New Orleans Convention: Where to Start
by Jerry Whittle
JOB Opportunities for the Blind: 1991 Seminar
by Lorraine Rovig
So Your Kid Wants a Computer
by Tom Balek
The Balloon Project: Giving Blind Children A Competitive Edge
by Charles J. Duveen
The Blind and Multiply Handicapped Child: Meet Jennifer Baker
by Susan Baker
PreBraille Readiness
Literature Review
*Teach Yourself to Sight Read Braille: A Workbook
*Beginning Reading/Writing for Braille or Print Users: A
Teacher's Guide to the Psycholinguistic Viewpoint Strengths and Weakness of
Integrated Education and Special Schools for the Blind: An International Perspective
by Else Momrak Haugann
KIDS KORNER
*The Blind Journalist
by Beth Hatch-Alleyne
*Self-Determination of Blind Workers in Chinese Guilds
by C. Edwin Vaughn, Ph.D.
EHA is Out, IDEA is In
Education and Civil Rights: Know the Difference in the Laws and
How to Use Them
by Seville Allen
Problems With Counseling the Visually Handicapped
by Fareed Haj, Ph.D.
HEAR YE! HEAR YE!
by Jerry Whittle
From the Editor: In the last issue of Future Reflections we announced the upcoming We Are Changing What It Means To Be Blind National Workshop/Seminar for Parents and Educators of Blind Children. That seminar (which is FREE-no registration or other fees required for attendance) will be held on Sunday, June 30, 1991, in New Orleans and is only one part of the many, many activities of the National Federation of the Blind National Convention which runs from June 30 through July 7. (If you missed that announcement and want information about the parents seminar and the convention, write to: Barbara Cheadle, 1991 Parents Seminar, National Federation of the Blind, 1800 Johnson Street, Baltimore, Maryland, 21230; or call (301) 659-9314.)
For those planning to come to the seminar and the convention, and for those still thinking about it, here is an article (reprinted from the Braille Monitor) about the many wonderful sights and experiences awaiting you in the city of New Orleans. This year's National Federation of the Blind convention at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in New Orleans, Louisiana, poses a pleasant problem. Because of the rich heritage and historic significance of this bustling port city, there are so many varied and exciting activities that it will be impossible to find the time to do everything that is available.
The names and locations of the myriad restaurants, bars, and clubs reveal the Spanish, French, African, Indian, and Irish influences upon this unique American city. Brennan's on Royal is famous for its sumptuous brunches and haute cuisine, including Eggs Benedict and Bananas Foster. Try Mr. B's crayfish fettucini with a delicious sauce. For that special lunch, try Commander's Palace in uptown New Orleans on Washington. If it is jazz that tickles your fancy, the Pete Fountain Club at 2 Poydras Place on the third floor of the Hilton is a popular haunt. Snug Harbor on Frenchmen's Street offers a wonderful singer; Tipitina's on Napoleon, Club My-Oh-My on Chartres, The Ol' Toones Saloon, Papa Joe's, Ryan's Irish Pub, and The Famous Door-all on Bourbon-are just a few of the clubs featuring jazz and potables. Incidentally, while in New Orleans, almost everyone ventures into the world famous Pat O'Brien's on St. Peter's for a hurricane. While in your favorite pub, you might want to try a Ramos gin fizz, which consists of egg white, orange flower water, and gin. Another popular drink is cafe brulot, which consists of hot coffee, spices, orange peel, and liqueurs blended in a chafing dish, ignited, and served in a special cup.
If you want to learn how to prepare some of the wonderful dishes that have made New Orleans famous the world over for fine food, perhaps you would like to take a class in creole cooking taught by a professional chef. The demonstration includes sampling, in addition to lunch and transportation. Creole cooking has four main ethnic influences. It blends the Spanish flair for sharp seasoning, the French mastery of sumptuous sauces, the African skill in fine cooking, and the Indian's knowledge of special herbs and fruits.
Speaking of Creole, conventioneers will certainly want to try gumbo while in New Orleans. Gumbo is the African word for okra; however, there is also a filet gumbo. Filet is powdered sassafras leaves and is sometimes used as a substitute for okra. Gumbo can include a variety of meats: chicken, turkey, ham, or fish, to name a few. It is served with rice as a spicy soup or a main course. Another staple of New Orleans is andouille. Andouille is a plump and spicy country sausage that is often served in red beans and rice. In addition to all the varied cuisines and the festive atmosphere of New Orleans, one can find other fascinating places to visit.
Plantation homes are popular historic sites for adults and children. The most famous of these, the Beauregard-Keyes House, was built in 1826 and was the home of Confederate general Pierre Gustave Beauregard. It was later purchased by Francis Parkinson Keyes and has been preserved with many of the original antiques. Other homes abound, surrounded by lovely gardens and courtyards and offering elegant dining on the premises, such as the restaurant at Randolph Hall.
There are many riverboat cruises featuring dixieland jazz, dancing, and fine food. The Creole Queen is just one of the paddle wheelers plying the mighty Mississippi. The Audubon Zoo, containing over 1200 species in their natural habitats, is another popular tourist site. Transportation is provided. Many Federationists might enjoy a walking tour of the French Quarter or Vieux Carre. This educational stroll also includes the Cafe du Monde and shopping at the Riverwalk and Jax Brewery on Decatur. The Aquarium of the Americas is one of the newest attractions, at the base of Canal Street in the French Quarter. It features aquatic life of every description in a variety of authentic natural settings. This stroll through nature should also whet one's appetite for a unique American excursion"a swamp tour"replete with alligators, water snakes, and hundreds of species of birds including egrets. Transportation and lunch are provided. Perhaps you have heard of the term Bayou, which is a Choctaw Indian word for creek, referring to the thousands of inland water passageways that wind through Louisiana.
These are just some of the possible sights to see in the wild and wonderful city of New Orleans. When one couples all this variety with the full agenda of the annual convention of the National Federation of the Blind, one is almost overwhelmed by the question of where to start. No matter where Federationists begin, they cannot lose.
Wonderful accommodations at the Hyatt Regency Hotel are guaranteed. Southern hospitality at its best will be extended by this year's host affiliate, the National Federation of the Blind of Louisiana. As in the past, hotel room rates for the convention are phenomenally low: singles, $28; doubles and twins, $35; triples, $38; and quads, $40. An additional occupancy tax of $2 per night will be added to the room rates, plus sales tax of eleven percent. There will be no charge for children under twelve in a room with their parents. Room reservations should be made by writing to: Hyatt Regency New Orleans, 500 Poydras Plaza, New Orleans, Louisiana 70140; phone: (504) 561-1234. Do not call the Hyatt toll-free 800 number. A full convention agenda, including division meetings, informative speakers, interesting exhibits of the latest technology, and an exciting banquet are always assured. All we can say is,"Laissez les bons temps rouler!" Let the good times roll.
by Lorraine Rovig, Director-JOB
Editor's Note: The seminar for parents of blind children will also be held on Sunday, June 30. However, we have designed the program so parents who want to participate in both may do so. The parent seminar will have a general session with speakers and panels in the morning. In the afternoon participants will be able to choose three one-hour workshops from among six to eight topics, or they may choose to attend the JOB workshop. Both seminars—the parents seminar and the JOB seminar—are FREE of charge.
JOB OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE BLIND (JOB) will hold its 1991 National Seminar on Sunday, June 30, from 1 to 4 p.m. in New Orleans. Registration will be at the door beginning at 12:00 noon. The seminar is free.
JOB is a joint program of the National Federation of the Blind and the U.S. Department of Labor. (Your tax money at work.) Anyone who is legally blind and looking for work in the United States is invited to register to receive our free, nationwide job hunter's magazine on cassette as well as our other services. Some services are available to agencies and individuals assisting blind job seekers. Some services are available to employers interested in hiring competent blind workers. Call 1-800-638-7518 to register or for more information on JOB.
The national JOB seminar is set up with the blind job seeker in mind. If you have some of the following concerns, it is for you.
Do you ask yourself, "What job can a blind person do?" Do you want to ask questions about the techniques that allow one to be competItive and successful in real jobs? Do you want to meet someone who successfully uses only blind techniques, or do you need advice on combining low vision techniques with blind techniques?
Do you need to know how to plan now for the future when you may have less sight and your low vision techniques won't work for you?
Do you need tips on dealing with interviewers or employers?
Do you want to meet legally blind people who are scientists, secretaries, mechanics, telephone operators, counselors, salesmen, psychologists, English teachers, or in many other occupations?
Do you know anyone who is blind and has a good job? Do you wonder how you can find a job for yourself? Do you have questions about voice output and Braille output computers or the Arkenstone reader vs. the Kurzweil? Do you need ideas for funding the purchase of these or other useful aids? The Job Opportunites for the Blind national seminar is three exciting down-to-earth, practical, idea-laden hours of information for blind people seeking work. Join us. If you can't make it to convention, call JOB to receive the cassette copy. We'll help you increase your chances of getting the job of your choice.
by Tom Balek, Chairman Technology Committee Parents of Blind Children Division National Federation of the Blind
Editor's Note: The purpose of the POBC Technology Committee is to help parents and educators get good information about technology which may benefit blind children. The committee members are made of parents of blind children who have a special interest in technology, and are willing to share their knowledge with other parents and educators. If you have questions or information to share about technology and blind children, Tom and the committee would like to hear from you. Contact: Tom Balek, Chairman, Technology Committee, POBC/NFB, 5640 South East Croco Road, Berryton, Kansas 66409; (913) 862-1518.
