helping me with the application totally dropped the ball, and me and my
>> mom finally had to step in and straighten everything out,.
>>>> -----Original Message----- From: Marsha Drenth
>>>> Sent: Tuesday, November 05, 2013 4:19 PM
>>>> To: NFB Deaf-Blind Division Mailing List
>>>> Subject: Re: [nfb-db] My thoughts on training centers blind, and deaf
>>>> blind.
>>>>
>>>> Jean, yes I did receive the student handbook. I got it from the
>>>> admissions person at HK and see. I think I also read that they do
>>>> provide the vibrant call alert system. I'm interested in seeing that.
>>>> Do you have a start date?
>>>>
>>>> Marsha drenth
>>>> Sent with my IPhone
>>>>
>>>>> On Nov 5, 2013, at 4:52 PM, "gene richburg" <gene5402 at austin.rr.com>
>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>> Hi Marsha, did you receive the HKNC student handbook?  I don't know
>>>>> if they provide consumers, or what ever they call people who come
>>>>> there, but I think they provide some kind of vibra call system, but
>>>>> I didn't get that part very clearily, I'll have to go back and read
>>>>> that, perhaps Scott can clear that up for sure.  But if you need the
>>>>> handbook, I can email you off list and atatch it to the message.
>>>>>
>>>>> -----Original Message----- From: Marsha Drenth
>>>>> Sent: Monday, November 04, 2013 8:26 PM
>>>>> To: NFB Deaf-Blind Division Mailing List
>>>>> Subject: Re: [nfb-db] My thoughts on training centers blind, and
>>>>> deaf blind.
>>>>>
>>>>> Maurice,
>>>>> I think hands down that no one will argue with you that if someone
>>>>> is in need of blindness skills training, and if they are just blind
>>>>> with no additional disablity, then going to a NFB training center is the
>> best.
>>>>> With that said, I am not just blind, but severely hard of hearing. I
>>>>> have chosen to go to HKNC because of two main reasons, I do not need
>>>>> blindness skills. I was blind before I lost my hearing. But I do
>>>>> need the skills in order to live as a deafblind person. I have
>>>>> traveled with a cane, with a guide dog, read braille, and am able to
>>>>> use technology. The problem lays in that I also can't hear. There is
>>>>> only one center in this country that can train a person who is both
>>>>> blind and hard of hearing. With that said, most persons who go to
>>>>> HKNC, are in need of a audiologist who has worked with the dual
>>>>> sensory loss. An in house audiologist who understand the needs of
>>>>> blind persons, visually impaired persons, and those who also who are
>>>>> deaf, hard of hearing and or hearing impaired; is something that an
>>>>> NFB center does not have. Just because I have made this desicion,
>>>>> doesn't not mean that I am less of a person, less of an NFB member, or
>> think less of the philosophy.
>>>>> Its awesome that you had a successful experience at the CCB. And I
>>>>> am also not sure, of your hearing issues. But if I am reading your
>>>>> message correctly, your saying those persons who go to an NFB center,
>> are better.
>>>>> This is the sort of attitude that divides a group. The NFB centers
>>>>> are no less better than HK, nor is HK better than an NFB center. Its
>>>>> just different, serves different disabilities, different needs.
>>>>>
>>>>> I have heard of both good and bad experiences at the HK center, jsut
>>>>> as I have heard of persons going through an NFB center. I just know
>>>>> that for me, with my hearing loss, it would not be successful to go
>>>>> to a NFB center. For them to ask me to listen to traffic in order to
>>>>> indicate when its safe to cross. I can't hear traffic. It would not
>>>>> be viable for me to have an NFB center to tell me, listen for the
>>>>> water boiling, I can't hear it boil. The techniques are different,
>> similar but different.
>>>>> Granted I haven't been there yet to begin my training. My desicion
>>>>> was one I made for me. But with that said, I can understand why
>>>>> other deafblind persons make the same desicion.
>>>>>
>>>>> Its unfair to say that HK is not what blind, or deafblind people
>>>>> should be going to for training, especially if you haven't been there
>> yourself.
>>>>> I would say that all blind persons should be tolerant of those of us
>>>>> who have different needs, are in need of different skills than just
>>>>> those you learn as a blind person.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Marsha drenth
>>>>> Sent with my IPhone
>>>>>
>>>>>> On Nov 4, 2013, at 6:19 PM, maurice mines <kd0iko at icloud.com> wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Good afternoon, I have been thinking for quite some time as I've
>>>>>> read emails on this list recently, that it might be of some benefit
>>>>>> to talk about the benefits of attending an NFB training center. Of
>>>>>> course the question that many on this list will ask why are you
>>>>>> even discussing this? Because I've heard a lot recently a.k.a. read
>>>>>> a lot recently that the feeling seems to be that HK in C is apparently
>> be only game in town.
