[rehab] The 12 days of what?

Tamara Smith-Kinney tamara.8024 at comcast.net
Fri Dec 24 16:00:01 UTC 2010 

Dick,

Great news!  Congratulations to your students.

It is very easy to get discouraged, yes.  I try to schedule my funks for the
weekends to get them out of my system so I can go on being productive the
rest of the time.  /smile/

Having met my major goals for December, I can now take a breather, finish
the application process and begin the mental prep for a potential interview.
I'm going to look at the feds first, since they do provide (or are supposed
to) adaptive tools and seem to have a system for that.

Guess it's time to start checking out the private sector market again, huh?
/grin/  I'm still a bit baffled, honestly, about how to handle the adaptive
tool issue in that market.  The OCB has a brochure which, when I was still
working and beginning to need those tools, I found to be completely
uninformative, as did my employer.  So, more research for me.

Merry Christmas!

Tami Smith-Kinney

-----Original Message-----
From: rehab-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:rehab-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Dick Davis
Sent: Saturday, December 18, 2010 1:02 PM
To: 'Rehabilitation Counselor Mailing List'
Subject: Re: [rehab] The 12 days of what?

Tamara,
Actually, there is a job market, and our students are getting jobs in it,
including one who started in the best job he has ever had on October 18th.
I am seeing more and more job postings, so don't believe what you learn from
the media and other sources.  Lots of sighted people do believe it and are
giving up, which is good because it reduces the amount of competition blind
people must face.  
Dick


-----Original Message-----
From: rehab-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:rehab-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Tamara Smith-Kinney
Sent: Friday, December 17, 2010 11:41 AM
To: 'Rehabilitation Counselor Mailing List'
Subject: Re: [rehab] The 12 days of what?

Dick,

That would be Oregon.  And, yes, the more I learn about how they approach VR
and their consumers, the more awful I find it is.  Sigh.  I was much happier
about the whole thing when I could simply feel sorry for my own little self
for being special for being hard done by.  /smile/

That being said, I will add that there are some individuals there who are
very professional and dedicated and manage to do good things within that
dysfunctional system.  There are others who are good, too, if not super
special.  Being a math/physics/computer geek (in that order), I can't stop
myself from adding things up and breaking down the percentages, though....
Of the people I have dealt with, fewer than 20 percent are not, well,
there's no kind word to use.  Fewer than 20 percent of that 20 percent are
good to fantastic.  However, that fewer than 20 percent are in support-type
or teaching only positions and are given little opportunity to influence the
outcome of a VR case.

I have met one or two people who have received adaptive technology from this
agency and are thus working...  It took 10 years or more for them to get it.
This is considered standard, and it is well recognized that this is the way
things are.  Other comments that come with this dismal information, I will
not repeat because they are second hand and, well, pretty unflattering.

There does seem to be a pattern of people leaving the Living Skills program
with very similar injuries that require physical therapy and medical
treatment, while the person with the injuries is unable to use cane/dog,
braille, etc., etc.

I've been lurking on this list for some time now, and have gotten some
really great information to help my understanding from discussions here on
VR philosophy and other topics.  How to use this information to effect any
sort of change in my state, I haven't figured out yet, and I'm not sure why
other organized groups and agencies in the state seem to hold back when it
comes to pushing for change at the agency on various issues.  Not that my
figuring it out would accomplish anything, but I would feel better about
understanding.

I have learned that the social safety net in Oregon is, well, torn badly and
lined with big hooks along the tears.  Ugh!

I do enjoy checking the conversations on this list, merely to get a glimpse
into the work and thinking of dedicated professionals doing their best to do
what they do in an increasingly difficult environment.  It must be terribly
frustrating to work with someone to get all ready to go marching proudly
into the job market...  When there isn't one of those!

Your work is appreciated, and those you prepare will be ahead of the game
when jobs do start to pick up.  Right?  /smile/

Tami Smith-Kinney

-----Original Message-----
From: rehab-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:rehab-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Dick Davis
Sent: Thursday, December 16, 2010 10:56 AM
To: 'Rehabilitation Counselor Mailing List'
Subject: Re: [rehab] The 12 days of what?

Tamara,
I forgot what state you are in.  It sounds awful. 
Dick

-----Original Message-----
From: rehab-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:rehab-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Tamara Smith-Kinney
Sent: Thursday, December 16, 2010 11:38 AM
To: 'Rehabilitation Counselor Mailing List'
Subject: Re: [rehab] The 12 days of what?

Dick,

Then there are those agencies -- like the one in my state -- that won't buy
technology for a blind person who has a job!  If, in the course of
developing and IPE with your VR counselor, you receive a promotion to
management, the social workers at the main office across the state will
determine you to be unemployable even before you come across the state for
an assessment.  Also, the same social workers will determine that you have
really great vision.  If you suggest, for the 5th or 6th time that they
accept your offer of copies of the reports from the last 3 eye doctors of
various levels you've seen at your own expense, they can become downright
hostile.

And that's just for starters...

