[Brl-monitor] The Braille Monitor, July 2014
Brian Buhrow
buhrow at lothlorien.nfbcal.org
Sun Jun 29 14:54:09 PDT 2014
BRAILLE MONITOR
Vol. 57, No. 7 July 2014
Gary Wunder, Editor
Distributed by email, in inkprint, in Braille, and on USB flash drive
(see reverse side) by
THE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND
Marc Maurer, President
telephone: (410) 659-9314
email address: nfb at nfb.org
website address: http://www.nfb.org
NFBnet.org: http://www.nfbnet.org
NFB-NEWSLINE® information: (866) 504-7300
Letters to the president, address changes,
subscription requests, and orders for NFB literature
should be sent to the national office.
Articles for the Monitor and letters to the editor may also
be sent to the national office or may be emailed to gwunder at nfb.org.
Monitor subscriptions cost the Federation about forty dollars per year.
Members are invited, and nonmembers are requested, to cover the
subscription cost. Donations should be made payable to National Federation
of the Blind and sent to:
National Federation of the Blind
200 East Wells Street at Jernigan Place
Baltimore, Maryland 21230-4998
THE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND IS NOT AN ORGANIZATION
SPEAKING FOR THE BLIND--IT IS THE BLIND SPEAKING FOR THEMSELVES.
ISSN 0006-8829
© 2014 by the National Federation of the Blind
Each issue is recorded on a thumb drive (also called a memory stick
or USB flash drive). You can read this audio edition using a computer or a
National Library Service digital player. The NLS machine has two slots--the
familiar book-cartridge slot just above the retractable carrying handle and
a second slot located on the right side near the headphone jack. This
smaller slot is used to play thumb drives. Remove the protective rubber pad
covering this slot and insert the thumb drive. It will insert only in one
position. If you encounter resistance, flip the drive over and try again.
(Note: If the cartridge slot is not empty when you insert the thumb drive,
the digital player will ignore the thumb drive.) Once the thumb drive is
inserted, the player buttons will function as usual for reading digital
materials. If you remove the thumb drive to use the player for cartridges,
when you insert it again, reading should resume at the point you stopped.
You can transfer the recording of each issue from the thumb drive to
your computer or preserve it on the thumb drive. However, because thumb
drives can be used hundreds of times, we would appreciate their return in
order to stretch our funding. Please use the return label enclosed with the
drive when you return the device.
Vol. 57, No. 7 July 2014
Contents
Illustration: Standing Against Discrimination: Educating the Educators
Growing Up Fisher: What Should We Expect from Blind Characters in Situation
Comedies?
by Gary Wunder
Breaking the Mold: From Clienthood to Citizenship
by Mary Ellen Gabias
Perspective on Philosophy
by Eric Duffy
Introducing Your Blind Child to Miniature Golf
by Mark Riccobono
Reflecting the Flame
by Marc Maurer
Blindness and Social Change: What Is My Duty?
by Everette Bacon
Jean Dyon Norris Dies
by Gary Wunder
Braille Isn't "Embattled"-We're on the Cusp of a Golden Age for Blind
People
by Ian Macrae
Sexual Misconduct Results in Prison Sentence for Teacher of the Blind
by Gary Wunder
Advances in Technology Can Leave Some Behind
by Kerstin Sjoberg-Witt and Michael L. Stack II
Recipes
Monitor Miniatures
PHOTO CAPTION: Anil Lewis among the protestors at Atlantic Cape Community
College
PHOTO CAPTION: Protesters held their signs high for passing motorists to
read as they gathered near the Atlantic Cape Community College sign.
PHOTO CAPTION: Even the ACCC's own sign seems to agree that the NFB is
making something happen, the words, "STARTS HERE" captured as the
protesters gather between the sign and the road.
Standing Against Discrimination: Educating the Educators
Members of the National Federation of the Blind and its New Jersey
affiliate held a protest at the Mays Landing campus of Atlantic Cape
Community College (ACCC) on Thursday, April 17, 2014. The protest was held
to combat discrimination by ACCC against Anthony Lanzilotti, a blind
student studying criminal justice and cyber-security there. Mr. Lanzilotti
has been denied even the most basic accommodations and at times has not
been allowed on campus or to use campus facilities unless he is accompanied
by a sighted person. He has also been prohibited from using campus
laboratories because ACCC claims that this violates the fire code. ACCC has
also refused to procure or create accessible copies of Mr. Lanzilotti's
textbooks and course materials, a service routinely provided to blind
students by other colleges and universities. If he wants his print
textbooks to be scanned and converted to electronic files that can be read
aloud by text-to-speech software or on a Braille display, he must do the
scanning himself, and he cannot use campus facilities to do so unless he
meets the requirement of having a sighted person with him. This will not
stand, but the National Federation of the Blind has and will. We will
continue to stand for Anthony Lanzilotti and other students until Atlantic
Cape Community College changes its illegal policies.
[PHOTO DESCRIPTION: Promotional poster for Growing Up Fisher. The Fisher
Family is seated at a dining room table, Joyce on far left facing Mel
sitting at the opposite end; Katie, Henry, and Elvis in harness sit between
them facing the viewer. Above the family is the show's tagline, "As far as
we knew, we were normal." Below the family is the show title and the
statement, "Inspired by my true family." Below that are the special premier
date and the show's regular timeslot.]
Growing Up Fisher: What Should We Expect from Blind Characters in Situation
Comedies?
by Gary Wunder
One of the primary objectives of the National Federation of the Blind
is to change how the public thinks and feels about blindness and to
convince them that our lives can be as full as theirs if we are given
proper training and opportunity. Our goal is to have them think of
blindness as one of many characteristics: not a tragic condition dealt to
the unlucky, not a miraculous condition that makes one super-human-a
characteristic not to be ignored, but one that is far from being the most
dominant in our lives.
Most members of the public do not know a blind person, so what they
hear and see in the media often provides their first impression of what
life is and can be for blind people. All too often portrayals of blind
people by Hollywood have left us feeling angry, used, and further isolated
in a world in which we seek full integration with our sighted neighbors.
When a character is portrayed as bumbling, loud, and obnoxious and when the
reason is presumed to be that he is blind, we protest to the producers and
the broadcast network and take our concerns to the public. When we do so, a
few of the questions are difficult to answer. Does bringing attention to
the show help or harm it? Will viewers stay away from it because we've said
we don't like it, will they watch to see what we find objectionable, or
will they do whatever it is they would have done, with or without our
protest? Does our protest educate the public about the lives of real blind
people, or do we come off looking overly sensitive? Are the answers to
these questions as important as our promise to speak the truths about
blindness as we know them and to combat the negative portrayals, regardless
of the outcome?
In the case of the sitcom Good and Evil and the movie Blindness, we
protested and our concerns were publicized nationally. But not every show
in which a blind character appears merits a response, pro or con. How do we
decide? We start by asking questions. Is the blind character realistic? Is
he or she likely to make people think more or less about the capabilities
of blind people? What leeway do we offer the writers when their objective
is to create a comedy? When a humorous incident happens and the character
involved is blind, when is it funny and something to which we can relate,
and when does it play on the stereotypes of blindness and retard the
integration we seek? Are there incidents caused by blindness that we who
are blind can share among ourselves with amusement but that are
inappropriate to share with the sighted public? All of these figure into
the judgments we make as we evaluate a show in which blindness plays a
part.
In early 2014 the National Broadcasting Company began advertising a
soon-to-be aired television show called Growing Up Fisher. At first all we
knew was that it would feature a blind father. Then we learned that it was
loosely based on the life experience of DJ Nash, the producer of the show,
whose father is blind. In addition to the blind character, Mel Fisher, the
cast consisted of Mel's wife Joyce, his teenage daughter Katie, and his
eleven-year-old and soon-to-be twelve-year-old son Henry. Henry's birthday
plays a major part in one of the episodes when we learn that he fears
becoming blind when he turns twelve, the age at which his father lost his
sight.
Before the show aired in late February, I received frantic calls and
emails warning that a network show involving a blind character was in the
making and offering to write articles about it. That we would be interested
in a show featuring a blind character did not surprise me, and I
appreciated the information. But those offering to author an article were
unanimous in their conclusion that the show would be harmful to the blind
and that their contribution would be the first step leading to demands that
the show be cancelled, with a public protest to follow. Granted, we have
seen some pathetic portrayals of blindness, the two mentioned being good
examples. But the question I asked myself and my colleagues is whether our
mindset that Hollywood will never get it right and that their laughs will
always come at our expense is healthy or productive? Our perception of the
general public is at the very least complex and possibly contradictory. On
the one hand we believe that they want to accept us as equals and can
understand that, though we need special training and equipment, we can
compete with them as equal participants in society. On the other hand we
are constantly on guard, believing that the general public has many
misconceptions that retard our progress and that they are highly
susceptible to those who will play on our limitations, real or imagined.
This having been said, what about the eleven episodes of Growing Up
Fisher that aired before the show's cancellation? Wanting more than my own
perspective, I wrote to people who subscribe to listservs run by the NFB.
My request went to members and nonmembers alike, and it didn't matter
whether their list participation was for the purpose of discussing the joys
and sorrows of being a webmaster, learning how to do arts and crafts, or
exploring the way to become better writers. Some who responded said they
thought television a trashy waste of time, did not watch situation
comedies, and therefore could not compare what they saw in the show against
contemporary offerings. A few wrote to say that their lives were much too
busy to bother with television but that they would be interested to see
what the Monitor had to say about the show. Still others wrote saying that
they had not watched the show but would love my views on it. I did my best
to respond to each person who wrote to me, without putting so much energy
into the responses that I would find myself with nothing to say here.
The response to the show from those who actually discussed it was
overwhelmingly favorable, and many asked if there was a way to keep it on
the air. I confess that I was surprised by this, not because I disliked the
show, but because human nature often finds us writing first about those
things we don't like and later taking the time to say thank you for those
we do. Many letters started tentatively with the lines "I don't know how
you feel about the show, but," or "Perhaps you will disagree with me, but I
liked the show." This happened so frequently that I went back to look at my
note, fearing I had somehow signaled that I was only looking for those who
found the show objectionable. My conclusion is that I did not reveal any
such bias and that the only tipping of my hand was to say that I had an
opinion but was interested in the thoughts and feelings of others before
crafting an article.
Perhaps it is not surprising that those who didn't like the show
watched few episodes before concluding it was ridiculous and just another
attempt by Hollywood to use blindness for a quick laugh at our expense.
Several objections were common. They should have used a blind actor. It
reinforces the stereotypes that we are helpless when the boy's job is to
take care of his father. It was wrong to show the little boy using his
father's guide dog to get girls. Scenes showing the guide dog on the bed,
eating table food from the floor, and barking all sent the wrong message
about how guide dogs behave and what is expected of them by their owners.
Interestingly, I got more negative comments about the dog than I did about
the blind character or the rest of his family. I have omitted comments in
which the focus was objections to a discussion of sex, drugs, or the
misbehavior of adolescents. Comments commending and condemning the show on
these points were received but have nothing to do with blindness.
Here are some heartfelt and well-stated quotations that speak
directly to the dissatisfaction some felt:
"I have watched it a couple of times, but personally I think it is
ridiculous and that they overplay everything. I think it is a disgrace to
the blind of America. We don't need anything else to make sighted people
think stupid things about blind people."
"So he gets a guide dog in the first episode, and it wanders out of
the house somehow and is found. That was enough for me. I could not bear to
watch any more of it."
"As a sighted person I thought that the most glaring offense was
having the blind character's blindness exhibited by the wide-open stare." I
interject here that interpreting Mel's appearance, his movements, and his
facial expressions have proven to be the most challenging part of writing
this article. I am totally blind and have been so since birth. Trying to
figure out whose perception of Mel's facial expressions is correct reminds
me how, as a child, I remember being puzzled by the way the dead appeared
to the sighted prior to burial. This was not so much from a morbid
curiosity but because opinions about the subject vary widely and much of my
family's discussion during these trying times focused on what they saw in
the casket. In saying good-bye to grandparents, I would hear how this one
looked thirty years younger, the way she did in old pictures. Some would
say, "He just looks like he is sleeping, very calm and peaceful." Mark
Twain described his just-departed daughter as an angel whose beauty in
death could never be matched by those experiencing the stresses and strains
of life. On the other side were those who were adamant in saying that the
dead look nothing like their former selves and that to suggest they look
like they are resting or fast asleep or are in some blessedly tranquil
state is utter nonsense.
Critiques of the actor playing Mel were just as varied: He stares. He
keeps his head in one place. He is remarkable in imitating the gestures and
facial expressions of blind people I know who have previously had sight. He
does a good job of impersonating a blind person searching for objects.
Several who strongly objected to the show didn't even make it through
episode one. Having seen what they expected to see, they drew conclusions
far from what was intended by the writers as the show makes clear.
Early on in the first episode the children are told by their parents
that they are getting a divorce. While it is obvious that they still love
one another, are glad for the family they have created, and are committed
to remaining united in caring for their children, Joyce feels so
overshadowed by Mel that she is looking for a way to live her own life,
find herself, and capture elements of her youth she missed by marrying so
early and becoming a mother. Up to this point Mel has been quite dependent
on his family and with their help has carried on a more or less successful
act in which he has pretended to be sighted. Only his family and closest
friends know that he is blind. This is a highly unlikely scenario given
that Mel has been blind since age twelve, but it is hard to dismiss
completely the premise, given that all of us have a story or have heard
stories about the futile effort to pretend to sight we do not have and to
avoid the pity we fear will come from admitting we are blind.
When Mel's impending divorce leads him to move out, he is forced to
confront his overdependence on family to get around and gets a guide dog
from the Guide Dog Foundation. The family's youngest child, Henry, seems
more upset about being displaced as his father's eyes than he is about the
separation of his parents. In an effort to make his son feel that he is
still useful, Mel pretends to lose his new guide Elvis and calls on his
family to help. When Mel is in the process of calling the Guide Dog
Foundation to tell them about the loss, Henry finds Elvis in the pantry.
Several who responded to my inquiry about the show had enough at this
point, because the idea that a competent blind man could actually lose his
dog confirmed their worst fears about what the show would be. Immediately
after the find, soon-to-be ex-wife Joyce confronts Mel about the absurdity
of pretending to lose his dog but compliments him on trying to help Henry
recover his fragile self-esteem.
Those who responded positively to the show were eloquent as they
described their fears about what the show might be and their gradual
conviction that, for a comedy, it did a good job of concentrating on family
issues. Blindness was only one element in understanding the dynamics of
this family, and it grew to be less important as the plots explored the
problems of the newly divorced, how to date, how to handle the teen who
wants to date, how to handle the issue of trust between children and
parents, how to teach a teen to drive, and how to convince a son that he is
not forever condemned to live in his father's shadow. Here are some of the
gems:
"When I first heard about the show, I was quite skeptical of it. I
didn't think it would be an accurate portrayal of blindness and didn't even
want the show to air on television. I saw the first episode and was
disgusted. What kind of show features a guide dog handler feeding his dog
raw meat? Who showcases a blind man ramming himself into a coffee table
several times? After that first episode, however, the show began to grow on
me. It was after all a comedy that was not meant to portray an accurate
representation of blindness. I began to feel that the show was not all that
bad and actually came to love it. I am now sad that the show is cancelled.
It was not really focused on a blind man, but on a family man who is going
through a mid-life crisis and who just happens to be blind."
"I have to say two things up front. First, I am not a fan of the
sitcom format, which in many cases takes the cheap shot. On the other hand,
I am not opposed in principle to someone doing a comedy based on a real
blind man, and I don't expect any work of art or literature which includes
a blind person to tackle every issue facing the blind or conform to any
standard presentation of blindness. That would be impossible. We are
perhaps the most diverse group of people there is-a true microcosm of
humanity, with a continuum of vision loss, adaptability, intelligence, and
humor."
