Category: Teen Topics
Well everyone, since I only have 8000 characters, I'll try to make this as short as I can or make it in as few posts as I can. I go to the Alabama school for the blind. Academically, I am only doing poorly in math. I know few independent living skills. I know how to microwave food, hang clothes, simple things like that... And I'm 17 and I don't even know how to cook meatloaf or hamburgers!! the blind school hasn't taught me much, when you'd think they'd have taught me everything by now. So, what should I do? And BTW, I'll be going into the 10th grade this year. I went to a preschool in my local area when I was around 4 or 5, got to kendergarden, and when I got to the BS (blind school) or (bull ssh*t) LOL, they made me re-do preschool, and I failed first grade because they didn't even freaking care much that I had A-D-D back then. In fourth grade I tried public school, but Mom made me go back because the school couldn't teach me math skills very well. The BS has very old computers, out-dated technology, and they say they're the best in the country? Bull crap! They lost 6 staff members this year, 5 teachers and one house parent. That's the most they've ever lost. And they're planning to put cameras all over the campus! They don't have any WiFi anywhere except for the assistive tech room and the library, and those don't stretch very far at all, and there are none in the dorm. And I believe the one in the libaray is protected.
And, we mostly use braille notes, empowers. I had a braille plus last year, but that's because I ASKED for the BETTER tech. We shouldn't have to ask for that kind of stuff really, we should be given the best at a school that can provide it. Of course, I am probably wrong about that, but if I am you all may correct me, and call me as many horrid things as you want, I probably deserve it somehow. Anyways, back to the school. Our math teacher isn't too good at really explaining it, I've given up on trying to learn it a while ago, so I just vaguely try to figure out how the teacher got the answer, I usually fail, epically! The piano teacher is OK I guess. I've learned more from him than I have any other teacher in their subject, well maybe English and history, butnot many others. They don't have audio games there, just talking typer and math flash on a few computes. Cellphones are taken away 30 minutes before bed time, given back when student come in from school. Cellphone rules may be tightened next year. Food sucks there. Only 10 minutes per call using dorm phone, does not apply to house parent, this rule is broken many times without consequence. Asistive tech must be given to the teacher who governs over that field at the end of the year, including braille displays, which makes blind people want to use audio more than braille during the summer, which extends into the next year unless books are gather from the library during he last day of school to be read over the summer. So, with all this info, what do you think? Should I stay in this school or is there a way I can get into the sighted world?
I don't know how the Alabama system works, but do you have a dedicated counselor or liaison to the outside world? Self-advocacy is the most important base skill you could have. You need to loudly, consistently explain what your issues are - in this case, lacking independent living skills - and search ways to solve this problem. There are many schools and organizations that will work in-home, or at their own campus, to teach life skills and O&M, but it very much depends on your location in the country which ones are available to you.
You should self-advocate to get specific needs met, such as O&M, life skills, and remedial tutoring. There are programs, like Youth In Transition at the Carroll Center for the Blind. Surely, there's such a facility near you. In addition to any councilors, social workers, and the like, is there anyone (parent or guardian, for instance), who can help? In the absence of any professional instruction, have you tried working with people at home on life skills?
Yes, my Mom has taught me a few things, but she thinks the school does it all, and I'm not sure how to explain all this to her in a way where she won't get mad at me for not self-advicating already and not really knowing that blind schools, especially the one that says they're the best in the world, would ever be so flawed. Its just a few days ago that the realization of my situation hit me. Mom was away at work when it happened. Anyways, they seem to have worked with all other blind people, I guess they don't want to teach me because... This is wht I fear most... Maybe I am retarded? Maybe they know it but somehow I have some brain damage that will prevent me from learning all that? Perhaps that's it, but I really doubt it, I don't think I'm stupid anyways. They created a sort of plan for the others, I'm guessing. But if a blind school can't or won't do it, then who can? I've never heard of the Carrol center for the blind. Where is it? What's it do?
I went to the Tennessee school for the Blind, graduating in 1991. At the time, I thought they had taught me pretty well, and academically, they didn't do too bad really. Once I got out of there and went back to my small home town, I had to learn quite a lot on my own. I always had an interest in cooking, so that's where I started. luckily, I wasn't afraid of the heat from the stove, as many blind people are, so that was one less chalenge I had to deal with. My mother would show me a few things here and there, but she always wanted me to depend on her. I think her biggest nightmare is that she would no longer be needed, so she tried her best to keep me dependent on her. She still does.
One day, we got in to a bit of an arguement and she told me, "Most mothers of handicapped children won't let their child cook, so you should be thankful." wonder just where she got her information, but I guess it doesn't really matter.
That's when I realized, I'm 21 and I've got to get out of here. It wasn't easy. It was a small town and Mom seemed to know everyone. Most people either sided with her or didn't want to get involved. I think that if I hadn't got out when I did, I would have ended up hating her, viewing her as a sort of prison guard. I moved to Nashville in 1993, and have been here ever since.
On a side note, last year, my mother came by and said she wanted me to meet some friends of hers. She'd told them a lot about me and they wanted to meet me. She had called me her child so much that when I met these ladies, one of them said, in great shock, "well... how old ARE you?" When I told her I was 38, she was a bit bewildered. Just an example why I had to get out of there. I didn't want to be a little baby forever, so I do know where you're coming from.
