[Nfbk] Rope Incident

[Jennifer Hall]

Hello guys!  Way to go to Maria and Melanie, as mothers and strong NFB 
women!  Also big thanks to Kevin for posting the other responses.  I 
have been trying to wrap my head around this and a few thoughts come to 
mind.  Actually, it was 20 years ago this month that I was a KSB Summer 
Program student.  It was one of the happiest times of my life-up until 
that point.  It finally gave me the opportunity to see that I did not 
have to go through sight loss alone and that I was not some freak of 
nature or a burden.  I never remember using a rope to be led around for 
mobility's sake.  We helped each other-sometimes making a caravan by 
putting our hand on the person in front of us.  We only did this though 
when traveling an hour and a half away from KSB and visiting a large 
park and walking on natural trails; our canes never left our other hand 
though.  I completely understand about the severity of having 
multi-disabled students; however, if I were a parent, depending on the 
seriousness of their conditions, I would not think a rope qualified to 
monitor and take care of my loved one.  I would like to believe that my 
child was taken care of and monitored by those individuals who have 
rather expensive, time consuming degrees.

Being from a very, small town where we roll the sidewalks up at 5PM, it 
was of the utmost importance to use every waking minute my first Summer 
program to teach me any and all mobility skills we could fit into the 
schedule; hence the reason Mr. Pemrod put a cane in my hand the very 
first day.  My school said that VI instruction was not feasible, so I 
did not receive additional O&M until the next Summer program 3 years 
later.  I try to look at both sides, but, there  is no way I could 
conceive of a rope protecting me more than my cane or a trained personnel.

One thing that really bothered me about the rope is that they said the 
students were led from the bus to the building/pool on it?  My question 
is, " how much does KSB allot each year for rope vs. canes in their 
fiscal report?  Also, do they have a rope designed for each and every 
new trip so that it will reach from the bus to their desired location?  
Please forgive my dry sense of humor, but...REALLY?  Sorry, it is late 
and I have only had about 3 hours sleep in 48 hours.  One last 
thought...for thousands of years, mothers and fathers have raised 
bountifully large families, both sighted and blind (parents & children), 
and not one child was lost or clung to a rope while on a family 
vacation.  This was all done while nurturing the children with the love, 
knowledge, and dignity that children need to grow and mature.  Again, if 
I were blessed enough to be a parent, I would expect nothing less than 
these same be bestowed on my child by the staff I have intrusted them to.

I really hope this gets resolved quickly and professionally.  We still 
have a long race to run, but, I have no doubt that our village known as 
NFBK will rise to the occasion!  My prayers are with each of you that 
you have a safe and fun-filled Independence week!

Blessings,
Jennifer Hall