"I am disappointed with the decision to take it off the air. I related
so much to the character of Mel and found myself commenting frequently that
I had done or said something just like him. The positive way in which this
blind man is portrayed and his family's love and support relay important
messages; blind people are just like everyone else-we just do things a
little differently."
"The first scene of the first episode immediately had my wife roaring
with laughter. This was the scene where the boy was guiding the father as
he prepared to cut down a tree with a chainsaw. Yep, been there and done
that. As we watched the show each week, my wife commented that they were
doing the show about me. I still tend to do everything that I once did as a
sighted person-yes, including taking my daughter out for driving lessons.
And the `finger juice' did not go unnoticed in my house." [I interject that
"finger juice" is the term used to identify how Mel placed his finger over
the side of a cup when he was pouring juice so he could tell when the glass
was full.]
"I was actually able to focus on the quality of the show instead of
focusing on whether or not I felt misrepresented as a person with a
disability."
"I've watched eight episodes so far, and a friend is sending me the
rest. At first I thought the show silly. Then I genuinely came to enjoy it.
I've had my daughter look at a few and, she likes it immensely too and says
that the actor has done an excellent job of getting `blind' right. Nothing
is perfect-including this show-but there is an honesty here that I've never
seen in any blind portrayal on film before, and that it is mixed with so
much lightheartedness makes it work for me."
One of the most thought-provoking comments I received came from a
blind woman who says that, for all the good and the bad she sees, her
deepest feeling is summed up by the statement: "When we've had enough
decent blind characters in dramas and other shows, perhaps we can afford to
smile at sitcom goofiness." Stated differently, I think she is saying that
we have not traveled far enough on the road to public acceptance to
tolerate portrayals of blindness that may be perceived as negatively
reflecting on our basic normality and competence.
So much for my compilation, editing, and inserting the comments that
were shared. What is my view of the show, and what has compelled me to
write about it? I believe that this show, while far from the kind of
educational documentary we would produce and different from a drama we
might write, has much to recommend it. The father cutting down a tree using
a chainsaw or installing a satellite dish on his roof could be taken
directly from our Kernel Books or the pages of the Braille Monitor. When
Mel runs into other people because he doesn't hear them and says they are
as quiet as a Prius, that indicates some familiarity with current-day
issues blind people consider important. When his daughter asks why he must
inject himself into every situation involving his family, never watching
from the sidelines as they solve their own problems, Mel relates a
heartfelt story. In high school he is told by his rowing coach that, though
he can't throw him off the team, the coach doesn't want a blind fellow
getting in the way and crashing his oars into the oars of others. Mel
decides to quit. Having felt the pain of rejection and having silently
walked away, Mel's decision never again to sit quietly by and let someone
else determine his opportunities and his future should strike a chord that
resonates with all of us who are Federationists. The show goes one better
when, after letting the audience absorb the unfairness and regret generated
by this life-changing moment, Katie acknowledges the importance of her
father's story but makes it clear that this is no reason to continue doing
what he is doing, thereby creating similarly uncomfortable life stories
that will shape her life.
One wonders how many issues might have been explored had the show
continued for another season: Mel's going back to school and having to deal
with problems involving access to books and other materials; Mel's being
reported to the local social service agency for failure to supervise his
son who is caught engaging in a juvenile and dangerous act; during the
divorce, having a guardian ad litem appointed to act in the interest of the
children who decides Joyce should be the parent who is given primary
custody. The possibilities are numerous, but little reason exists to wish
or speculate.
The guide dog behaviors some found so offensive are ones I have
personally observed many times as students leave guide dog facilities with
specific rules and admonitions drilled into them that they have already or
will soon decide to abandon as overly restrictive. As one commenter said,
"I know some people who give their dog a little steak once in a while and
allow them to sleep on their beds, and how many times have we seen blind
people allow others to walk with their dog in harness to see what it's
like?"
I return to the question of whether some things we know to be true we
are willing to discuss among ourselves but feel inappropriate to share with
the sighted public. If this is the way we feel, do we presume to say to the
entertainment industry that these concealed truths are not for public
consumption? I think we must always stand against the shameful portrayal of
blind people and that the decision to be heard trumps considerations about
whether we help or hurt the activity to which we object. But I think we
dare not try to declare blindness to be off limits to those who write
situation comedies, dramas, and documentaries. All of these afford us an
opportunity to speak to those who might otherwise not hear from us. All
give us the opportunity to be seen publicly for the people we are.
Sometimes we are bright, articulate, kind, perceptive, and model citizens.
Sometimes we are weird, bizarre, lazy, disrespectful, and obnoxious. These
characteristics, the good and the bad, must be ones that we help the public
to see as separate and apart from the fact that we do not see and to
understand that they represent what we have often proclaimed: that the
blind are a cross-section of our society, with all of the virtues and vices
shared by the rest of humanity.
Growing Up Fisher has performed a service, albeit brief and
abbreviated. It has given the public a glimpse of a family in which one of
the characters is blind, educated, employed, and revered and respected by
those he loves. He is also pushy (he would say assertive,) controlling, and
a character who seldom sits on the sidelines watching as those around him
make decisions about their lives and his own. Growing Up Fisher has also
provided us with an opportunity to look at how a blind character can and
should fit in the give and take of the modern situation comedy and has
given us some hope that, the next time we hear that a blind character will
be featured on television or the movies, we will be a bit less apprehensive
and a bit more willing to accept the entertainment for what it is: a
diversion from our own workaday worries, our bills, our fears for our
children, the future of the country, and all of the other things we use
books, movies, television, and the situation comedy to escape from for the
brief respite we all require. Growing Up Fisher gave me a brief opportunity
to laugh and to cry, and I did not feel as though I needed to apologize or
explain away the role that a blind character played on primetime TV. This
is part of becoming a member of the broader society, and this is a
testament to the progress we have made in changing the face of blindness on
television.
----------
Breaking the Mold: From Clienthood to Citizenship
by Mary Ellen Gabias
From the Editor: Recently I had the pleasure of traveling to Canada to
attend the convention of the Canadian Federation of the Blind. Unlike
America, where government is involved in the rehabilitation of the blind at
the state and federal level, English Canada has traditionally relied on a
charity, the Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB), to provide
all of the major services received by adult blind Canadians. The Province
of Quebec is the only place in Canada where government takes direct
responsibility for services to blind citizens. Over time this centralized
approach through the CNIB has seemed less responsive to the needs of blind
Canadians and has focused more on its own corporate interests.
In a presentation made to the convention of the Canadian Federation of
the Blind, Mary Ellen Gabias shows how reliance on a charity model versus a
human rights model sells short those who need and expect services. The
parallel in America is clear; our citizens must keep in mind that our needs
and aspirations are not always the same as those of the charities that
serve us and the government agencies that use tax-payer money to perform a
similar mission. Here, with her insights and warnings, is what Mrs. Gabias
said to the CFB on Saturday, May 24, 2014:
"It ain't easy to break out of a mold, but, if you do your work,
people will ultimately see what you're capable of. Too often, people find
it easier to make assumptions and stick with what they believe. They put
you in a place, and it makes their job easier." Christopher Meloni,
television actor
We in the Canadian Federation of the Blind work to break the mold
that binds and constrains our opportunities. We understand the ways old
patterns harm us. We have examined our past and recognize that we have
sometimes failed to challenge people when they make assumptions and stick
with what they believe. If we don't speak out with courage, unflinching
honesty, and compassion, we will not be able to chart a better future.
What forces have molded the climate in which blind Canadians find
themselves? How have governments, the public, and the monopoly elephant in
the room called CNIB contributed to the current situation? Above all, what
responsibilities do we, the blind people of Canada, bear; and what can we
do to break the mold that does us harm?
Much as we dislike it, the history of blindness in Canada is bound up
with the history of charity. In its most profound sense, charity is a
loving and personal means of sharing time and resources. One individual has
a need; another individual with personal knowledge of that need does
whatever can be done to alleviate it.
In the small self-contained communities of the past, person-to-
person, heart-to-heart charity worked well. The giver and the recipient
were accountable to one another. The increasing size and complexity of
society during the reign of Queen Victoria resulted in the
depersonalization and corporatization of charity. Just as the industrial
revolution caused immense increases in the efficiency of the processes
of manufacturing, the development of corporate charities brought economy of
scale to the processes of generosity. By giving money, donors could provide
service far beyond their personal presence. Specialized staff could be
hired to spend full-time on charitable endeavors. Effort could be laser
focused; the same charitable individual no longer needed to be concerned
with poverty, the aged, disability, orphanages, and disaster relief.
Despite its obvious advantages, corporate charity broke the bond of
mutual accountability. In the corporate model a charitable individual
donates to an organization based on its emotional appeal and its
reputation. Rarely does the giver experience the charitable corporation's
actions firsthand; the funds are given, and the professional staff is
entrusted with achieving the hoped-for results. Career charity workers
frequently came to think of their corporate employer's aims as
indistinguishable from or, far worse, more important than the needs of
those receiving charitable service. Recipients too were often tainted by
the charity process. Rather than viewing themselves as temporary
beneficiaries of assistance to meet a pressing need, they came to think of
themselves as permanent clients. They stopped wanting a hand up; they
didn't even content themselves with a hand out; they wanted their hands
held for life.
In 1918 Colonel Baker brought corporate charity for the blind to
Canada. In 1918 blind people were scattered, isolated, bereft of hope. In
1918 a strong, centralized organization focused desperately needed national
attention on blindness. In 1918 bylaws requiring the titular head of the
charity for the blind to be a blind person seemed to guarantee that the
organization would remain true to its mandate to serve the blind. Less than
a decade ago it took one vote of the sighted people who actually call the
shots to show how flimsy that protection really was. In 1918 charity
existed to be the face of the invisible and the voice of those who could
not speak for themselves. The phrase, "nothing about us without us," had
not even been conceived. Yes, Colonel Baker brought about changes that
moved blind people forward in 1918, but it isn't 1918 anymore.
In his book The Politics of Blindness, Graeme McCreath explained the
history of blindness policy since the 1918 founding of the Canadian
National Institute for the Blind (CNIB). Any attempt to telescope his
carefully researched and written arguments into one short synopsis would do
a grave disservice to his work. Needless to say, he discussed charity to
parity in blindness policy. He showed how our issues are part of a broader
context.
Madame Justice Louise Arbour, former Justice of the Supreme Court of
Canada and former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, has
eloquently articulated that broader social and political context. In an
interview with Paul Kennedy on the CBC Radio program Ideas, she described
the shift in thinking concerning charities over the past century. She
talked at length about the differences between the charity paradigm and the
paradigm of defining social and economic justice as a human right.
Describing circumstances in many underdeveloped countries, she quotes
the leaders of those countries: "We want the right to food, the right to
health, the right to education, and the right to development." She
contrasts those aims with the emphasis on political and civil rights in
more developed countries. ". . . certainly human rights theory says there
are no such divisions. Human rights are by definition universal and
indivisible. You cannot segregate them. ...When I come here (to Canada) and
I go to a lot of other western countries, I have to try to persuade them to
abandon their reluctance to recognize social and economic rights as rights.
I need to urge them to get out of their charitable disposition and to
acknowledge that this is a matter of human dignity, and it should be
grounded in legally binding obligations."
The CFB agrees with Mme. Arbour. We are pressing government to
recognize that we too have a right to food (a standard of support for those
without employment that meets basic nutritional and housing needs),
education (for blind children, but also for adults who become blind or who
haven't received the education they needed when they were children), and
development (the chance to gain skills and attitudes leading to employment
and full participation as equals in the economic and social life of
Canada). We too are asking that our country "get out of its charitable
disposition." Put another way, blind Canadians are no longer willing to
lead third-world lives in a first-world country.
CFB values the legitimate role charities can play in innovation and
service provision. It can also be legitimate for government to contract
with private entities, whether charity or for-profit, when doing so serves
the public interest, provided that the funding public retains genuine
control. Any arrangements need careful, ongoing scrutiny to prevent the
public purse from being raided by unaccountable entities such as CNIB who
have cloaked themselves in the mantle of philanthropy. Governments across
Canada have not held CNIB to account because it has been perceived as in
charge of the blind people it purports to serve. In effect, government has
believed CNIB is serving blind people effectively because CNIB has said so.
Unless we want 2018, the one-hundredth anniversary of the founding of CNIB,
to be a national year of mourning for opportunities lost and lives of blind
people wasted, we must put aside the charity paradigm of 1918 and replace
it with a rights-based service model.
Socrates said: "The secret of change is to focus all of your energy,
not on fighting the old, but on building the new." For far too long blind
Canadians have focused their efforts on criticizing CNIB or attempting to
gain influence within CNIB in the hope of reforming it. We open ourselves
up to conflict, frustration, and bitterness when we try to apply twenty-
first-century participatory democracy standards to what is at heart a
Victorian enterprise. CNIB is controlled by a self-perpetuating governing
body. It is not a participatory democracy, has never claimed to be one, and
has no interest in becoming one. It is long past time for us to accept that
reality.
For far too long blind people have behaved as if we are CNIB's
customers. Unhappy customers ask for improvements and expect to get them.
We must face the fact that CNIB's real customers are the giving public. The
product the public buys is the sense of well-being that comes from being
told they've helped to meet the needs of the blind. So long as the public
feels good by donating to CNIB, the corporation will have satisfied its
customer base. Nothing will change unless the public learns that money is
being sucked into an administrative black hole; we aren't getting what
they're paying for.
If we are not CNIB's real customers, where do blind people stand in
relation to the charity? CNIB needs blindness, but it doesn't have to deal
with blind people on our terms. It needs for us to appear needy enough to
justify its ongoing requests for charitable dollars. It needs for us to
appear reasonably content, or at least not to be too vocal about our
discontent. Above all, it needs to retain its perceived position as arbiter
and articulator of our neediness.
CNIB will work tirelessly to serve us, provided that serving us also
serves its corporate agenda. All one must do is recall the history of the
Bowen Island Lodge to know what to expect when CNIB's corporate interests
conflict with the expressed desires of blind people. Compare Bowen Island
camps during the last few years CNIB ran them with the upbeat work of the
blind people who have created the Bowen Camp Society for the Visually
Impaired to understand how much better off we could be if CNIB's monopoly
came to an end.
James Allen wisely said: "A man has to learn that he cannot command
things but that he can command himself; that he cannot coerce the wills of
others but that he can mold and master his own will." Blind Canadians would
be wise to take Mr. Allen's advice, and stop attempting to mold CNIB into
something it was never intended to be. When it comes to CNIB, we know our
place. We are not citizens of CNIB; CNIB is not the "country of the blind."
If we choose to deal with CNIB, we are clients, always and forever clients.
To the extent that CNIB offers services we value, we should avail ourselves
of those services and do so with appreciation and without hesitation. But
we should never forget that we are only clients.
Though the appearance of client-agency interaction is different from
interactions of the Victorian era, the underlying assumptions are the same.
If it serves the corporate agenda to listen to clients, CNIB will listen.
If it doesn't, clients cannot expect to be heard. Pretending otherwise sets
everyone up for fruitless dialogues reminiscent of Charles Dickens. Blind
Canadians must stop playing Oliver Twist to CNIB's Mr. Bumble. If we do
"want some more," and we most decidedly do, we do not want more from CNIB.
We assert that CNIB's structure is no longer suitable. It is right and fair
that we express sincere gratitude for the evolutionary role CNIB has played
in our history. We harm only ourselves if we feel rancor at the corporation
because it remains what it has always been. We value what we have learned
from our past; but right here, right now, in 2014 we declare that it is
time to move on.
Developments in the area of library services over the past five years
demonstrate once again that there is no hope that the charity and rights-
based models can coexist harmoniously. CNIB's actions towards libraries
clearly demonstrate that the charity corporation will not hesitate to
pursue its quest for funding and control, even when that effort is in
direct opposition to the blind community's clearly expressed desire for
integration and full inclusion.