I agree with others. You need to speak loudly to have your voice heard, especially if others don't want to hear it. I think you're on the right track realizing you deserve better than what they're giving you, but you need to let them know you mean business, and don't, for any reason, give in to anything they try to tell you.
And, the more specific your goals, the more others have to pay attention. Did you, and everyone else, just sign on to your IEP? I'd think, whoever's paying your way in the school for the blind, would want results? My home town paid my way through Perkins, and the representatives did all they cvould to make sure that my academic education was on par with the public schools. In some other stuff, we fell a bit short, hence my having to go to the Carroll the summer after I graduated Perkins.
The Carroll Center is a blindness rehab center near Boston. Most of its clients are adults who have gone or are going blind later in life, and need to re-learn some things. They offer a summer youth program, as well, which covers study skills, o&m, daily living stuff, sport, recreation, counceling, you name it... If I recall, it's non-partisan (neither ACB nor NFB).
Once you become 18 you will be able to go and do as you want without a fight. Even if you have not finished the program you are currently in, at 18, and in some states 16, you can leave it. Colorado Center For The Blind is another place to check in to. Most of these centers are free to you, so you have nothing to lose. The Colorado Center will even provide you with a place to live. Now how much you will learn is sort of up in the air at any place, but I have noticed some grads of the Center are better able to do things, some are not, but I do think the program is decent. As pointed out some things you'll simply have to try alone, and reading will help a great deal with that, because you'll know something about whatever it is you want to try. Experience is the best teacher, so if you go to a place that offers independant living, like the Center you'll be able to try a few things. Can you call or write a letter if you had the phone number and addresses to some places? If so I'll provide. Also you have an email address I assume, because you had to have it to join this site, so use the computer you are using to get information as well. Google, or bing will give you this and you can email and receive information back via email.
Hi,
As someone who has had quite a few bad experiences in a school for the blind, let me offer my two cents.
First, you need to learn to pick your battles. Quibbling about what technology you do or do not have, to me is a matter of luxury. Be thankful that you do have an MPower, and access, however limited it may be, to the internet. Filtering systems are everywhere, so why you or I may not agree with it, we're not going to change a quietly spreading motion of suppression just like that. I also disagree that a Braille Plus is better than the Braille Note, mine broke a couple times after only a few weeks of use, so...I digress, and now that I've gotten that negative stuff out of the way, let me make a few things clear:
1. You are not retarded because you expect to be treated like a human being. Taking away cell phones at night is a violation of rights no matter how you slice it. That's definitely something you should fight, especially since you're soon going to be a legal adult. I found, however, that when my 18th birthday rolled around, I got a big head and expected things to change. unfortunately, they don't. What you need is support behind you. Other students, your parents, perhaps even another staff member who's tired of the status quo. What you should do is put together a petition to show them you mean business. Then, have a calm, rational meeting with the principal or even higher up if you can. Explain to them what's going on. Try not to get caught up in how the circumstances are personally affecting you; I hate to say this, but adults, especially those who work in blind schools, think they know more about our emotions, opinions and thoughts than we do, so do not focus too much attention on yourself or they're probably just going to say you're blowing everything out of proportion and that they're doing the very best they can for you, and how dare you question their years of experience, blah blah blah. Instead, focus on the fact that whatever changes you want implemented would benefit their institution in the future. Explain that when one feels safe, both physically and emotionally, it fosters learning, healthy relationships, and healthy self-image. Explain that without these essential tools, people walk away confused and unable to fend for themselves. Then we wonder why the unemployment rate for blind people is sky high! Then, if this has failed to make an impression, explain that when one feels safe in an environment, they're likely to tell others how much of a positive influence it had on their lives, which in turn brings in future generations of students. it would be a shame if they had to close down due to lack of interest which leads to lack of funding, wouldn't it?
2. Regarding your independence: schools for the blind are not going to give it to you, no matter how much they try to claim they do. A lot of people who work in those places, well the one I went to anyway, think you're not going anywhere and that you're a toy they can play with just so that they can see how long it takes you to break. I would explain further, and I will if there's enough interest, but I'll leave it at that for now, cause no one came here to hear a sob story. Anyway, what I learned after moping around for a year feeling sorry for myself after graduation, entertaining suicidal thoughts daily, was that as an adult, you have to take charge of your own life. The system screwed us over once, why let it continue to kick our asses? So, be proactive! Find a center that will teach you the skills. In my opinion, you should go with one that's not NFB-affiliated. I'm not going to go into detail, but beyond my less than friendly feelings towards the NFB, there is a logical reason to take this route: the people who work at those centers have nothing to gain. They don't look good because they have a "tried-and-true" (that's in quotes for JAWS users such as myself) philosophy to make them look good. They're doing it because they care. With that said, I recommend Blind and Vision Rehabilitation Services of Pittsburgh. They accept people from all over the country, and they're great people. They don't ever make you feel bad for not knowing certain skills, they let you go at your own pace, and they fight tooth and nail when necessary to let you stay in the program if they feel you're not ready to go back home yet but your BVS counselor tries to say otherwise. I had 5 awesome months at that center, and a friend of mine who I met there who lives in Montana loved it too, even though she had to leave her kids for a time to be there. I'm proud that I received training there, and I'm proud to recommend it to you should you choose to go down that road, which I also strongly recommend. It will hopefully give you some confidence in your own abilities, and show you that there are people who have come out of a lot of shitty situations and still managed to make changes that helped them feel better about themselves.
