Ottawa Canada Dear Jessica:
If Voc rehab bought your Pakmate for you but you find it unsuited to your needs, sit down and make up a shopping list of specific real-life situations where you are of the opinion a BrailleNote would be more beneficial than your Pakmate and specifically why. E.G. If at work, say specifically which tasks the BrailleNote will work for you and the Pakmate won't and why. E.g.. pakmate can't do such and such because ... etc. Armed with your well-thought-out reasons, you can approach your Voc rehab counsellor and plead your case. And if you are turned down, and you are of the opinion have been turned down incorrectly or they did not hear you out, file a formal appeal against the decision and keep escalating it until you have exhausted all avenues of appeal. Far as the technology changing by the time you have saved up to buy a BrailleNote yourself, that is true, that the technology may change by the time you save up the money. But hopefully you will sill be able to afford the presently available unit. There is a lot to be said for saving up for something you really want rather than going into debt. If more people saved up instead of going into debt, there would be far fewer personal bankruptcies! I'm not sure about how it works in the U.S., but in Canada, a BrailleNote qualifies as an Eligible Medical Expense when filing your income tax return. If you use it primarily for work, it may be deductible as a work expense or something also. You would need to itemize when you file your form IRS 1040 but the savings in Income Tax may help defray your purchase price. Please consult competent legal or financial counsel or the United States Internal revenue Service for particulars of the income tax treatment of a BrailleNote and other equipment. In Canada, the Income Tax Act is silent on the tax treatment of repairs or a maintenance agreement for prosthetic equipment such as a BrailleNote, but I have claimed and been allowed a deduction for maintenance agreements on Braille equipment in the past. Do ask for a demonstration, preferably a hands-on one, of a BrailleNote BEFORE you actually buy one. This is the best way to familiarize yourself with its capabilities and limitations. Take care. Brian -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.1.405 / Virus Database: 268.11.1/421 - Release Date: 16/08/2006 ___ To leave the BrailleNote list, send a blank message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To view the list archives or change your preferences, visit http://list.humanware.com/mailman/listinfo/braillenote