In the ongoing struggle over library services, CFB has always aimed
to promote a publicly run, publicly funded, and publicly accountable
service. Our advocacy has put us in direct confrontation with CNIB. The
struggle is a sad but unavoidable byproduct of our determination to promote
a new idea that threatens old patterns. No matter how clearly we remain
focused on what we hope to create, we run the risk of being disparaged as
haters who want only to destroy.
Rollo May said: "Freedom is man's capacity to take a hand in his own
development. It is our capacity to mold ourselves." We intend to mold our
future by engaging government, the public, and blind Canadians in
conversations aimed at fostering human-rights-based approaches to
rehabilitation and public services. All blind Canadians as individuals are
by right a part of the discussion. CNIB as a corporate entity carries so
much baggage and wields so much illegitimate financial and political power
that any discussion including CNIB is effectively over before it begins, no
matter how much consultation or how many advisory boards are part of the
window dressing. The discussion required is a discussion between blind
Canadians and our public servants. We will not let public officials off the
hook by allowing them to insert the charity paradigm represented by CNIB
between blind citizens and their elected governments.
Sighted Canadians don't ever have to doubt that they have the right
to become literate and to move freely on the streets and sidewalks of their
country. Our schools and our highways are paid for with public money. We
defy anyone to explain to us the moral justification for failing to fund
our equivalent services publicly-training in Braille, the use of the long
white cane, and other confidence and blindness skills. How dare governments
in this country declare that we do not have a right to acquire the skills
we need, that the prospect of government funding our training is an
optional "nice thing to do," but only when public coffers are full!
The people who run our governments are not cruel. They are conforming
to the role they have been molded to occupy. Without consciously intending
to do so, blind Canadians have helped create that mold. It is our
responsibility to break it. We have always had articulate and fearless
advocates among us. To the enduring shame of our community, those advocates
have far too often stood alone. Our numbers are tiny in comparison with
other interest groups. We have behaved as if tiny were synonymous with
insignificant and have assumed that nobody would listen because we could
not muster thousands to march for our cause. Government processes are
complex and confusing. We have felt intimidated and left the work to people
we believed were more expert.
Legislators are called on to deal with hundreds of issues. We have
not wanted to appear too demanding. Secretly fearing that our deepest
desires for full economic and social equality might be impossible dreams,
we have sought small concessions instead. Legislators have told us that
they find differing points of view among blind people confusing and that
they'd be glad to help us when we can all agree. We have allowed ourselves
to be bullied into settling on compromise positions that aren't what we
truly believe for fear that publicly expressing honest disagreements will
leave us with nothing. We have not had the courage to ask the legislators
who insist that we must all agree why they don't expect the Catholic
Women's League and the National Action Council on the Status of Women to
agree on reproductive issues. What about the Sierra Club and the Gateway
Pipeline promoters? Since when have blind people been the only Canadian
group that is not allowed to speak with a multiplicity of voices?
To our legislators we say, "We have more faith in your capabilities
than you seem to have. You were elected because the people in your district
believed you are capable of discernment. We are your constituents, and we
expect you to exercise that discernment and evaluate the matters we bring
to your attention. We will do what we can to ensure that our arguments are
clear, reasoned, factual, and complete. You're being paid to be perceptive;
if you take the time really to think about what we have to say, we trust
your capacity to make wise decisions. When you decide instead to give us
the you-must-all-agree speech, please realize that we aren't buying that
baloney."
To ourselves and to all blind Canadians we say: "We are all very,
very tired of being patronized by those who still believe that our only
authentic faces and voices are the face and voice of charity. Sometimes the
task we have undertaken feels too formidable and the results of our efforts
too minimal. At one time or another, every one of us has wondered whether
the results justify our effort. We do not have the power to mold others;
but we can educate and inspire new patterns of belief. We do have the power
to mold ourselves through our courage to dream, our capacity to care, and
our determination never, ever to quit. Whether we win on the policy issues
quickly or with painful slowness, we stand tall as equals in the civil life
of Canada. As we work to break the mold that has restricted us to the role
of passive charity recipients, we gain personal strength and freedom.
That's a new mold we can grow into with joy.
----------
Perspective on Philosophy
by Eric Duffy
From the Editor: This article is reprinted from the Spring 2014
Buckeye Bulletin, the newsletter of the National Federation of the Blind of
Ohio. It was originally entitled "From the President's Desk," but it is
much more than a way to open a newsletter; it is an honest reflection on
what it means to deal with the realities of blindness beyond those we are
comfortable with advocating. Here is what he says:
We in the National Federation of the Blind talk a lot about our
philosophy of blindness. One definition of philosophy is a belief or system
of beliefs accepted as authoritative by a particular group. On a personal
level people also have a philosophy about how to live. This can include a
philosophy about how to live as a blind person. Just because one says he or
she believes in the philosophy of the National Federation of the Blind, the
NFB philosophy does not necessarily govern all aspects of his or her life.
There are many reasons for this.
One is that we are all a product of the society in which we live.
Sometimes no matter how long we have been active in the Federation, we find
ourselves falling victim to one stereotype or another about blindness. It
is also possible to apply our understanding of the philosophy to a given
situation in such a way that we are contradicting that actual philosophy.
For many years I have struggled with a serious sleep disorder. When I
was in college, a psychology professor told me that research indicated that
many people who had little or no light perception had sleep problems.
Although I heard no more about this research, I continued to battle erratic
sleep cycles. I went to a sleep medicine clinic and tried various drugs.
None of them worked, and some of them had negative side effects.
Much later in life my family doctor told me that my body was most
likely not producing enough melatonin, and therefore my body clock was out
of rhythm. For some time I experimented with taking melatonin but achieved
no satisfactory results. I was delighted when about four years ago I
learned that Vanda Pharmaceuticals was researching this problem in hopes of
developing a drug to treat it. The problem is known as non-24-hour sleep-
wake disorder (non-24). Those who have the non-24 sleep wake cycle often
find it difficult to get to sleep at night. Our sleep is often interrupted
by long periods of wakefulness. As a result we often find ourselves falling
asleep or very tired during the day.
I know this problem has affected my life in negative ways. On the
other hand it does not affect many people with no light perception. The
drug, Hetlioz, was approved by the FDA earlier this year, and it will be
available sometime this spring. I have long said that I will absolutely be
one of the first people in the country to get it when it comes to market.
My doctor says he will prescribe it as soon as we know it is available.
What I have found surprising is the unwillingness on the part of
several very bright blind people to acknowledge that non-24 even exists.
These same people become upset when it is linked to blindness. I know that
all too often doctors and other professionals want to attribute every
problem in life to blindness. We certainly must do all that we can to
resist this temptation on the part of society. But we must also be careful
to acknowledge things that can be fairly and accurately attributed to
blindness.
If the ability to see light triggers the production of melatonin and
if the production of melatonin helps to control our circadian rhythm, it
stands to reason that for those of us who have non-24, a drug that helps us
produce melatonin might be beneficial. My blindness is the only reason I do
not see light. I don't want to have non-24, but neither do I want to be
blind.
No, don't think I am depressed, or that I hate my life as a blind
person. That is far from the truth. I have learned how to live a productive
and full life as a blind person. I could have chosen to feel sorry for
myself and live a life of doom and gloom. Had I done so, most of society
would have been none the wiser, for that is what much of the world still
expects of us today. But the National Federation of the Blind gave me a
different prescription, and I was eager to have it. It is our positive
philosophy of blindness and a group of supportive like-minded
Federationists who have changed how I deal with blindness. I have heard
blind people say they don't want to have to take a drug to deal with non-
24. I wonder how that differs from those who say, "I don't want to have to
use Braille, a cane, a dog, or a magnifier"?
I don't write this to promote Hetlioz. I do not benefit from the sale
of the drug in any way. I am simply saying that it is okay to be blind and
that, if non-24 is a part of blindness for some of us, that is okay as
well.
Some people have been upset because they believe that the radio
commercials sponsored by Vanda portray blindness in a negative light. I
disagree. The commercials present a problem that is connected to blindness
and tell those who are interested how to get more information. Non-24 is
not a condition that we should hide from; it is one for which we should
acknowledge and embrace a possible treatment.
----------
[PHOTO CAPTION: Mark Riccobono, holding his daughter Elizabeth, is ready to
push Austin and Oriana on the tire swing.]
Introducing Your Blind Child to Miniature Golf
by Mark Riccobono
From the Editor: In celebration of Father's Day, National Braille
Press asked Mark Riccobono to share his experiences playing miniature golf
as a child. His article, "Introducing Your Blind Child to Miniature Golf"
was mailed along with a print-Braille edition of "Froggy's Day with Dad,"
an appealing story about father-child relationships. This article and many
other book-related activities are part of a Great Expectations program NBP
is launching this summer with Bridge Multimedia of New York <www.nbp.org>.
Here is what Mark has to say about being a blind golfer:
When I was asked to offer some tips for parents of blind children to
initiate a game of miniature golf, it reminded me of the fun times my
friends and I had at the local driving range and putt-putt course where I
grew up in Milwaukee. Now, as the blind father of three beautiful children,
I look forward to sharing this same experience with my kids-when they are
old enough to swing a club-especially my youngest two who have vision loss.
Until then, allow me some vicarious pleasure in sharing these tips
with you. The key is to remember that vision is not a requirement for
success and to use nonvisual cues. I might add that "putting makes
perfect."
Here are seven general guidelines to engage your child in a game of
miniature golf:
1. The Game: Like all children, your blind child first needs to
understand the basic concept of the game: namely, that you use the
club to strike a ball to land in a hole in the ground. The person who
does so in the fewest number of swings wins. Sighted children see golf
on TV and automatically know this, but your child will need to
experience it firsthand. Play activities build important life skills
and experiences for children, and golf is no exception.
2. The Equipment: As a child, I remember having a plastic golf club at a
very young age. If that's not possible, use an adult club-yours, a
neighbor's, or a friend's. Give your child some time to check out the
club and to get comfortable with how to hold it and to swing, at first
without the ball. Never mind about form, it's the passion that counts!
3. Lining Up the Ball: Help your child to understand that the ball will
head in different directions, depending on the angle of the head. As
a blind golfer there are several techniques you can use to line up the
head of the club. The easiest is to reach down and feel the ball and
club to make sure the golf head is pointed the way you want the ball
to go. You can help your child get it right, but make sure he touches
it and lines it up so that he learns how to make independent
adjustments. If you do it for your son or daughter, they will never
learn how to do it and will never improve. On an actual mini-course,
people are less picky about touching the ball, so an older child might
put his or her foot on the ball and line up the club against the foot.
(This takes a bit more coordination, because it's easy to accidentally
kick the ball away.) Many clubs have a flat part on the handle; if you
understand how that relates to the head of a club, you can also line
up a club pretty reliably using that method. Let your child innovate
and figure out his or her own way of keeping track of where the ball
is and lining up a shot without moving the ball. This is not about
perfection; this is about gaining experience.
4. Taking a Swing: Perhaps the best way to give your child a chance to
swing a club is to head on over to a nearby driving range. While a
driving range is meant for distance hitting, nothing says you can't
use it for basic practice. Just learning to find and hit the ball at
all is an important first step. Remember to give your child feedback
on where the ball lands and how it relates to their positioning. While
there is really no need to hit the ball hard, you do want your child
to learn about the force required to get the ball where it needs to go
across a long range. And let me don my educator cap and add that there
are a number of math and science concepts you can work into the
conversation too!
5. Understanding the Course: Of course, swinging a club and hearing the
ball go crack and swish doesn't really give your child an
understanding of the layout of a typical golf or putt-putt course.
It's important to get the full picture. On a less busy day go
exploring with your child on a golf or putt-putt course (white cane
included.) Let him or her explore, either by walking the course and
feeling various obstacles and land features or by exploring from the
sidewalk that generally wraps around a miniature course. Plan it on a
day when you actually have time to both describe what's what, but also
to help your child learn exploratory skills. Touching is seeing,
walking is discovering. I remember the course I frequently played on
as a child had a hole located within a four-leaf clover. It seemed
like a straightforward shot. But the hills in the surface caused more
trouble than the curved edges, which I later discovered by walking the
terrain. The white cane can be a helpful tool to use by making a
tapping sound to indicate where the hole is or to point toward a
particular direction to aim. You could also bring a small bell or
other sound source to indicate direction-be creative.
6. Keeping Score: While there is something charming about those tiny golf
pencils and pads, your child can bring a slate and stylus and an index
card.
7. Play: The idea is to encourage play, so make it fun. And don't forget
to provide play-by-play announcements about why everyone else is
snorting and laughing. "Oh, Mom's ball just went into the pond!" Blind
children are often excluded from what seems like basic information-
"Your brother swung and missed the ball completely"-but which includes
the stuff memories are made of.
In closing I want to encourage you to reach out to blind mentors in
your area who could join your outing. Certainly, if you live in the
Baltimore area, I would be pleased to participate <mriccobono at nfb.org> or
contact your local affiliate of the National Federation of the Blind
<https://nfb.org/state-and-local-organizations>. Blind mentors offer a
great opportunity for blind children to build valuable relationships that
can last a lifetime. There is a national association of blind golfers
<www.usblindgolf.com> that I'm not personally familiar with, but their
website says they have sponsored five thousand junior blind golfers since
1998.
Let the games begin. Just writing this reminds me that I need to get
the kids ready for some summer outings. And the good thing is everyone can
hit a hole-in-one at the ice cream store afterwards!
----------
Reflecting the Flame
From the Editor: When many of you read this, it is likely you will
have just returned from the seventy-fourth convention of the National
Federation of the Blind in Orlando, Florida, and witnessed the election of
a new president. Unless something quite unforeseen happens, Marc Maurer
will have concluded his tenure as the longest-serving president in the
history of the Federation and will have done so by delivering his final
banquet speech in that office. But, for those who were not yet members and
those whose memories will be stretched a bit, what was his banquet speech
twenty-two years ago, a speech in which he talks about the necessary
ingredients for mounting and sustaining an effective movement, one in which
he discusses the attitudes of the public as espoused in the professional
literature by scientists, physicians, and the reporter working his beat?
All of these are relevant as, in this issue, we look at the role of the
media in shaping attitudes about the blind, the role of the National
Federation of the Blind in putting forward our message, and the role of a
leader and the organization he or she leads in creating better lives for
the blind. All of this and more is contained in President Maurer's speech.
Here is what he said:
"Human history," said H. G. Wells, "is in essence a history of ideas."
Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., declared that "Men may come to believe that
the best test of truth is the power of the thought to get itself accepted
in the competition of the market."
In 1644 John Milton wrote, "Let Truth and Falsehood grapple; who ever
knew Truth put to the worse, in a free and open encounter?"
At the beginning of the sixteenth century Erasmus stated, "Time
reveals all things."
Such eminent scholars have believed that a new idea-one which
expresses perceived reality more exactly than its predecessor-is, in and of
itself, imbued with sufficient power to banish error. According to these
philosophers, the innovative thought (once formulated) will inevitably, in
the course of time, replace the old. However, the record of events in our
own century fails to substantiate this hypothesis. We have seen the most
generous and benevolent of creeds and the most despicable and tyrannical of
practices exist in the same country at the same time without any indication
that either was unalterably fated to triumph. The assertion of individual
freedom and the toleration of slavery have occurred side by side in modern
civilization-and racism (of both kinds, incidentally) is still with us.
If the objective in seeking the truth is to achieve fairness and
decency-and I believe it is-time and a new idea are not enough. Within the
framework of time there must be at least three components that come
together. First, an idea must be conceived which contains an element of
understanding that has not previously been reached. Second, a proponent of
that idea must arise-a leader with the capacity to articulate the nuances
in a way that will compel recognition. And finally, there must be a group
of individuals prepared to defend what has been propounded. Such concert of
effort is essential not only to protect the new thought but to give it body
and substance, to explore its full meaning and implications.