Don't be afraid to fail. We all fail, hard, and that's where we learn the most.
A few things here. Forereel brought this up, as I was going to do myself. I believe, Devin, that you said you are 17. I understand that it is incredibly hard to self-advocate when you're a minor. I did not say impossible, but difficult. You can advocate all you want, but as a minor, if people don't want to listen to you, you can't make them. So, I hope people on this board will cut you a bit of slack, given that fact.
However, as Forereel pointed out, when you are 18, that is all over with. You are then legally an adult, and can do whatever you want to. You'll still face major resistance, no doubt, and you'll have to fight those battles, but at least then they can't stop you. If you want to leave the blind school, you can. I, too, would suggest you go to some kind of residential rehab training program. that's where you're really going to learn independent living skills. I respect your desire to do so. that's more than a lot of blind folks I know.
I've never heard of a braille school yet that actually teaches good academic, or independent living skills. They all claim to, but if there is one that does, I sure as hell have not heard of it. The kinds of rules, treatment, and lack of actual training are very, very common stories I've heard from others who went to schools for the blind. There is a reason they are called Braille jails. I am eternally grateful to whoever the professional was that told my parents, whatever else they did, not to send me to our state school for the blind.
I do not think you're retarded. First, you write too well for that. Second, as I said, such condescending and childlike treatment is the rule of thumb in most Braille schools, particularly if you are totallyu blind. So, I wouldn't fear that. Don't let those fools make you lose confidence in yourself and your capabilities.
Stick it out for the year till you're 18. Advocate where you can, pick your battles as someone else said. But when you are 18, then do whatever you can to change your situation.
Thank you. I really appreciate your help, and I will use your advice. I will make a petition this year, or perhaps even this summer if it'll do any good. But, it'll feel so strange being 18 in the 10th grade, but oh well, the school will just have to deal with that thought, as they caused it. But, I want others to be free from that place too. I want to show all the students that there is something better. Most of the kids there hate it as well, but they don't know that public school could be any better, and I'm not sure how to explain it to them. the kids who like it at the blind school say They have so many opportunities. They have a wrestling team, track, and goal-ball, and a not-so-good basketball team. They have an asistive tech teacher, all that. But sports should b second-hand priority, but the members of the Red-Skins, as they are called, are praised as gods or something. They spend most money they do have on proms, and sports, instead of technology and new books. I'm not sure how they'll handle the loss of 6 staff members. Hopefully it'll be too much for them and they'll shut down for good. But that's wishful thinking, of course. They'll find people of course, they always seem to come back from any disaster.
At least you know there are kids there who hate it. In the school I went to, there were very few of us who did, and whenever we expressed discontentment about a situation or circumstance we were swiftly shot down and made to feel we were ungrateful and too stupid to think for ourselves. I'm basically doing what I can to help in this case because this is all the stuff I wish I had thought of back then, but, even if I had, I wouldn't have had enough support to pull it off.
Wow! Well that's how we are here, except many of us still, in some way, hate the system. Many of the staff members, mostly dorm parents, hate the system too, but they do nothing to make it any better.
Those dorm parents could be afraid that if they go against the system too much, they'll lose their jobs. I can see both sides of that. My initial instinct is to say they have to decide which is more important: the wellfare of their students or their jobs. But I also know that in today's economy, jobs are incredibly difficult to come by, and if they lose theirs, they could be screwed for a very long time.
Yes, I did think about that. That's probably why those 6 staff member retired when they had the chance. Of course, it was just a few dorm parents, and a few more teachers, but still, that should show that teachers don't like the way the school is going. Of course, we have a new principal, it was OK before. Of course, back then, when cellphones weren't all that popular, we couldn't have portable DVD players, Internet wasn't so sincered, and we possibly had wireless internet before this new monarch entered the kingdom, if you know what I mean. Yes, things were relatively OK back then. Of course, things could have been better, we couldn't have cellphones or anything like that, including laptops, but the school had a better... Atmosphere there, now all I feel there is resentment for what they're now doing to us. And they've taught the other totally blind kids in my dorm how to iron and all that, well those that were in there before me that is, the only other totally blind kid is in the special education system, and may never learn to iron, as he is in the 11th grade, and doesn't do much at all.
I'm torn on what to say about the staff members that are unhappy with the system. While the state of the economy is a somewhat valid excuse, I would hate to work somewhere where part of my job description, unwritten or otherwise, is to degrade people during the most crucial stages of their development. Anyone who truly has good moral principles would leave, even if they don't expose the school for its wrongs for fear of not being able to get another job. As for not being able to have cell phones, laptops etc. what do they fear will happen? Maybe, just maybe, they're afraid that the students having contact with the outside world would expose them. They sure are going to some excessive lengths to cover their asses, and therefore have quite a lot to hide.
that's ridiculous. they can't take away what is legally yours. it's one thing to have a "lights out" policy in place, but to take your cell phones away completely, well, I haven't seen anything of the sort since I was in elementary school, and even then, they just said don't bring them, and if you do they'll be the teacher's until the end of class, but after school hours are your own, to do as you please, dorm life or not.
However, even worse is the fact that you're made to feel as though you'll never amount to anything. That's beyond treating you like a child. that's treating you like you're subhuman, and should be illegal.
