Why does mutism happen to exactly the wrong people?

Schuyler and the Big Box of Words
Originally uploaded by Citizen Rob.

I received an email from one of the screeching harpies that recently went to so much trouble to boldly (ie. anonymously at first) start shit with me for taking donations on my site. The subject line said simply "Dare ya".

The body of the message contained a link, to this donation page by a special needs caretaker looking for help in purchasing portable communication devices for poor kids who need them.

At first I had no idea if said harpy was trying to bury the hatchet by asking me to help someone who was in the same situation as Schuyler. When I went to her page, however, it became clear that once again, even in the guise of helping someone in need, she was taking another opportunity to be hateful.

The communication devices in question should sound familiar, no? So I cackled and forwarded the link to an Internet Titan who is adept at asking for money from his readers, and we'll see if he's interested in doing that when it doesn't directly benefit him and his. One would think someone who has been so blessed by the generous nature of his readers might want to give back. Ah, charitable blackmail. A win-win situation.

Okay, so a few things I'd like to say about this.

1) I'd LOVE it if the readers of my blog were to be responsible for putting this particular donor request over the top and make this happen. Imagine if the friends of Schuyler out there donated (in her name if you feel like feeding my bloated ego) enough to cover the cost of these devices before the end of the night? (Or tomorrow night, since Blogger appears to be having Issues this evening.)

2) My only hesitation here is that the devices that they are trying to buy, while certainly affordable and perhaps appropriate for the kids in question, are made by a company whose product line left us pretty underwhelmed when we were testing augmentative alternative communication devices with Schuyler last year. Again, perhaps they are being purchased for kids who are so severely affected that they won't ever need to progress to a more advanced system. If not, however, this particular device won't (in my admittedly underinformed opinion) provide a very significant long-term solution, and that's an important part of investing in an AAC device, regardless of the cost.

If you'd like an alternative donation option, you might try contacting the Prentke Romich Company (makers of the Big Box of Words) and let them know that you are interested in helping either a school or an individual family that is trying to purchase a similar device. They have a whole division dedicated to funding and would almost certainly be able to point you in the right direction. PRC is the AAC device of choice of a lot of programs, including the amazing cyborg class that Schuyler is a part of here in North Dallas. If you help someone who's trying to get a PRC box, you'll be certain that you are putting your money into a powerful tool.

3) Why someone would be so hateful as to suggest that I wouldn't be willing to help another parent in the same situation as myself is beyond me, particularly if they were trying to get me to lend a hand? Is the idea that a person who donates to another kid's device might not send money to greedy me and my greedy kid? News flash, genius. Schuyler already has one. "Charitable blackmail"? What the fuck?

Yeah, she must be a real delight to come home to every night.

Anyway, if you feel so inclined, go make a donation, either to this donor request or to PRC. I think it would be cool if you did it in Schuyler's name, but again, that's just me being me.