[nfbwatlk] [Wcb-l] setback

Tue Apr 15 09:27:53 CDT 2008

Dear List,
Like Dan, I do lurk. I must have to say as a grad student of both the  
OTC and The Colorado center for the blind and NFB training center,  
this would of never happened. DSB and DVR in Washington do not have  
support like they do here in Colorado. While I am not trying to  
compare apples and apples, I would encourage them to get after the  
blindness agency in their state. Does the advisory board have  
confident people? This attitude should be demanded. DSB should not be  
afraid to support Kevin. It should be DSB role to support him 100%. If  
people in Washington want to see change, you must take full action to  
support Kevin. In doing this you must take part take in action, but  
writing emails will not change anything.  Talk to the members of the  
Washington legislature and DSB executive staff, including the  
director. If the director does not believe in blind people, then blind  
people will not be supported. This is why you guys must take action to  
get full support from DSB and its director. If the director can not  
stand behind and fully support blind people, then the director should  
be replaced by a person that really believes in blind people, and you  
guys in Washington should demand no less. These views that I express  
our my opinion and my opinion only. They are not the views of the  
University of Northern Colorado, the department of educational  
technology  at UNC, and they also do not reflect the views of NFBCO,  
its board of directors, or staff.
Maurice Mines
On Apr 14, 2008, at 11:36 PM, noaprlfoo at aol.com wrote:

> Way to tell it Dan!!!
> The way things were handled sets a bad  tone for those in the OTC.   
> They tlak confidence, capability and independence, but their actions  
> show the lack of belief in their own words,   This is so undermining  
> to all the current sudents there, It appears they don't believe what  
> they teach.  Would they have sent an instructor home bag and baggage  
> if they broke a wrist.  They goal is supposed to be about teaching  
> adaptive skills.  Broken bones are apart of life blind or not.
> The other student now has another burden, not only did Kevin get a  
> broken wrist from their encounter, but he was forced to go home unti  
> the director fells it is safe for them to have him return.  Fear of  
> insurance and litigation again.  The director does not  have the  
> medical knowldge to determine if he is as an individual is capable  
> of safely remaining there.
> We are all proud of your strength and attitude,
> KB
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Dan Frye <dfrye at nfb.org>
> To: Kevin LaRose <kevin at kevinlarose.net>; wcb-l at wcbinfo.org
> Cc: nfbwatlk at nfbnet.org
> Sent: Mon, 14 Apr 2008 6:28 pm
> Subject: Re: [nfbwatlk] [Wcb-l] setback
> Kevin: I rarely if ever presume to post to this list, instead  
> preferring to simply observe and stay in touch with my friends and  
> acquaintances in the blind community of Washington State in this  
> way. But your message so distressed me that I felt compelled to  
> write in support of the outrage you are feeling. Breaking one's  
> wrist is a common enough occurrence for anybody, be he or she  
> sighted or blind. It, while regrettable and certainly painful, does  
> not represent the end of independence or competence. Your own  
> determination as to your ability should have been respected by the  
> OTC and DSB staff. You are precisely right that in this environment,  
> particularly, you should have been encouraged to identify  
> alternatives to dealing with your situation. The spirit you manifest  
> is what a conscientious staff member or manager of a rehabilitation  
> training center for adults should hope for in a student; their  
> reaction is appalling and reflective, I fear, of the absence of  
> belief in blind p!
> eople that has long prevailed at the center. Lip service to the  
> contrary is often spouted by DSB and OTC managers, but ever since we  
> worked jointly among the consumer organizations in Washington during  
> the late nineties (both Carl Jarvis and I) to affect change, and  
> those changes were summarily abandoned after our taskforce ceased to  
> exist, my faith in the true commitment of the OTC to promote  
> independence and self-confidence among their students has been  
> severely tested. I urge you to show some resolve, reaffirm your  
> interest in continuing your training, and if your surgery now  
> legitimately keeps you out for a few days, to share, at least, your  
> feelings with the agency's Executive Director. This anecdote is  
> telling and troubling to say the least. If any of the resolve you  
> now show may be attributed to your brief stay at the OTC, good for  
> their work, but I imagine that your desire to achieve successful  
> outcomes is more the product of your fundamental character and less  
> the p!
> roduct of their coaching. Kevin, you are right to feel aggrieved.  
> You now have the obligation to turn your grievance into something  
> tangible, a complaint based on principle. If my reaction is offered  
> without knowledge of a particular aspect to this story that should  
> modify or temper my perspective, I am unaware of it. I am open- 
> minded enough to hear another side or opposing argument that could  
> conceivably change my mind, but honestly, I would be hard-pressed to  
> excuse a student for training who came to me, on his own initiative,  
> suggesting that he would like to find alternative approaches to  
> living with another temporary disability. What should such a person,  
> in a similar circumstance do, should such a person be faced with  
> this instance when living his or her life outside of the safety of a  
> training environment? Why should not a training environment be used  
> to promote the independence that you wanted to exhibit instead of  
> serving only to affirm the lowered expectations of so!
> ciety about the capacity of the blind to function despite the  
> inconvenience of possessing another temporary disability? Liability  
> is the biggest cop out of all and harms the blind much more than it  
> helps us. Don't let the lawyers and professionals persuade you to  
> the contrary. Good luck! With Kind Regards, Daniel B. Frye Office:  
> (410) 659-9314, Ext 2208 Mobile: (410) 241-7006 Note: This message  
> has been issued remotely from the Braille Note. >----- Original  
> Message ----- >From: "Kevin LaRose" < mailto:kevin at kevinlarose.net kevin at kevinlarose.net
>> To: < mailto:wcb-l at wcbinfo.org wcb-l at wcbinfo.org
>> Date sent: Mon, 14 Apr 2008 13:35:19 -0700 >Subject: [Wcb-l]  
>> setback >Up until last week, I was continuing to make great  
>> progress at the OTC. We >were just about to start doing mobility  
>> routes in the business district of >Columbia City, and cooking was  
>> going to get interesting. Last Wednesday, >however, I suffered a  
>> setback. I collided with a fellow student in the >hallway, and I  
>> fell and broke my wrist. I am having surgery to get it >repaired on  
>> Wednesday at Swedish Hospital. I was disappointed, to say the  
>> >least, in how this incident was handled by the OTC staff. I felt  
>> like I was >capable of taking care of myself. I was able to shower,  
>> dress myself, and >even took out my garbage on one occasion.  
>> However, the OTC director was >convinced that I was not able to  
>> take care of myself and would be a >potential liability. We had a  
>> very discouraging talk Friday afternoon. >Actually, it wasn't much  
>> of a two-way conversation. The bottom line of the >"discussion" was  
>> that I was told!
> to leave the apartments and go back to my >mom's until my surgery. T  
> ome, this felt like custodial treatment of the >worst sort. As I  
> indicated earlier, I had already determined that there were >things  
> I could do using my one good hand; and I could probably have figured  
> >out strategies to make other tasks work as well, but they were not  
> willing >to even give me a chance. I have been laboring under the  
> impression that one >of the major goals of this program was to  
> foster independence. Their >reaction to my accident makes me wonder  
> if that commitment is fully there on >their part. If this is coming  
> across rather harshly, it's because I cannot >remember being angrier  
> about anything for a long time. Right now I am >finding it hard to  
> not question OTC's commitment to me and my success. They >certainly  
> did not seem to show much confidence in me or my abilities in this  
> >instance. >Thanks for reading, I just had to vent.  
> >_______________________________________________ >Wcb-l maili!
> ng list > mailto:Wcb-l at wcbinfo.org Wcb-l at wcbinfo.org
>> http://wcbinfo.org/mailman/listinfo/wcb-l_wcbinfo.org http://wcbinfo.org/mailman/listinfo/wcb-l_wcbinfo.org
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Maurice Mines
Masters Student Educational Technology University of Northern Colorado  
970-352-5040 (home) Volunteer NFB of Colorado Newsline for the Blind  
Assistant Coordinator 970-373-3076 (office)
minesm at mac.com (personal email)
mine1533 at unco.edu (school email)