Yeah. I just wish I could get the others who hate it to come up with a plan to leave the school. Problem is, my family think that the blind school is the only way to go. And I'm not sure how to tell them about the stuff the school does. They agree about the restrictions of Internet and phone, saying that if I did have those things, I'd be talking to my friends at 12:00 AM and on skype on the computers. Ugh I've thought about running away sometimes, from a family that doesn't understand and a school that degrades me, but where would I go, what would I run to. Ugh I'm just not sure what to do
I understand your fear, but if you contact the services that have been posted here you'll get support leaving. Staying and trying to fix what isn't broken is a waist of your time, if you understand me. You only have to use your computer and email, and your cellphone to get some information, and money support to go, but that has to be up to you.
Woe! wait a minute! You mean there are agencies that will HELP me LEAVE THE BLIND SCHOOL? Amazing! OK, how do I contact these agencies? What are their web sites?
They won't help you leave the blind school, you have to do that on your own, but they will help teach you what the blind school won't. I can tell you though, from personal experience, the real world is a lot harder than the blind school is. Nothing, I mean absolutely nothing, is done for you. If you don't cross the T's and dot the I's, you don't get helped. That's how it works.
Very very few people will care if you fail, and the ones that do will probably be related to you. A blind school is a safe, iff hellish, environment; the real world is not. Be prepared for that.
On a side note, the florida school for the blind takes all cell phones also. They told us it was to keep us from staying up at night, not that we didn't anyway. Most of us just went out, spent twenty bucks on a burn phone, and gave them that every night, then kept our real ones hidden. Never had internet access save through school computers either, its so they can more easily control what sights you go to.
I'm not at all surprised to hear of your school's policy on cell phones, computers, and so on. I believe Iowa school has those same policies. that's what too many people don't understand: the Braille schools do treat their students as sub-human, but they can get away with it, because they convince parents that they know best, and are able to teach blind children best, when that's a bunch of crap.
As Cody said, as lousy as those environments are though, they are rather safe, and everything is done for you. It's generally a shocker for those raised in Braille schools to come out into the real world and see how different it is.
Devin, where are you from? Best to contact your state rehab agency, first, I'd say. Maybe one of the two consumer organizations could help advise you here too. No, I'm not trying to start a war on which one would be best. Do you know about those, or not? Cody is right; no one will do it for you, and you will only get as much help as you advocate for. Some state's services are better than others. But it's a place to start.
Something else worth mentioning is that many of the schools for the blind are turning towards accepting more and more students with multiple disabilities. I know, from my own experience, that this is why no one wanted to say anything, because most of the kids couldn't speak up for themselves anyway. This is why, as Ocean Dream said, this kind of treatment should be illegal. It's beyond disgusting that intelligent human beings are allowed to be treated this way, let alone those who are completely dependent on the services of others. It makes me sick every time I think about it, and why every time I get something in the mail from my former school, I have a serious urge to burn it and yet a sick curiosity keeps me reading the stuff. For example, in their newsletter, I cringe every time I hear someone speak highly of the place, then I get disgusted and rip it up. It's a sort of brainwashing, especially since parents, and especially the students, don't know there's something better out there. Parents should be proactive in finding what will best suit their child academically and socially. In a perfect world, mainstreaming would do that, and luckily there are more and more cases in which that's so. Actually, an idea just occurred to me. Devon, since you said you're going to be 18 and in the 10th grade, have you considered dropping out and getting a GED? Or how about some form of alternative schooling, maybe online, maybe actual classroom-based instruction? I would suggest you try something like that. If you continue to stay in such a toxic environment, it will have more long-term effects than you know. Of course, once you graduate, drop out or whatever, you control how you do and do not feel, but like it or not our experiences do shape who we are and who we become. If you don't find a healthier environment, all kinds of negative things can happen, such as an inferiority complex that makes you feel like all sighted people are going to do is degrade you, an erosion of self-esteem, and a fear of doing something wrong since every time you turn around in a place like a school for the blind it seems they're punishing you for something, unless, of course, you're one of their perfect favorite poster children. Oh yeah, I've been there done that. So while I agree with what people are saying about schools for the blind being safer than the real world, they're also nothing like the real world in that most people aren't going to tell you that you can't date because you're blind, or tell you that you'll go nowhere in life and that you're worthless. So I say, save your soul while you can. It's going to be tough, but nothing in life that's worth having ever comes easy, especially for people like us.
Well, for the person who asked, I live in Alabama. OK, I'm not sure about the state rehab agency, I'm not sure if they're on the school's side or not. My Mom did, at one point last school year, try to see if I could go to a public school. She was called by one of the blind school's people and told to ask if the school was confident that they could teach me well enough to get me passed the highschool exams. The school, aparently said that they couldn't teach me well enough. So, I'm not sure what to do, perhaps find another school? I don't know.
to screaming turtle, I'm sorry to hear you feel your negative experiences at the school for the blind shouldn't have happened.
as someone who attended one for years as well, on top of having a shitty family, I can relate to your stories. even so, though, I've learned to use everything I've gone through for the betterment of myself/society.
I realize not everyone has the strength to see they're worth more than they're told, and that's unfortunate. another unfortunate thing is seeing schools for the blind start to only accept kids with multiple disabilities. that's heartbreaking, honestly, cause while they do a lot of harm, they're the best education I could've received.