No doubt about it--computers are here to stay, and your kids—both sighted and blind—need to be deeply involved. But you already know that! So let's get to work.
Here are my very personal opinions on some frequently asked questions:
DOES MY FAMILY NEED A COMPUTER AT HOME?
Yes! Your kids need to fully understand computer concepts such as: What is a program and how does it work? How are data and programs organized and stored? What kinds of tasks are computers good for? Chances are the computer time your kids are getting at school is spent playing educational games by pushing buttons on an Apple. This is a good teaching method for academic subject material, but don't confuse this with learning about computers. Real understanding of computers comes from hands-on experience and experimentation. There isn't enough time or equipment in schools for much of that.
Adults can make great use of a home computer, too. Everyone has need for printed documents and correspondence. Computer "word processing" has made typewriters obsolete. Income taxes are a snap with an inexpensive and easy-to-use tax program. (I use "Turbo Tax" —just answer the questions and it prints out all your tax forms, ready to sign and mail. More thorough and accurate than many tax preparation companies, for about $50!) Other good applications for a home computer include family (or business) finances and accounting, club rosters and newsletters, mailing lists and labels, dialing into subscription services such as Compu-Serve, connecting with the main computer at your office--in fact, for every task you can imagine doing on a computer, there are several inexpensive and effective programs on the market, and the list grows daily.
Let's not forget that computers are Just plain fun for kids and adults. For entertainment value Nintendo pales in comparison to the endless array of inexpensive and intriguing games available to computer users.
MY KIDS USE APPLE COMPUTERS AT SCHOOL. SHOULD I GET AN APPLE OR AN IBM COMPATIBLE?
No contest. Get an IBM compatible (DOS) computer. Schools are full of Apples as a result of a brilliant marketing scheme deployed in the 1970s. In its early years, Apple Corp. gave thousands of computers to schools, with two aims: (a) to get the schools familiar with their product so they would buy more of the same, and (b) to sell lots of software, often at a premium price, to run on these computers. The strategy worked. But while Apples are found in most schools, they are virtually nonexistent in the public sector. Apple computers are generally more expensive than comparable IBM compatible models, and the selection of software is skimpy and costly. The Apple MacIntosh set the pace some years ago in graphics applications and desktop publishing but has since been surpassed.
In a nutshell, IBM compatibles cost less, do more, outnumber Apples by a huge margin, and are the machines that people use to help them earn a living. `Nuff said.
CAN I AFFORD A COMPUTER? WHAT SHOULD I GET?
You can afford one if it is fairly close to the top of your priority list. A good home computer would be an XT-class computer with 640K of memory, color monitor and a 30-megabyte hard drive. This unit should cost about $1000. Add a printer for $250 and you're in business. This is equivalent to the cost of two packs of cigarettes a day for a year, a mid-range stereo system, weekday lunches at McDonald's for a year, or a skiing weekend for two in Aspen. You can save a few bucks by giving up color and the hard drive, but I don't recommend it. A few years ago you had to shop mail-order warehouses to get a good deal, but now you can drive down to your local discount electronics store and get a pretty good buy. Don't spend big money on brand names. Do deal with somebody reputable. There are some excellent mail-order companies (call me for more opinions!).
Don't worry about your computer breaking down--they are generally very reliable. I have had two cheap personal computers at home for six years and neither has ever had a problem. Computers are made of a few easily replaceable components, but even if you want to take it in to the shop, repairs won't break your budget because competition is keen.
Software gets cheaper all the time, and there are tons of good "shareware" programs available. These are programs distributed through bulletin boards or sold very inexpensively through the mail. If you find a program you like and use it, you are asked to volunteer a modest fee to the author.
WHAT EQUIPMENT DO I NEED FOR MY BLIND KID?
You will need a speech synthesizer card and text-to-speech software to make your computer "talk". The card plugs into a slot inside your computer and has a small speaker on it (most also allow you to plug in an external speaker--a good option). The card works with the software to channel all text input and output to the speaker.
The program can repeat each keystroke audibly and "read" text as it is displayed on the screen. Each word is checked against the "lexicon", a file on disk which contains the phonetic pronunciation of thousands of words. If a word is not contained in the file, the program will "guess" how to pronounce it. You should select a system that has a clear and understandable "voice" and does a good job of phonetically guessing the pronunciation of words not stored in its lexicon. It should also offer different "voices" for keyboard input and different types of screen output, such as background, foreground, bold, etc., and these voices should be configurable to different speeds, tones, and volumes.
The system my son uses cost about $750 for the speech card and software. Prices are starting to go down as more competitors enter the market.
Older students may get good service from a lap-top personal computer. They have the same capabilities as their larger counterparts, and battery performance has improved dramatically. Users with low vision might want a large print display. There are new VTEK's which, in addition to magnifying printed material, can also be connected to a computer for enlarged screen display. This might be something to consider before purchasing a new print magnifier. Another innovative new product allows the user to enlarge part or all of his regular computer screen on demand. Low-vision kids sometimes resist using a speech synthesizer because they have to listen attentively instead of relying on their vision. But they should give the speech system a good try before giving up because once they get accustomed to it, it may be faster for general use than using a large print screen.
DOES THE COMPUTER ELIMINATE THE NEED FOR BRAILLE?
No, quite the opposite—it enhances Braille as an information medium. The computer makes conversion between printed text, data, and Braille much easier—a real boon to mainstreamed blind kids. A sighted teacher can now key or scan a test or workpaper into her personal computer, print the document in text for her sighted students on a regular printer, and print it in Braille for her blind students on a Braille printer. With an attachment to the standard Brailler a blind student can simultaneously print a copy in text for his teacher. And portable electronic Braille units will store data which can be uploaded to a personal computer for storage and later use.
A device with real promise for educational applications displays video images from a computer on a raised-dot tactile board. It also is digitized so that an area touched by the user can evoke a response from the talking computer.
Still another new device is a Braille display unit, which copies a line of text on the screen to a raised-dot line of Braille beneath the keyboard to be read tactilely.
I DON'T UNDERSTAND ALL THIS STUFF. WHAT DO I DO?
Don't be intimidated. The concepts are pretty simple once you get past the "buzzwords". You don't have to know any math or be a programmer to use a computer. But you do have to make the effort to understand a few basic concepts.
Fortunately, there's lots of help out there. There are introductory computer classes at computer stores and local schools, at little or no cost. And there are many good books written in plain language.
Everybody has a friend who is a computer nut. You probably know somebody at work who would love to help. Don't be embarrassed to ask questions or for help getting started. Want advice on what to buy? Having trouble picking software? Call your POBC technology committee! Call the NFB computer science committee! Call somebody, but just get going!
by Charles J. Duveen
How can we give blind and partially sighted children a clear competitive edge over their normally sighted peers? How can we develop education that will provide these children with the tools they need to demonstrate confidence in their abilities while showing the public their true potential for meaningful employment? How do we begin setting our sights beyond equality and place blind children at a distinct advantage in school and eventually in the workforce?
Some may think this goal to be lofty and unrealistic. But for any parent, teacher, school and community leader involved in the training of blind children, this is exactly the goal we must strive to achieve in the 90s. We are developing a program that I believe will become a leading step in this direction. We call it The Balloon Project.
What is the Balloon Project?
The Balloon Project is a program that requires secondary students to apply math, science, art, writing, and language skills to a technical venture spanning the entire school year. They must design, build, test, and launch a helium-filled vehicle that carries a small motion picture camera. This launch vehicle must release the camera from a height of about 200 ft. and return it safely to a predicted landing point on the ground. The aerial movies, the bearing and elevation tracking data, and other information taken during the launch vehicle flight will be used by the students to analyze the performance of their design. Other student-designed support equipment such as the helium tank Field Transport Vehicle (FTV) and the Wind Measuring Station (WMS) will have to operate flawlessly. And there is more.
To complete this project on time and within the students' proposed budget, they will need to manage each of five program phases:
Phase I: Start-up
Phase II: Research and Development
Phase III: Design-Build-Test
Phase IV: Launch and Retrieval
Phase V:Data Analysis and Reporting
As in any major program of this complexity, the students must establish a project organization. The students will form departments or teams to carry out the program functions: Management, Engineering, Weather and Ground Control, and Communications. And finally, a Safety Review Board composed of four students and one teacher will ensure that all activities, procedures, and equipment designs comply with the stringent safety regulations developed early in the program.
Each of the Program phases has milestone completion dates that are described in a "contract document." Using this document the students will plan the entire project using dependency schedules and budgeted spend plans for each department, They will manage the project and report each month's progress against the planned objectives.
Since we do not provide any designs for the launch vehicle or other support equipment, the students will be using natural creativity and critical thinking skills to come up with their own home-grown designs. We need only coach them through the processes and teach them some relevant applications of subjects they learn in school.
These subjects include:
MATHEMATICS: Such as arithmetic, algebra, geometry, trigonometry, and logic.
SCIENCE: Such as physics, chemistry, meteorology, environmental science, experimentation, the scientific method.
LANGUAGE: Such as Braille, research, writing, presentations, correspondence, interviews, reports.
ART/GRAPHICS: Such as technical drawing, design, modeling, fabrication, commercial art, display graphics.
INFORMATION/TECHNOLOGY: Such as word processing, data base, spread sheets.