In a fireplace one log by itself, regardless of how big, will almost
certainly fail to burn. There must be at least two. The flame from one is
reflected by the other. The brightness and heat come from the space between
the logs, the reflection of the flame.
As it is with flame, so it is with ideas. A new idea has only a
limited time to take fire, to catch the imagination of the public and burn.
And if the flame is to be reflected-the kindling point sustained-more than
a single person is required. There must be two, five, ten-at least a
handful-to build the heat and speed the process. Regardless of its merit,
if an idea (once ignited) fails to reflect the flame of group interaction,
its time will soon pass, and it will disappear into insignificance and be
forgotten. Of course, an idea can be revived (many times, in fact, if the
need is sufficiently urgent), but the process must always begin anew. And
if the idea is to live and prosper-if it is to make a meaningful difference
in the lives of people-all of the elements must be present: the idea, a
leader, and at least a handful to reflect the flame.
And what of the blind-what of us? Time and time again throughout our
history one or another of the elements has been present: the idea of a
better life for the blind; a leader, like Zisca, the blind fifteenth-
century general and statesman from Bohemia; or a group of blind people,
like the medieval guilds, prepared to take collective action. But in each
instance, there was something lacking. However, in 1940, all of the
elements came together-a new idea; a vibrant, inspiring leader; and a
dedicated group of blind persons prepared to help each other in shaping the
future. In that year Dr. Jacobus tenBroek and a handful of others from
seven states gathered in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, to inaugurate our
movement, which has changed forever the expectations and aspirations of the
blind.
When the National Federation of the Blind was founded, the prospects
for the blind of this country were utterly desolate. There was little
education, almost no hope of a job, and virtually no chance for meaningful
participation in other activities of life. Books for the blind were few and
very difficult to get. Communication among blind people (at least on a
nationwide basis) was almost nonexistent. The guarantee (or, for that
matter, the recognition) of meaningful civil rights for the blind was a
matter for the distant future-if anybody thought about it at all. Sometimes
there were dreams of a home, a family, and the duties and privileges of
citizenship; but these dreams rarely came to fruition. From such
unpromising beginnings almost no one (no one, that is, except the founders
of the Federation) believed that a dynamic national movement could arise.
But look about you! We are here in our thousands-we who embraced the new
idea, hoped and fought for a brighter tomorrow, and stayed to become the
most powerful force in the affairs of the blind in the nation-the National
Federation of the Blind.
Tonight (over fifty years after our founding) as we gather from every
corner of the country, our record of accomplishment spans the years for all
to read. Indeed, not all of our problems have been solved-but many have.
And those that remain appear more glaring and unrelieved because of the
distance we have come from the beliefs and general climate of the 1940s. To
confirm this fact, compare the conditions of our first decade with our
situation today. How do the general public, the agencies for the blind, and
the media view us-and, for that matter, how do we view ourselves? How have
we fared in half a century?
Attitudes today are so much better and more realistic than they were
during the first years of the Federation that we tend to react with outrage
and resentment when we find instances of what would have been commonplace
in our first decade-especially when the outmoded ideas come from supposedly
enlightened quarters.
Consider, for instance, one treatment of the blind by the medical
profession-generally regarded as among the most scientific of the
disciplines. Although these statements were made only four years ago, they
are reminiscent of the attitudes which predominated when the Federation
came into being. In an article entitled "Identifying and Treating the
Client with Sensory Loss" (which appeared in the Summer 1987 issue of
Physical & Occupational Therapy in Geriatrics) the argument is made that
decreased visual function causes decreased cognitive function. In other
words, if you can't get information from your eyes, your capacity to think
diminishes. Perhaps it is obvious that if there is no stimulation whatever
from any sensory organ, there will be no raw material to use in the
thinking process. If this were all that was meant, no one could quarrel
with it. However, the article demonstrates unmistakably that the claim
being made is much broader. As you ponder this so-called scientific
treatise, keep in mind that the grammatical construction and usage are
those of the author-not mine. And also keep in mind that the author is
talking about you and me. Here are quotations from the article:
"Impaired vision can result in a person behaving as though they were
demented. Low vision decreases an individual's social interaction due to
the inability to perceive non-verbal cues such as smiles, frowns, gestures,
and even recognition of faces. Snyder, Pyrek, and Smith found a direct
inverse relationship between vision impairment and mental acuity."
I remind you that this is not a passage from an ancient, hoary work
of mysticism. It is less than five years old. And I must say that this
supposedly objective author packs a lot of prejudice (and a good deal of
ignorance) into a very few words. In this one brief excerpt she says that
the blind may exhibit the behavior of the demented, that we are unable to
interact socially, and that the less we can see the more we can't think.
And in case there is any doubt about the attitude of the writer toward the
blind, consider this recommendation from that portion of the text
containing so-called "strategies to help." Remember that the person about
whom this advice is being given is blind-not emotionally traumatized, not
mentally unhinged, not psychologically deranged-just blind.
"It is important" [the author says] "to avoid moving personal
belongings and furniture without the consent of the visually impaired
client, especially in the client's home."
A brief quotation, not dramatic-but examine the nuances. Do the
medical professionals you know come to your residence to rearrange the
furniture? Is it assumed that one of their responsibilities is to decide
what pattern should be established in your home-presumably, of course, just
for your own good? Or is this simply another variation of the ancient myth
not only that we who are blind memorize the location and arrangement of all
items in our homes but also that movement of anything will visit
disorientation and danger upon the unfortunate automatons who live there?
Such fables and stereotypes (even when surrounded with the trappings
of science) are still only fables and stereotypes. Their placement in the
literature of the medical profession does not change their pseudoscientific
nature. They are as ridiculous and as devastating to the future of the
blind as any of the misbegotten, benighted theories of the Middle Ages-or
the 1940s-or, for that matter, last week or yesterday. They are not a
description of reality but a reiteration of ignorance. Blindness does not
mean that we have lost our sanity, our ability to think, or our
interpersonal skills. Let those who doubt our capacity come to this
convention. We will interact socially with the best of them; we will
continue to think for ourselves; and we will make the plans and take the
actions to determine the shape of our own tomorrow. We have the ideas; we
have the leadership; and we have the people. Nothing can prevent us from
going the rest of the way to freedom, for we will not let it happen. We
have reached the kindling point, and we absolutely intend to reflect the
flame.
As members of the National Federation of the Blind know, an
increasing number of our experiences with the scientific community are not
negative but positive. In fact, many of us work as members of the
scientific establishment. There are blind physicists, blind chemists, blind
electrical engineers, and blind computer scientists. Then, too, there are
the mathematicians.
The cover story of the May 13, 1989, edition of Science News
describes the work of Bernard Morin at Louis Pasteur University in
Strasbourg, France. One specialty of mathematics is topology, the study of
the relationship of shapes. A classic problem in topology is how to reverse
the surface of a sphere (turn it inside out) without permitting it to
crease. The solution to this (and other abstruse conundrums) has helped
resolve problems in disciplines outside mathematics-such as molecular
biology, particle physics, and cosmology. Although it has been
theoretically possible to perform this sphere reversal (known as an
eversion), nobody has been able, until recently, to describe the concept in
three-dimensional terms. However, the problem has now been solved. And how
do you suppose the solution was reached? Here are excerpts from the Science
News article:
"Morin" [the article tells us] "starts with a cuboctahedron, which
looks like a cube with its corners lopped off, [and] transforms the
cuboctahedron into a curiously shaped figure, which he calls the "central
model," with only twelve faces. A sequence of six elementary moves carries
the central model through the tricky stages of the eversion. A final flurry
of moves produces an octahedron again, now turned inside out."
Quoting the scientist George K. Francis the article continues:
"Bernard Morin is not distracted, like the rest of us, by pencil and
paper and the business of drawing and looking at pictures. He is blind.
With superb spatial imagination he assembles complicated homotopies
[transformations] of surfaces directly in space. He keeps track of temporal
changes in the double curves and the surface patches spanning them. His
instructions to the artist consist of a vivid description of the model in
his mind."
This report in Science News illustrates the fundamental proposition
that understanding is not a matter of visual acuity-but even in doing this,
it shows the power of the outmoded stereotype. Morin, we are told, is not
distracted like the rest of us by pencil and paper and the business of
drawing and looking at pictures. He is blind-and so, presumably, in a
rarefied inner world of his own, not troubled by the humdrum images of
everyday life. Nonsense! If he is intelligent, he is intelligent. Blindness
has nothing to do with it.
Most of us do not know and could not imagine why the topological
problem of the French mathematician is important. But we can readily
understand that the blind are as capable as others of addressing and
solving complex questions. The factor limiting our progress is, as it has
always been, the failure of society to believe in our ability. It is not
the absence of the visual image that stifles growth, but the failure of
imagination. Not all of us are scientists, but some of us are. Not all of
us aspire to study mathematical relationships, but all of us insist that
those with the talent and desire to participate in this exacting discipline
should be able to do it. With such commitment we will expand our horizons
and create greater opportunity. With such dedication we have built the
National Federation of the Blind. With such determination we reflect the
flame.
A recently published collection of character sketches by Amy Hempel
entitled At the Gates of the Animal Kingdom contains a one-sentence
description of an encounter with a blind man. Apparently without giving it
a thought, the author reinforces the belief that the blind are incompetent,
that we are very often lost, that we do not have the ability to perceive
our surroundings, that it is customary and decent to give preference to the
blind, that very often the primary interest of our lives is food, and that
we are pathetic. It is all accomplished in a single sentence, done with
fewer than twenty-five words. Here they are: "Today, when a blind man
walked into the bank, we handed him along to the front of the line, where
he ordered a BLT."
Dramatic? No, of course not. In the story the incident is
unemphasized, routine, taken for granted. A blind man walks into a bank, is
automatically moved to the head of the line, and then is so disoriented
that he orders a sandwich instead of money. If we aren't careful, the
significance is so astonishing as to be lost in the shuffle of the
everyday. The author finds this occurrence so commonplace that it is
unemphasized, routine, taken for granted. That is precisely the point. More
often than not our road to hell has been paved with things which have been
unemphasized, routine, and taken for granted. But no more! We have the
idea; we have the leaders; and we have the drive to work together, to
support each other, and to advance our movement. We have reached the
kindling point, and we intend to reflect the flame.
In the spring of 1990 Newsweek magazine reported in an article
entitled "Making the Most of Sight" that, "After AIDS and cancer, the
medical crisis Americans fear most is blindness. Not being able to see the
stark outline of a winter tree," the article tells us, "or the final scene
of 'Casablanca'-the loss is almost unimaginable." When I read this item
from Newsweek, I was struck by the contrast contained in those first few
lines. AIDS and cancer kill. Blindness does not. So what is the almost
unimaginable loss? Is it really so bad to be without the visual impression
of a tree in winter? Is it truly of vital importance to observe visually
the final scene in a movie? Does blindness mean that we cannot enjoy art or
appreciate the experience of nature? Many (far too many) of the sighted
would say yes, but we who live with blindness every day emphatically say,
no! After all, we are the ones with the data to know. Speaking from
personal experience, I can tell you that there is (at least for this blind
person) much joy to be gained from a brisk walk in a winter wood. Is the
joy as much for me as for my sighted neighbors? One is tempted to ask, "Who
cares?" The experience is exhilarating, fulfilling. That is sufficient.
When our lives are diminished, it is not our blindness that does it but the
misconceptions and oddball notions we face. It is not the failure to see
the stark outline of a winter tree that gives us trouble but some of the
stark attitudes we have to deal with.
Let me be clearly understood. I am not saying that sight is not
useful. Nor am I arguing that it is wrong to try to improve one's ability
to see-quite the contrary. However, I am saying that sight is not a
requirement for a good life-not the beginning and the end of existence. We
who are blind are not automatically prevented from having joy,
satisfaction, and fulfillment; and those who believe otherwise are simply
misinformed.
An advertisement published in the Guy-Gannett newspapers in Maine
about a year ago says: "Illiteracy is a little bit like blindness. Both are
handicaps. And both mean you can't see everything. A person who can't read
can't really see the morning paper or a child's report card, a street sign
or a prescription. Fortunately, illiteracy is a handicap one can overcome."
Implied in this advertisement is the notion that both blindness and
illiteracy make a person unable to function but that although both of them
are bad, at least illiteracy can be changed. For the blind, apparently,
there is not much hope.
What a distortion! To be blind is not to be ignorant, and we are not
prepared to permit such a portrayal of ourselves. Federationists in Maine
took the newspaper to task. Rank-and-file members communicated their
indignation to the newspaper's management-and the combination worked.
Within a few days a retraction appeared. The blind are capable, and we
intend that the public shall recognize this fact. Newspapers, some of the
most powerful shapers of public opinion, often reflect the misconceptions
that are a part of the public image of blindness. But when it comes to
blindness, they are not the authorities. They must learn from us. In half a
century we have gained more knowledge and experience about blindness than
anybody else, and we know how to apply the lessons we have learned.
Regardless of the source, we simply will not accept ignorance about
blindness without protest. We have a right to expect a public image that
will not stifle our hopes or limit our opportunities, and we have formed
the most powerful organization that the blind have ever known to get the
job done. You know the name of that organization as well as I do-the
National Federation of the Blind.
There are a number of university programs which attempt to instruct
teachers of the blind. Some of the most obnoxious presentations about
blindness may be gathered from the literature being disseminated in these
academic settings. Consider a description of the blind contained in course
materials currently being distributed at San Francisco State University. An
article by Mary Morrison entitled "The Other 128 Hours a Week: Teaching
Personal Management to Blind Young Adults" asserts that many blind adults
do not know how to make a peanut butter sandwich, have not learned to pour
cereal into a bowl, have not been taught to purchase items from the grocery
store, are unable to handle money, cannot boil water on the stove, are
unfamiliar with the location of the refrigerators in their own homes, and
are so weak that they cannot lift a pitcher to pour water. Unless you study
some of this material for yourself, you will have difficulty believing that
the prejudice can be as pervasive and deep-seated as it really is. Perhaps
the segment of this article which begins with the caption "can openers"
will illustrate the point. Notice the folksy manner of speech used to help
persuade the student that the statements being made are accurate. Here is
what the author says:
Now, I believe, we are up to the can openers. Each can opener
seems to have a special trick to operating it. And, nearly without
exception, the blind young person is not even allowed to try to use
it. In any event we turn to the manual can opener that mother finds in
the back of some drawer, and then we run into the "strength" problem.
Opening a can requires strength.
I can immediately think [the author continues] of five young
people on our caseload who are not considered to be handicapped other
than by their blindness, who cannot lift a full two-quart pitcher to
pour from it. I first learned this when I naively asked a twenty-one-
year-old college student to pour a cup of coffee from a fresh pot on
his stove. Not only did the heat terrify him, he actually could not
lift the coffee pot off the stove! Why? He and the others never lift
anything! They do not exercise. They do nothing but go to school
(which exempts them from physical education), go to church, and watch
television. Their arms are limp. So we have to go back to the
beginning with pitcher, partly full, with cool water, and learn how to
pour.
That is what the author says, and one is tempted to pass off such
drivel with the remark that no serious-minded human being could be taken in
by the idiocy. Of course, there are occasional blind people who cannot find
the stove or tie their shoes. However, to generalize from these isolated
cases that the blind are incapable of a wide array of the simplest daily
chores is, to put it mildly, utter nonsense. But those who would dismiss
these course materials have not reckoned with the pedestrian nature of
certain professional educators who teach the teachers of the blind. Along
with the article I have quoted are included separate evaluation sheets
constructed so that the person teaching the blind client can record the
progress of the student. One of the categories to be registered in these
evaluations is-if you can believe it-pouring. The evaluation sheet for
Level I contains the category "Pouring-Cold liquids." In Level III the
student has progressed to "Pours hot liquids." In Level IV the entry is
"Pours (advanced)." What, one wonders, is included in the arcane science of
"advanced pouring"?