Well, as I said, the older I get the less I try to blame others for how I feel. I'm really making an effort to put it behind me. But whenever someone else brings up the topic, I feel obligated to help because it brings back memories of things that happened to me, and it's heartbreaking to hear of the negative experiences that are still going on unchecked. Of course, no one person can stop everything bad in the world from happening, nor should that be expected. And, truthfully, because this is an issue that falls so far below the radar, it's not like some huge revolution is going to sweep through and change things for the better. From what I understand from having discussions with older blind people, schools for the blind weren't always this way. They were once academically just as good as the public schools. Public schools weren't always accepting of students with disabilities, so it made more sense for parents to send their children to schools for the blind. But now the education we receive is substandard, not to mention the stupid rules they put in place.
I understand where you're coming from, and I think it's important that more of us speak out.
I'm simply saying that what's done is done, and the sad truth is that as much as we'd love things to change, I doubt they will.
Well, I've been linking up with kids I once knew in the public school I once attended. I think I've already told that story, but if I haven't, please tell me, because it is quite relative to my situation now. My friends, who I knew in 4th grade, now talk to me through Facebook. I have told one of them the full story of my plight, and told her of the things that can be put in place so that I may learn, screen readers, books from bookshare and/or RFB&D, the only money spend would possibly be to get a braille display, for even that could be covered by a state rehab, but as I said in, hmm I think like post 25 o 26, I'm not sure if the rehab is for or against or neutral towards the school, so I'm not even sure they will help me.
Well, again, once you are 18, the rehab agency is legally obligated to help you, no matter what their views on the Braille school are. This does not mean it will be easy, or that they are a good rehab agency. I have no idea about services in Alabama. But, they could help you get access to a better education, such as the GED, as someone else suggested.
OK. Well, that'll require one more year at that hell-hole anyways. So, what should I do until then? Try to tell these kids there that there is something more than what they have here? Try to really fight the school? Bring a nuclear weapon and destroy the school and all its horrors? LOL nah, I don't that that would be such a good idea, but oh you'd better believe it's crossed my mind before. I don't like the fact that it has, but I've really thought of some horrible ways to deal with those people, but that's what they get for attempting to destroy my life. That's what they get for using us children for their own gain, to get money off keeping us here as long as they want, for being such horrid, immoral and hateful people! They should be blinded and put in our situation! But I know that of course that will never happen, and as long as there is at least 2 or 3 people going to that school, let alone 130 or so students, at least 3 or 4 of which could do well in public school, and at least 20-30 of which have more disabilities than blindness, and many, many of which aren't truely blind, with that many people, the school will, sadly, thrive. But already people are seeing the errors and taking action. A good friend of mine who was on the zone, not sure if he still is, but he went to my school, but has now ascended into the realm of happiness and freedom, the public school. Oh how I wish I could be him for a while, experience the joy of having friends who you can at least relate to on more than just being blind, and going to a blindie school.
Oh, correction, when I say aren't truely blind I mean are vissually impared. the school calls itself the Alabama school for the BLIND. It doesn't mention visually impaired LOL
As I have stated you are typing your post on the vary piece of equipment that will help you. Do you know how to use a search engine such as google or bing? You also have a telephone, so use your 411 or in some states you can call 211 and get information. Some states 16 is the age you can leave any school you want no matter what they say they are doing for you. Why wait a year. Yes some organizations will help you financially to leave and some have places to live. I don't know about your state, but if you don't call rehab and ask you'll not know. As stated the world will be much harder for you, but if you want more you'll need to take that risk. The Colorado Center For The Blind is one I know that supports students like you, but I don't know what is required to get in. I personally know nothing about schools for the blind other then what I have heard from others. I always went to public schools. You will have to call many organizations yourself, or email them from the sites. We can only suggest we can't do it for you. If you are looking for a list I'll see if I can find 5 for you, but contact and questions will have to be done by you. Do not stay a year in a place you don't have to.
You might also try telling your parents the situation, find them information on how you could do it. Educate your parents and they might advocate for you. I don't know your parents, but they might. A lot of parents just need to get the information, and think they can get it from the blind schools, not realizing that blind schools don't think we can survive in public schools.
HI, Devin. Here is a link that has a lot of resources. It is an NFB site. Thus, it lists all the contact info for your NFB state president. She is a woman I know well, and she may be able to help you. This page also lists the contact info for all three of our training centers, as well as all the info for your state rehab agency. That link is:
http://www.nfb.org/nfb/AL_resources.asp?SnID=4
There are some resources on there that you wouldn't need, but as I say, at least your state rehab one is.
In the interest of being fair, since I do not wish to start a fight about consumer groups, here is the website of the Alabama affiliate of the American Council of the Blind. They may be able to help, too.
http://www.alabamaacb.org/
Hope those help you.
Thank you, SisterDawn, for those websites, I'll check them out. To a previous poster, I did tell my Mom about the situation (I can't tell my Dad because he passed away a few years ago). I let her hear a book I found on the subject from NLS Bard, I think it was calle "Making it work, educating the blind and visually impaired child in a public school" or something like that. She was going to tell the public school adminastrators about me and ask that I be taught there, when she was called by the ASB school counselor. I had made the foolish mistake of telling a few staff members that I may be leaving, and they, of course, told the principal, who quickly tried to change my mind about it, and almost succeeded. Fortunately for me, I have friends that I talked to who reignited the fire to escape the horrid place. Anyways, back to my Mom. She did talk to them, and asked if they were sure they could teach me enough to be able to pass the highschool exam. They said that they weren't sure or something, I don't know, I wasn't there so she may in fact not have talked to them at all! So now she is sure that the blind school is the only way. Should I still contact my sate rehab? Can they help even though my Mom would probably be against it?
