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

Sat May 16 12:10:35 UTC 2015

I agree with  this. Blind people need services in a deferent way.
A little levant y. At lest we an't in with the corrections. LOL. it is a
min improvement.
It's all about money. As I am becoming older, we are dealing with cost,
instead of
need. Megan and MS. Mp.

> 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
>
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