The insufferable arrogance inherent in these writings is epitomized
in the explanation of the title, "The Other 128 Hours a Week: Teaching
Personal Management to Blind Young Adults." The underlying premise of this
outline of teaching techniques for instructors of the blind is that almost
all of the schooling for blind recipients of rehabilitation has been
directed toward the skills needed for sedentary employment and that it is
the job of the rehabilitation counselors to teach them how to manage their
leisure and personal activities. In each week there are seven 24-hour days.
Forty hours are used for work. So what do the blind do with the other 128
hours a week? The bombastic conclusion is that without the ministrations of
the so-called "professionals" of rehabilitation, we might be faced with the
prospect of sitting around doing nothing. As the author says, we just
mostly go to school, go to church, and watch television. Don't you believe
it! Those who have been to this convention could tell her otherwise.
I have been reading documents from the "professional literature"
about blindness for more than twenty years, and I cannot remember ever
running across one which contained so little discernment. Where do such
people get these ideas? Think about it. Do you have the strength to operate
a can opener? Can you make a sandwich or pour a cup of coffee? They are
writing about you and me. They tell us-and anybody else who will listen-
that they have come to help. But we don't want such assistance-and we don't
need it. Of course, like anybody else, we need education; and we also need
training in the skills of blindness-but in matters such as those described,
we can and we will do for ourselves. The description of the blind by this
author as little more than basket cases is among the principal obstacles
preventing us from becoming successful, competent people. But we are
changing the image. We have reached the kindling point, and we intend to
reflect the flame.
One Friday evening a few months ago, I reached into my mail basket
and found a letter from a man from New Jersey. If his story were unique, it
would be poignant enough-but it is not unique. It is an everyday occurrence
in the lives of tens of thousands of the blind of this country, underlining
with grim insistence the need (yes, the necessity) for the National
Federation of the Blind. The details, reported in an article published in
an Atlantic City newspaper, show once more why we have organized and what
we must do. Here, as told by the reporter, is the saga of Bill, whose real
name, for obvious reasons, I have not used:
What happens to a man who suddenly loses the tools he used to
measure his worth in the world? What happens to a man when he turns to
those whose very job it is to help him, and he is ignored?
This is what happened to one man.
On a Saturday morning in the summer of 1988, he woke up blind.
At once he denied what was obvious.
He washed and dressed and picked up the morning paper-a habit as
fixed as pulling on his pants. He couldn't read it. He put it down, said
nothing, and left the house.
He drove to the office, slowly, deliberately, guessing at the traffic
lights he could not see.
When he arrived at the office, he was alone. He sat down at his
computer terminal, and there confronted the cold fact that he could not see
the copy he was supposed to type.
Bill started to come undone.
He had no idea what would happen next. He had worked as a typesetter
and computer operator all of his adult life. What could he do now?
Bill saw the publisher of the paper. When he explained to her what
had happened, she offered him a handshake and two words: "Good luck."
The next day, Bill registered for state disability payments. He would
receive less than half of his old salary.
He doesn't sit still well. Retirement was never part of his life's
plan. Work was all. He needed to regain his workday world. He needed a
start.
It was October when he called and spoke with a receptionist [at the
New Jersey Commission for the Blind]. She said a representative of the
commission would get in touch. Soon afterward a caseworker called to make
an appointment.
He arrived full of assurances.
Bill told him what had happened. He spoke of his work as a computer
operator and supplied the caseworker with his medical history. He also
spoke of the long and lonely days he had been living through.
"I told him I was going nuts. He asked me what I liked to do, and I
said, 'read-but I can't even do that.' I told him, 'I need to find a job.'"
He said, "You have been paying into the system all of your life, now
it is time to reap the benefits."
The caseworker was sympathetic. He said he would provide a cassette
player for Bill and arrange for him to receive books on tape from the
library.
Bill was led to believe that the commission would help him return to
work. He was told he would need a medical examination. He was told the
commission would pay the doctor's bill and instructed to wait until the
appropriate forms were assembled. The caseworker said he would call when
everything was in place to make the appointment.
The commission appeared to be a godsend. Here, Bill thought, was more
than a promise to help; here was the way back into the world.
During the weeks that followed that first meeting with the
caseworker, Bill grew anxious. He made several calls to the commission's
offices. None was returned.
November turned into December. Bill had been out of work for more
than three months, a fact made all the more harsh when he realized that his
[medical insurance] coverage had been cut off on September 1.
It was early in December when the caseworker called again with the go-
ahead to schedule a medical exam. Bill was told to call back with the date
arranged so the forms for payment could be forwarded to the doctor. He did,
and on December 7, Bill saw his doctor.
Bill left the doctor and stepped up to the receptionist's desk. He
asked her about the forms. She said they had received no forms. He paid for
his visit. A few days later, the caseworker called to arrange another
meeting.
"He was here for maybe ten minutes. I told him I went to the doctor,
but they didn't have any forms from the commission so I had to pay for the
visit. I showed him the receipt and he said okay. I expected him to say
that I would be reimbursed, but he didn't. He said the commission's doctor
would review the results of my exam. I told him I never received the
cassette player. He said he would check on that when he got back to the
office and call me."
A few weeks later, Christmas arrived looking like just another day.
No word from the caseworker.
In January, 1989, the state disability payments stopped and Bill
became eligible for Social Security. His income dropped again.
He made more phone calls to his caseworker. None was returned.
The cold bound him to the house, and it was easy to ride out the day
on the endless stream of daytime TV. One day turned into the next, each the
same, as empty as the slate-gray winter sky. January eventually became
February.
By March, 1989, Bill had been unemployed for more than six months.
More than three months had passed since he had heard from his caseworker.
Phone calls to his caseworker at the commission's office in April
were never returned.
This is a tiny part of what the extensive newspaper article tells us
about Bill's story. It goes on to say that a friendly newspaper reporter
called the Department of Human Services on Bill's behalf to complain.
The next day [the paper continues] Bill got a call from his
caseworker.
When [the commission staff member] arrived at the house, there was no
mention of his nearly five-month absence, not a word about all of the phone
calls that were never returned. Instead, he announced that the commission
had reviewed the medical exam performed in December, [remember that we are
now in April] and was now prepared to address the problem.
In August Bill was given a series of oral and written examinations by
a psychologist at the commission's office. He was told the tests were part
of the process that would return him to the workplace.
In September he received the results of the exams. He was weak in
mechanical skills, but sharp in computer-oriented skills. The psychologist
noted that he was suffering a lack of self-worth. He was depressed.
In October his caseworker brought him a typewriter. He should refresh
his typing skills, he was told. The caseworker said he had also arranged
for an instructor to come out to the house to help.
Bill thought it was an odd gesture. Had he been waiting a year for a
typewriter?
"I was desperate. I'm sure I sounded like I was begging. I said to
him, 'Listen, in the beginning I told you I wanted to work to get out of
the house, to have something to do. But now,' I said, 'there isn't any
money left. It's a necessity. I need work. Any kind of work.'"
Before the month was out Bill met the typing instructor, a young
woman, who is blind, who showed him how a blind person becomes acclimated
to a keyboard. But Bill knows the keyboard. Bill thought the session
pointless.
In November his caseworker called him to the commission's office. [By
this time Bill had been blind and out of work for well over a year.]
And that day, for the first time, there was talk of a job.
"The caseworker said, 'I'm going to Atlantic City tomorrow to see
about getting you an appointment at Bally's Grand.' I said, 'great.' I was
ecstatic. This was just before Thanksgiving. After the holiday he called to
say we had a tentative meeting on Friday. He would call back with a
definite time."
The week faded into the next. The caseworker never called. Bill felt
conned.
[This is the story of Bill as reported in the press. Do you know
Bill? Do you recognize him? How many of us here in this room find ourselves
painfully reflected in the details?
The article goes on to describe a series of telephone calls made by
the reporter to state officials. Then it continues.]
It was now December, 1989. The client service representative, who is
blind, and his driver arrived at midday. He sat down with his laptop
computer in a chair near the Christmas tree in the living room. His driver
sat in the kitchen. Bill spoke.
Why were his phone calls never returned? Why didn't his caseworker
ever call to say what happened to the interview? Why didn't he get the
cassette player? Why were his hospital bills still not paid? What was he
supposed to say to the collection agencies that were now hounding him? Why,
after a fifteen-month relationship with the commission, was he no better
off than the first day he found himself out of work?
"I never asked you people for a handout," Bill said. "I asked for
help. I need help. I'm fifty-eight years old, and I'm not going to just sit
around this house waiting to die."
The client service representative called Bill on December 20. It was
a short one-sided conversation. "The deal with Bally's fell through," he
said. "Your caseworker will be in touch with you soon."
Three weeks later, Bill received a letter from his caseworker dated
January 16, 1990. It read in part: "This is to inform you that the
paperwork is now being generated so the [medical] bills you incurred can be
paid. I will be contacting you shortly to discuss your status with the
commission and other related items."
In February, Bill received notice that a registered letter had
arrived for him at the post office. It was from his caseworker. The first
sentence of the letter, dated February 6, read: "On Wednesday, February 14,
1990, I will contact you via telephone between 9:00 AM and 12:00 noon."
Bill was dumbfounded.
"Who sends a registered letter to a blind man. I had to get a
neighbor to drive me down to the post office to get it. It cost two dollars
to send it. For what? To tell me he would call me?"
On February 14, the caseworker called at 1:45 PM to say he would come
out to see Bill on Wednesday the 21st. He would have forms to fill out.
On February 21 the caseworker called to say his secretary had not
finished typing the forms. He said he would be out to see Bill the first
thing the next day.
On February 22 the caseworker did not show. He did not call.
Dumbfounded was no longer an adequate word to describe Bill's state of
mind.
On February 27 when the caseworker did call, a new date was set for
the appointment.
"In all of this time they couldn't get me even an interview?" [Bill
questioned,] "Not one interview? Is there nothing? Is this it? Look at me.
I clean the house. I make lunch at noon. I start dinner at five. This can't
be it.
"And yet, here I sit. I'm no better off today than I was the day I
first called the commission."
That was eighteen months ago.
I got Bill's letter last year just after the occurrence of the events
I've been relating to you. I tried to call him, but I couldn't find a
number listed in his name. I telephoned the reporter and eventually tracked
down the information. I spoke with Bill and invited him to join the
Federation. We talked about the work that blind people are doing all over
America. I asked Bill to believe that there is more for those who are blind
than the papershuffling and dreariness of some of the agencies for the
blind. There is the spirit of the National Federation of the Blind-a spirit
that springs from a joint effort to achieve fully productive lives, the
commitment of mutual support, and the enthusiasm of the discovery that
blindness need not mean helplessness or hopelessness. All of this is a part
of the organized blind movement, our movement, the National Federation of
the Blind.
How long does it take to extinguish the spark of initiative-to kill
the spirit and crush the dream? For Bill it takes more than eighteen
months. He has joined our movement, and he is once again employed as a
computer operator. I suppose I need not tell you that he found the job
without the help of the New Jersey Commission for the Blind.
Yet, there are those who tell us that we are harsh and unreasonable
in criticizing some of the governmental and private agencies established to
help the blind. Let them call us what they will and say what they please.
We have the idea of freedom; we have the leaders; and we know how to work
together and support each other. We have reached the kindling point-and we
intend to reflect the flame.
There was a time when it was accepted that the blind would be on the
fringe of society-a burden to be carried-unproductive, unwanted, shunned.
There were occasional individuals who fought this common perception, but
they were generally defeated by the force of so-called "common sense." But
then there came together the essential elements for change. It cannot
happen in a moment, but the process is thoroughly under way. Much that is
written and thought about blindness is as fraught with misunderstanding as
one could possibly imagine. The experts in gerontology tell us that visual
acuity and intellectual capacity are linked. Newspaper editors declare that
blindness, like illiteracy, indicates ignorance and incapacity. The weekly
news magazines suggest that being blind is almost as bad as suffering from
AIDS or cancer. The educators in the universities who are supposed to bring
enlightenment to instructors of the blind disseminate the view that we have
difficulty opening a can or pouring water. The agencies established to
provide service to the blind direct us to wait patiently and reap the
benefits of a welfare check.
Nevertheless, conditions for the blind in the 1990s are dramatically
and enormously different from those that prevailed fifty years ago. Despite
the litany of problems I have recited, our prospects are better than they
have ever been. Our present is more fulfilling. Our future is more
promising. Blind mathematicians astonish their colleagues with their
innovative solutions to the most difficult problems. Despite the laziness
and befuddlement of certain segments of the agency establishment, the tide
is turning the other way. Increasingly the agencies are working with us,
and the momentum is building. New fields are being entered, new employment
and independence achieved. And of course, a growing number of agencies are
managed by Federationists and operated with Federation philosophy-with
dramatic results. Although the literature often contains references which
belittle the capacity of the blind, there are also (and ever more
frequently) the positive images-and we are not without our own capacity to
write.
A powerful new spirit now moves in the blind of the nation-and also in
growing numbers of the public. The vital elements for an alteration in the
pattern of our experience have come together in an energetic and forceful
mixture. We in this room tonight are the force which will propel our
movement through the last decade of the twentieth century and into the one
beyond. We are the components-the leaders from throughout the country, the
rank-and-file members, the new inspiration. We will make the difference,
for we must. Our record of achievement during more than half a century will
be remembered with pride, but it is only the prelude. Each generation must
do for itself and build on the past. We have learned that lesson well. We
have learned it from each other and from our own experiences. In our
yearning for freedom, others can go with us, but we must lead the way. We
have not only reached but gone beyond the kindling point. We are the blind
who reflect the flame. No organization on earth that deals with blindness
has the strength, the determination, or the spirit of the National
Federation of the Blind. My brothers and my sisters, come! Remember those
who have shown the way, and those who will come after. We will believe in
each other-and with joy in our hearts, we will go to meet the future!
----------
[PHOTO CAPTION: Everette Bacon]
Blindness and Social Change: What Is My Duty?
by Everette Bacon
From the Editor: Everette Bacon is the president of the National
Federation of the Blind of Utah, a lover of the written word, and a man who
can use it to add his significant reflections to what we know about being
blind. The NFB of Utah has been selling a flash card filled with Federation
speeches and other documents, and this library is what Everette credits for
providing him the material he discusses in this article. Here is what he
has to say:
Let me first say that, if you have not acquired an NFB Library Card,
you are truly missing out! I would like Dr. Norm Gardner to stand up and be
recognized publicly for putting together one of the most important and
educational collections of materials and publications about blindness and
the NFB ever made! Thank you, Norm.
I have been studying Dr. Jacobus tenBroek as of late and have really
come to appreciate his teachings and how relevant they are in today's
society. His most significant works were written and presented over sixty
years ago, but, when I examine myself and reflect on where blind people in
Utah are today, his writings are pertinent in so many ways.
All of you here today have assembled because you either recognize
that you are blind or have low vision, or you are a sighted person who is
married to or related to a blind person, or your profession involves the
blind and low vision. I include the term "low vision" because there are
people in this room who do not yet recognize themselves as blind. And why
would they? According to Webster's Dictionary the word blind has several
meanings. 1) Sightless, 2) lacking discernment, unable or unwilling to
understand or judge as blind to faults, 3) made without reason or
discrimination as a blind choice, 4) apart from intelligent direction or
control as blind chance, 5) insensible as a blind stupor hence drunk, 6)
made without knowledge or guidance or judgment as a blind purchase. After
reading those definitions, I think I've come to find that many of us are
blind in a multitude of ways. All kidding aside, it is certainly
understandable after hearing the definition that one might decide that he
would prefer not to be called blind.
Many of you know that I grew up in a small Baptist church and that my
grandfather was the preacher of that church for over thirty years. He is
gone now, but I still think of him fondly, and, when he was in the pulpit,
he enjoyed and encouraged the congregation to interact with him whenever he
would make a point of conviction. Many church members might say the word
"Amen" after such a point. I hope you might do the same after I make the
next statement: it is indeed respectable to be blind! (This is the point
where you people say "Amen.")