SOCIAL STUDIES: Such as coordination with local, state, and federal agencies; presentations to community groups and a
school in another state/country.
WORKFORCE: Such as teamwork, safety, budgeting, scheduling, risk analysis, total quality management,
accountability, leadership.
These academic subjects are interrelated. They are used in any major design development program that requires many skills and tools to solve technical, managerial, and artistic problems. Blind students will experience these applications in the context of achieving project goals rather than in the isolation of topical classroom teaching.
Braille and Alternative Techniques
As you can gather from the above description, this program has not been designed specifically for blind children. We start with the premise that blind children can accomplish whatever sighted children can. Only the method of reading, displaying, and exchanging information is different.
Since the students will be holding meetings and giving presentations to blind and sighted audiences, they will have to prepare a variety of display media. They must prepare materials which they can read and use, and materials suited for a sighted audience. Obviously, the use of Braille and other techniques of blindness will be important tools in the project.
The demands of the project can demonstrate to the students the importance of literacy skills and alternative techniques of blindness in real life work situations. For example, they must be able to write and read their own: minutes from meetings with action items, assignments, and due dates; brainstorming ideas; Launch procedures; test procedures; safety instructions; check lists; nameplate data; status reports; notes; research materials/information; schedule chart labels; monthly calendar of events; organization charts; and flow diagrams.
One of the largest displays will be a ten-month dependency schedule which is used to plan the entire project. This display will be several feet long and will plot all of the major activities that students must complete to meet the major milestone deadlines. Braille and other tactile labels for the activities, target dates and time lines will allow the students to view the "big picture" and help them develop work-around plans when delays occur.
Teamwork Development
The success of this project relies heavily on the ability of the students to work as a team. This is not as easy as it may sound, especially when you consider the millions of dollars that corporations spend each year on team training. The four project departments will function as teams with clearly defined responsibilities. Each department will receive a grade based on achievement of their scheduled monthly milestones. It will become obvious (with the help of teacher and parent coaching) that working as a team will impact favorably on performance. The early weeks of the project will usually bear this out. Teamwork is perhaps the single most important outcome of the entire program, for if the children learn to work effectively as team members, they will most probably excel in any workplace environment.
Pilot Programs
In 1989 The Balloon Project was piloted at the Lexington School for the Deaf in New York City. Twenty-one high school students and five teachers worked on the project two days a week. The students were successful in developing a working launch vehicle with a camera platform, a remote control, a digital timing device, a rat trap-activated trigger mechanism, two parachutes, and of course a helium-filled weather balloon.
Were there problems? Most assuredly, but the teachers, the administration, and I worked hard to overcome them. We learned a great deal about what will work in a school setting and what will not. We also learned that many of the students could better link their academic subjects when applying them to a real set of problems. This is not a new idea; in fact it is well documented in research completed over the last thirty years and is intuitively obvious.
Last September, the Reverend Robert Manthorp invited us to work with blind students at the Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB) New College in Worcester, England for a period of three weeks. These children, aged 12 to 16, were brilliant in their grasp of the technical problems that had to be solved. Collectively they developed some creative answers to our most difficult question: how do we get the movie camera back safely? At our last meeting, a potential launch site had been selected and the first concept drawings for the helium tank Field Transport Vehicle completed.
Two blind professionals were extremely helpful during my trip to England. Mr. Les Ball, a computer analyst from Nottingham and Mr. Andrew Komosa, a teacher from Sheffield, met with me. We discussed the goals of the program and methods of implementing the project for blind children. Both were keenly impressed with the idea of creating practical applications of math and science for blind children. Mr. Ball, who designs and builds his own electronic circuit boards, offered to help develop a teaching module for training blind children to make simple circuits. Although we were unable to secure funding for a pilot program in England, we established strong links that will allow us to coordinate future programs.
In January of this year we visited the Maryland School for the Blind and introduced the project activities with a short demonstration to teachers and students at the school. We discussed calculating the diameter of a spherical balloon by measuring its circumference. A group of students inflated a 3-foot and an 8-foot diameter weather balloon with air and measured the circumference of each. They proceeded to calculate the diameters of the balloons using the formula C = piD. The two hour introduction covered geometry, algebra, leadership, brainstorming, measurement, estimating, teamwork, procedure development, and safety.
Even more impressive were their ideas on how to release the camera from the launch vehicle. A height sensor, a small computer, and a remote control were suggestions from students in less than 90 seconds of posing the question. After working with this group, an observer might have thought that we were dealing with a class of "gifted" children. Although standard test scores may preclude this classification, they were indeed acting like gifted students, and their creative minds were firing off ideas faster than I could respond to them. These children were functioning as a team of problem solvers, addressing every issue that I threw their way. Perhaps we should redefine GIFTED.
Future Planning
We will be working closely with the National Federation of the Blind to develop special materials needed for blind children to participate in this program. The resources of the NFB will also permit networking with blind professionals who can provide guidance and ideas to improve and expand the use of activity-centered learning for blind children. If funding becomes available, we will prepare to start two pilot programs in September 1991. With experience from those pilot projects the program can be replicated and improved accordingly and new projects developed for implementation.
Summary
Our goal is to build the confidence and self-image of blind children while empowering them with skills they will need in the current and future workforce. In doing so we can expand their horizons and educate the public to recognize the capabilities of blind people in every professional field.
The Balloon Project and other interdisciplinary programs that we develop will provide work-related skills and experiences usually not developed or encountered until college or on the job. It is our responsibility to give blind graduates every competitive advantage that their schooling can deliver. We cannot start too soon in this endeavor.
The Balloon Project, Inc. is a not-for-profit organization established to design creative educational programs for children with special needs.
Mr. Charles J. Duveen has a Master of Education degree from Adelphi University and experience in teaching secondary school mathematics and science. He spent eight years in the U.S. Navy, after which he joined the management staff of UNISYS, gaining twelve years' vital experience in project management and the working of a highly technical engineering and manufacturing company. Most recently, he has managed and reported schedules and budgets for the design, development, building and prove-out of AEGIS weapon system shipboard radar test equipment valued at over $15 million.
by Susan Baker
Editor's Note: I first met the Baker family about two or three years ago. Susan and Howard had brought Jennifer, along with their son Sheldon, to a state convention of the National Federation of the Blind of Maryland.
Jennifer has a multitude of disabilities. She has a cleft lip and palate with an accompanying speech defect; she is deaf in one ear, she has limited use of her arms (she cannot extend them out for full use), she has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair for mobility, she has epilepsy, she has had kidney failure which led to numerous strokes which in turn led to many, many broken bones, she is borderline mentally retarded, and she is blind.
But, far more important than all that, Jennifer is a delightful, spunky individual and an avid, accomplished Braille reader who has twice won awards in the national "Braille Readers are Leader" contest.
How can this be? The conventional wisdom in our country today is that a mentally retarded and otherwise physically disabled blind child is incapable of doing much of anything—much less learning to read Braille! However, Jennifer had a mother and a father who refused to listen to conventional wisdom. They took their clues about their daughter's potential from a real expert—Jennifer herself.
Here is the story as based on an interview and a speech given by Susan Baker at a Baltimore seminar sponsored last Spring by the Parents of Blind Children Division of the National Federation of the Blind of Maryland:
I'm going to start by saying I'm a terrible extemporaneous speaker. I've written everything down so that I wouldn't make a mess of it, so bear with me, please.
The birth of a blind multiply handicapped child can be devastating, particularly if you find out the news piecemeal. For example, you learn early on that your child is blind. A little while later you find out that maybe there are hearing problems, too. A little while later you notice that maybe your child's arms and legs are weaker than the other kids you see around you. On and on the news goes. And each particular problem is making everything more complicated. The new problems compound the old and tear up your life even further. But, your child is still your child and needs all the love and nurturing you can give him or her.
However much you love your child you should never smother that child or do for the child what the child can do for herself. If you do, your child will never reach his or her full potential—whatever that may be. You may take your child to doctor after doctor hoping for a cure—an answer—or even to have the decision made for you. You may be told yes, your child is blind. Yes, your child is retarded. Your child will never be able to do anything or amount to anything. But doctors aren't always right. You as a parent know your child better than any doctor who may see that child once, twice, even three times. It is you who must ultimately look for the clues that will help you to help your child reach his or her full potential.
For example, years ago when our daughter was born we went to a neurologist who told us that our daughter was not only blind (which we knew), but severely retarded. Jennifer, as an infant, had a very unusual fear, as a blind person, of strange people, objects, and toys. Therefore, she never did what was expected of her in situations that were strange to her. She would scream and refuse to cooperate. When we tried to explain that our daughter understood and did much more than what the doctor could see because of her fear, he treated us like we were imbeciles imagining the impossible instead of people who knew the child and saw her on a daily basis. He, of course, was terribly wrong in his judgment. I'm telling you this to show you that you can look for clues. But if you love your child don't wish so hopefully that you see things that really aren't there. You must really be able to see the clues.
As I stated before, it is very important not to smother your child. Treat him or her as much like his or her normal siblings as possible. It's okay to yell and admonish the child for doing something wrong just as you would do to a normal sibling. It is also very important to seek outside help for your child so that he or she will be able to accomplish different goals. It is never too early. An itinerant teacher from vision services in Montgomery County Public Schools started working with us and our daughter when she was nine months old.