>>>>>> But I believe that if my past experience at the Colorado Center for
>>>>>> the blind is any indication of how and if the training centers
>>>>>> handle death blindness, one need not have very much worry about.
>>>>>> Remember that the training is very individualized. So what may work
>>>>>> for you and what level of deaf blindness you have, it may not
>>>>>> reflect how they deal with your neighbor at all. Also as far as I
>>>>>> understand the training centers do reach out to resources to help
>>>>>> that training happen appropriately. So you're not going into the
>>>>>> great void of the unknown. Also it is good to know that based on my
>>>>>> experience we found alternative techniques not only to blindness
>>>>>> but the issues surrounding the lack of hearing. And of course we
>>>>>> discuss the options should one's hearing get worse. I guess one
>>>>>> getting at here is that if you are considering going to a training
>>>>>> center I think that's the first part, the second part is actually
>>>>>> figuring out which one you should go to and the reasons why you
>>>>>> want to go to it? I think that based on everything I've read and
>>>>>> people I've talked to that all three of our centers can handle this
>>>>>> well. I think a comment by a current staff member made when I was a
>>>>>> student at the Colorado Center for the blind came out of it
>> conversation regarding the disabilities that is neither deaf blindness were
>> just great blindness.
>>>>>> It surrounds my at that time anyway great fear of writing anything.
>>>>>> The staff member said quote you can't just not right. The
>>>>>> translation that I took away from that and have come to realize in
>>>>>> the years since I graduated from the Colorado Center for the blind,
>>>>>> you can't just not live life because you can't hear ordered their
>>>>>> blindness involved. And depending on what you have to do, in many
>>>>>> respects you have to get out there and just plain live one's life.
>>>>>> Another thought of course comes to mind in many of the writings and
>>>>>> things that are second national president Dr. Jernigan when he
>>>>>> spoke about not throwing the nickel. I guess it kind of blows down
>>>>>> to accept help when you need it and of course find ways of not
>>>>>> accepting it if you don't. And last but not least he believed in
>>>>>> blind people and I extend this adept line people blending into
>>>>>> society when in wherever it is possible. Just some food for thought
>>>>>> on a rainy Monday afternoon. I'd certainly would like to read some
>>>>>> of the thoughts that you all may add to this. But I'll just leave
>>>>>> it at this I have an abiding belief in all of the training centers
>>>>>> and what they can do in the fact that the NFB difference is that
>>>>>> they care not just there for a paycheck. But because they care and
>> believe in turning out capable and competent people.
>>>>>> Sincerely Maurice mines. Phone 360-524-0791, work/school email
>>>>>> address, Maurice.mines at PCC.edu.
>>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>>> nfb-db mailing list
>>>>>> nfb-db at nfbnet.org
>>>>>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfb-db_nfbnet.org
>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>> nfb-db mailing list
>>>>> nfb-db at nfbnet.org
>>>>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfb-db_nfbnet.org
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> -----
>>>>> No virus found in this message.
>>>>> Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
>>>>> Version: 2014.0.4158 / Virus Database: 3629/6810 - Release Date:
>>>>> 11/05/13
>>>>>
>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>> nfb-db mailing list
>>>>> nfb-db at nfbnet.org
>>>>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfb-db_nfbnet.org
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> nfb-db mailing list
>>>> nfb-db at nfbnet.org
>>>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfb-db_nfbnet.org
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> -----
>>>> No virus found in this message.
>>>> Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
>>>> Version: 2014.0.4158 / Virus Database: 3629/6810 - Release Date:
>>>> 11/05/13
>>>>
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> nfb-db mailing list
>>>> nfb-db at nfbnet.org
>>>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfb-db_nfbnet.org
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> nfb-db mailing list
>>> nfb-db at nfbnet.org
>>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfb-db_nfbnet.org
>>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> nfb-db mailing list
>> nfb-db at nfbnet.org
>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfb-db_nfbnet.org
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> nfb-db mailing list
>> nfb-db at nfbnet.org
>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfb-db_nfbnet.org
> _______________________________________________
> nfb-db mailing list
> nfb-db at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfb-db_nfbnet.org
>