At this convention you will see and hear from a lawyer, a chemist, a
chaplain, a bronze medalist, a dancer, a professor, a coordinator, a
director, a counselor, a military leader, a policy and legislative analyst,
a mother and father, a student, an intern, and on and on and on! And every
single one of them is blind. The fact that we are blind does not mean that
we lack judgment or we lack balance or we lack common sense or we lack the
ability to reason or any other ignorant comparison to which our disability
label is attached.
Is it our responsibility or duty to help continue this movement of
changing what it means to be blind? Yes, it is our duty. I ask you, if we
are not willing to organize and advocate for ourselves, then who will?
I grew up with hereditary blindness. My great-grandmother was blind
and ran a vending stand at the Oklahoma federal courthouse. She used a
guide dog for all of her adult life. She raised and maintained chickens,
and she was proud to state that she outlived six husbands! She had a
brother who was also blind, whom I never met. He had a blind son (my great
uncle) who is a farmer in Oklahoma. My grandmother who was blind was a USO
volunteer in Oklahoma; she met my grandfather while he was serving in the
Navy during World War II. They were married just two weeks after meeting
each other. After he finished his military service, he went to seminary and
was ordained as a Baptist minister. My grandmother understood her role and
willingly became the matriarch of every church he pastored throughout his
career. She was always considered the most beautiful woman in the church.
She dressed with style and grace, and her hair and makeup were always
perfect. She was a true Texan debutant! They gave birth to two daughters
who were both blind. My mother had more vision than my aunt when they were
younger, but they both eventually went completely blind. My aunt graduated
from the University of California and became a rehabilitation professional.
She has worked in both vocational rehabilitation and independent living. In
California she ran a center that helped disabled people find affordable
housing. She was recognized by Governor Jerry Brown for the success of this
organization. My mother worked with my aunt part-time, and she also was a
proud homemaker. My aunt had a daughter who is blind, and my mom gave birth
to me. My cousin is also a mother of two blind daughters.
I tell you my family history in blindness because I am not ashamed of
where and who I come from. Blindness is such a part of my existence that I
really do not think I could ever understand what life would be without it.
Unfortunately, I did not grow up with the NFB. My family certainly knew
about organizations of the blind, but they rarely ever got involved. I was
never told that I could not be successful as a blind person, but I was told
that I would have to settle for a certain kind of career, and I was never
told to accept my impending blindness. I was taught to hold on to my
decreasing vision for as long as I could. For this reason I never learned
Braille as a kid or young adult, I never used a cane, and alternative
techniques were reserved to figuring out how to see it with my limited
vision. The first person in my life who made me understand and comprehend
that I was going to become completely blind and that I better start
planning and accepting it was my wife Angela. She is a medical professional
who just so happened to be working with a geneticist that was studying my
family history, and she realized that my family and I were in denial about
me. She was the one who lit the fire from within me to go and find out
more. In many ways she led me to the NFB, and I thank her for that. If I
could have found the NFB when I was a child or as an impressionable
teenager, I wonder how different I would be today? My family did not
realize or understand the important work of the NFB. They never learned how
the NFB was working to change the social definition of blindness.
That is the difference between what our children and young people
have now. They have what many of us did not growing up. They have you. They
have someone who knows what you know. They have someone who can light the
fire from within them. As blind people we must continue this important
work. We must continue to advocate and organize. It is our duty to change
the social stigma attached to being blind. We must be the ones to light the
fire from within those who don't know they have the fire now.
If there is anything that I hope the NFB has taught you, it is that
you have ability-the ability to be whatever you want to be without settling
for something less. You have the ability to do whatever you want to do
without being worried that you are not equipped to do it. What I know the
NFB has given each of you is the spark...the flicker...the flame. The NFB
lit your fire, baby!
I guess I should ask if any of you are old enough to remember The
Doors. I'm not sure if I'm sad or just old-but can you believe there are
people walking around today that have no idea who The Doors are? Well, I am
going to wildly misquote them and use the lyrics of arguably their best
known song to inspire you to do for someone else what the NFB has done for
you:
The time to hesitate is through
No time to wallow in the mire
Try now-we can only lose
And our cause will become a funeral pyre
Come on baby, light someone's fire!
Come on baby, light someone's fire!
Try to set the world on fire!!!
Okay-maybe the words of Jim Morrison and Robby Krieger may not be
classy enough for some -but it all boils down to the same thing. We need to
be inspired, and we need to inspire others. That is the whole reason we are
at this conference. We are here to be inspired-but this conference is a
failure if we do not then go out and inspire others. We need our fires lit,
and we need to light the fires of others. Come on baby, light some fires.
I want to leave you with a quote from Cesar Chavez, a civil rights
activist: "Once social change begins, it cannot be reversed. You cannot un-
educate the person who has learned to read. You cannot humiliate the person
who feels pride. You cannot oppress the people who are not afraid anymore."
Come and be active in your local chapter meetings, help strengthen a
division. Join this movement-for we are the blind, and our social change
will not be stopped!
----------
[PHOTO CAPTION: Jean Dyon Norris stands next to the Kenneth Jernigan
Library for Blind Children sign in the front window of the American Action
Fund office.]
Jean Dyon Norris Dies
by Gary Wunder
How would the person most responsible for conceiving of, creating,
and overseeing the production of the Twin Vision book describe her
introduction to the blind people she would give so much of her life's
energy to helping? There is no need to guess. Here is what she said about
her reaction when seeing a notice in the newspaper about a rummage sale
sponsored by the blind: "I had never known any blind people, but I decided
to gather up some rummage and go help. I discovered a group of normal folks
whose only problem was that they could not see."
Jean Dyon Norris says herself that she had no experience with
blindness, no reason to become interested in learning Braille. But from
that first rummage sale she made friends, and when she heard a friend
saying how hard it was not to be able to read her children a bedtime story,
she took on her friend's problem, and she found a solution.
The LA Times obituary of Jean Norris quotes Laurie Rubin, an
acclaimed mezzo-soprano and author, who received her first Twin Vision book
in the 1980s at the age of five. "It was so nice that I could read along
with my parents or brother. It made it a very normal experience. It didn't
make me feel isolated." That was all Norris had set out to do, to give
blind parents with sighted children and blind children with sighted parents
the opportunity to do what any other family could-read together.
It's no wonder that framed newspaper articles about her
accomplishments hung on almost every wall in her house. She had goals and
the determination to see them through. Norris says, "The woman at the
publisher of the Charlie Brown books told us that she liked the idea but
could not give us any books. We kept going back. On the third contact we
got six thousand books."
Jean doesn't embellish the tale of getting permission to create Twin
Vision versions of several Charlie Brown books, but took pride in what she
had been able to accomplish. Last year, when she sent in her article, "My
Historic Recollections of the NFB" (printed in the May 2013 edition of the
Monitor), she enclosed a stack of photocopies which included pictures,
awards, and articles about herself, the Twin Vision project, and NFB
members she had known. In the two large envelopes she sent was a copy of a
letter she received from Charles Schultz, thanking her for the sample book
she had sent him and pointing her to Determined Productions, the publisher
who owned the rights for the Charlie Brown books. The first letter she
received from that publisher gave her permission to make the Twin Vision
books but said they could not give her copies. The second letter
accompanied an invoice documenting the first donation of five hundred
copies of Happiness is a Warm Puppy.
The project director at Determined Productions was not the last to
meet the kind but unstoppable force that was Jean Norris on a mission.
Norris okayed transcribing Sea Shells, by R. Tucker Abbott, an authority on
shells. Someone saw the book and notified the author, who wrote to Norris.
He was very upset and wanted to know for how much they sold their version
of his book. She responded, explaining that the book was loaned free of
charge and that it was being used to teach blind children about sea shells.
She received a second letter in which the author displayed a much different
attitude: "How wonderful! How many copies of the book do you want? Could I
please have one for my library?" After she sent him a copy he wrote again,
praising the Twin Vision version.
Of course that determination was sometimes tested when Jean Norris
decided to make things happen. It took a visit to the federal building in
Los Angeles to consult with the FBI and letters to the Treasury Department
in Washington DC to get an answer other than "no" in response to the
request to produce The Shape of Things-Coins, a book representing, not
surprisingly, the shapes of coins. Government agencies, always reluctant
to take the lead on things never done before, ducked responsibility and
jointly told her, "We won't say yes, but we aren't saying no." That was all
the answer she needed, and The Shape of Things-Coins was soon to be found
under the fingers of blind readers. But the payoff from that effort was
greater than the trooper for Braille and Twin Vision could have
anticipated. The appeal of the Twin Vision book wasn't limited to blind
children. A review of The Shape of Things-Coins appeared in a 1970 issue of
Coin World, a magazine for numismatists (coin collectors.) William Pettit,
president of the Chicago Coin Club, governor of the Central States
Numismatic Society, and member of the education committee of the American
Numismatic Association, wrote to Norris with a request for a copy of the
book. "Because I am a frequent speaker in this area on coins, their history
and uses, it would be of great interest to have a book showing the efforts
made to acquaint the blind with coins and the apparent pitfalls to be
encountered."
Of course, sometimes getting permission and donations of books was
much easier. Golden Books were in high demand, and when Norris found out
that the publisher had an office in Beverly Hills, she took a Twin Vision
book and paid them a visit. She talked to a man named Robert E. Callender
and began by pointing to the Braille and asking him if he knew what it was.
Not only did he know, but he told Norris that his wife was a transcriber.
He donated fifty books immediately and later donated over one thousand
more. He and his wife personally donated a check for $1,000 to support
Norris's work.
But it wasn't just creating Twin Vision books that gained her the
respect of blind and sighted people alike. Norris had a long-time
friendship with William Goetze, who repaired Braillers. When he decided to
clear out his collection of Braillers-some very old, some from other
countries-he called Norris first. She sent volunteers to pick them up and
established the Goetze Museum. After William Goetze died, his son asked
Norris if she would like to have his father's memorabilia: awards,
pictures, letters, and other things he had treasured. She accepted and
added them to the Goetze Museum, the contents of which she eventually
donated to Dr. Maurer, who had them moved to the tenBroek Library.
With the determination she had used in her work with Twin Vision
books and many of the programs of the American Action Fund for Blind
Children and Adults, Jean Norris lived a long and fruitful life. She died
on April 30, 2014, several hours after turning ninety-six. She died at her
home in Reseda, her son David by her side. She had served as the head of
Twin Vision until her retirement in 2013, and her passing has been felt
around the world. Not only has she had tributes from her home state of
California and from the National Federation of the Blind, but her passing
has been mentioned from as far away as Britain, where her many
contributions made the news on the website of the Royal London Society for
Blind. Jean Dyon Norris's legacy lives on in the thousands of Twin Vision
books that currently exist and the thousands more that have yet to be
published, all because she sat down at her kitchen table with a slate, a
stylus, an encyclopedia to show her the shapes of Braille letters, and a
few of her sons' old picture books. She started out to help one blind woman
and ended her life with tens of thousands of blind and sighted people in
her debt. Her work made it possible for families to share in the beauty of
literature, whether perceived by the fingers or the eyes, and she helped
countless men and women experience the joy of being read to and being able
to read to others. One life does make a difference, and what a blessing God
gave to the world when Jean Dyon Norris came into it nearly a century ago.
----------
Consider a Charitable Gift
Making a charitable gift can be one of the most satisfying
experiences in life. Each year millions of people contribute their time,
talent, and treasure to charitable organizations. When you plan for a gift
to the National Federation of the Blind, you are not just making a
donation; you are leaving a legacy that insures a future for blind people
throughout the country. Special giving programs are available through the
National Federation of the Blind (NFB).
Points to Consider When Making a Gift to the National Federation of the
Blind
. Will my gift serve to advance the mission of the NFB?
. Am I giving the most appropriate asset?
. Have I selected the best way to make my gift?
. Have I considered the tax consequences of my gift?
. Have I sought counsel from a competent advisor?
. Have I talked to the NFB planned giving officer about my gift?
Benefits of Making a Gift to the NFB
. Helping the NFB fulfill its mission
. Receiving income tax savings through a charitable deduction
. Making capital gain tax savings on contribution of some appreciated
gifts
. Providing retained payments for the life of a donor or other
beneficiaries
. Eliminating federal estate tax in certain situations
. Reducing estate settlement cost
Your Gift Will Help Us
. Make the study of science and math a real possibility for blind
children
. Provide hope and training for seniors losing vision
. Promote state and chapter programs and provide information that will
educate blind people
. Advance technology helpful to the blind
. Create a state-of-the-art library on blindness
. Train and inspire professionals working with the blind
. Provide critical information to parents of blind children
. Mentor blind people trying to find jobs
Your gift makes you a part of the NFB dream!
----------
[PHOTO CAPTION: Ian Macrae standing by the lobby sign for Disability Now]
Braille Isn't "Embattled"-We're on the Cusp of a Golden Age for Blind
People
by Ian Macrae
From the Editor: This article was brought to our attention after it
appeared in the British newspaper the Guardian. Ian Macrae is the editor of
the United Kingdom-based website Disability Now. The website's mission
statement resonated with us at the Monitor:
Disability Now is the UK's leading website for, about, and by
disabled people. We aim to accurately reflect and present the lives,
experiences, views, opinions, and lifestyle choices of disabled
people, which are often misrepresented in mainstream media.
We're also here to call to account those whose actions and
policies have an impact on disabled people.
Finally we provide freelance opportunities and access to the
media for disabled journalists and writers whose voices would
otherwise go unheard.
Disability Now--Our voice, our lives.
This is their statement, and here is the article we are pleased to reprint:
Imagine a situation where you walk into your favorite restaurant and
ask for the menu, only to be told it isn't available. Chances are it
wouldn't stay your favorite for very long. As a Braillist-someone who uses
Braille-the dream for me is when the opposite happens. A small number of
chain restaurants offer menus in Braille; sometimes they're even up to
date.
It is difficult to over-express the sense of liberation at being able
to browse and choose your preferred pizza independently. And in Co-op
supermarkets, where some of the own-brand labels feature Braille, there is
pride in being able to identify a bottle of wine from a label that few if
any other people in the store are able to read.
All too often, though, finding anything in shops is a matter of
random selection, peering in earnest, or asking for help. And, just when it
seemed the situation couldn't get any worse for Braillists, along come
headlines suggesting the end is nigh for Braille, that this communication
lifeline is about to be cut off.
This week, Dr. Matthew Rubery, curator of an exhibition on
alternative methods of reading for blind people, described Braille as
"embattled." He went on to say its biggest threat "is computer technology,
which makes it much easier not to have to learn it. A lot of people fear
Braille won't survive because it will be read by so few people. The use has
declined, and there are concerns about funding to keep it going."
This seems to me a rather glass-half-empty view, although there is
some evidence to support his argument. Anecdotally, it is claimed blind
children are no longer being taught Braille. This is said to be owing to
sighted teachers who believe computer technology, and in particular
synthesized speech, has rendered it redundant. Therefore the teachers don't
need to learn Braille either.
If this is true, and no other factors were to come into play, then
the outlook might really look bad. But, like print, Braille has gone
through a process of evolution. It started out in classrooms as the
equivalent of the slate-my five-year-old hands punched out each dot
individually through a sheet of thick Manila paper. We learned to write it
backwards and read it forwards.
Then Harold Wilson's "white heat" age of technology ushered in the
mechanical era. Classrooms echoed to the deafening collective rattle of
fifteen or more Braille machines-the Stainsby, the Perkins, the Lavender-
pounding away at dictation or composition.
And now, like print with its tablets, Kindles, and touch screens,
Braille has gone digital. And it is my belief that this could well mean it
becomes more widely available and infinitely more useful. This is important
because it means all children in future will be able to enjoy the same
degree of literacy, not to mention the same levels of liberation and
pleasure, as I do now.
