[Nfbf-l] FOPBC September Newsletter

Fri Sep 11 04:02:05 UTC 2009

Florida Organization of Parents of Blind Children

FOPBC September Newsletter

September 5th, 2009

Volume 1, Issue 2

Back to School IEP Tips

IEP meetings can sometimes be challenging for both parents and educational staff. With often limited funding for special needs programs, parents and teachers may find themselves unwittingly pitted as adversaries battling over limited resources.

Be prepared. Know the pros and cons of your child’s current education plan. Have suggestions for proposed changes rather than simply complaints about what isn’t working. Be pro-active in learning about current research and programs.

Avoid negativity. Progress is rarely achieved during adversarial meetings. Be positive towards your IEP team as much as possible. They are not usually responsible for budget constraints or program limitations that make getting needed resources difficult. You’re both on the same team and want what’s best for your child.

Think before you consent. Take the newly proposed IEP home to think it over and make sure you’re fully comfortable with everything outlined. You have the right to refuse consent if you disagree totally, give partial consent to individual items, or add an addendum or supplemental information stating your point of view of services offered and/or denied. Finally, never settle for less than what your child is entitled. Above all else, remember you are your child’s best advocate!

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October “Meet the Blind” Month

Meet the Blind Month, held in October is our nationwide campaign to increase awareness of and support for the National Federation of the Blind (NFB). This person to person awareness campaign is designed to increase the understanding that the NFB is the primary resource when it comes to information about vision loss, blindness and rehabilitation. Several local NFBF chapters have events for Meet the Blind Month. NFBF Gainesville Chapter is planning a fun-filled afternoon at Gethsemane Lutheran Church from 1pm – 4pm on October 10th complete with Braille reading, guide dog and technology demos. For Information contact Judy Hamilton, President at (352)373-7806.

For information on other chapter events, go to www dot nfbflorida dot org 

September Adventures in Blind Optimism IEP Workshop

Saturday, September 19    9am – 12pm                               

Amvets Post 15, 2024 South US 1        

Fort Pierce, FL

Meet and greet other parents/educators while discussing “IEP Jeopardy”. Anna Brynild, Parent Trainer-Central Florida Parent Center and Jennifer Breitinger, TVI and COMS (Certified Orientation and Mobility Specialist). She is also the South Florida Program Coordinator for the FSU Program for Visual Impairments. 

What are your rights20under IDEA? What are the responsibilities of the ESE Dept.?

What do all of those letters stand for – FAPE, LRE, ESE, TVI, O&M, OMA, FVA, LMA – and how do they fit into your child’s IEP? Join us for answers to these questions and more…

Lenora J. Marten, President (904) 777-5976

Doreen Franklin, Vice President (772) 343-8370

October Adventures in Blind Optimism Corn Maze

Saturday, October 17   

10am – 2pm

Long and Scott Corn Maze

26216 County Road 448A

Mt. Dora, FL 32757

Whether you are getting lost in the maze, fishing in our pond, or sliding down our 60 ft. super slide, you are having fun and learning about aMazing weather on the farm at Scotts Maze Adventures! Come and check out our new 2009 corn maze design that is all about the weather. Get lost in a giant snowflake, go inside a ‘cool’ sun or make your way through a thunderstorm of corn and much, much more!

www dot longandscottfarms dot com

Lenora J. Marten, President

(904)777-5976

Doreen Franklin, Vice President (772) 343-8370

FOPBC 50/50 Holiday Raffle

Get ready for FOPBC 50/50 Holiday Raffle! From September 19th through November 14th, purchase your 50/50 raffle tickets for a chance to win big!

This is your chance to take part and help with FOPBC fundraising! Monies from this event will help to fund our state convention, Adventures in Blind Optimism Saturd
ay Program and much more! 

To sell and or purchase tickets, contact Larry Marten, Treasurer at 

(904)536-7029 (cell),

(904)777-5976 (home),

bluegolfshoes at aol dot com

Kelly E. James – Successful Blind Woman

Kelly James is 27 yrs old and just received her Masters of Science in Rehabilitation Counseling from the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, FL. She will continue on to take the Certified Rehabilitation Counselor exam in October. Upon graduation, Kelly obtained her first full time job and began her career as a Consumer Advocate at Suncoast Center for Independent Living in Sarasota, FL. Kelly has been living on her own with no roommates since she started her Masters program in January 2008.

