[blindkid] blindkid Digest, Vol 119, Issue 5

Lucy Sirianni lucysirianni at earthlink.net
Sun Mar 9 15:32:29 UTC 2014


Hi Crystal,

      I'm very frustrated on your behalf! I attended various 
camps, including music camps, from age 9 onward, and I never had 
an aide or any other accommodation besides receiving materials in 
Braille.  I think this camp's stipulation that you sponsor 
another student is both unreasonable and unnecessary, and I worry 
about the incorrect sense of Ben's capabilities that other 
campers might receive if he were constantly being "helped" by a 
student assistant, though perhaps this could be made to work if 
you were given the opportunity to have clear communication with 
the student beforehand.

      Do you have a sense of what the camp's particular concerns 
are? What exactly do the people you've spoken with anticipate Ben 
needing extra help with, and how do they justify not providing 
this help themselves should it in fact be necessary (which seems 
unlikely)?

      I'm sorry you've had to deal with this experience.  Some of 
my best memories of my teenage years come from my time at a 
summer music program that I attended from age 12 through age 17.  
This program had never had a blind student before, but the 
faculty and students were tremendously welcoming and open, never 
in any way seeing my blindness as a barrier to my full 
participation.  Though I'm no longer involved in music, I 
continue to keep in close touch with many of the friends I made 
there.  I share this experience just to let you know that the 
camp you're in contact with now is in no way representative of 
what you might find in future interactions with different 
programs.

      Best of luck with this, and I hope you'll keep the list 
posted!

Lucy



 ----- Original Message -----
From: Crystal Schumacher <crystal_schu at hotmail.com
To: blindkid ask <blindkid at nfbnet.org
Date sent: Sat, 8 Mar 2014 18:22:54 -0700
Subject: Re: [blindkid] blindkid Digest, Vol 119, Issue 5

I am so thankful for this list! It is comforting to know that I 
can voice my anger, frustration, and hurt, where others will 
understand.  Then I can get "crazy Mom" out of my system and 
return to the real world as a calm and rational parent.  I think 
it's important to keep the conversation going with the  camp and 
I'm in too far now to let my hard work go to waste.  They have 
now suggested that if I sponsor another student, who wouldn't 
have the financial means to attend the camp on their own, and the 
student was willing to assist Ben, it may work.  I was going to 
have to pay for the adult male aid and would much rather help 
another student.  We are getting closer, but no definite answer 
as of yet.  By the way, Ben was horrified at the thought of 
someone helping him in the shower!

Crystal




 Date: Sat, 8 Mar 2014 17:47:59 -0700
 From: arielle71 at gmail.com
 To: blindkid at nfbnet.org
 Subject: Re: [blindkid] blindkid Digest, Vol 119, Issue 5

 I went on a couple of international trips during my freshman 
year of
 college and had no special accommodations.  I would ask another 
student
 in my group for sighted guide or go with one of the supervisors.  
I did
 experience some pushback when I wanted to join on hikes, but 
that's a
 different problem.
 Now that I've had structured-discovery training, if I went on 
another
 trip like that I would probably be more comfortable just 
following the
 group and exploring on my own during free time.

 Arielle

 On 3/8/14, Susan Polansky <polanskyse at gmail.com> wrote:
 Our teenage son has attended a private camp for 3 summers.  He 
gets
 familiar with the cabin when he checks in then he gets from 
point A to
 point B by walking with the other kids either in a group or 
sometimes with
 another camper acting as sighted guide.  The other kids are 
always willing
 to help, sometimes more than he needs or wants but then he 
politely informs
 them what he does or does not need and they go on from there.

 Susan Polansky

 Susan Polansky


 On Fri, Mar 7, 2014 at 7:00 AM, <blindkid-request at nfbnet.org> 
wrote:

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 Today's Topics:

    1.  Blind Student & The Sighted Band Camp (Crystal 
Schumacher)
    2.  Re: Blind Student & The Sighted Band Camp (Deborah Kent 
Stein)
    3.  Re: Blind Student & The Sighted Band Camp (Arielle 
Silverman)
    4.  Re: Blind Student & The Sighted Band Camp (Crystal 
Schumacher)
    5.  Re: Blind Student & The Sighted Band Camp (Bo Page)


