[Ohio-talk] HOW DO WE GET IT DONE?

[Kaiti Shelton]

I wouldn't hasten to say that comissions for the blind are stellar
either.  I agree that lumping people who are blind without multiple
disabilities in with the general disabled population has significant
problems but comissions have their own issues, too.  I will say,
though, that Michigan's comission is significantly kinder to students;
they'll pay full tuition for any college in the state, then pay up to
the price of Michigan State (the most expensive college in Michigan)
for students who choose to study elsewhere.  That, to me, seems much
more fair than the least-cost model that Ohio currently works
under-even though students need to jump through hoops to get that
funding by attending summer programs held by the comission in high
school.  Not all students need to start in community colleges, and not
all students enter degree programs that allow for time to be saved by
taking all the gen eds first.  For those like myself who start classes
for our major in our first year and take them along with gen ed
courses the entire time we're in school it isn't practical or
cost-saving to go to a community college first and automatically add 2
years to your school time.

There is also a huge emphasis on money over the needs of the consumer
and how they want to achieve their goals.  I can understand that the
state shouldn't be paying for needless technology and services but
when a consumer has an educated reason behind their choices, like
going to a training center, the money always wins out.  This is true
even though blindness skills will make finding employment easier since
the person will know how to travel reliably from home to work, cook
for themself, be organized, look professional and be able to advocate
with the NFB philosophy in mind, etc.  However, I can't say that I
know comissions for the blind have done much better.  If we are going
to get a comission of our own, though, I think it would take a ton of
work at the legislative level.  We'd have to gather data on the number
of blind people who don't have other disabling conditions and point
out the flaws in the current systems available (E.G, cater more to
those with intellectual or multiple disabilities, do not support
specific independence goals which will ultimately make a person more
employable, etc).

On 5/15/15, Milena Zavoli via Ohio-talk <ohio-talk at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> Hi Eric and all,
>
> I don't understand why Ohio, Texas and a few other states have chosen to
> place blind rehab training in the same shoebox as all other disabilities.
> It never worked.  We need to creat a Commission for the Blind here.  The
> Pan-disabilities umbrella has always short changed the blind.
>
> Ultimately, we need to build our own center to give the blind an incentive
> to stay in Ohio.  Moving to an NFB-friendly state is challenging to most,
> because for one thing, the counselors in Ohio won't pay for out-of-state
> training.  Yes, we are told that we have informed choice, but when it comes
> to paying up, that concept goes out the window.  Counselors are breaking
> their own rules, and they don't
> want to admit to it.
>
> I don't know how we can fund our new center.  Perhaps our legislators will
> give us a hand if we can show that the existing private agencies are not
> doing their job effectively. Perhaps someone more knowledgeable on this list
> has some ideas on how best to proceed.
>
> Even if we don't get our new center right away, more qualified blind
> individuals need to be hired at these agencies, such as the Cleveland Sight
> Center.  There should be more blind people hired in rehab and management,
> and the CSC does not appear to have either of these positions addressed.
>
> By the way, let's get rid of this Cleveland Sight Center name.  This is not
> a clinic or medical institution.  What's wrong with the original
> name--Cleveland Society for the Blind?  Are they so embarrassed about us
> blind folks or even the word "blind" that they would eliminate it entirely
> from their lexicon?
>
> Additionally, regarding the Nebraska Center for the Blind's service model,
> all information is found at:
>
> http://www.ncbvi.nebraska.gov/services/orientation-center/
>
> From the website:
> "Nebraska Center for the Blind has been approved by the National Blindness
> Professional Certification Board (NBPCB). This approval is granted only to
> those Centers that meet strict standards for high quality services, uphold a
> positive philosophy of blindness and high expectations, adhere to Structured
> Discovery instructional methodology, and are dedicated to assuring genuine
> Informed Choice for all consumers. The Nebraska Commission for the Blind and
> Visually Impaired adheres to these standards of quality assurance in every
> area of its service delivery."
>
> Wouldn't it be great if we could express the same philosophy here in Ohio?
> May that day come soon!
>
> Milena Zavoli
>
>
>
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-- 
Kaiti Shelton
University of Dayton 2016.
Music Therapy, Psychology, Philosophy
President, Ohio Association of Blind Students
Sigma Alpha Iota-Delta Sigma