June 4, 2013
To Island Dolphin Care:
I am a teacher of students with visual disabilities for Hillsborough County Schools in Tampa. I am writing in reference to Queena’s application to the Island Dolphin Care 5 day program.
Queena was my student for three years prior to her graduation in June 2012. She was referred to our program because of her visual impairment resulting from her traumatic brain injury. It is important to note that Queena is not blind. She uses her residual vision and hearing effectively to gather information about her environment. As her motor control has continued to improve her optometrist has documented improvement in Queena’s peripheral vision. I accompany Queena to her eye doctor appointments and am proud to still be part of “Team Q”.
Queena’s family is extremely supportive. They have gathered a team of traditional therapist (speech, OT, PT etc.) and non-traditional therapists (acupressure, neurotherapy, aromatherapy, etc.) to assist with her recovery. One of the most beneficial therapies for Queena has been aqua therapy. The photos of Queena in the water (at JoinQueena.com) show her continual physical progress. Emotionally, her therapy dog named Charlie has provided her with comfort and companionship.
As a student Queena has always been a pleasure to work with. She is cooperative, intelligent, and a hard worker. However, she will self-advocate during instruction and it is not difficult to understand her desires.
I think she would be an excellent match for your unique program and that it will assist with her physical and emotional recovery. She has come a long way since her injury and I hope that you will consider her for a scholarship so that she can continue her journey. As you can imagine, insurance only covers a fraction of the cost of her therapies and her family relies on donations to cover the rest of her expenses. I know you will enjoy having her in your program!
If you have any questions please feel free to contact me by email or by phone. Thank you for considering Queena for your program.
Yours truly,
Elizabeth Underwood, M.Ed
Teacher, Visually Impaired Program
Orientation and Mobility Instructor