It couldn't hurt to talk to your state rehab. They may not be able to do much till you're 18, when your Mom will no longer have any say, but no harm in trying. That's also where things like the NFB or the ACB may be able to help you. Perhaps they have people who could talk to your Mom in support of you. Maybe hearing from other educated blind adults who know the system and how it works would help. But, I'd say don't make the mistake you made before, and start telling people at your school about it. That will only sabotage you, as it clearly did when you first tried this.
Yes. Sometimes I think about what I'd be doing now if I hadn't made that fatal flaw. Oh if only the theory of parallel time was true. But in any case, I have signed up for the ACB mailing list, and I'm trying to work up the courage to E-mail one of the people at ACB or NFB about my situation, I have never done this before. I'm not even sure I want to E-mail the NLS about ordering an advanced audio book player. I'm just not so good at that kind of thing. I guess I should work on it, I've never really been good at letting my needs be known. I'm surprised I was able to start this topic so easily, although there was that voice in my mind telling me that "they can't help you, think of all the drama you've heard about on this site." of course, I countered that with "Well I haven't seen any drama yet, and these people seem relatively nice, so perhpas they can" This was when I was writing my first post to this topic. But in any case, I'll see what I can do about all this. I'm not sure how I'll get my Mom to talk to the NFB or ACB about this. We both have a cellphone, there are no house phones in our trailer. I don't know many blind people in Alabama who have gone to a public school and gotten by. That's the problem. The school talks about all those blind people who have went through the public school unsuccessfully because they didn't know about screen readers, braille and all that. The school really tries to make it look like they're the best. And as soon as they make it clear that the school is the best, they force the parent and child to think that they know best. Of course, I've struggled free of that idea. So, I'll see what I can do about the ACB and NFB, hopefully they'll have contact information on my state rehab agency.
I spent only two weeks at our blind school for placements. My parents managed to advocate for me to attend public school all the way through. At my placements, I truly thought I was wasting my time. The vocational assessment was a joke and didn't help me further my career aspirations in any way. My best mobility and DLS skills were not learned at the school, although in fairness some of my best mobility skills were taught to me by an itinerant representing the blind school. Overall, I thought the culture was low quality at the school, with students who didn't seem to have the best social skills. They all seemed to love the school and hold it in very high esteem, but I was forced to wonder how many other schools they had been exposed to. Personally, I didn't find that the staff on site was able to relate to and teach a high school student. And yes, the food was horrendous.
Yeah. I don't have many social skills. I wish I could change the way I was raised in general. In fact, I remember more about school life than home life. Sure I remember when I was younger drawing on the sidewalk of our house with chalk, but that really shouldn't be the first memory that pops up in my head when I think about my early life, should it? It should be something like celibrating a birthday or something, I think. I barely remember any birthday, well I do remember one I had in fourth grade, where a few friends from school actually came to visit my on my birthday. Interesting... One of the teachers actually said that we students spend more time at the school than at home. Oh, and here's a thing that happned at my school that really annoys me to this day, even though the program was stopped, I think. OK, we had this program called "boys' night out". It was disigned to teach boys skills and stuff and talk about things that needed to be discussed. Such as... Prepare yourselves... How to use the bathroom correctly. No joke. That should be a persoal matter. But, the blind school invades the idea of individualism, and forces upon us the motion that we need to be all taught the same, since we'll all blind. My gosh! The more I think about it, the more it reminds me of a futuristic horror novel or something. OK, that really creeped me out for a minute. OK, so now that my rant is over, I'll end this post.
If you have a cell phone and a computer, you can call the superintendent of the public school yourself, just look their number up on the internet and call them. Tell them the situation and explain to her that it is entirely possible for you to be taught in a public school.
As for your fear, your going to have to get over that. Your going to have to start advocating for yourself, you start talking, and when that doesn't work you start talking loudly, then when that fails you start yelling, and when that doesn't work you start screaming, and you keep screaming until you get what you need. Trust me, I know how difficult it is, I've been there, done that, have the scars to prove it. I could tell you story after story of having to advocate for myself, and being scared out of my mind to do it, but you have to. If you don't get over that fear, your never going to be able to get out from under the thumb of the system, even after your eighteen. The only person who is going to be able to get what you need, is you, and you have to do it.
If you want to go to school, call them, explain it to them, make sure you tell them everything you can find about teaching blind people in public schools, ask them if they can teach you, if they say no, tell them that they're a public school and they'd be breaking a few laws to deny you access to the school. Once you have their support, work on your mom, drown her in information until she agrees. Have her take you out of that school and put you in a public school, but I warn you, its going to be difficult. Your going to be babied, your going to be unpopular, your going to have the hardest time you can possibly imagine, but you'll come out of it better than ever before. Its the ultimate trial by fire for a blind teenager.
Over all, don't ever let anyone tell you that you can't do something. There are blind pilots, blind racecar drivers, a blind man with a concealed weapons permit, a blind man who went up mount everest, and I could go on and on and on. Don't let anything get in your way, if someone tries to build an obstacle in front of you, you tear it down and keep going. If your willing to do that, then you can count on me for all the help I can give you through the internet; and I'm sure several other people on this site.