It is also very important to send your child out to school as soon as possible. There are many programs for multiply handicapped children. Some start when the child is eighteen months to two years of age. This is important for several reasons. Sometimes children can learn better in an environment that is not so emotionally charged. The second reason, and this is a very important reason, too, is that you as a parent need time away from your handicapped child for your own mental health.
As a child reaches school age you are invited to attend an IEP. An Individualized Education Program is designed specifically for your child's needs, or so you are told. If you do not like the arrangement of the program, you do have the right to try and have it changed, but this is not always easy to accomplish. For example, our daughter was not scheduled to learn Braille because they did not think she was capable of it. I had to fight them to get the IEP changed to include pre-Braille learning goals for her. As a result, Jen was put in the class with lower functioning students because the teacher in there was the district's Braille instructor.
It took this instructor one school year to teach our daughter one half of the Braille alphabet. She said that Jen had been just too sick that year and she just didn't feel up to doing it somedays or that the other children needed her too much and she could not take time away from them to work with Jennifer. That summer, as sick as Jennifer was, I taught her the rest of the Braille alphabet. By the time she was ready to go into a graded school program she knew the entire Braille alphabet and was ready to learn to read. Last year Jennifer won the national championship for her division in the "Braille Readers Are Leaders" contest sponsored annually by the National Federation of the Blind. This was the child who wasn't ever going to be able to accomplish anything.
Jennifer was late when she started school. She was ten when she entered first grade. She had not been in the graded program because they did not think she was capable of doing it. Again, I had to fight to have her placed into a graded program in a regular public school. She's in OH (orthopedically handicapped) classes right now (she is orthopedically handicapped as well as blind). She is the only blind child in her school.
Next month Jennifer will graduate from sixth grade with all of her other normal and handicapped classmates. She will go on to seventh grade this fall. As a matter of fact, Jennifer has been mainstreamed—that is put into regular classes with the regular kids—in science and social studies for the past three and one half years. She has maintained a straight A average. (Her grades are based on her functioning level. She functions at about grade level in Social Studies and Science, about grade four or five in reading, and about grade two or three in math.) As she reads and her world experience broadens, her IQ goes up. When we first had her tested we were told she was moderately retarded. On the next test she was mildly retarded. On the last test given about two years ago she tested out at the borderline retarded level.
This did not come easily. We had to fight for her and with her to help her continue to grow and develop emotionally and educationally as much as she is able. We are very proud of her accomplishments, especially considering all the obstacles both physical and psychological that she has had to surmount.
Editor's Note: This article was originally printed a few years ago in two parts in the VIP Newsletter, a publication of the Blind Children's Fund (formerly the International Institute for Visually Impaired, 0-7, Inc.). I have added to the text, where appropriate, additional names and addresses of resources.
This article is directed toward parents of three- and four-year-old children who may be Braille readers when they begin school. Although technological advances have decreased the dependence on Braille, Braille is still the major means of obtaining information for many visually handicapped students. Children who have some vision will benefit from the suggestions below, since they will have to use vision along with the other senses. Parents should also be aware that many children with low vision use Braille because it is more efficient to read than print. Some students are taught both Braille and print in the early grades, providing them with the opportunity to use whichever medium is the most useful for a particular task.
When sighted children enter school they have already acquired, on their own, the experiential foundations necessary for learning to read. They know that letters form words, and that those words express ideas. Many of them can read simple words and phrases, their names, names of favorite television programs, stores they visit with parents. No one taught them. They learned to read by hearing and seeing, again and again, words coupled with their meanings.
Braille students learn to read in much the same manner as print readers. The medium is different, the order of teaching letters and words may vary, but the process is essentially the same.
Reading readiness for both sighted and blind children includes the ability to:
converse meaningfully with others, using complete sentences; listen attentively for short periods of time; express ideas clearly; discriminate between likeness and differences; follow simple directions.
Children who must read tactually can benefit from the same kinds of exposure to Braille characters that sighted children have to print characters. Sighted children learn about print materials daily; every time they watch "Sesame Street" or sit in a parent's lap to listen to a story, they are learning. Children who will be Braille readers are denied this form of incidental learning. Intentional exposure to the tactual medium is necessary.
Many parents begin reading to their children when they are very young. It's a nice way to be close before nap or bed time. Babies won't care what you read them, but after a year of age, children enjoy books especially written for young children. Local libraries will have a good selection of children's books. Homemade books about actual events in the child's life are great. Children love to hear about "Debby's Birthday" or "The Trip to Grandma's House." By three or four, children should have books which are theirs alone, which they can "read" and enjoy on their own. For a visually handicapped child, these books include non-visual appeal. Look in your local toy or book store for books which incorporate fragrance patches: Scratch and Sniff Books, Sniff-It Books, or Sniffy Books. The above include such favorite children's characters as Winnie the Pooh, Big Bird, the Pokey Little Puppy, and Garfield.
Touch and Feel Books have moving parts and touch activities enjoyed by both visually handicapped and sighted children. If you can't find the above books locally, write to the Catalog Department of Science Products, Box A, Southeastern, PA 19399, and request the "Vision Aids Resource Guide."
There are also a few tactile books written especially for blind children: Roly Goes Exploring, Red Thread Riddles, What's That, and Catching (also available from Science Products.)
Print/Braille books are available, for loan or purchase, from a number of sources. Most print/Braille books are the print version of the book with Braille pages added, either on the printed page itself or as an insert.
National Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped
Library of Congress
1291 Taylor Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20542
(free loan from your regional library)
American Brotherhood for the Blind
18440 Oxnard Street
Tarzana, CA 91356 (free loan)
Howe Press
Perkins School for the Blind
175 North Beacon
Watertown, MA 02172 (purchase)
Braille Children's Book of the Month Club
The National Braille Press
88 St. Stephen St.
Boston, MA 02115
(purchase)
Seedlings: Braille Books for Children
P.O. Box 2395
Livonia, MI 48151-0395 (purchase)
As children sit on their parents' laps and listen to a print Braille book, they learn naturally that words express ideas. Encourage your child to move the fingers across a row of dots from left to right to feel the tiny "bumps." Help her to find the top, bottom, and sides of a page and show her how to turn the pages, one at a time.
Many three- and four-year-olds enjoy listening to children's stories in recorded form. The Library of Congress loans free talking book phonographs and cassette players, talking books and cassettes to eligible readers. For an application form, write to the National Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped at address given above.
Once you have returned your application, you will receive catalogs and additional information. The Library of Congress has many excellent records and cassettes of books for preschoolers in the "For Younger Readers" catalog. This service involves no cost to the parents and is supported by your tax dollars.
To help children make the connection between Brailled words and the objects they represent some parents have used Braille labels. What can you label? You child's records, books, cans of food, dresser drawers, containers for toys—whatever is meaningful to your child. The easiest way to make your own Braille labels is with a Braille Labeler. Write for "Products for People with Vision Problems," American Foundation for the Blind, Consumer Products Department, 15 West 16th St., New York, NY 10011; or for "Aids and Appliances Descriptive Order Form," National Federation of the Blind, 1800 Johnson Street, Baltimore, MD 21230. Braille labelers use vinyl tape with adhesive back and or magnetic tape (for reuse on steel surfaces). You can also use Labelon tape and a slate and stylus for labels, but more knowledge of Braille is required. [Little knowledge of Braille is needed with the Braille labeler because the labeler is also marked in print for the sighted user.]
Most teachers prefer that parents use Grade 2 Braille, with contractions for certain letter combinations, because that's what children learn in school. If you don't know Braille, an itinerant teacher of the visually impaired or your state school for the blind can help by telling you what contractions are present in your personal list of words to be Brailled. The American Printing House publishes Braille contraction sheets for grade 2 Braille (contractions, word signs, short-form words, and punctuation). Up to five copies of the contraction sheets are free of charge (write to the American Printing House for the Blind, P.O. Box 6085, Louisville, KY 40206-0085 and ask for catalog number 7-3596, the print form of the Braille contraction sheet).
Many parents ask, "Should I learn Braille?" Once your child begins to read Braille, you will probably learn along with your child. It's not necessary for you to become an expert, but you will need to know some Braille to help with homework; read letters from your child, and leave notes. If you wish to begin learning about Braille, the American Printing House publishes a handbook "English Braille, American Edition-1959," (revised 1972). The handbook is an excellent resource for a parent of a Braille reader. It includes grade 2 signs, contractions, short form words, the rules of Braille, and typical and problem words. For $3.16 a copy, it's a bargain for a handbook which you will be using for reference for many years. The order number is 7-35593. [The National Braille Press also produces a self-teaching Braille instruction book just for parents. It is called Just Enough To Know Better and is available for $12.95. A Braille contraction sheet comes with the workbook. Send check or money order to: National Braille Press, Inc., 88 St. Stephen Street, Boston, MA 02115.]
If you have ever tried to read Braille with your fingers, you have realized how fine the differences are between the individual cells. Before children can discriminate between Braille letters, they first must learn to discriminate between textures. If your child can tell you if two items (blocks, silverware, pieces of clothing) are the same or different and has learned to match like items (sorting silverware, or putting away toys), you can begin to teach matching of textures. Begin with textures which differ greatly (plastic or burlap, for example) and gradually make the task more difficult.