Think of this: I am writing and editing this piece on an Apple
computer using Braille from an electronic display that drives pins into the
correct shapes to form a line of Braille text. Once the piece is published,
I will be able to go to the Guardian website on my iPhone or iPad, use
Bluetooth to connect a portable Braille device, and read it along with you.
The main problem currently is the cost of the Braille-reading equipment:
the cheapest is £900 [at today's conversion rate, roughly $1,500.]
But, fellow reader, we are now in the age of the app and of haptic
technology, which communicates through vibration and touch. It is already
possible for me to download an app that will create on my touch screen a
virtual Braille keyboard on which I can compose texts, emails, and Tweets
and Facebook updates in Braille.
Meanwhile, the search is already on for the Holy Grail of Braille-a
means of creating dots without using expensive mechanical cells that make
the shape of Braille characters using pins. Then the world would truly be
at our fingertips.
What is needed is an app that would turn digital text on your device
into electronic impulses in the shape of Braille characters, transmitted by
the screen of your iPad or other tablet, to be read by touch. To go back to
my restaurant quandary, all I would need to do would be to call up the menu
online, put it through my haptic Braille app, and read it on my screen. Add
into that mix a scanning app, and I could point my device at what was on
the supermarket shelf and have the haptic Braille app produce the package
information.
And if you think this is hopelessly optimistic pie in the sky, it's
worth remembering that less than five years ago 96 percent of all books
produced would never be turned into forms accessible to blind people. But,
with the advent of e-books and existing technology, I am now able to read
pretty much any book I want to in electronic Braille.
So, rather than seeing the end of Braille, we could be entering a
golden age of access and communication. Here's to more pizza, more wine,
and more Braille.
[To learn more about Disability Now or to read some of the blogs
hosted there, visit the site at <http://www.disabilitynow.org.uk>.]
----------
Sexual Misconduct Results in Prison Sentence for Teacher of the Blind
by Gary Wunder
As its name implies, the Braille Monitor has as one of its major roles
that of watchdog to ensure that blind people are treated fairly,
respectfully, and with dignity. When an individual or organization does
something that makes life better for the blind, we trumpet it; when the
opposite is true, we embrace the more difficult task of exposing the
wrongdoing, endeavoring to report without ourselves throwing stones.
It is with sadness that we must announce the conviction of Mr. Albert
(Al) Lovati for having sexual relations with a minor who attended the
Indiana School for the Blind, where he worked as a teacher. On learning of
the charge of sexual misconduct and confirming it with Lovati and his
victim, the Indiana School for the Blind immediately dismissed him.
Lovati was a winner of a Dr. Jacob Bolotin Award in 2010 for helping
to build a bridge between the Lions Club, the Indiana School for the Blind,
and the National Federation of the Blind. His work enriched the lives of
many blind students by introducing them to role models and assisting them
in getting training leading to education and employment.
Lovati has received a sentence of six years, two of which he will
serve in prison. Having sexual relations with a minor is, by any standard,
an action deserving of punishment. We feel great sorrow for the victim, for
her family, for the family of Mr. Lovati, and for all of those who trusted
him by lending their names to his work. Programs sponsored jointly by the
Lions Club and the National Federation of the Blind continue, with a
fishing derby scheduled over the Father's Day weekend. It is our fervent
hope that the partnerships established for blind students will not be
counted among the victims of this criminal act and that together we can
continue to provide blind students with the education and training that
will help them become happy, responsible, contributing adults.
----------
Advances in Technology Can Leave Some Behind
by Kerstin Sjoberg-Witt and Michael L. Stack II
From the Editor: This article is reprinted from the spring issue of
the Buckeye Bulletin, the newsletter of the National Federation of the
Blind of Ohio. Here is how it was introduced by Editor Barbara Pierce:
Editor's Note: Kerstin Sjoberg-Witt, the director of advocacy and
assistant executive director at Disability Rights Ohio, is an Ohio attorney
with over ten years of experience advocating for the civil rights of all
individuals. Michael Stack, a graduate law clerk at Disability Rights Ohio,
is a recently minted Florida attorney currently pursuing his Ohio license
while participating in a fellowship program created by his law school.
Imagine you're sitting down for the first time in a pre-calculus or
calculus class. Imagine the fear you feel as you read concept material that
is supposed to be written in English but appears to be ancient Greek
combined with Egyptian hieroglyphics. As you tell yourself that advanced
mathematics is an academic field fraught with mental hurdles and the bane
of most high school and college students, you start to feel a little
better. Now imagine that in addition to the difficulty of the subject
matter itself, there is another hurdle your sighted peers do not
experience: you are blind and need to have math problems read to you by
screen-reader software. But instead of reading the problems to you in a
coherent manner, parts of the equations are read out of order or with
unfamiliar code for math symbols or are simply missing information
altogether-making it impossible for you even to figure out what problem to
solve, let alone learn the material.
This is the kind of obstacle that Aleeha Dudley, a twenty-year-old
junior at Miami University, faces every day as she vigorously pursues an
undergraduate degree in zoology. Dudley, current vice president of the
National Federation of the Blind of Ohio's student division, has hopes of
becoming one of the nation's few blind veterinarians. Because Miami has
failed to make necessary modifications to its course materials that would
allow equal access to the electronic and tactile materials used in and out
of the classroom, Dudley has not had the same opportunity as her sighted
peers to learn, and her grades do not reflect her actual capabilities. As
her grades continue to suffer because of inaccessible course materials, her
dream of being accepted into veterinary school and practicing equine
medicine suffers along with them. Dudley's struggle is only part of a
problem that is persistent throughout Ohio and the rest of the country:
equal access to technology in the digital age.
For years organizations like the National Federation of the Blind and
Disability Rights Ohio have been fighting to promote equal access for all
blind people. In the past most barriers that resulted in the denial of
equal opportunity in education, employment, community life, transportation,
and recreation were barriers of a physical nature. For instance, there has
been an incredible amount of litigation over the last few decades related
to physical access to buildings, such as construction of sidewalk cutaways
and access ramps. Given the rapid advance of technology used in everyday
life, inaccessible digital content is a relatively new barrier to equality
for blind people. Just as missing signs, unnecessary steps, and false walls
would make it difficult to navigate a building, accessibility problems with
technology make navigating, searching, and reading even the most basic
digital content extremely difficult and in some cases impossible.
For Dudley, who filed a lawsuit against Miami University in January
for discrimination based on her disability, the lack of accessible course
materials and educational technology has denied her an equal opportunity to
learn in an effective and integrated manner alongside her sighted peers,
which is required by both the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section
504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Not only does Dudley have issues
accessing Miami's educational material (for example, her online homework,)
but simple daily activities such as doing laundry and ordering food at the
cafeteria are also being hindered by Miami's use of touchscreen devices
that are inaccessible to blind students. While lack of access to technology
is a problem afflicting students from schools around the country, several
universities are making huge strides to provide equal access through
comprehensive plans and initiatives, such as Oregon State University,
Florida State University, and the University of Montana. In March, for
example, the University of Montana and the United States Department of
Education's Office for Civil Rights reached a collaborative agreement
highlighting the need for policies and procedures to ensure that all
students, faculty, and staff, including those with disabilities, can
independently use electronic and information technologies.
Not only do inaccessible technology and communication affect the
education system, but they also create frustrating and unnecessary barriers
to the provision of basic necessities like housing. Renee Jordan, a
resident of Dayton, Ohio, has recently filed a lawsuit against Greater
Dayton Premier Management and its predecessor, Dayton Metropolitan Housing
Authority, alleging violations of the Fair Housing Amendments Act, Section
504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and Title II of the Americans with
Disabilities Act. Jordan, who is blind, cannot read written correspondence
related to her participation in the Housing Choice Voucher Program, which
is administered by the local housing authority and funded by the United
States Department of Housing and Urban Development. Because a participant
who fails to keep appointments or complete necessary paperwork on time may
be terminated from the Voucher Program, Jordan requested that all
correspondence be sent on microcassette tape so she could independently
access the correspondence and respond appropriately. The housing authority
refused, claiming the request was unreasonable and an undue financial and
administrative burden. On March 28, 2014, the United States District Court
for the Southern District of Ohio granted Jordan's motion for preliminary
injunction and ordered the housing authority to provide her all
correspondence on microcassette tapes while litigation proceedings were
ongoing. The court recognized that federal law "guarantees not only equal
access to information about a program, but equal access to the program
itself," and the only way a blind person has an equal opportunity to
participate in and enjoy the benefits of a federal program is when "all
communication affecting continued participation in the program is provided
in an accessible format."
Many universities, housing authorities, and other public and private
entities argue that limited resources prevent the provision of accessible
technology. While limited resources can be a concern, especially given the
ongoing budget cuts facing many public and private entities, a shortage of
resources is not sufficient justification for a blanket denial of equal
access for people with disabilities. In Jordan's case the court recognized
that the cost of providing reasonable accommodations under the Americans
with Disabilities Act is a concern that all federally-funded and public
programs face. The court held, however, that "[a]ccommodating the needs of
individuals with disabilities in order to provide them with equal access .
. . is a cost that must be borne" unless it creates an undue burden that
severely harms the program.
In an age where cell phones talk to you, cars drive themselves, and
thermostats are practically self-aware, technology should benefit the
blind, not create new barriers. While advances in technology have the power
to make adapting to visual impairment immensely better, certain technology
actually creates greater inequality when that technology is inaccessible to
people with disabilities. As technology becomes more and more integrated
into our society-relied upon in the everyday world for even the most
rudimentary tasks-we must fight even harder to provide equal access to
people with disabilities. Individuals who are blind or visually impaired
have the same right as a sighted person to full access to technology, and
we should not ignore the effect the digital world has on how we access
information today.
----------
Recipes
This month's recipes are offered by members of the NFB of Oklahoma.
Easy Teriyaki Chicken
by Sharon Wolf
Sharon is a relatively new member of the National Federation of the
Blind of Oklahoma. She lives in Bartelsville, Oklahoma, which currently has
no chapter, but Sharon and others are working to organize a chapter within
the year. Sharon will attend her first national convention this year. Here
is what she says about her recipe: "The following is my favorite recipe to
cook because it's fast and uses the microwave."
Ingredients:
1 bag of frozen boneless, skinless chicken breast (thawed), cut into one-
inch pieces
1 bag frozen Oriental vegetables or California-mix vegetables
3/4 or less cup soy sauce
3/4 or less cup sugar
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon minced or fresh ginger powder
1 tablespoon vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
Method: In a bowl combine the last six ingredients and mix well. Add to the
chicken and toss gently. Cook six minutes in microwave on high heat and
stir. Then cook another four minutes on high heat. Cook frozen vegetables
as directed. Pour the teriyaki chicken on top of the cooked vegetables and
serve.
----------
[PHOTO CAPTION: Jedi Moerke]
Vegan Enchiladas
by Jedi Moerke
Jedi Moerke is the president of the Brady District Chapter in Tulsa,
Oklahoma, and serves as a member of the National Federation of the Blind of
Oklahoma board of directors. Currently she is interim secretary of the
affiliate. She is a long-time Federationist; the only blind orientation and
mobility instructor in the state of Oklahoma; a proud vegan; and, not only
by her own claim, a great cook.
Ingredients:
Vegan cooking spray (I prefer canola or coconut-based)
Whole wheat tortillas (burrito size is fine)
1 14-ounce can of whole black beans, drained
1 12- to 14-ounce can or 1 1/2 cups frozen whole-kernel sweet corn, drained
1 can Ro-Tel tomatoes, drained (optional)
1 cup raw onion
1 cup raw spinach
Your favorite red or green salsa
Several spoonfuls of vegan sour cream
Vegan cheese shreds to taste (I prefer the Daiya Pepperjack Style Shreds)
Method: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all of the ingredients in a large
bowl except the tortillas. Make sure to drain the beans and the corn;
otherwise the enchiladas will be rather soupy. Be sure to drain the Ro-Tel
if you use that, too. Lightly grease a 9-by-13-inch casserole pan. Place
the mixed ingredients inside the tortillas. Stuff the tortillas as though
you were making little burritos. Leave one end of each enchilada loose and
tuck in the other. Place the enchiladas in the pan, seam-side down. You
should be able to get about six enchiladas into the pan. Spread a couple of
spoonfuls of the vegan sour cream on top of the enchiladas. Make sure that
the enchilada tops are fully covered. Spread some salsa over the sour
cream. Sprinkle some more vegan shreds on top of the salsa and sour cream.
I usually prefer a small handful. If you have any diced onions left over
from the enchilada preparation, add these to the top as well.
Bake the enchiladas for about twenty minutes. The enchiladas are done
when the cheese on top has melted and the insides are warm when poked with
a toothpick or fork. One dish full of enchiladas serves two people. It is
likely you will have additional ingredients mixed to make more. This recipe
is excellent and can be used to serve non-vegans.
----------
[PHOTO CAPTION: Jeannie Massay]
Mark's Broccoli Slaw
by Jeannie Massay
Jeannie is the president of the National Federation of the Blind of
Oklahoma and a member of the board of directors of the National Federation
of the Blind. Here is what she says about this recipe:
This recipe is one of my favorites during the summer. My husband is a
fantastic cook. He often serves this with barbecue or burgers in the
summer.
Ingredients:
1 bag of sliced fresh broccoli slaw or 1 head fresh broccoli sliced into
bite-size pieces
2 medium-size red apples, cored and chopped into bite-sized pieces
1 can bite-sized pineapple chunks in natural juice (drained, reserve the
juice)
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup golden raisins
Dressing
1 cup mayonnaise
Juice from can of pineapple
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
Method: Combine slaw ingredients in a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl
combine dressing ingredients and whisk until blended. Drizzle dressing over
slaw mixture, then toss to coat entire batch of slaw. This recipe can be
eaten immediately but is best if allowed to soak up some of the dressing
and mature the flavors. Great for something different at a picnic or
barbecue.
----------
Sweet Potato Casserole
by Glenda Farnum
Glenda is a dedicated Federationist. She is a board member of the
National Federation of the Blind of Oklahoma and serves as the legislative
director for the affiliate. She is the daughter of blind parents, a blind
woman, and the parent of a now adult blind child. It took a while for her
to come around to the Federation, however, she has now jumped in with both
feet. We are proud to have her as a part of our affiliate.
Ingredients:
4 cups sweet potatoes (baked, peeled and mashed)
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons butter, softened
1/2 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Topping
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
4 tablespoons and 4 teaspoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons and 3 teaspoons butter, softened
1/2 cup chopped pecans
Method: Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a large bowl mix together the sweet
potatoes, sugar, eggs, salt, butter, milk, and vanilla. Beat with an
electric mixer until smooth. Transfer to a 9x13-inch baking dish.
Topping: In a medium bowl, mix the sugar and flour. Cut in the butter until
the mixture is coarse. Stir in the pecans. Sprinkle the mixture over the
sweet potato mixture. Bake in the preheated oven thirty minutes, or until
the topping is lightly brown.
----------
Pumpkin Bread
by Glenda Farnum
Ingredients:
3 cups sugar
2/3 cups water
1 15-ounce can pumpkin
1 cup oil
4 eggs
3 1/3 cups flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup chopped nuts
Method: Mix sugar, water, pumpkin, oil, and eggs in large bowl. In another
bowl combine flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt. Add dry
mixture to pumpkin mixture and stir. Add vanilla then add nuts. Mix well.
Pour into three loaf pans coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350 for forty-
five to fifty minutes. Yield: three loaves of bread.