You can't change the way you were raised, but you can change what you do from here on out. You seem to have the desire to do that, so there's half your battle won right there. You had the courage to write this post, so I hope you can find it to write those emails to NFB and/or ACB. As far as your state's rehab agency, their contact info was listed on that first link I gave you. It's a bit down the page, but it is there.
OK, thanks. I'll ask the friends I've connected with on facebook if the school, the public school, has a website, I'll find their number, and I'll call them, even if it uses up my cellphone minutes to do so.
And, what laws would they be breaking if the public school didn't take me?
The Americans with Disabilities Act, for one. Probably one of the least enforced laws in the country, but still worth knowing about. Knowledge is power.
OK, thanks. I've talked to one of my friends today about it, and she says that the school has macBooks, so all I'd really need to do, if we didn't have much money, I could do my work on there, have screen curtain on so the other students couldn't see my work, and print it so the teacher could read it. That woul be the cheapest way. another way would be to get a braille display, download books from bookshare and do it like that, the first would require that I use my RFB&D account. What do you think?
I won't go into a debate about nfb centers as that could be another messy topic but I will say that the Louisiana center for the blind and the colorado center for the blind are both really good training centers and they are nfb affiliated. I have seen students come out of them and are in college now doing really marvelous things and being very independent for themselves. I wentn to a blind school, the texas school for the blind for 2 years of my life and while I didn't have quite as bad the experience I had enough of it that my academics suffered a bit. First of all when they sent me to the blind school they didn't send me due to academics they sent me because they thought that I could get o & m training much better and learn independence faster so that whenI went back to public school in highschool, I would be able to be just as efficient as my sighted peers. Anyway, when I went I found a lot of what they were teaching in academics was very slow and I had already learned most of what they were teaching anyway so I found myself wasting most of my time. I was happy when they let me go to a public middle school during the day, and just live there and do mobility and other things related to independence the last year I was there but I honestly feel had I not gone to the blind school I would have been better off. Here in Texas we have the chris Cole rehabilitation center. while it's not one of the more known ones they were pretty helpful for the most part, accept cooking which I have had to learn most of myself. the only rehabilitation center I would not recommend is lions world services for the blind. I could go into a rant on how horrible lwsb is but that is another topic for another time. Like everyone else here said, you need to advocate for yourself, and find other support services that can help advocate for you as well. Keep your head up, it sounds like you're almost gonna be an adult so you will be able to fight for your own rights a lot more once you become 18.
OK, thanks. But how in the world will I or my Mom pay to go all the way to Louisiana or Colorado?
The human rights abuses there should be enough to persuade you to leave. As a blind person, you have the right to have as much access to technology as sighted people.
I graduated from a school for the blind in 1991, and even then and before then, the adults did all they could to discourage us from calling our parrents when something went wrong. They said we needed to learn to fend for ourselves. Okay, I can see that, when you're pretty close to being 18, but what about at the age of 8 or 9? That's why I see now that it was so shut off from the rest of the world, though I didn't realize it at the time. Once I got out, I saw just how much adjusting I was going to have to do.
to answer an earlier question, your State Rehab agency is supposed to pay for you to attend a training center. You may have to fight for it, but it can be done.
Yes, Anthony, the brief stint I spent at our school for the blind as part of a summer program, I got force fed food I did not like or want to eat. The woman grabbed my face, opened my mouth, and stufffed the food in, then held my mouth closed till I swallowed it. I demanded to call my parents, and was initially not allowed to. When I finally managed to, my mom was down at the school within two hours, ripped the principal a new asshole, and I was out of there. Schools know that kind of thing, so you're absolutely right, they don't want students calling parents who may take the student's side.
Devin, OceanDream is correct. If you make the choice to go to an out of state Center, your state rehab agency will pay for it. Sometimes you have to fight for that, but in the end, that's what they are there for. I had to fight a bit with Iowa to attend CCB, but it worked out in the end.
You are sadly to late to go to a public school. You don't have enough skills to cope. You should really take Sister Dawn's suggestions, because these organizations will know how to help you betst.
Oh, so I am too late. I thought about that a little already. Well I'd like to give a big thank you to the Alabama fuckers for the blind for screwing up my life.
I was being sarcastic of course, but I guess I'll survive the blind school, and possibly go to that program for indpendent living or whatever. Oh well, if I don't I'd be really happy to just be a homeless man, living on the streets, or livin at home looking for a job that'll take me, yeah if that what they want, sure, why not. I guess I am too late, as one of you said. You're right. I am too late to enjoy public school, but I'll make sure the blind school gets hell! This year, I'm going to ge either expelled or the school will be destroyed!
it wouldn't be wise of you to do that; as others have said, contacting those organizations is your best bet. I know it's scary, but if you truly wanna better your life, taking the high road by advocating instead of being destructive is the way to go.
OK. Sure. I might as well. Sometimes I wonder if I should just give in to what they want. Sometimes I woner if I should become the perfect moddel of what a blind school does to people. if I can't get the rehab people to let me go to the Calorado or Luisiana thing, then what? If I can't get the nerve to speak up to the school? What if they just don't teach me? Then what?
