[Athen] Your opinion on Braille displays

[Deborah Armstrong]

We got a new blind student whose high school IEP includes a Braille display as one of his requirements.

He isn't hard of hearing and he's fairly good with technology.

I love Braille displays but they are so expensive, so fragile and have such a steep learning curve, I hesitate to ask my dean for the funding to purchase one. I get a Braille reader maybe once every two years, if that. And our IT guys will have lots of fun figuring out how to configure it. Plus there's the concern it could be stolen.

The logical solution is to have rehab purchase it, but the student has already stated he doesn't want to go through rehab because it's a hassle. It really can be at least in California where you need long justifications and lots of tedious meetings to accomplish anything.

I feel a little like a hypocrite as I use mine extensively every day. But I'm thinking about the college and the best ways to use limited funds.

When I spoke with the student I was careful to talk only about speech; he may not know what it says in his IEP. Am I short-changing him, or is it wise to not try to get one unless he really needs it?

--Debee

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