As a consumer advocate, Kelly teaches clients with significant disabilities in Sarasota and Manatee Counties how to advocate for themselves by providing them with the knowledge and local resources they need to contact in order to obtain affordable housing, transportation, legal services, and home health care services. In the office, Kelly uses assistive technology such as Zoomtext screen magnification software on her computer as well as a Close Circuit TV (CCTV) to do research and read documents.

Congratulations Kelly!

FOPBC New Members Kevin and Tracie Inman

The Inman Family is so excited to be new members of the FOPBC! They also recently joined the Jacksonville Chapter of the National Federation for the Bli
nd.  Parents Kevin and Tracie Inman are very involved in the lives of their 3 children: Lowell 15, Katie 12, and Chrissy 10.  Kevin keeps busy with his job as a safety inspector and warehouse worker at Naval Station Mayport's Navy Exchange, shuttling the family everywhere they need to go, and serving as the Wednesday night sound engineer at the family's church.  Tracie recently graduated from Florida State College with an A.A. Degree in Political Science.  She's currently preparing to take a JAWS class at Independent Living for Adult Blind and she stays busy with Chrissy's brownie troop and the prayer ministry at the family's church.

Lowell, Katie and Chrissy Inman

Lowell is a 10th grader at FSDB who is active in FSDB sports (just like his proud mom and grandma before him), chess club, and base guitar lessons.  Katie is a 7th grader at FSDB and she enjoys keeping herself busy with one of many Braille books and hanging out with her friends. Chrissy is in 3rd grade at Mayport Elementary School and she recently joined the Girl Scouts and is now a proud Brownie. She also loves going to GA"s at her family's church.  Together the family enjoys serving at church and they all enjoy traveling.  Even though every member of the Inman family has some degree of visual impairment they're all proud of their independence.  They're looking forward to being a living testimony for the FOPBC!

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA): Myth=2
0or Reality?

As a mental health counselor and educator I hear many stories about students with special needs that are falling through the crack in the State Education System. The following article gives three cases of this happening and some suggestions to possibly enhance parent’s success in getting their child’s legal education rights met.  We must all remember that it is the child who is important, not the power of officials and the fight for your tax dollars.

When CIB was five years old his family submitted an application to one of America’s best known schools for the blind. The records accompanying the application consisted of documentation concerning every aspect of this congenitally blind child’s life. Included was information concerning:

Family Life---Parents & Grandparents

Medical Reports from---Pediatrician, Neurologist, Geneticist, Ophthalmologist, and Audiologist.

School Records---Teacher reports & Individual Education Plans

The school intake review team reviewed the records making occasional highlights with no comments. They then generated a hand-written form entitled, “Intake File Review Summary,” that made little sense, even to other professionals in the Educational Psychology field. This school then sent a letter to the parents stating the child may not be eligible for enrollment because he may be Trainable Mentally Handicapped (TMH); may not be able to chew and swallow most foods; and may be disruptive to others and to the education process.

The 
assessment was made by the school without contacting the parents or laying eyes on the child. The tentative rejection was based on three false and unconfirmed assumptions that had no merit based on the child’s submitted records. In fact, the child is considered extremely smart, chews and swallows what he desires, and is a model student. Therefore, the parents challenged the rejection based on the following issues:

The communication process was unclear and dictated by the school. This defies the intent of IDEA.

The school intake team reviewed the child’s five inch thick record looking for any term, medical or otherwise, to justify potential labels. When questioned, no one at the school could point out where they found the label TMH.

All attempts at resolution were ignored until the State Board of Education was notified.

A staff specialist at the school attempted to push the child into mainstreaming (inclusion) at the county public school system.

The overall intake assessment process violated ethical standards and is geared toward rejection of students.

