Guest guest Posted November 4, 2004 Report Share Posted November 4, 2004 In a message dated 11/4/2004 8:32:20 PM Eastern Standard Time, beccamont@... writes: Does Ian wear Microlinks? Is the boot the only personal fm that he has used? I'd like to know more about Alphasmart. Thanks for all the info. Yes, Microlinks were our choice from the very beginning. When we found out about Ian's loss he was about 7. Our audiologist immediately suggested an FM system for him along with the aids. The school fought us for 3 years before they bought the right system. When we were chosing aids + FM, we were very concerned about them being workhorses. Kids are rough on equipment. The FMs would be coming off and on every day, and much of the handling would be done by Ian. At that time Micorlinks were the sturdiest, best little workhorses available. We got Phonak aids for Ian with the intention of having the Phonak Microlinks from the very beginning. We had heard/read about compatability issues. And interference when different brands were combined. Many of those issues have been fixed by the manufacturers in the past 5 years. So, while we really like the FMs Ian has, that does not mean that others are not equally as good. But I only have experience with this brand. As to the Alphasmart. It is a laptop-size PDA. It has a full size keyboard and a small screen that shows several lines of text. The text appears like it does on a cell phone, not like a screen on an actual laptop computer. The benefit is that the Alphasmart products are strudier than laptops and can stand up toi the abvuse kids would give them. A good bump or bounce to a laptop would mean the end of it. Ian's Alphasmart travels in a padded binder in his backpack on the bus every day. Ian's hearing loss is progressive. As he loses more hearing, he has a harder time taking notes. The school has repeatedly offered a note taker and we have refused. They are always surprised. Our reasoning is that he needs to learn how to take his own notes, process what he " hears " and determine what is important information. There is technology available that can help him be responsible for his own education. Our contention is that we are trying to raise a self-reliant man, not someone who uses his " disability " as a way to get things done for him. (I mean absolutely no criticism of anyone who does need and sucessfully uses note takers. Ian's circumstances are his own and so are the solutions.) If he had been given a note taker in middle school when they really pushed for it, then he would not have learned this very necessary skill. If at some point a note taker or CART is needed, then we'll arrange for that. Anyway, as Ian loses more hearing, the FMs are not serving him as well as they once did. They are still very very useful. But he has again started to look more for lip cues to make sure he has understood what was said, and rely less on the FMs to pipe the voices into his head. So, we needed to find a way for him to look up and still write. So, now he types his notes onto the Alphasmart. At the end of the day he uploads them onto the computer that has been set up for him. He is just learning to use this device in class. To make sure that it does not become a distraction, it is currently used for very specific tasks and he is also practicing with it. On the weekends he practices taking notes in a " long lecture " by typing along during a tv show. Sometimes it's a sitcom, sometimes it's a show on Discover or another science channel. When we go on long drives (20+ minutes) he transcribes our conversations. He's getting pretty good. Had I known about the device when Ian was in middle school, I would have asked for it then. But at the time his FMs were doing the job and additional help was not needed. In 8th grade he started to have some trouble and I went searching for more help. We asked for the Danya, an Alphasmart product. The year began with loads of mistakes in Ian's program and he received an Alphasmart. For now, as a first step device, it is fine. We'll see about next year. Best -- Jill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 4, 2004 Report Share Posted November 4, 2004 In a message dated 11/4/2004 8:32:20 PM Eastern Standard Time, beccamont@... writes: Does Ian wear Microlinks? Is the boot the only personal fm that he has used? I'd like to know more about Alphasmart. Thanks for all the info. Yes, Microlinks were our choice from the very beginning. When we found out about Ian's loss he was about 7. Our audiologist immediately suggested an FM system for him along with the aids. The school fought us for 3 years before they bought the right system. When we were chosing aids + FM, we were very concerned about them being workhorses. Kids are rough on equipment. The FMs would be coming off and on every day, and much of the handling would be done by Ian. At that time Micorlinks were the sturdiest, best little workhorses available. We got Phonak aids for Ian with the intention of having the Phonak Microlinks from the very beginning. We had heard/read about compatability issues. And interference when different brands were combined. Many of those issues have been fixed by the manufacturers in the past 5 years. So, while we really like the FMs Ian has, that does not mean that others are not equally as good. But I only have experience with this brand. As to the Alphasmart. It is a laptop-size PDA. It has a full size keyboard and a small screen that shows several lines of text. The text appears like it does on a cell phone, not like a screen on an actual laptop computer. The benefit is that the