Meanwhile, though, you are free to learn cane skills, O&M, adaptive skills,
braille, the ins and outs of adaptive technology, etc., all on your own,
even at your own expense.  It will make them real mad, but they can't stop
you.  /grin/  They still want to teach you to walk around the block and tie
your own shoes, but you can just decide you have better things to do with
your time, like trying to figure out how to get back to work now that you're
living on SSD and paying out of pocket medical expenses to recover from the
injuries you picked up mysteriously in the course of dealing with them.
They will be happy to point out that your refusal to learn adaptive skills
just demonstrates your failure to cooperate.

Picking up a contract in your field at $100/hr and giving it another go just
in case will not result in so much as the upgrade to JAWS you need to
continue the contract.  You can get lots and lots of verbally abusive
e-mails from them, though!  In case you can find someone to show the e-mails
to.  Also, you can, if you're willing to put yourself through the
aggravation, get a meeting with the VR director and CAP attorney and your
case worker on tape!  An hour straight of nonstop verbal abuse in an
aggressive vocal tone!  Great stuff.

All I want for Christmas is someone in this state with clout to do something
who will look into these matters and perhaps consider that the agency's
current standard operating procedures in reference to their consumers is
perhaps not the best use of taxpayer dollars....

Now, back to my regularly scheduled day of battling aged and decrepit
technology, out dated JAWS, and no braille display to make some progress on
my volunteer projects while trying to figure out how to buy makeup this
month so I can show up for a job interview with the feds.  I hear they
actually will hire blind people and ....  Wait for it!  Provide tools for
them to use on the job.  So I'm preparing to be off with my owner-trained
guide dog in her new, pristine job interview harness in search of the wily
employment!  Or I could just give her a copy of my resume and a nice cover
letter and send her in to get me a job so I can afford to buy make up to go
get a job.  /lol/  She does love the "find" command.

It is a crazy world we live in, what?

Tami Smith-Kinney

-----Original Message-----
From: rehab-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:rehab-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Dick Davis
Sent: Wednesday, December 15, 2010 7:20 AM
To: 'Rehabilitation Counselor Mailing List'
Subject: Re: [rehab] The 12 days of what?

Hi,
In your dreams!  Many agencies won't even buy technology until a blind
person gets a job, even though it would help if they got it earlier and had
a chance to become proficient using it.  There are exceptions, of course.
Dick Davis

-----Original Message-----
From: rehab-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:rehab-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Andrews, David B B (DEED)
Sent: Wednesday, December 15, 2010 8:52 AM
To: rehab at nfbnet.org
Subject: [rehab] The 12 days of what?



From: iaaisorg-announce at yahoogroups.com
[mailto:iaaisorg-announce at yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Les Myers
Sent: Wednesday, December 15, 2010 6:21 AM
To: IAAIS
Subject: [IAAIS] The 12 days of what?


Good morning. This nifty piece appeared on our Maine blind-forum group
yesterday:

The 12 Days of Rehab
By: John Weidlich

Here is a silly song I wrote that I hope you might find amusing. It can be
sung roughly to the melody of the Twelve Days of Christmas.
John .
The Twelve Days of Rehab

Intro: The first time I called Rehab, they told me I would need

An eye exam to see what I could see.

The next time I called rehab, they assigned to me

A friendly rehab counselor, and here's what she gave to me.

On the first rehab visit my counselor gave to me, a white cane because I
can't see.

2. On the second rehab visit, my counselor gave to me, Lots of paper work
And

a white cane because I can't see.

3. On the third rehab visit, my counselor gave to me,

Hand-held magnifiers, Lots of paper work And a white cane because I can't
see.

4. On the fourth rehab visit my counselor gave to me,

Talking clocks and watches, hand-held magnifiers, lots of paper work And a
white cane because I can't see.

5. On the fifth rehab visit, my counselor gave to me,

A CCTV, talking clocks and watches, hand-held magnifiers, lots of paperwork
And a white cane because I can't see.

6. On the sixth rehab visit, my counselor gave to me,

A golden lab a-barking, all that other stuff And a white cane because I
can't see.

7. On the seventh rehab visit, my counselor gave to me, A new computer
talking, all that other stuff And a white cane because I can't see.

8. On the eighth rehab visit, my counselor gave to me,

Braille and cooking lessons, all that other stuff And a white cane because I

can't see.

9. On the ninth rehab visit my counselor gave to me,

A Victor Stream downloading, all that other stuff And a white cane because I

can't see.

10. On the tenth rehab visit my counselor gave to me,

A Braille embosser brailling, all that other stuff And a white cane because
I can't see.

11. On the eleventh rehab visit my counselor gave to me,

college courses for taking, all that other stuff And a white cane because I
can't see.

12. On the twelfth rehab visit my counselor said to me,

"Your case is closed," but there's no job for me.

But that's ok, because I still got to keep the college courses, the Braille
embosser, the Victor Stream, the Braille and cooking lessons, the talking
computer, the guide dog, the CCTV, the talking clock and watch, the
hand-held magnifier, the paperwork and-the white cane because I can't see.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas With a Capital C.!!
John


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