The family, at great expense, had CIB assessed by the following professionals of blindness:

Certified Education Specialist for the Blind.

Child Psychiatrist from the state university.

School Psychologist with over 2000 cognitive assessments of children who are blind.

None of these professionals could find evidence that would warrant rejection by the school.

Although the family has lost faith in the school for the blind intake 
process and the child has been channeled into the pubic school system, his educational rights are still in the forefront concerning the preparation for his future, and his ability to become independent. Family members of children who are blind must always be vigilant ensuring their child’s rights under IDEA, State Law, and State Educational Administrative Procedures are protected. Adults cannot assume the system will automatically come to the aid of their child and provide what is needed for the child’s future.

If Schools for the blind are not the only educational institutions out rightly rejecting or refusing needed services to children with visual impairment. Some public schools who cannot reject a special needs child will totally ignore the parents input to the Individual Education Plan (IEP) which is counter to the explicit directions found in IDEA. In one case a Florida School Orientation and Mobility Specialist refused parent and a 5 year old visually impaired child entrance to an orientation meeting because the child was using a cane provided by a national organization for the blind. This same child has been refused Braille instruction because she has some sight. This is under the false belief that canning and Braille cause dependence on these abilities for children who are officially blind but with some sight.

These are only two cases where caregivers of the blind must fight for what appears to be educational benefits guaranteed under IDEA. Most family members who are not as well 
educated, without adequate resources, or lacking in basic tenacity will merely throw in the towel at the expense of their child’s future.

I met a 28 year old woman recently who was rejected by the State School for the Blind because she also has cerebral palsy (CP) and has been in a wheel chair most of her life. She could hold a very intelligent conversation but lacked any training that could have ensured her employment and independence. Her mainstream education allowed her to read and write difficultly without much more. This young lady is not mentally retarded but still delayed due to blindness, a delay that could have been eliminated with the proper education. Neither the young lady nor her mother understood why she was rejected by the school for the blind.

How many more cases of neglect, rejection and outright violation of IDEA must occur before State Departments of Education step in and hold someone accountable or the State Governor starts holding Chairs of Departments of Education accountable.  It is common knowledge that all dealings with institutional bureaucrat leads directly to power and money issues. The only commonalities to these two factors are votes and letter writing.

There are various steps parents can take to improve their child’s rights to a good education in the public sector:

1. When applying for attendance at a particular school, furnish only information that is absolutely required by law. Some schools use data to justify rejection of attendance 
or refusal to provide required services to your child.

2. Anytime your child is assessed, formally evaluated, or tested demand a formal and professional evaluation report. Most ethics codes and some state laws require this report be provided to the parents. 

3. Before allowing your child to be tested,  demand to know how the test will be used and who will have access to the results. The results may be used to falsely label your child and the entire state education system may have access to these false labels which may also preclude your child from receiving needed services later in life. 

4. All communications must be done in writing so an audit trail can be reconstructed.

5. When you as a parent are denied input and consideration of your child’s needs, document this and notify the county board, state board and national board. The only real power you have is your and your friends’ vote, so you and everyone you know write your representatives.

6. Obtain a knowledgeable advocate and obtain legal advice.

7. Join state and national organizations for the blind and if the leadership refuses to assist you in obtaining your legal rights, leave that organization.

8. Organize a letter writing campaign. Fight a good fight for the sake of your special needs child.

9. Notify local and national News.

Dr. Bill Cavitt LMHC is the Coordinator for Graduate Counseling and Physiology at Troy University, Jacksonville, Florida, where he teaches assessment, evaluation, and test
ing procedures among other courses. Bill has a Doctors Degree in Education with concentration in Educational Psychology and a one year post doctors in Clinical Counseling. He is qualified in some testing methods for blind children and is very good at writing test and evaluation reports. He will act as an advocate concerning a child who is blind having problems with the education system. This service is free of charge.

