[Nfbc-info] Mentor for the parent of a blind student with ONH in Southern CA?

Sun Sep 30 00:16:25 UTC 2018

Erica.

Thanks so much for your very thorough and comprehensive email.

Unfortunately, the mother cannot attend state convention and has myriad other personal issues that she is dealing with. I am familiar with NOBPC and plan to write an article in "future Reflections" in the coming months on my own experience learning to read Braille. The child has other mental and physical health conditions and the mother has a pending application for Regional Center Services in Orange County, among everything else that she is dealing with.

Do you know if the NOPBC Chapter in CA is active? Ohio had a chapter for some time but it folded due to lack of support. 

Very Best,

Chris
-----Original Message-----
From: NFBC-Info [mailto:nfbc-info-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of DrV via NFBC-Info
Sent: Saturday, September 29, 2018 6:04 PM
To: NFB of California List
Cc: DrV
Subject: Re: [Nfbc-info] Mentor for the parent of a blind student with ONH in Southern CA?

Hi Christopher,

I suggest she connect with NOPBC directly. Everyone’s situation is so very
different.

Below are a couple direct NOPBC links for her to explore.

I think the best forum for her to start reaching out to connect with
parents & caring VI professionals with a broad spectrum of situations &
experiences is the NOPBC Facebook group. The group is very active with
daily posts & is incredibly supportive & helpful. I think that using that
venue she will find the most helpful & functional advice that she can apply
to her specific situation. There are quite a few parents/families in the
group who live in California, but may not be that well connected with the
local NFB – I met one such family at an out of state beach this summer!

I also strongly recommend that she sign up to received Future Reflections
which is has many inspiring stories, articles, & perspectives.

I can’t over-recommend that she be encouraged to attend next year’s NFB
Convention in Vegas – not that far away from Orange County – LOTS of
parents & great talks & seminars & experiences for parents & kids of all
ages (if finances are an impeding issue, perhaps she could apply for a
scholarship/sponsorship).

In the spring there is the CTEBVI Conference for TVIs, transcribers, &
parents with a wide variety of great workshop topics & tons of
braille-focused resources & one of the best exhibit halls. The whole
conference has great stuff for parents, but they have parent strand & in
recent years there has been a whole day parent workshop. It flips between
Northern & Southern CA every other year.

I’ll echo Tim’s invitation & suggestion she attend the California State
Convention in a few weeks – it’s pretty local for her. I have to work
Friday morning, but will be there for the rest of the convention & am
certainly happy to talk to any parent who attends.

NOPBC Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/groups/331066810353777/

NOPBC Webpage: https://nopbc.org

NOPBC Listserv: www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindkid_nfbnet.org

NOPBC Future Reflection Magazine:https://nfb.org/future-reflections

NFB of California State Convention: www.nfbcal.org/convention

CTEBVI Conference www.ctebvi.org/workshops.html

All the best,

Eric Vasiliauskas

On Fri, Sep 28, 2018 at 12:10 PM Tim Elder via NFBC-Info <
nfbc-info at nfbnet.org> wrote:

> Chris,
>
> She should come to our convention on October 25-28 in Los Angeles.
> http://www.nfbcal.org/convention/
>
> ON Saturday, October 27, at 12:30 PM, we have an expert panel of IDEA and
> special dedication topics that are specifically targeted at parents.  It
> would be a great opportunity for her to meet other parents and learn about
> the basic concepts and legal rights.  We could better assess her situation
> and connect her with a mentor if she comes to the convention.
>
> Regards,
>
> Tim
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: NFBC-Info <nfbc-info-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Christopher
> Sabine, ONH Consulting via NFBC-Info
> Sent: Wednesday, September 26, 2018 5:28 PM
> To: 'NFB of California List' <nfbc-info at nfbnet.org>
> Cc: Christopher Sabine, ONH Consulting <info at onhconsulting.com>
> Subject: [Nfbc-info] Mentor for the parent of a blind student with ONH in
> Southern CA?
>
> Hello.
>
>
>
> My name is Christopher Sabine, and I am Secretary of the Federation Chapter
> in Cincinnati, Ohio. I've joined the California list for employment related
> reasons in the past and have posted here previously.
>
>
>
> I am a consultant for families of children with Optic Nerve Hypoplasia. I
> am
> writing because I am potentially about to start working with the mother of
> a
> child with ONH and total Blindness in Orange County, CA (Huntington Beach).
> The parent is dealing with a lot of personal issues and having difficulty
> with the TVI at the child's local school formulating an IEP. Do you know
> where I can determine if NOBPC has a Chapter there and if there is a parent
> who is in a position (personally / professionally) to work with this
> family?
> Specifically, I am looking for a parent mentor / advocate who can
> facilitate
> IEP meetings for this family and physically attend IEP meetings / serve as
> a
> coach / voice of reason for this parent as needed. The real issue is that
> the child needs access to braille instruction. I suspect there may also be
> developmental differences involved that the local educational agency /
> school district is not in a position to recognize.
>
>
>
> Any information or referrals would be greatly appreciated.
>
>
>
> Thanks Much,
>
>
>
> Chris
>
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