I hate to sound harsh, but if you don't get the nerve to speak up, that's your perogative, but don't expect too much sympathy. We've told you what needs to be done for you to succeed. It's your choice whether or not you want to take the advice, but you can't say we didn't tell you. the school for the blind wants to scare you into not speaking up and not self advicating. this, unfortunately, is the aditude that makes it possible for schools for the blind to still exist.
I fought my state's rehab agency for a year to fund my training at an NFB center , so it can be done. Don't give up. Everyone here has told you what your options are to better yourself and given you resources and ideas to do so. You have the drive, so don't let fear get the better of you, or others stand in your way. fight for what you want, no, what you feel you need.
Ocean is right. You have asked for the resources, we have tried to give them to you, along with the encouragement to use them. Yes, the fools at the Alabama school for the Blind have definitely fucked up your life in a major way, and that has been beyond your control. It may be for one more year, too. But, after that, it is in your control, and it is up to you how hard you are willing to fight to get what you want and need. You may have a harder fight because of what you have been through, and yes that's unfair, but I believe you can do it...but only if you so choose to. If not, then there is no one in the world who can help you.
Exactly. I wasn't saying it to be mean. I was saying it because life's a bitch, and it's even more of a bitch when you have little support. But that doesn't mean you can't do it. Trust me. if I didn't think you had what it takes, I wouldn't have posted to this board in the first place.
That's the truth. As I said, I had next to no support when I was in school. My parents didn't want to help because they thought I should just be focusing on my academics. No one in the school was on my side, except for a couple of friends I had, and none of us knew what to do. It fucked me up in a big way at first, because I had all these insecurities about what the real world would be like because of people like that. So I understand where your anger, itterness and feelings of wanting to give up come from. All I can say is that life's a bitch, as someone rightly said, and you just have to climb out of the hole they dug for you and deal with it. It's not your fault you fell down this hole, but you do make the majority of decisions concerning your life once you get out of that hell. Perhaps you would benefit from counseling, something else you can access at the age of 18 without anyone's consent, if people would ridicule you for it (i've been there too.) I'm not saying that to be condescending, although I would understand if you thought that because I've been in a similar mental state before, and whenever someone suggested counseling to me I got on the defensive about it, thinking they were accusing me of being crazy or something. But trust me, it's not that. It's just that sometimes you need a perspective that's different from the one you've been exposed to for all your life. It really can be refreshing, even though nothing will ever give back the innocence and sense of self you had before they broke you down, you can come to a better place emotionally about it.
I agree, counseling may be a good idea when you're 18, and therefore don't need anyone's consent. As Turtle said, it's not because you're crazy. But it could help you sort out the emotional hell you're clearly dealing with. I too have been in counseling before: not for this particular issue, but I can definitely say it's not something you'd need to be ashamed of if you did it. It wouldn't help with the specific blindness issues. It would be a different, but possibly useful kind of support.
Someone mentioned that the Lions World is horrible. If I may ask, what about it was substandard? They have vocational training that I would be interested in, and since I've recently attended a rehab center and feel confident for the most part in my independent living skills, that's not why I would be going to LWSB. I know they do require a 30-day evaluation period where they assess your skills in mobility and all that, but I do want to know if the vocational training is at least good because to be totally honest, I don't want to go to college, and doing this would be great because it would be like a tech school.
Well, there are several things when I went there that I found horrible about it, I'll start with the first thing, actually being accepted. When I initially expressed my interest in attending I had told them I wanted to take the MCSE course. They had told me that they didn't recommend that for someone who was totally blind and that maybe I should try ATI or the computer programming course instead. I clearly wanted to take the microsoft course so I said no, this was the only course I wanted. Why would a school that is supposed to be geared more for the blind try to discourage blind students from taking courses? They then dropped it and I took the tests I had to take for it, however, I found out later when I took the aptitute tests, they temporarily raised the scores while I was taking it. I still passed, so they let me take the class, but one can only wonder if they were trying to see if I would fail so I would not be able to take the course.
Now we move onto the course itself. While my teacher was genrally not a bad teacher, he seemed really unsure of how to teach a class, and even more unsure how to teach someone who was totally blind. Luckily for me I am a pretty advanced jaws user so I figured out a lot of stuff based on my resources and my knowledge of jaws. Out of the 5 people in my class, I was the only one who ended up getting all of the certifications.
finally, let's talk about the living arrangements. The dorms at lwsb are the most substandard, wretched dorms I have ever seen. there were horrible problems of mice and roaches all over the buildings. There was spiders in the laundry rooms, in fact, one of the consumers actually got bitten twice and got sick from the venom of the spider. Their food is very poorly cooked, I'm surprised I myself did not get sick. While I didn't have much problems with the residential staff, I have heard from other people that has changed recently and they are no longer great to be around. One of the consumers actually threatened to call the health department on lwsb because of how bad the living situation was. I hear now there are apartments you can live in with other roommates, but your counselor would have to pay extra for those. Apparently you cook and clean for yourself in those apartments and basically live as if you were in your own apartment. It is within walking distance to the school. Oh and one more thing, I don't know if you are aware, but lwsb is not exactly in the greatest part of littlerock either. Lots of gangs and shootings happen around that area, so if you plan to walk out at night, don't do it alone. Hope my perspective helps you decide on how you feel about lwsb.
OK, I'll definitely keep that in mind, thank you. It's a bit of a disappointment, but I'll figure something out.