'Thanks for the iPads and I really like those guys'
WILSONVILLE, Ore. – A local non-profit group stepped up to the plate on Wednesday to help out a school that had several iPads stolen during two separate break-ins.
The Victory Academy uses iPads to help teach autistic students. Software on the tablets helps the students communicate and develop manual dexterity. But unfortunately for the school, thieves in two separate break-ins managed to steal ten iPads.
That’s where the Bald Faced Truth Foundation stepped in to help, offering to replace the school’s stolen tablets. The BFT Foundation is led by Oregonian sports columnist John Canzano and his wife Anna, who is a KATU reporter and anchor.
Setting up her brand-new iPad on Wednesday, 7-year-old Carmel Ooten and the 28 other students at the Victory Academy got a big lesson in giving back.
Ooten said she was “happy” when asked how it feels to have the iPads back in the classroom.
“Opening up a new iPad was, like, fun!” she said.
“When I got the call from the Bald Faced Truth Foundation, I honestly, I was in my car and I stepped outside and I wept,” said Tricia Hasbrook, the director of Victory Academy. “It’s just these kids are so special.”
“For me, personally, to be able to walk in here and see the difference that we can all make, I mean, we’re all part of the same tribe, it’s just a very cool feeling,” John Canzano said.
Even kids who struggle to overcome a disability difficult for others to see can easily see what it means to give back.
“It’s cool, like, you know, these guys were nice,” Ooten said “Thanks for the iPads and I really like those guys.”
The foundation saw our story last week and called the school that same day to start arranging for the replacement iPads. They specialize in quickly solving problems for local school kids and say this is a perfect example of a little help that makes a world of difference.
Read more: Bald Faced Truth Foundation website
Hope they catch the theives, and that the judge has an autistic relative.
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@HarryJuku What is wrong with you man??
 @HarryJuku Considering this is a private school, with donated iPads, I'm not even remotely sure why you felt the need to make such an idiotic comment, as if they came out of your precious tax dollars.. A lot of these kids have motor issues that can make it hard to hold a pencil and write clearly, but I guess since you know everything, you must have known that, too.
@HarryJuku you mo-ron. Depending on the severity of the autism some kids can't even hold a pencil much less use it. Get out of your self-centered, egotistic shell, do a little research and maybe you will figure out that some people have issues they have to face, instead of people like you that shove their head in the sand so they can ignore the real life problems that some have.
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 @HarryJuku Wow, just read some of the other blitherings you call comments..you are an angry, small-minded person. I shouldn't encourage you anymore. I didn't realize you had a disability. You are clearly an uneducated bully. Have a nice life being a jerk.
 @HarryJuku 'Entitlement'? This is a PRIVATE school, that the parents pay for. The iPads were DONATED. Are you having trouble reading the story? You should be thanking them that they aren't using your precious tax dollars in a public school, where they WOULD be entitled to whatever they needed to get them an education. You are disgusting to make fun of disabled kids. What the hell is wrong with you? No one is touching your iPad...what the hell are you talking about? I'm glad there are people who have true compassion and kindness on this planet...you clearly have none.
 @HarryJuku  @iamtroglodite It is about reaching potential with a disability in mind so providing supports that help that process
luckily, harry, you don't need to bother yourself with being compasionate to others less fortunate than you. There are others out there that like to help people. My grandson is autistic. He only uses his words once in a while, but can communicate other ways. When he is up here with us he plays around on my laptop, sometimes we play together and he just laughs his butt off! Thing is, he has never damaged my computer or mouse. One day though, when he was 8, he put a slice of Papa Murphy's pizza in my vcr. What a mess!
They are seated when holding the iPads...why such anger and hatred towards a group of kids with disabilities?
Bravo! Thank you for your generosity in replacing expensive technology for these children, who so desperately need it! Victory, please heed this lesson and have staff take the ipads home at night to charge to reduce theft, or invest in a safe rather than closets that can be pried open. I hope the scum that decided it's ok to steal, let alone steal from disabled kids--get the karmic butt kicking that is coming to them.
Great story....but by advertising they got new iPads are they setting themselves up for another break in?
What would be ironic is if one of the thieves got caught for drinking and driving and he officer finds a stolen iPad.
Now this is a cool story
What happened to Pencils, paper, a slide rule and calculator? If pencils, paper and a slide rule could put a man on the moon and bring them back (in 1969), then it should be good enough for these kids. Don't got to worry about them getting stolen.
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 @theobserver Because it's much easier to just ask Google for the answer!
 @B Smizzle  @theobserver Hey guys--You know I'm always on here, talking about my ADHD kid. Well, ADHD falls on the "high functioning" end of the autism spectrum. What many people don't understand is that these kids brains are wired completely differently and to learn optimally--they have to have an integrated, interactive learning environment. It's called kinesthetic learning. The ipads are invaluable to these children because many of them will suffer from conditions such as word/number dissociation and an interactive program that gives immediate feedback can help with these issues immensely. It also helps them express themselves. As a parent who homeschools with connections academy and let me tell you--more often than not, I want to cry, rip my hair out, or adopt out my child (usually a combination of all of them) having a tablet and the ability to set up an environment uniquely tailored to him has been a godsend. Don't knock something that works or denigrate the children whom this technology really helps. That whole "walk a mile in someone's moccasins..." statement.
 @theobserver Schools are changing over to this type of thing as they can contain all the books and such for half the cost.1 Ipad can hold science, reading writing (even hand writing) and arithmetic and It can grow. Also How Autistic kids are wired is unique. they do better with electronic devices.and many can become computer geniuses. Where they fail in some areas, they make up for in other areas .:) Never judge a book b ts cover.
 @theobserver Remember there "People First"
 @theobserver Clearly you have NO idea what issues people with Autism have. You sound REALLY stupid!!! Just sayin...
I think these thieves have earned themselves a truckload of really b-a-d karma... it takes a special breed of rotten person to steal stuff from little kids... Â (Hey, they might not have known that the kids were autistic, but there's no way they wouldn't have known this was a school for elementary-age kids..!)
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It's good to hear that there is a group that was willing and able to help..! Â Â Now...school administrators... get some professional guidance and get these new i-Pads properly secured..!
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I'm not a Christian however I hope that Satan has special plans for the thieves that stole the iPads.
Fantastic news! Â Let's hope these don't get stolen too. Â Rotten thieves ruin everything for everybody! Â I hope karma gets those bast***s!
I know what a difference tablet computers can make when working with autistic kids, and it's great they were able to get them replaced. I sure hope that the school learns from their past mistakes and actually locks them up this time. The first time was really crummy, but the second time was predictable. And why didn't they activate the "find my ipad" feature on any of them? C'mon administrators, get your act together....
 @badcat When they ran the original story, some loser on here was giving instructions on how to get around that feature. Birds of a feather..
Very nice. Glad to hear somebody stepped up and replaced them.