[rehab] Private testing

Mon Nov 26 00:10:29 UTC 2012

Oh! Are you saying you can take that test online or something of the 
kind? How come after reading all these membership posts about the 
Braille Readers are Leaders program and thinking, "Neat!" I missed that. 
Er.. Don't answer that. /lol/

For me, that would work perfectly for starters. Then I can report from 
experience to others who are wondering! Double score! /lol/

I'll pass on the information about the JAWS certification, too, in case 
someone needs to know. Since I've gone Linux/Orca, I've slacked on the 
JAWS end of things until I get a Windows computer for the spouse... Or 
hit the local library to refresh my skills there in case I need them.

Whether I would need more would depend on what any perspective 
interviewer/employer would require... Because of my father, we just 
moved from the Big City, where jobs in my actual field are picking up, 
to the small town in the middle of nowhere, where the number of jobs in 
the field are equal to the number of people who can do them... Ain't no 
one gonna leave a job like that just so I can have it! /lol/ I will just 
have to make my own job in the field. /smile/ Meanwhile, I find I can 
look at the family budget right now and wonder if it's actually worth 
taking what I can get for now or just being poorer than I like... 
There's more to it than that, but my options have changed dramatically, 
as have my future plans. I am finding it *very* interesting reading 
every single job description to figure out if I can convince the 
employer I can do the job... Well, maybe not the driver jobs. /lol/ 
Also, I can practice what I might say to convince an employer to spend 
extra $$$$ so I can read to do the job. Tricky. Not when I was employed, 
until I needed the really expensive stuff and the accountants wanted a 
certified evaluator from the state to sign off on the tools I needed 
before they paid for them. Perfectly sensible, really.

I'll make a note about the JAWS certification, too. I'm currently using 
Linux with Orca, which is great and free! However, if I do want to take 
a job in some clerical environment or something like that, I need to 
brush up on the latest JAWS (and NVDA) with Windows and the latest MS 
Office suite. Gives me an excuse to walk me and my guide dog a mile up 
to the library, huh? /smile/