Alphasmart products are strudier than laptops and can stand up toi the abvuse kids would give them. A good bump or bounce to a laptop would mean the end of it. Ian's Alphasmart travels in a padded binder in his backpack on the bus every day. Ian's hearing loss is progressive. As he loses more hearing, he has a harder time taking notes. The school has repeatedly offered a note taker and we have refused. They are always surprised. Our reasoning is that he needs to learn how to take his own notes, process what he " hears " and determine what is important information. There is technology available that can help him be responsible for his own education. Our contention is that we are trying to raise a self-reliant man, not someone who uses his " disability " as a way to get things done for him. (I mean absolutely no criticism of anyone who does need and sucessfully uses note takers. Ian's circumstances are his own and so are the solutions.) If he had been given a note taker in middle school when they really pushed for it, then he would not have learned this very necessary skill. If at some point a note taker or CART is needed, then we'll arrange for that. Anyway, as Ian loses more hearing, the FMs are not serving him as well as they once did. They are still very very useful. But he has again started to look more for lip cues to make sure he has understood what was said, and rely less on the FMs to pipe the voices into his head. So, we needed to find a way for him to look up and still write. So, now he types his notes onto the Alphasmart. At the end of the day he uploads them onto the computer that has been set up for him. He is just learning to use this device in class. To make sure that it does not become a distraction, it is currently used for very specific tasks and he is also practicing with it. On the weekends he practices taking notes in a " long lecture " by typing along during a tv show. Sometimes it's a sitcom, sometimes it's a show on Discover or another science channel. When we go on long drives (20+ minutes) he transcribes our conversations. He's getting pretty good. Had I known about the device when Ian was in middle school, I would have asked for it then. But at the time his FMs were doing the job and additional help was not needed. In 8th grade he started to have some trouble and I went searching for more help. We asked for the Danya, an Alphasmart product. The year began with loads of mistakes in Ian's program and he received an Alphasmart. For now, as a first step device, it is fine. We'll see about next year. Best -- Jill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 4, 2004 Report Share Posted November 4, 2004 In a message dated 11/4/2004 8:32:20 PM Eastern Standard Time, beccamont@... writes: Does Ian wear Microlinks? Is the boot the only personal fm that he has used? I'd like to know more about Alphasmart. Thanks for all the info. Yes, Microlinks were our choice from the very beginning. When we found out about Ian's loss he was about 7. Our audiologist immediately suggested an FM system for him along with the aids. The school fought us for 3 years before they bought the right system. When we were chosing aids + FM, we were very concerned about them being workhorses. Kids are rough on equipment. The FMs would be coming off and on every day, and much of the handling would be done by Ian. At that time Micorlinks were the sturdiest, best little workhorses available. We got Phonak aids for Ian with the intention of having the Phonak Microlinks from the very beginning. We had heard/read about compatability issues. And interference when different brands were combined. Many of those issues have been fixed by the manufacturers in the past 5 years. So, while we really like the FMs Ian has, that does not mean that others are not equally as good. But I only have experience with this brand. As to the Alphasmart. It is a laptop-size PDA. It has a full size keyboard and a small screen that shows several lines of text. The text appears like it does on a cell phone, not like a screen on an actual laptop computer. The benefit is that the Alphasmart products are strudier than laptops and can stand up toi the abvuse kids would give them. A good bump or bounce to a laptop would mean the end of it. Ian's Alphasmart travels in a padded binder in his backpack on the bus every day. Ian's hearing loss is progressive. As he loses more hearing, he has a harder time taking notes. The school has repeatedly offered a note taker and we have refused. They are always surprised. Our reasoning is that he needs to learn how to take his own notes, process what he " hears " and determine what is important information. There is technology available that can help him be responsible for his own education. Our contention is that we are trying to raise a self-reliant man, not someone who uses his " disability " as a way to get things done for him. (I mean absolutely no criticism of anyone who does need and sucessfully uses note takers. Ian's circumstances are his own and so are the solutions.) If he had been given a note taker in middle school when they really pushed for it, then he would not have learned this very necessary skill. If at some point a note taker or CART is needed, then we'll arrange for that. Anyway, as Ian loses more hearing, the FMs are not serving him as well as they once did. They are still very very useful. But he has again started to look more for lip cues to make sure he has understood what was said, and rely less on the FMs to pipe the voices into his head. So, we needed to find a way for him to look up and still write. So, now he