Cut out small squares of varied textures (sandpaper, felt, tile, flocked wallpaper, linoleum, cardboard. foil, etc). At first, present only a few textures: "Are these two alike or different?" or, of the three squares, "Which two are alike?" Present a number of texture squares and ask the child to sort them in piles of textures which are the same. Gradually introduce the names of the textures and ask the child to identify the textures. Make a texture concept book from cardboard and loose-leaf rings. As the child learns the name of the texture, attach the sample to a page of the book. If desired, label the texture in Braille. Provide the child with words and phrases to describe the textures—smooth, rough, scratchy, bumpy. Relate the texture to something in your child's world: "This is corduroy. Your new pants are corduroy. The oranges we buy at the store come in a bag of netting just like this." Once the child is proficient at sorting different textures, you may wish to adapt your own games, such as the following:
Tactile Dominos: 20-30 pieces of wood 2" by 1-1/2". Cover the dominoes in halves with several of each texture. To create a slightly different version, glue real objects (buttons, bottle caps, etc.) on the halves.
Old Maid: cover cards with various textures, have two matching cards for each texture except for one which is the "Old Maid."
Concentration: Use ten pairs of different textures. Place face down in four rows of five columns.
(Burwood Education Series Number 6)
Written by Ena Danielson Available from the Royal Victorian Institute for the Blind
Review by Doris M. Willoughby
Teach Yourself To Sight Read Braille is a clever and appealing book designed to teach parents and others to read Braille by sight. The —cloze— approach is used extensively, with the context structured to help the learner figure out words from new or incomplete clues. The first selections are mostly in regular inkprint, with an occasional word shown in Braille instead. (Braille is shown by inked dots.) Later selections gradually have less in inkprint and more in Braille. Clever activities add interest—for example, a task of matching several Braille words with their inkprint definitions. U.S. readers will especially enjoy the Austrailian flavor, with drawings of kangaroos and platypuses. There are also a few differences in vocabulary, such as "full stop" for "period."
Braille rules are explained in an easy-to-read fashion that does not give every ramification. (It is assumed that the serious student will go on to use other instruction books.) There is one difference from U.S. Braille usage: for words like "dear," the ea sign and the ar sign are both indicated as acceptable.
(Burwood Educational Series Number 5)
Written by Ena Davielson and Gayle Lamb Available from the Royal Victorian Institute
for the Blind
Review by Doris Willoughby
Beginning Reading/Writing for Braille or Print Users is a methods book for teachers. It describes a psycholinguistic, individualized approach, based on personal experiences, for a child's learning to read and write through the medium of Braille. A variety of materials is used, rather than uniform basal reading books.
The book is written in a positive vein, with such statements as "developmental delays and differences in the development of linguistic concepts of blind children [are] related not to the absence of vision, but rather to the absence of experience." It is clearly shown that learning to read through the medium of Braille is the same experience as learning to read with inkprint.
If this approach is to be used as a guide for the entire reading/writing curriculum, the teacher must be creative and well-prepared (with much more background and preparation than is provided by this book alone). However, any teacher with any curriculum can easily use these ideas as a valuable supplement.
For information on ordering these books, please contact:
Royal Victorian Institute for the Blind
333 Burwood Highway
Burwood, Victoria 3125
AUSTRALIA
phone: (03) 808-6422
FACSimile: (03) 808-2194
by Else Momrak Haugann
Assistant Professor—Norwegian Institute for Special Education Reprinted from the ICEVH Educator, a publication of The International Council for the Education of the Visually Handicapped for the Quinquennium 1987-1992.
Should the visually handicapped receive their education in special schools or together with the sighted? This question has arisen at every international conference or seminar in which I have taken part, regardless of the real theme of the conference. It has struck me that the points of view brought forward show, as a rule, little variety. One is either for or against integration, for or against special schools. One is not capable of seeing—or at least not willing to admit that there are strong and weak aspects to both systems.
In the following article I would like to do just that: Discuss the strong and weak points to both integrated education and special schools. I will try to give a special reference to the developing countries. Some of these countries have already started educating the visually handicapped, and there is an interest in promoting such an education. I hope it will be possible to learn from our experience and to avoid at least some of the mistakes we have made.
I have learned, little by little, that in real life we seldom get a simple choice between one entirely good and one entirely bad thing.
If that were the case, choices would be easy. As a rule we have to choose between things with both positive and negative sides to them. We must hold the positive and negative sides up against one another in order to make the better choice. When this is done one must try to reduce the negative aspects.
Segregation and integration may be thought of as opposite poles on a sliding transition scale. The traditional school for the blind is a boarding school where the blind pupils both live and are taught. Education tends to extend over quite a number of years, often comprising both elementary school and occupational training. Such a school may admit pupils from one region or from a whole country. As a rule the distance between the school and the pupil's home is considerable.
We also find special schools, or special classes, where the pupils live at home but get their schooling in the institution. The distance between home and school must not, in these cases, be too great since the pupils must travel to and from school daily. This means that the school must be situated in a town with a relatively large population.
The word integration is used to cover different forms for education. Personally, I would not use the term integrated in relation to a blind pupil who attends a special class. I use it first and foremost to describe blind and partially sighted students who, singly or two or three together, receive their education in a class for the sighted.
Now something about the advantages and disadvantages of the different systems. Most blind persons who have had to leave their families as small children in order to attend a school for the blind far away will emphatically agree that this was a traumatic experience. Such an experience may have an indelible impression on the mind of a child and may lead to emotional problems later. The right of a blind child to live at home with his family is a strong argument in favor of integration. Most parents, too, will appreciate having their child at home. Long absences from home may weaken or even break the natural ties between parents and child. However, some parents reject their blind children. This reaction is perhaps due to fear and a feeling of guilt. In some cultures blindness is considered to be a punishment from the gods for earlier sins. This is a stigma which causes the whole family to lose status.
Other parents overprotect their child. They are full of compassion and have low expectations regarding what the child may manage to do. The child receives no training in managing for himself. There is no expectation of his achieving anything, and this will in turn lead to the child's becoming passive, lacking in initiative, and failing to learn the everyday activities which all children must know.
Then there are parents who will look at the school for the blind as a welcome opportunity to rid themselves of the burden which the blind child represents. In such cases we are not always justified in moralizing. The reason may be rejection, but some families are so poor that they are glad to have fewer mouths to feed.
In any case, leaving home in order to attend a school for the blind will emphasize the child's deviation from the norm. Not only is the child blind, but she/he also grows up in different surroundings from her/his brothers and sisters. If, however, conditions in the home are particularly difficult due to extreme poverty, rejection, or overprotection of the child, then the school for the blind may represent a better environment in which to grow up.
In that case, the school for the blind must be of a certain standard, with personnel capable of satisfying the needs of blind children both for stimulation and education. There are many blind children who have suffered deep emotional injuries after a period at a school for the blind which had uncaring and inefficient personnel and tyrannical fellow pupils. I think I may maintain that even a good school for the blind is not a substitute for a good home, but such a school may of course represent a good alternative to a bad home.
It is often said that special schools show better results in education, whereas integration has its strength in the social rehabilitation. There may be a good deal of truth in this, but in my opinion the picture is more differentiated. At a school for the blind one has access to books and technical aids necessary for the education of blind pupils. There are teachers with knowledge about and experience with the blind. One can also teach special skills, such as mobility and orientation, training of intact senses, and Braille. The classes are small, at least smaller than in ordinary schools.
To compare the academic achievements with integrated schools where all this or at least most of it—is lacking is obviously unjust. If integrated education is to function at all then the minimum condition is that the blind pupil have access to the necessary books, either through Braille books, talking books, or being read to aloud. A service with itinerant teachers is also important. How else is a blind pupil to learn, for example, Braille? But when conditions are right, we find that blind pupils can show good academic progress in ordinary schools.
The teacher is a central figure in all education. Many teachers in ordinary schools have no knowledge whatsoever with regard to teaching the blind. Some are perhaps directly negative, others only confused and afraid, still others overlook or overprotect the pupil.
I would like to point out one dangerous and frequent effect of these varying negative attitudes: The teacher's expectation regarding the pupil's achievement is far too low. We all tend to fulfill expectations. Pupils are the same, whether blind or sighted. When little or nothing is demanded of them, they soon stop working. One gets accustomed to bad study habits and does not learn what one should. At the next crossroads, one loses out in the competition: one is blind and in addition one has less knowledge than one's classmates.If integration is to function both at school and elsewhere, then it is vital to teach parents, teachers, and everyone else that the blind are capable people.
However, low expectations and negative attitudes towards the visually handicapped are phenomena not only met within the public; but we find such negative attitudes even among experts who work for the blind. These persons may have become accustomed to placing the blind person in the role of a client. In such cases attitudes are even more tenacious and difficult to eradicate. This may also be the case of a teacher in the school for the blind. Many visually handicapped pupils have told of the sense of relief they felt on being transferred from the school for the blind to integrated education because they were treated more like ordinary human beings.
The social adaptation to a sighted environment has been considered the great advantage of integrated education. At a school for the blind it is difficult to get in touch with sighted pupils of one's own age. An isolated group culture develops, and the blind pupils do not learn how to behave amongst the sighted. This strengthens the deviation from the norm. It is more than understandable that the pupil, after a stay of many years in a school for the blind, finds it extremely difficult to adapt himself to the sighted world outside the institution.