Tami

On 11/25/2012 12:19 PM, Nancy Coffman wrote:
> I like the Braille Readers are Leaders speed testing method.  It doesn't
> give a person time to get stuck very long on a word that could be derived
> from the context.  Have a witness count your words and email you the
> results.  Would that be enough documentation?
>
> On the screen reader score, Freedom Scientific offers their JAWS
> certification.  That means that you can document your knowledge and for a
> $99 fee, you have the certificate to prove it.
> Nancy Coffman
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: rehab [mailto:rehab-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Tami Jarvis
> Sent: Sunday, November 25, 2012 1:58 PM
> To: Rehabilitation Counselor Mailing List
> Subject: Re: [rehab] Private testing
>
> Thanks, Bryan and Danielle!
>
> But, while I don't live in Missouri, I do live in Oregon. Believe me, I
> don't stand a chance here, either. After 13 years, in which I ended up
> losing my still-advancing career when my progressive vision loss became loss
> of sighted reading, I think it's safe to say that even if I weren't a proud
> member of the Thorn In The Side Club, I still wouldn't stand a chance...
> Since, by reviewing my file (what is actually in there; their documentation
> woes are the subject of many failed audits, which did not surprise me,
> having reviewed my own file), it seems pretty clear that I had managed to
> make myself a Thorn In The Side long before I ever came within 300 miles of
> anyone there but a VRC, who was really great, it's clear I never had a
> chance in the first place of just keeping working, so... Well, I'm not
> bitter, not at all. /sarcastic grin/
>
> So I'm asking about the testing for my own benefit, since I would like to
> get that cleared out of the way, but also so I can pass reliable info onto
> others in the same boat. Sigh.
>
> As for my own case, if you're entertained by such tales, I'll mention that
> the VR Director and Administrator are in agreement that they are not about
> to waste valuable taxpayer resources letting me show up for a braille
> reading test with the Braille Literacy Specialist because they have
> determined that I refuse to learn braille. I did suggest that a quick
> reading test might clear up some confusion there, but... That's a sign of
> some deep mental disturbance on my part, so now they won't even talk to me
> unless I agree to get counseling. I crazily suggest that I will be happy to
> do so once they set another psych eval to see what I'm supposed to get
> counseling for. /lol/ Yes, I do mean a second one. They have a psych eval
> but they do not have documentation that I have mental deficits or
> disturbances. They're not about to set another, of course, even though they
> were ordered to do so by CAP back in 2007...
>
> Turns out I am not alone in that boat, either. I may be the only 4.0 math
> major working geek in information management along with various and sundry
> clerical this and that who has been determined to have... wait for it! ...
> ADHD! As we all know, there are many brilliant people with ADHD and they do
> many things with their brilliant brains... What they do not do is
> successfully sit for that many hours a day focusing on ensuring that
> multiple tiny, tiny details are perfect. It's just not their gig. Anyone who
> can spend 6 to 8 hours a day for a couple of days reviewing thousands upon
> thousands of lines of code for that one missing semi-colon, then head home
> and study braille for when they can't see and study technical manuals to
> keep improving their programming and design/development skills then do
> another programming project, which involves tiny, tiny details that must be
> exactly perfect... I'm just saying. They mighta looked at my resume and my
> academic record before they picked ADHD out of a hat. /smile/
>
> So. If I want a braille reading test, I need another solution. So do a lot
> of people who haven't even gotten to be Thorns in the Side. Neat, huh?
>
> Tami Jarvis (formerly Kinney)
>
> On 11/24/2012 11:59 PM, Danielle Antoine wrote:
>> Try going through your local rehabilitation Services Program. they
>> usually help you get started with assessments and training, if
>> necessary. good luck!
>>
>> On 11/19/12, Bryan Schulz <b.schulz at sbcglobal.net> wrote:
>>> hi,
>>>
>>> If you live in Missouri, you have no chance!
>>> Bryan Schulz
>>>
>>>
>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>> From: "Tami Jarvis" <tami at poodlemutt.com>
>>> To: "Rehabilitation Counselor Mailing List" <rehab at nfbnet.org>
>>> Sent: Saturday, November 17, 2012 11:46 AM
>>> Subject: [rehab] Private testing
>>>
>>>
>>>> Hi, all!
>>>>
>>>> I've heard over the past few years of private consultants who appear
>>>> to do
>>>>
>>>> evaluations for assistive technology and provide testing for
>>>> adaptive skills like braille and other areas.
>>>>
>>>> Can someone here tell me how that works in terms of how it is paid
>>>> for and
>>>>
>>>> by whom?
>>>>
>>>> We've been spending the last year or more on family matters and
>>>> finally got ourselves moved to the small town where my father will
>>>> be living out his remaining years. So I am finally getting back to
>>>> preparing to go job seeking, although I continue to do what
>>>> freelance -- mostly pro bono -- projects that come my way. I can be
>>>> looking for more freelance projects that perhaps are not so free while
> I'm job hunting.
>>>>
>>>> I have a suspicion that having proper test scores for reading and
>>>> technology could greatly increase my odds of getting more projects,
>>>> especially at first. In this tiny market, I might find a nugget or
>>>> two here and there, but I would really like to continue to expand my
>>>> horizons
>>>>
>>>> beyond this area. We'll see. But I want to be prepared and that
>>>> means I need to figure out how to get those official test scores and
>>>> other assessments to reassure prospective employers and clients that
>>>> someone has
>>>>
>>>> verified I know how to do stuff now that I'm blind. /smile/
>>>>
>>>> Thanks in advance for any information or direction anyone can provide.
>>>>
>>>> I hope you are all getting ready for a happy and healthy holiday season!
>>>>
>>>> Tami
>>>>
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>>>>
>>>
>>>
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>>
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>
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