 
-----------------------------------------------------------------
-----

 Message: 1
 Date: Thu, 6 Mar 2014 20:42:28 -0800
 From: Crystal Schumacher <crystal_schu at hotmail.com
 To: blindkid ask <blindkid at nfbnet.org
 Subject: [blindkid] Blind Student & The Sighted Band Camp
 Message-ID: <SNT153-W73B39566B1368C884F475BFF8B0 at phx.gbl
 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

 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


 ------------------------------

 Message: 2
 Date: Thu, 6 Mar 2014 21:56:43 -0800
 From: "Deborah Kent Stein" <dkent5817 at att.net
 To: "Blind Kid Mailing List,    \(for parents of blind 
children\)"
         <blindkid at nfbnet.org
 Subject: Re: [blindkid] Blind Student & The Sighted Band Camp
 Message-ID: <E420BE44DE9B43CA9C8BD0D3FFAB9356 at debkentHP
 Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1";
         reply-type=original



 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

 _______________________________________________
 blindkid mailing list
 blindkid at nfbnet.org
 http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindkid_nfbnet.org
 To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account 
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 blindkid:
 
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 ------------------------------

 Message: 3
 Date: Thu, 6 Mar 2014 23:04:06 -0700
 From: Arielle Silverman <arielle71 at gmail.com
 To: "Blind Kid Mailing List,    (for parents of blind children)"
         <blindkid at nfbnet.org
 Subject: Re: [blindkid] Blind Student & The Sighted Band Camp
 Message-ID:
         <
 
CALAYQJB3aCogw9rHh4p6WNekNpnmouY4MBRV1JpD2zGdEHCvNQ at mail.gmail.co
m
 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1

 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

 _______________________________________________
 blindkid mailing list
 blindkid at nfbnet.org
 http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindkid_nfbnet.org
 To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account 
info for
 blindkid:

 
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindkid_nfbnet.org/dkent5817%4
0att.net


 ---
 This email is free from viruses and malware because avast! 
Antivirus
 protection is active.
 http://www.avast.com


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 blindkid at nfbnet.org
 http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindkid_nfbnet.org
 To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account 
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 blindkid:

 
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0gmail.com




 ------------------------------

 Message: 4
 Date: Thu, 6 Mar 2014 23:34:13 -0800
 From: Crystal Schumacher <crystal_schu at hotmail.com
 To: blindkid ask <blindkid at nfbnet.org
 Subject: Re: [blindkid] Blind Student & The Sighted Band Camp
 Message-ID: <SNT153-W4675D23F46A4712507D090FF8B0 at phx.gbl
 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

 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

 _______________________________________________
 blindkid mailing list
 blindkid at nfbnet.org
 http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindkid_nfbnet.org
 To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account 
info for
 blindkid:

 
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindkid_nfbnet.org/dkent5817%4
0att.net


 ---
 This email is free from viruses and malware because avast! 
Antivirus
 protection is active.
 http://www.avast.com


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 http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindkid_nfbnet.org
 To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account 
info for
 blindkid:

 
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindkid_nfbnet.org/arielle71%4
0gmail.com


 _______________________________________________
 blindkid mailing list
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 To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account 
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 blindkid:

 
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u%40hotmail.com


 ------------------------------

 Message: 5
 Date: Fri, 7 Mar 2014 03:20:43 -0800 (PST)
 From: Bo Page <bo.page at sbcglobal.net
 To: "Blind Kid Mailing List,    \(for parents of blind 
children\)"
         <blindkid at nfbnet.org
 Subject: Re: [blindkid] Blind Student & The Sighted Band Camp
 Message-ID:
         
<1394191243.32671.YahooMailNeo at web181103.mail.ne1.yahoo.com
 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1

 You are in a situation with your son that many blind children 
find
 themselves in.  I don't think there is an easy answer.? 
Discrimination
 among
 the blind is alive an well, even in programs that NFB runs.? No 
one wants
 to spend the time or money for kids like ours who need extra 
help.? Money
 and budgets rule! Keep looking however, and I am sure you will 
find
 something, but unfortunately, it may be not be close to home.

 Mother of blind 21 year old





________________________________
 From: Crystal Schumacher <crystal_schu at hotmail.com
To: blindkid ask <blindkid at nfbnet.org
Sent: Friday, March 7, 2014 2:34 AM
Subject: Re: [blindkid] Blind Student & The Sighted Band Camp


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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