[blindkid] Blind Student & The Sighted Band Camp

Fri Mar 7 07:34:13 UTC 2014

Yes, I am feeling like this camp is more work than it is worth. It is not Ben that needs an aide, but the sighted camp, because they are afraid and uncomfortable with blindness. However, I feel that I need to send Ben, so they can see what a blind kid can do. If I don't send him, it will be another 40 years and nothing will change. If he does attend, they may learn something and decide that blind kids aren't so scary. I want to change what it means to be blind in Oregon and does Ben!

> Date: Thu, 6 Mar 2014 23:04:06 -0700
> From: arielle71 at gmail.com
> To: blindkid at nfbnet.org
> Subject: Re: [blindkid] Blind Student & The Sighted Band Camp
> 
> I agree. I don't know if ADA covers private camps like this, but if
> their attitude is so negative already, I'm not sure I would trust them
> to treat Ben well even if you successfully get him accepted. Unless
> there's something else special about this camp, I'd say keep looking.
> When I was a kid I wasn't allowed to attend Jewish camp with my sister
> because my mother was the one who thought I would need an aide and she
> told me an aide would be too expensive. Good for you to trust that
> your son can participate on his own.
> 
> Arielle
> 
> On 3/6/14, Deborah Kent Stein <dkent5817 at att.net> wrote:
> >
> >
> > Dear Crystal,
> >
> > This story is very disturbing to me!  Back in the late Sixties my brother,
> > who is also blind, applied to several music camps (including the famous
> > Interlocken in Michigan) and was told that they categorically did not accept
> >
> > blind students.  I would like to think we've gotten beyond that level of
> > discrimination in the past 45 years, but clearly we have a ways to go.  Our
> >
> > parents kept looking until they found a music camp that was very receptive;
> >
> > my brother had a great time and returned for several more summers.  You
> > could try to fight this band camp and negotiate to get Ben accepted, but it
> >
> > may be a better bet to look for other options instead.   Somewhere there is
> >
> > a camp where he will actually be welcome from the outset, where he can make
> >
> > friends and learn music and have fun without the stress of feeling that
> > people are constantly afraid he is going to cause them extra trouble.
> >
> > Debbie
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Crystal Schumacher
> > Sent: Thursday, March 06, 2014 8:42 PM
> > To: blindkid ask
> > Subject: [blindkid] Blind Student & The Sighted Band Camp
> >
> > My son Ben is 13 years old and is in 7th grade. He is blind with light
> > perception. He attends middle school with seven hundred other students. He
> > has an aide in 3 of his classes, Science, Math, & English. His GPA is 3.8.
> > He is in his second year of band and plays the trumpet by ear. He has just
> > recently started learning the Braille music code. He wants to attend a band
> >
> > camp, which is a private camp that we would pay for. If you are a special
> > needs student, you must first get permission from the camp to register.
> >
> > I called and talked to the camp and in the 40 years of existence they have
> > never had a blind student attend. The camp does not offer or is unwilling to
> >
> > provide any additional support. I think the only support Ben would need is
> > in navigating the camp, as it is very large. I have told them that Ben would
> >
> > do orientation and mobility training before the camp starts, as well as
> > create a tactile map, use a Braille copy of the schedule, and a talking
> > watch to get to places on time. They are unwilling to allow Ben to attend
> > without an Aide. I was trying to avoid an Aide because it gets in the place
> >
> > of making friends and Ben wants to be as independent as possible. They said
> >
> > if he had a friend going, who would be his buddy, we may be able to avoid
> > the Aide. He really doesn't have that kind of a friend, more acquaintances.
> >
> > One point of him going was to try and make a friend or connection.
> >
> > I am wondering if anyone out there has been in this situation. What did you
> >
> > do? Did you go as your child's Aide? Did you hire someone? Did you pay for
> > another student to attend with your child? Did you give up? I have already
> > sent a dozen emails and on top of it his school found out about his desire
> > to go to band camp. They made it a topic during his IEP meeting and wanted
> > input from his teachers as to weather he should be allowed to attend. But
> > mind you, it is a private camp that I would be paying 100% of the tuition,
> > and has nothing to do with public school. Frustrated in Oregon!
> >
> > Crystal
> >
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