Florida Organization of Parents of Blind Children

Lenora J. Marten, President

7175 Overland Park Blvd E

Jacksonville, FL  32244

904-777-5976 - home

904-229-9554 – cell

fopbc at aol dot com

Our status as a division of the National Federation of the Blind, the largest and most influential organization of blind people in the world, provides many benefits. Our members are well informed about the technological, legislative, and societal issues that affect blind people. We also enjoy the resources, support, and expertise of 50,000 blind people who can serve as mentors and role models for our children. And finally, as our children grow up, they, too, have the Federation to belong to.

Support Braille Literacy – Buy the Louis Braille Coin Now!

There is a Braille literacy crisis in America.  Only 10 percent of all blind children learn to read and write using Braille.  In response to this crisis, the National Federation of the Blind has launched the largest Braille Literacy Campaign in history.  A porti
on of the proceeds from the sale of each Louis Braille Bicentennial Silver Dollar - the first United States coin with readable, tactile Braille - will go to support Braille literacy.  Urgent action is needed to address this crisis, and these beautiful coins are in limited supply, so  buy the Louis Braille Bicentennial Silver Dollar Now! Time is limited! These coins will no longer be available after December, 2009!

How many more cases of neglect, rejection and outright violation of IDEA must occur before State Departments of Education step in and hold someone accountable or the State Governor starts holding Chairs of Departments of Education accountable.  It is common knowledge that all dealings with institutional bureaucrat leads directly to power and money issues. The only commonalities to these two factors are votes and letter writing.

There are various steps parents can take to improve their child’s rights to a good education in the public sector:

1. When applying for attendance at a particular school, furnish only information that is absolutely required by law. Some schools use data to justify rejection of attendance or refusal to provide required services to your child.

2. Anytime your child is assessed, formally evaluated, or tested demand a formal and professional evaluation report. Most ethics codes and some state laws require this report be provided to the parents. 

3. Before allowing your child to be tested,  demand to know how the test will be used and=2
0who will have access to the results. The results may be used to falsely label your child and the entire state education system may have access to these false labels which may also preclude your child from receiving needed services later in life. 

4. All communications must be done in writing so an audit trail can be reconstructed.

5. When you as a parent are denied input and consideration of your child’s needs, document this and notify the county board, state board and national board. The only real power you have is your and your friends’ vote, so you and everyone you know write your representatives.

6. Obtain a knowledgeable advocate and obtain legal advice.

7. Join state and national organizations for the blind and if the leadership refuses to assist you in obtaining your legal rights, leave that organization.

8. Organize a letter writing campaign. Fight a good fight for the sake of your special needs child.

9. Notify local and national News.

Dr. Bill Cavitt LMHC is the Coordinator for Graduate Counseling and Physiology at Troy University, Jacksonville, Florida, where he teaches assessment, evaluation, and testing procedures among other courses. Bill has a Doctors Degree in Education with concentration in Educational Psychology and a one year post doctors in Clinical Counseling. He is qualified in some testing methods for blind children and is very good at writing test and evaluation reports. He will act as an advocate concerning a child who is blind having problem
s with the education system. This service is free of charge.

Florida Organization of Parents of Blind Children

Lenora J. Marten, President

7175 Overland Park Blvd E

Jacksonville, FL  32244

904-777-5976 - home

904-229-9554 – cell

fopbc at aol dot com

Our status as a division of the National Federation of the Blind, the largest and most influential organization of blind people in the world, provides many benefits. Our members are well informed about the technological, legislative, and societal issues that affect blind people. We also enjoy the resources, support, and expertise of 50,000 blind people who can serve as mentors and role models for our children. And finally, as our children grow up, they, too, have the Federation to belong to.

Support Braille Literacy – Buy the Louis Braille Coin Now!

There is a Braille literacy crisis in America.  Only 10 percent of all blind children learn to read and write using Braille.  In response to this crisis, the National Federation of the Blind has launched the largest Braille Literacy Campaign in history.  A portion of the proceeds from the sale of each Louis Braille Bicentennial Silver Dollar - the first United States coin with readable, tactile Braille - will go to support Braille literacy.  Urgent action is needed to address this crisis, and these beautiful coins are in limited supply, so  buy the Louis Braille Bicentennial Silver Dollar Now! Time is limite
d! These coins will no longer be available after December, 2009!