----------
Grandma Joyce's Pecan Pie
by Audrey T. Farnum
Audrey is the first vice president of the National Federation of the
Blind of Oklahoma and the chapter president of the Central Oklahoma
Chapter. She also serves as vice president on the National Sports and
Recreation board of directors of the National Federation of the Blind and
as a board member of the newly formed Oklahoma Sports and Recreation
Division. Audrey is an attorney and an avid rower. She recently rowed in
her first single race and won the heat. By her claim she is a better eater
than a cook, but these recipes tell a different story. Here is what Audrey
says:
Here are a couple of my favorite recipes from my grandmothers. These
were two of my favorite treats growing up, then later I learned they were
both super easy to make. Enjoy.
Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup melted margarine
3 eggs, well beaten
1 cup pecans
1 pie shell
Splash of rum or pinch of cinnamon if desired.
Method: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine sugar, syrup, and melted
butter. Add beaten eggs and pecans to syrup mixture, mixing thoroughly.
Stir in a little rum or cinnamon for an extra twist if desired. Pour into a
nine-inch pie shell (store-bought or your own recipe) and bake forty to
forty-five minutes.
----------
Meema's Brownies
by Audrey T. Farnum
Ingredients:
1 cup oil
2 cups sugar
4 eggs, slightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup cocoa
1/2 cup nuts
Method: In large bowl combine oil and sugar and beat well. Add eggs and
vanilla extract and beat until well blended. Sift flour, baking powder,
salt, and cocoa in medium bowl and combine. Add dry mixture to wet
ingredients, mix until blended, add nuts and stir. For thicker brownies
pour batter into a 13-by-9-inch pan coated with cooking spray. For thinner
brownies pour batter into a 15-by-11-inch pan. Bake at 350 degrees for
thirty to thirty-five minutes. Remove from oven and let cool.
----------
Monitor Miniatures
News from the Federation Family
Elected:
The National Federation of the Blind of Illinois Chicago held their
elections today. Results are as follows: president, David Meyer; first vice
president, Patti Chang; second vice president, Jemal Powell; secretary,
Robert Hansen; treasurer, Steve Hastalis; and board members, Howard Wilson,
Debbie Pittman, Jina Falvo, and Denise Avant.
Elected:
The following officers were elected by the Greater Portland Chapter
of the National Federation of the Blind of Maine: president, Diane
Anderson; vice president, Leroy "Bud" Buzzell; secretary, John Lee; and
treasurer, Raymond Dupuis.
In Brief
Notices and information in this section may be of interest to Monitor
readers. We are not responsible for the accuracy of the information; we
have edited only for space and clarity.
The National Rehabilitation Association Gets a New Director:
Dr. Fredric K. Schroeder, one of the most prominent advocates for
blind people in the world, has been hired as the executive director of the
National Rehabilitation Association (NRA). Founded in 1923, and taking its
current name in 1927, the NRA has long been an advocate for individuals who
are blind and organizations serving them.
Dr. Schroeder's credentials and advocacy are well-known to our readers
and to members of the National Federation of the Blind. He is the first
vice president of the National Federation of the Blind, is the first vice
president of the World Blind Union, is in charge of coordinating events to
celebrate the seventy-fifth anniversary of the National Federation of the
Blind, and was the former commissioner of the Rehabilitation Services
Administration under President Clinton. He was the first blind person to be
trained as an orientation and mobility instructor and the first to fight
the Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually
Impaired when they refused to certify him as an instructor because he could
not see. We wish Dr. Schroeder the best in his new position and have every
confidence he will bring the same vision and energy to it that he has to
his other endeavors.
Maps of Michigan Available:
The Princeton Braillists have available a single volume with fifteen
maps of Michigan, including an overview of the state, followed by
individual maps of cities, rivers, counties, highways, farm and mineral
products, and climate. A more detailed map shows the vicinity of Detroit.
The package comprises fifteen maps, forty-one pages total. The price
is $8, and we use shipping by Free Matter for the Blind where eligible. To
order, please send a check or money order to: The Princeton Braillists, 76
Leabrook Lane, Princeton, NJ 08540. Credit card and fax service are not
available. For more information contact Nancy Amick at (609) 924-5207.
New Braille Technology - Cosmo and BERT
Here are two interesting inventions for teaching and writing Braille
from inventor and entrepreneur David Pillischer. He says the following:
Now as never before a blind student using a Braille typewriter in the
classroom can be as quiet as a sighted student writing with a pencil on
paper. The non-disruptive, patented Cosmo Braille Writer is a classroom-
friendly Braille education system and a quiet embosser. The Cosmo Braille
Writer is easy for children and adults to use, economical to run, and
easily maintained.
A blind student can input his document into the Duxbury application
using Cosmo's Braille keyboard. When he is finished, he can back translate
the Braille to text, then print the document to paper using a standard
inkjet or laser printer. The blind student can submit his printed document
to the teacher along with the rest of the class and have a Braille copy for
himself. $2,495 with A/C power supply and manuals. Inquire about shipping
costs.
For the first time in the history of Braille, Braille can be taught
over the Internet. BERT, an acronym for the "Braille Education Remote
Tool," enables both the teacher and student to communicate by voice and
keyboard in real time during a remote teaching session. Any keys depressed
by the student on the Cosmo (using the Braille keyboard and BERT software)
will be immediately recognized by the blind teacher reading a Braille
display or by the sighted teacher on a computer screen. BERT enables real-
time interactive communication between teacher and student, creating a
"side by side" mode of working together. BERT requires the purchase of the
software and a license for one or more students. Electronic Brailler LLC,
phone: (585) 413-4401, <www.ebrailler.com>.
Michael Collins and Newel Perry to be Inducted into the Hall of Fame for
Leaders and Legends of the Blindness Field in 2014:
The following press release was circulated by the American Printing
House for the Blind, and we gladly carry it here:
The Hall of Fame is dedicated to preserving the tradition of
excellence manifested by specific individuals through the history of
outstanding services provided to people who are blind or visually impaired
in North America. It is housed at the American Printing House for the Blind
(APH) in Louisville, Kentucky, but belongs to all.
The ceremony to induct Collins and Perry will take place on Friday
evening, October 17, 2014, in conjunction with APH's 146th Annual Meeting
of ex officio trustees and special guests, at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in
Louisville, Kentucky. Joining the fifty-four outstanding legends previously
inducted, are these two remarkable figures who changed lives around the
world. Their stories of accomplishment are powerful.
The Class of 2014
Michael T. Collins 1947-2008
Mike Collins dedicated thirty years of his career to Perkins; first
as supervisor of the Perkins School for the Blind's campus-based Deafblind
Program and then as founder and director of the Hilton/Perkins
International Program, with the mission of training teachers to teach
children who are deafblind with multiple disabilities in developing
countries. Collins received the distinguished Perkins' Annie Sullivan Award
and Deafblind International's Lifetime Achievement Award and its
Distinguished Service Award.
"His love for children with multiple disabilities and his deep
understanding of their needs was evident when he visited programs and
dangled children on his knee." Nandini Rawal, project director of the Blind
People's Association in Gujarat, India.
Newel Perry 1873-1963
Dr. Newel Perry was called the father of the modern civil rights
movement of the blind. According to Matson (1990), Perry "presided as
mentor and godfather to the [organized blind] movement," spawning the
California Council of the Blind (1934), and the National Federation of the
Blind (1940). In 1912, Dr. Perry took the post which would define his
career, Director of Advanced Studies at the California School for the
Blind, and was in this position until retirement in 1947. He is best known
for having mentored "Perry's Boys (and Girls)," a group of talented blind
young men and women who would, with Perry's assistance, begin the organized
blind movement of advocacy and civil rights.
Honors include: California Council of the Blind, Hall of Fame, 1996
(original member), California Council of the Blind's Newel Perry Endowment
Trust, the National Federation of the Blind's highest award--named for
Newel Perry, and, within NFB's Jacobus tenBroek Library, the Newel Perry
Conference Room, appropriately named for tenBroek's beloved mentor.
"Newel Perry educated, indoctrinated and persuaded a distinguished
group of cohorts to join him in carrying on the struggle and carrying out
its goals. Those whom Doctor gathered around him were other blind men and
women, mostly former students whose special talents and professional
positions uniquely supplemented his." Jacobus tenBroek, 1961
When asked what was his most important work, Dr. Perry answered, "Oh,
my most important work was my dragging the blind out of their sleep,
stirring them up, putting some ambition into them, and then helping them."
For more on these inductees, please visit: <www.aph.org/hall/news.html>.
Additional information regarding the 2014 Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony
will soon appear on the APH website, <www.aph.org>. Visit the Hall of Fame
website at <www.aph.org/hall/index.html> for information on the Hall and
those inducted.
The Hall of Fame for Leaders and Legends of the Blindness Field is
now on Facebook! "Like" the page to learn more about this year's inductees,
Michael T. Collins and Newel Perry, as well as updated information on the
2014 induction ceremony, and items of interest on the other fifty-four Hall
inductees. The URL is <http://www.facebook.com/BlindnessHallofFame> or you
can search Facebook for "Hall of Fame for the Blindness Field." Also visit
the Hall on our recently launched YouTube channel-click on "Playlists" to
watch the inspiring Hall of Fame induction ceremonies!
eBay and the National Federation of the Blind Team to Optimize
Accessibility of Site, Apps:
The following is a reprint of a June 6 press release by eBay about
this partnership:
eBay has teamed with The National Federation of the Blind in a Web
2.0 Sustainable Accessibility Partnership Agreement that will enhance the
accessibility of eBay's website and mobile applications.
Through the new partnership blind buyers and sellers on eBay who use
technologies such as text-to-speech screen readers and Braille displays
will have even greater access to eBay's website and its applications for
smartphones and tablets.
"This is about reinforcing and enhancing our commitment to
accessibility and making eBay's global marketplace available to everyone,"
said Devin Wenig, President Global eBay Marketplaces. "Ease of use and
universal access to the Marketplace is a priority for eBay as a company and
as a brand."
Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the Blind,
said: "The National Federation of the Blind is pleased to continue our
partnership with eBay. This landmark agreement sets forth a proactive
strategy that will enhance the accessibility of eBay's online marketplace,
allowing blind buyers and sellers to use this groundbreaking platform in
all the ways that sighted users can. We commend eBay for its industry
leadership in adopting this comprehensive Web 2.0 accessibility plan and
look forward to working together with the company to implement it," Maurer
added.
Study About Perception of Legal Blindness Seeks Participants:
My name is Bobby Dixon, and I am a legally blind graduate student at
Southeastern Louisiana University as well as a member of the National
Federation of the Blind. I have been legally blind all of my life due to an
exceptionally small optic nerve. I have lived for forty-five years with
this condition and have quite a bit of experience involving how we are
treated by society in education, in employment, and in everyday life. These
experiences inspired me to study others to see if they too have had similar
experiences in these situations and to find out if the way society treats
other legally blind people may be affecting our self-confidence and well-
being and to promote more awareness
The participants in this study will be contributing to a larger body
of knowledge and awareness of what legally blind people are truly capable
of. The data gathered in this study will not only be used to help legally
blind people reach their true potential; they will also be used to help
sighted people realize that legally blind people are just as capable as
they themselves are.
NOTE: 1) Only people aged eighteen and older may participate in this
study. 2) legal blindness covers all people with a visual acuity of 20/200
to those who are totally blind.
This survey is designed to measure how legally blind people feel they
are treated by society. The study also examines how legally blind people
feel about themselves and their perceptions of beliefs others have about
them.
The survey can be found at
<https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1Wc2wSKnne2-
RRcMgsGgKJRwgGrkgNfLGZQ9Wx4Ngf50/viewform?usp=send_form>.
Study Participants Wanted:
My name is Tali and I am a PhD student at the University of Groningen
the Netherlands. I am collecting survey data for my dissertation on the
highly relevant topic of dealing with visual impairment in different areas
of one's life-home, work, and friendships, just to name a few.
The purpose of the current study is to obtain more information on
relevant issues in the life of a person losing eyesight such as the
implications of concealing or revealing your identity as being visually
impaired to others and the importance of your social surroundings in coping
with vision loss.
Data collected from this study will be kept anonymous, and only the
key researchers on this project will have access to these data (myself,
Tali Spiegel, and my supervisory team, Rafael Wittek and Nardi Steverink).
Your identity will be kept entirely anonymous in future publications, and
you at no point will be asked to reveal your identity. The data will be
kept in a secure location on a Groningen University hard drive.
You are eligible to participate in this study if you: 1) have a
degenerative eye condition, 2) are above the age of eighteen, and 3) are
currently living in the USA. I will be more than grateful if you would be
willing to follow the link below and fill out the questionnaire (it should
take about forty minutes): <https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/HKPHW3R>
If you are unable to complete the survey online, I can also send the
survey to you using email. The survey can come either as an attachment (in
a word document) or in the body of the text. If you have questions, please
email me at <t.spiegel at rug.nl>. For more information go to
<www.rug.nl/staff/t.spiegel>.
If you decide at any point during filling out the survey that you do
not wish to answer a particular question, you have the option to skip it.
If you want to terminate the questionnaire, that is also possible, however,
after completion of the questionnaire you will no longer be able to
withdraw from the study.
Your participation is pivotal for the success of this project. Many
thanks in advance.
New Talking Infrared Thermometer Available:
The Talking Infrared Thermometer (model IRT-1) can measure the
temperature of a wide variety of objects without contact and has a special
scan function to help a blind person quickly locate hot items such as a
burner on a flat cooktop stove or to ensure a pot or pan is centered over a
burner. My motive for developing the IRT-1 came from a blind friend who was
badly burned while teaching a newly blind student to cook. Had there been
the means easily to determine the cooking oil temperature, the accident
could most probably have been prevented. The IRT-1 of course can be used to
measure the temperature of many other things as well: the refrigerator or
freezer, coffee, bath water, food temperature, etc. With only three buttons
the IRT-1 is super easy to learn and use and has a built in talking tutor!
And finally, the IRT-1 can be set to speak in English, Spanish, or French,
and to say the temperature in centigrade or Fahrenheit too. For much more
detailed information, a user manual, speech samples, and images please
visit my website: <brooks-technology.com>.
About myself and my company: I'm located in Morgan Hill, California,
about thirty minutes south of the so called Silicon Valley area. I've been
an electronics engineer and programmer for many years, the last twenty as a
design consultant to other organizations. I love to get involved developing
new products! Over the last six years I've worked with James Kubel of
Access Solutions in Sacramento, California, on several projects, including
the PumpMate, a talking remote control that provides access for insulin
pump users. Recently I've decided to develop accessibility products to
market as my own, the first being the IRT-1 Talking Infrared Thermometer.
The thermometer is now available, and I've completed an initial
production run. The price is set at $119.95 and can currently be purchased
directly from my site at <http://www.brooks-technology.com>. I'm actively
seeking re-sellers, for whom discounts would apply. Both the Sacramento
Society for the Blind and the Lighthouse have indicated they will carry it.
If you have any questions at all, please don't hesitate to call me at
(408) 781-4577, or email me at <vin at meamobilenews.com>.
Monthly Training Subscription Available:
The Windows Department at Blind Access Training is offering affordable
monthly training support for a charge of $44.95 monthly. No longer does one
need to search for cost-effective training support or say the dreaded
words, "I can't afford it." With our monthly training support, use the time
to brush up, learn, and immerse yourself in your Windows OS and Office
applications to build a solid foundation and understanding to set yourself
on a path to success. Lessons will be provided, and the goal in offering
the subscription is to have students working in their operating system and
applications comfortably and independently.
You may read about and subscribe to the service at the link below; if
you would rather speak with someone from the Windows Training Department to
answer your questions, we invite you to call (877) 774-7670 and press 3. We
take calls Monday through Friday between 8:00 AM and 6:00 PM pacific time.
You may read more about our service and subscribe at
<http://blindaccesstraining.com/subscribe-to-our-windows-training-
subscription/>.
----------
NFB Pledge
I pledge to participate actively in the efforts of the National
Federation of the Blind to achieve equality, opportunity, and security for
the blind; to support the policies and programs of the Federation; and to
abide by its constitution.
More information about the Brl-monitor
mailing list