But integrated education is not a key to open all doors, just as segregated education is no guarantee for academic success. It goes without saying that the chances of developing good relations with sighted comrades are much better when you are among them, but many blind pupils feel bitterly isolated in ordinary schools. Far from feeling "one of the gang," they receive continual confirmation that they are different. This is not good for the development of their personality. Perhaps one becomes accustomed to expecting that everyone should show consideration on account of one's blindness.
We all need to be a part of a social community. We would like to be equal partners in a group where we may all take part and give and receive emotional support and practical help. A blind pupil does not want to be socially isolated, however well he may be integrated in an educational sense. Nor does he want to be the subject of pity, that is, regarded as inferior. In my opinion it is important for everyone with a serious visual handicap to meet others in the same situation in order to develop a sound personality where one's identity as a blind person is neither rejected nor becomes the overshadowing side of one's character.
In order to achieve this, it is not necessary to go to school with other blind persons, but one should at least have the chance of meeting and having contact with other blind persons. The good companionship with fellow pupils is, more than anything else, emphasized as a positive aspect at the schools for the blind.
From what I have said so far it should be obvious that I regard segregated and integrated education for the blind not as irreconcilable opposites but, on the contrary, as supplementary to each other. Both systems have advantages and disadvantages.
If we do not want the education and training of blind children restricted to a few occupations, then this education and training must be given in an integrated environment. It is impossible to construct special schools with a wide selection of educational paths. But in order to ensure the proper functioning of integrated education, it is necessary to establish centers for technical aids, teaching aids, and a service of itinerant teachers. In many developing countries it may be difficult or even impossible to establish this kind of services. It demands a good system of registration of the visually handicapped and effective communications, something which is lacking in many countries. On the other hand, if we were to choose a segregated system of education, would we be able to afford to build blind schools for the millions and millions of blind children and youth in the developing countries? Will this not lead to only a few, mainly those who live in towns, being offered an opportunity for education while the vast majority are doomed to drag out their days without a chance of receiving an education?
In my opinion there should not be a choice between either special schools or integrated education, but a combination of both systems. We must have special schools for the blind, but we must also endeavor to develop education for the blind in the local environment.
I believe that an important task for blind schools in developing countries is to become centers of strong organization of the blind.
We must all have as our goal the changing of conditions of society in our various countries so that it becomes easier for the handicapped—for the blind—to function. This will never come as a gift from above. The blind themselves must take part in the fight for these changes, and that is why strong organizations of the blind are vitally important.
In conclusion, I am aware of the fact that I have posed more questions than I have answered, but I have tried to illustrate the complexity of the subject. There are enormous differences between living conditions for the blind in developing countries and in the industrialized countries. Even so, I believe it should be possible to learn from the mistakes we have made with regard to organized education for the blind.
We could wish for many things: that everybody had an opportunity to receive an education; that there were enough books, technical aids, and well-educated and committed teachers; that there was freedom of choice with regard to occupational training, and so on. However, we must realize that all this is in short supply. On the other hand, this must not prevent us from trying to improve matters; establish educational facilities where these are not to be found; and improve existing facilities.
The goal which must always be kept is sight is independence, full participation, and equality for the visually handicapped. I believe that education is a vital weapon in the fight to achieve that goal.
by Beth Hatch-Alleyne
Reprinted from the January, 1991, Slate and Style, the magazine of the National Federation of the Blind Writers Division.
In my study of journalism I have developed alternative techniques involving conducting interviews, doing research, and writing articles for publication. I hope some of the following ideas and insights will be helpful to anyone considering, or presently working in, journalism.
Having competent readers or "visual assistants", is a must when your job requires research, proofreading, or accessing a dictionary or any reference materials not available in a usable format, such as Braille, tape, or computer disk. Sighted journalists utilize computers, tape recorders, dictionaries, and other reference materials such as almanacs and newspaper style books. There is no reason why a blind journalist should not do the same. Tape recorders have been in use by blind people to access information for years. Although computer technology is by no means perfect it is possible to produce good work with the use of speech and Braille computer aids.
If reference materials are not available in Braille, on tape, or in other usable formats, take charge of the situation by writing a list of words or other information to be read or looked up and supervise your reader in doing these tasks.
If an editor assigns a story, it is your job to find sources. The editor may help you with a name or give you a meeting to cover, but you are responsible for writing interview questions and doing your homework on the topic. One of the best ways to find a source independently of a reader is the telephone. Journalists use it to conduct interviews, keep in touch with sources when working on a "beat," or when on a particular type of assignment, like city government or the police blotter. If you are strapped for time use the phone to obtain information available without direct interviewing.
Read community bulletin boards in libraries and churches and attend local club meetings and meetings of boards or legislative events. No one else will have the contacts you've worked to obtain, and this will help you sell your work.
You can pick up information without the use of a reader. Reporters are taught to "keep your eyes open". As blind people we know we can take control of any situation and, with or without the use of readers or drivers, we are capable of observing the world around us. Sight is the information sense for most reporters, so they tend to stress the visual ways of observation rather than techniques such as listening and the ability to ask questions. Reporters must be curious and approach people to ask what they and others nearby are doing. People like talking about themselves. If someone asks if you need help crossing a street, or asks if you are lost when you happen to be sitting on a bench observing people, whether or not you choose to accept the help you can use the opportunity to ask questions you need answered.
Radio and television are not the only sources of information! Co-workers or people in the street may prove to be excellent sources: You may find you know someone in common or learn about some public event or individual who would make a good story. Being in the right place at the right time enabled me to find many human interest and political stories for my college newspaper.
When covering a meeting or press conference, obtain an agenda from the city clerk who can also give you the name and phone number of the chairperson. The agenda will help you decide on your topic and enable you to budget your time, since some meetings last into the night.
In a large gathering ask the chair to recognize you by name if questions are taken from the floor. Seek out someone who will introduce you to people in top positions or to those who have made points worth quoting. You now have the opportunity to make contacts and to educate others about the capabilities of people who are blind in the process of doing your work.
I take notes in Braille with slate and stylus, which allows me to carry notebook and tape recorder just as my sighted colleagues do. Computers and word processors are great to write the story, but there is nothing like taking down quotes, impressions of your source, and phone numbers of prospective contacts.
I tape my interviews on a four-track recorder at the lowest speed so that I need only bring one or two tapes per interview. My recorder enables me to use tone indexing to mark my quotes or any other pertinent information. Using Brailled notes in conjunction with a tone indexed tape, I am able to get quotes word for word without worrying if I should happen to miss part of the speaker's address. Since my notes are in the same order as the taped speech, I can abbreviate the speaker's name, or his topic, and find my quote in two or three minutes rather than having to listen to the tape for hours.
I believe Braille is better for proofreading than speech synthesizers. Braille allows quick and efficient proofreading with a Braille display hooked up to a computer. One finds spelling errors quickly without dealing with synthesized pronunciation. I have on occasion corrected a word that sounded wrong, only to find I had originally spelled it correctly.
The most important thing to remember is to always have control in dealing with any situation. Your readers must accept your blindness on your terms, not in terms of the preconceived notions society tends to use when dealing with the blind.
You must be flexible and be willing to try many alternative techniques to accomplish what is expected of you in bringing news to your readers.
by C. Edwin Vaughan, Ph.D.
Editor's Note: This following article was published in the April, 1988 Braille Monitor.
(Dr. Vaughan is Professor of Sociology at the University of Missouri at Columbia. He is also one of the leaders of the National Federation of the Blind of Missouri.)
In the United States the history of blind people has been characterized by the domination of agency-based programs. Until recently blind people themselves had little influence on the direction of agency programs and philosophy. The struggle is now intense, as blind people require agencies to provide programs and activities consistent with goals of independent living and full participation in society. In the United States most of the—professional—writing about rehabilitation and blindness describes narrowly focused inventions or programs aimed at helping blind people adjust to the world as seen by blindness professionals.
Almost never do we see articles describing self-determination alternatives for organizing opportunities for the blind. This article provides an historical and comparative perspective of one instance of self-determination by blind people—The Guild of the Three Emperors, a guild of blind entertainers in Beyshing, China. As early as ancient Rome and Greece individuals of like interests organized themselves into guilds in order to more efficiently pursue religious, social, or economic concerns. Guilds were frequently organized to protect the interests of members, either from forces within a society where government was weak, or from government itself when its representatives could easily exploit individuals.
In medieval Europe many occupational areas were organized as guilds for either craftsmen or merchants. These guilds regulated access to employment opportunities and provided training to enable individuals to enter and progress to higher levels of employment. In medieval China for at least 1,000 years guilds of craftsmen, workers, and merchants were common. Their purpose was to prevent exploitation from government officials and to provide internal regulation of trade and craft areas of employment. There was in Beyshing, formerly Peking, a guild comprised of blind persons who made a career of singing, entertaining, and storytelling. Parents would seek to place a young blind son into this guild so that he might learn a trade for his future lifelong employment. As he mastered the required skills, he would rise in status in the guild to the level of master.
Blind guild members in China were self-governing. The guild was governed by a board of forty-eight members of whom forty-seven were blind. The secretary was the only sighted person. The guild governed itself with regard to membership, including the discipline of members, the charges for services, and the recruitment of new members into the guild. The guild met twice each year, and, not unlike some of our annual conventions, the meetings lasted until 5:00 a.m.