types his notes onto the Alphasmart. At the end of the day he uploads them onto the computer that has been set up for him. He is just learning to use this device in class. To make sure that it does not become a distraction, it is currently used for very specific tasks and he is also practicing with it. On the weekends he practices taking notes in a " long lecture " by typing along during a tv show. Sometimes it's a sitcom, sometimes it's a show on Discover or another science channel. When we go on long drives (20+ minutes) he transcribes our conversations. He's getting pretty good. Had I known about the device when Ian was in middle school, I would have asked for it then. But at the time his FMs were doing the job and additional help was not needed. In 8th grade he started to have some trouble and I went searching for more help. We asked for the Danya, an Alphasmart product. The year began with loads of mistakes in Ian's program and he received an Alphasmart. For now, as a first step device, it is fine. We'll see about next year. Best -- Jill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 5, 2004 Report Share Posted November 5, 2004 Your info is valuable ! As I read it I'm thinking about 's typing skills and that she needs to be more proficient. I like the Alphasmart tool and I agree with your philosophy about raising a self-sufficient child. We always expect her to get as much use from her hearing as possible. Thanks for helping us see a glimpse of the future! JillcWood@... wrote: In a message dated 11/4/2004 8:32:20 PM Eastern Standard Time, beccamont@... writes: Does Ian wear Microlinks? Is the boot the only personal fm that he has used? I'd like to know more about Alphasmart. Thanks for all the info. Yes, Microlinks were our choice from the very beginning. When we found out about Ian's loss he was about 7. Our audiologist immediately suggested an FM system for him along with the aids. The school fought us for 3 years before they bought the right system. When we were chosing aids + FM, we were very concerned about them being workhorses. Kids are rough on equipment. The FMs would be coming off and on every day, and much of the handling would be done by Ian. At that time Micorlinks were the sturdiest, best little workhorses available. We got Phonak aids for Ian with the intention of having the Phonak Microlinks from the very beginning. We had heard/read about compatability issues. And interference when different brands were combined. Many of those issues have been fixed by the manufacturers in the past 5 years. So, while we really like the FMs Ian has, that does not mean that others are not equally as good. But I only have experience with this brand. As to the Alphasmart. It is a laptop-size PDA. It has a full size keyboard and a small screen that shows several lines of text. The text appears like it does on a cell phone, not like a screen on an actual laptop computer. The benefit is that the Alphasmart products are strudier than laptops and can stand up toi the abvuse kids would give them. A good bump or bounce to a laptop would mean the end of it. Ian's Alphasmart travels in a padded binder in his backpack on the bus every day. Ian's hearing loss is progressive. As he loses more hearing, he has a harder time taking notes. The school has repeatedly offered a note taker and we have refused. They are always surprised. Our reasoning is that he needs to learn how to take his own notes, process what he " hears " and determine what is important information. There is technology available that can help him be responsible for his own education. Our contention is that we are trying to raise a self-reliant man, not someone who uses his " disability " as a way to get things done for him. (I mean absolutely no criticism of anyone who does need and sucessfully uses note takers. Ian's circumstances are his own and so are the solutions.) If he had been given a note taker in middle school when they really pushed for it, then he would not have learned this very necessary skill. If at some point a note taker or CART is needed, then we'll arrange for that. Anyway, as Ian loses more hearing, the FMs are not serving him as well as they once did. They are still very very useful. But he has again started to look more for lip cues to make sure he has understood what was said, and rely less on the FMs to pipe the voices into his head. So, we needed to find a way for him to look up and still write. So, now he types his notes onto the Alphasmart. At the end of the day he uploads them onto the computer that has been set up for him. He is just learning to use this device in class. To make sure that it does not become a distraction, it is currently used for very specific tasks and he is also practicing with it. On the weekends he practices taking notes in a " long lecture " by typing along during a tv show. Sometimes it's a sitcom, sometimes it's a show on Discover or another science channel. When we go on long drives (20+ minutes) he transcribes our conversations. He's getting pretty good. Had I known about the device when Ian was in middle school, I would have asked for it then. But at the time his FMs were doing the job and additional help was not needed. In 8th grade he started to have some trouble and I went searching for more help. We asked for the Danya, an Alphasmart product. The year began with loads of mistakes in Ian's program and he received an Alphasmart. For now, as a first step device, it is fine. We'll see about next year. Best -- Jill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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