"The Gild of the Blind, who make a business of singing, storytelling, and entertaining holds its meetings on the 2nd of the 3rd month and the 8th of the 9th month, celebrating the Chinese festivals on the 3rd of the 3rd moon and the 9th of the 9th moon, as the meeting lasts until 5 o'clock the next morning. It was our good fortune to be given the privilege of attending one of these meetings. As the gild has no gild hall, it borrows the Ching Chung Miao, a temple in South City outside of Hatamen, and there, all day long, a constant stream of blind men was coming and going. They were greeting their friends, discussing politics and conditions of business, and enjoying the tea and cakes that had been provided; and it was a strange sight to see so many blind people together, each with his long bamboo cane, tapping, tapping, tapping, as they moved around the hall."1
Note the use of long bamboo canes for mobility purposes. Had they been taught by sighted, "credentialed," orientation and mobility specialists? The field work on which these observations were based was completed by 1925. Apparently custodial treatment was not the dominant form; the blind master assumed no responsibility for the safety of blind apprentices. A special understanding relieved the master from any responsibility for his blind students who might possibly be injured in the course of their training.2
Self-discipline characterized this guild. Blind members who broke the guild rules were punished by other guild members, punishment ranging from seventy to one hundred strokes with the bamboo cane. Younger members were punished by the cane while older members were required to pay a fine.
The guild was named the Three Emperors Association after its three patron gods: The God of Heaven, The God of Earth, and The God of Men.3 After the initial religious ritual the meeting progressed with elements that may strike a familiar note:
"After all forty-eight of the officers had worshiped before the gods, the musicians gave a two-hour concert with their best songs and music. Any who had written new songs during the past year were called upon to give them at the time. Following the concert, the business meeting was held from 12 to 2. It consisted of reports and the discussion of methods for strengthening the gild, and of ways and means for making the business of the blind entertainers more prosperous. At the end of the meeting a report giving a statement of the condition of the gild, a resum of the business the past year, and the names of all the officers, musicians, committeemen, and subscribers was burned on the alter so the gods might have a complete report of the work and development of the gild."4
The book from which these remarks are drawn had no special interest in blindness. We know little about the condition of the blind in the China of that day except for that of guild members. We do learn that this group of blind workers was self-determining. Such examples from the past and other cultures can give us a vantage point more clearly to view modern day custodialism.
1. Burgess, John Stewart. 1928. The Guilds of Peking. New York:
Columbia University Press. p. 103.
2. Ibid., p. 160.
3. Ibid.,
p. 104.
4. Ibid., p. 105.
Editor's Note: The following two articles are reprinted from the Winter, 1990 issue of Counterpoint, a publication of the National Association of State Directors of Special Education, Incorporated.
President Bush October 30 signed into law the Education of the Handicapped Act Amendments of 1990, changing the name of the EHA to "Individuals with Disabilities Education Act." The amendments, now Public Law 101-476, 104 Stat. 1103, reauthorize Parts C through G of the IDEA through fiscal year 1994. U.S. Secretary of Education Lauro Cavazos praised the newly enacted Education of the Handicapped Act Amendments of 1990 for recognizing the complex needs of a changing population of students with disabilities.
"The 1975 Education of the Handicapped Act guaranteed that students with disabilities would receive a free and appropriate public education—an opportunity to become independent and participate fully in society. The measure signed into law by President Bush October 30 extends that guarantee to protect the future of more children." Cavazos said.
"The new law also includes many significant improvements, such as programs to promote research and technology and transition programs to help students succeed after high school."
Cavazos also cited new initiatives in the law to address the needs of "crack babies" born to drug-abusing mothers, and to reach ethnically and culturally diverse children. He noted that an estimated 4.6 million children received special education services during the 1989-90 school year.
In comments on the Senate floor when the Senate approved the conference report on the EHA amendments, Senator Paul Simon (D-IL) noted that the name change will take a little getting used to. "Some of us who have worked for years in this area may need some time to adjust to referring to the IDEA rather than the EHA." Simon said.
"But it is not insignificant that we move away from terminology that focuses on a condition rather than a person. As we did in passing the Americans with Disabilities Act, we are recognizing the individual first. This is particularly appropriate in the IDEA since its educational services are designed to meet the needs of the individual."
The Office of Special Education Programs in the U.S. Department of Education expects to publish in mid-February regulations for the changes in the Education of the Handicapped Act that became law September 30.
After a period for public comment through March/April, OSEP will publish final regulations in June or July. The regs will become effective 90 days after publication.
According to the Deputy Director of OSEP, Bill Wolf, at least five substantive regulations requiring public comment will be published. Among them are proposed definitions for autism and traumatic brain injury, categories of disability that Congress has added to the law.
OSEP will also define the terms "assistive technology devices" and "rehabilitation counseling", which have been added to the law. Wolf also noted that current definitions of "special education" may not be broad enough to include transition services now required by the law.
Wolf also said that data requirements for the Comprehensive System of Personnel Development will be open to comment, and OSEP will publish selection criteria for new research and demonstration programs now authorized under services to deaf-blind children. There will also be selection criteria for proposals under a new program for seriously emotionally disturbed children.
Wolf pointed out that the new law required that one percent of all discretionary funds must be used for outreach to minorities, and OSEP will announce —at least one funding priority in this area. By the new law, all applicants for funds in all discretionary programs must cite specific actions they are taking to address the needs of minorities.
by Seville Allen
Editor's Note: The following article is based on a speech given by Ms. Seville Allen to the 1990 Dallas, Texas, annual meeting of the Parents of Blind Children Division of the National Federation of the Blind. At that time Ms. Allen was an equal opportunity specialist with the Office of Civil Rights. Currently, she works for the U.S. Department of Defense as a system analyst. Please note that we used the new title—Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)—instead of the original, more familiar term, Education of the Handicapped Act (EHA). Please see the preceding article, "EHA Is Out, IDEA Is In," about the amendments which made this change and others to the Education of the Handicapped Act of 1970.
The purpose of this discussion is to show how the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)—formerly called Public Law 94-l42, the Education of the Handicapped Act (EHA)—and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of l973 (Section 504) are different and how they complement each other. The IDEA is a statute dealing with how handicapped children are educated. This legislation covers only educational issues. All states which receive federal funds for school programs under IDEA must abide by the IDEA regulations.
Section 504 is a civil rights statute which protects the civil rights of all disabled persons who are otherwise qualified to participate in and benefit from programs and activities which receive federal funds from the U.S. Department of Education. This includes the right of blind/visually impaired children to a free appropriate education. (Although Section 504 covers colleges and other post-secondary programs which receive federal education funds, for the purposes of this discussion we will concentrate on only elementary and secondary education levels.)
Although the focus is different, there are many similarities between these two laws. Both have similar (sometimes identical) provisions about a free appropriate public education, related services, evaluation and placement procedures, and due process procedures.
Before we discuss the differences between IDEA and Section 504, here is a brief overview of the IDEA requirements. The IDEA contains specific definitions of handicaps, one or more of which a child must have in order to participate in special education programs. (The definition for visually handicapped is: "a visual impairment which, even with correction, adversely affects a child's educational performance. The term includes both partially seeing and blind children.") In addition to having a disability defined by the law, the child must, because of that impairment, "need special education and related services." To enter a special education program a child must be evaluated (again, according to procedures laid out by the regulations) showing that he/she meets these qualifications for special education placement. An Individualized Education Plan (IEP) is then developed for that child. The parents or guardian of the blind child would be invited, by law, to help develop the IEP. The school district must document that genuine efforts were made to give the parents an opportunity to participate fully in the IEP process. The IEP must list annual goals and short-term objectives for the special education and related services the child needs as determined by the IEP team. Thus, for a blind child, the IEP ideally would contain goals and objectives for learning alternative techniques such as Braille, cane travel, and typing.
The IDEA also contains a due process section. This means that the parent/guardian or school officials can appeal a decision made concerning his/her child and a hearing officer (or panel of hearing officers) not connected with the school administration will consider decisions regarding the child. This is called a due process hearing. This is not a court proceeding, although there are some similarities. For example, one can call witnesses and cross-examine the opponent's witnesses. Parents will also be subject to cross-examination if they testify in the hearing. The details of who, what, when, where, and how of a due process hearing are left mostly to the individual states to decide. This means parents/school districts must go to their state departments of education to find out just how the due process hearing is arranged and conducted in their state.
These are some of the basic provisions of the Individuals with Disabilites Education Act (IDEA)—formerly the Education of the Handicapped Act (EHA). How does Section 504 differ from the IDEA, and what is the significance of those differences?
The provision of services to students in the regular classroom is the most important difference between IDEA and Section 504. Under IDEA the child has no protection UNLESS he/she qualifies for special education. But Section 504 protection applies as long as the blind/visually impaired child is eligible to attend a public school or non-public program (such as Headstart) that gets federal funds. The child does not have to be in a special education program to be covered by Section 504. The reason for this difference is that IDEA is concerned with education and Section 504 is concerned with civil rights.
Another difference between IDEA and Section 504 is in the definitions of who is handicapped. While the IDEA is concerned only with how students are educated, and specific handicaps are identified as those which will qualify a student for special education, Section 504 does not specify handicapping characteristics protected by this civil rights statute. Rather, the regulations governing this law (504) protect anyone who has a disability limiting a major life function, such as working or, for this discussion, learning. Handicapped persons means any person who has a physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more major life activities, has a record of such an impairment, or is regarded as having such an impairment. This is an important difference. It is possible that a child who does not qualify under the IDEA definition of visual impairment may still qualify for protection under the Section 504 definition of handicap.
Another significant distinction between IDEA and Section 504 is in their methods of resolving disputes between parents and the school district. The IDEA due process hearing, as it was briefly described in the beginning of this article, requires that parents and school districts prepare their cases by gathering documents, soliciting witnesses, and finally defending that case against each other before a hearing officer or a panel of officers. The Section 504 process is very different. If parents believe that their child's civil rights have been violated under Section 504, they contact their federal regional civil rights office and fill out the appropriate forms and provide the necessary documentation. The civil rights office then assigns the complaint to a federal civil rights investigator. That investigator examines the evidence, interviews the parties involved, and then makes a recommendation to the civil right attorney based on the evidence and merits of the case. In many ways this method is less painful and confrontational than the due process procedure under IDEA.
Therefore, if you believe that your child is not receiving appropriate educational services, it is your right to file a complaint with the Office for Civil Rights (0CR) in your region, and that office will investigate your allegation. If you should decide to file a complaint alleging that a school district is discriminating or has discriminated against your child, here are some pointers on things to emphasize: If the complaint is in academic areas, emphasize interference with learning; if the complaint is in the area of participation in nonacademic activities, including school-provided transportation, emphasize the denial, based on a handicapping condition, of an opportunity to participate in a school-sponsored program.
The question now is, in what situations might one use Section 504 protection instead of, or in addition to, the due process protection under IDEA? Here are some examples.
A. A visually impaired child is evaluated and denied special education services because her visual acuity doesn't meet the state requirement: She has a visual acuity of 20/40 and the state says they can't serve anyone unless they have a visual acuity of 20/70 or worse. The parents argue that her vision is deteriorating and that she cannot see the blackboard or read regular print books. They want large print books and adaptations in the classroom so she can participate in and benefit from the educational program. In this case, a complaint under Section 504 and a IDEA appeal for a due process hearing are appropriate. However, the parents may get faster and better results from the Section 504 appeal. Although the parents may eventually win an appeal under IDEA, they might be more successful arguing that the child meets the Section 504 definition of "handicapped." They can also argue, under Section 504, that she is being excluded from and denied the benefits of the educational program because the school will not provide large print books or necessary adaptations in the classroom.
B. The parents of a partially sighted blind child have requested that Braille instruction be added to the child's IEP. The school district has denied the request even though a private evaluation obtained by the parents recommends Braille instruction. There is evidence that the child is unable to participate equally with her classmates because she lacks Braille reading and writing skills. In this case the parents may utilize both, or either, statutes—IDEA and Section 504. The parents may be able to argue successfully that the child has been denied her civil right to an education because her ability to learn has been blocked by the denial of Braille instruction.
C. Parents of a blind high school student have applied to a private high school. The private school receives some federal funding from the U.S. Department of Education. The private school denies the application on the basis of blindness, while in all other respects the student qualifies for admission to the school. What protection does the student have? None under IDEA, but Section 504 will apply to this situation providing the student does not require special education services or instruction not offered by the private school. If the student will only require materials and reasonable adaptations in the classroom, and the school is subject to Section 504 jurisdiction, then the parents may be able to file a successful 504 complaint and compel the school to enroll their blind son in the program.
D. Another example, similar to the one just described, is that of a blind student who attends the public school but no longer requires special education instruction. She only needs materials (such as Braille or large print textbooks), adaptations in the classroom (such as a method of getting information from the blackboard), and adaptations so she may participate in regular P.E. (equal alternatives to ball games or adaptations to the game so she may participate), home economics (such as tactile markings on the oven and sewing machine), computer class (such as a live reader or speech output so she may read the screen) or technical education (such as a click rule for measuring). Because of Section 504 protection the school may not refuse to provide the related aids and services which will make it possible for her to have an equal opportunity for participation.
These two laws, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (formerly the Education of All Handicapped Act—EHA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, have provisions which guarantee the rights of blind/visually impaired children to a free appropriate education. However, we must still be advocates for our children. These laws will not work if we are either not aware of them or do not learn how to apply them.
For more information about the Individuals with Disabilities Edcuation Act (IDEA) write to: OSERS, 400 Maryland Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20202.
For more information about how Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 applies to the education of handicapped students, contact the appropriate Office for Civil Rights regional office as listed below:
U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights
Regional Civil
Rights Offices
REGION I
Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts,
New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont
Regional Civil Rights Director
Office for Civil Rights, Region I
U.S. Department of Education
John W. McCormack Post Office Square
Room 222
Boston, Massachusetts 02109
(617) 223-9662 TTY (617)
223-9324
REGION II
New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico,
Virgin Islands
Regional Civil Rights Director
Office for Civil Rights, Region II
U.S. Department of Education
26 Federal Plaza, 33rd Floor
New York, New York 10278
(212) 264-4633 TTY(212) 264-9464
REGION III
Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland,
Pennsylvania, Virginia,West Virginia
Regional Civil Rights Director
Office for Civil Rights, Region
III
U. S. Department of Education
Gateway Bldg.,
3535 Market Street, Room 6300
Post Office Box 13716
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104-3326
(215) 596-6791 TTY (215) 596-6794
REGION IV
Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky,
Mississippi, North Carolina, South
Carolina, Tennessee
Regional Civil Rights Director
Office for Civil Rights, Region IV
U.S. Department of Education
101 Marietta Tower, Suite 2700
Atlanta, Georgia 30301
REGION V
Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Michigan,
Ohio, Wisconsin
Regional Civil Rights Director
Office for Civil Rights, Region V
U.S. Department of Education
401 South State Street, 700-C
Chicago, Illinois 60605
(312) 353-2520 TTY (404) 331-2010
REGION VI
Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico,
Oklahoma, Texas
Regional Civil Rights Director
Office for Civil Rights, Region VI
U.S. Department of Education
1200 Main Tower Building, Suite
2260
Dallas, Texas 75202
(214) 767-3936 TTY (214) 767-3315
REGION VII
Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska
Regional Civil Rights Director
Office for Civil Rights, Region
VII
U.S. Department of Education
10220 North Executive Hills Boulevard, 8th
Floor
P. O. Box 901381
Kansas City, Missouri 64190-1381
(816) 891-8026
TTY(816) 374-7607
REGION VIII
Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Wyoming
Regional Civil Rights Director
Office for Civil Rights, Region
VIII
U.S. Department of Education
1961 Stout Street, 3rd Floor
Denver,
Colorado 80294
(303) 884-5695 TTY(303) 844-3417
REGION IX
Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada,
Guam, Trust Territory of the Pacific
Island, American Samoa
Regional Civil Rights Director
Office for Civil Rights, Region IX
U.S. Department of Education
221 Main Street, 10th Floor
San Francisco, California 94105
(415) 227-8020 TTY(415) 227-8124
REGION X
Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Washington
Regional Civil Rights Director
Office for Civil Rights, Region X
U.S. Department of Education
2901 Third Avenue, Room 100
Seattle, Washington 98121
(206) 442-1636 TTY(206) 442-4542
by Fareed Haj, Ph.D.
The following is reprinted from the July, 1990 Braille Monitor.
From the Associate Editor: In 1970 Mrs. Jernigan was doing some affiliate organizing in the state of Florida. While she was working in Miami, she met a young educator who was interested in the things she had to say about the National Federation of the Blind. He had received his Ph.D. from New York University two years before and was profoundly aware of the discrimination faced by blind people whose ambition is to live active, contributing lives as fully participating members of their communities. The name of this young man was Fareed Haj. He has kept in touch with members of the Federation through the years and has continued to read the Braille Monitor.
Dr. Haj has worked in special education in Dade County, Florida, for the past twenty-three years. Initially he was hired to teach twelve visually impaired students but was soon given an additional twelve youngsters who used wheelchairs, all without the help of a classroom aide. He then spent some time teaching honors English and social studies to regular students and then served as a high school guidance counselor. For the last ten years he has been an Educational Specialist in the Florida Diagnostic and Learning Resources System, which does psychological testing of new students, trains teachers to work with youngsters having various disabilities, maintains a resource library, conducts a computer lab for training staff and developing special programs, and publishes a newsletter. Dr. Haj actually works in a resource center, providing support to teachers all over the school system who need help in dealing with handicapped students.
Dr. Haj earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem in English and philosophy. Simultaneously he earned an external degree in the same disciplines from the University of London. He was short of funds at the time and decided that if he was unable to complete one degree for financial reasons, he could be sure of finishing the other. He then traveled to New York City, where he earned a master's degree from Hunter College in rehabilitation counseling. His Ph.D. from New York University is in counseling with strong emphasis on special education and psychology. He has also done a great deal of post-doctoral work, primarily at Teachers College, Columbia University, but also at Harvard, Fordham, and a number of other institutions.
On April 1, 1990, Dr. Haj delivered an informal talk to a group of special education teachers. His views about blindness and the education of the blind were so refreshingly sensible (one is tempted to say despite his impressive credentials) that it seems useful to reprint the speech in full. Dr. Haj's views are another reminder that competent blind laymen are not the only ones advocating the use of Braille, rigorous teaching for blind youngsters, and treatment of blind students as though they were capable of being educated normally. There are professionals out there who do believe in and work toward enabling blind people to reach their full potential. Many, like Dr. Haj, are themselves blind, but increasingly others who are sighted are winning our respect by their willingness to learn about blindness, not just from books and other professionals, but from blind people, speaking for themselves. Here are Dr. Haj's remarks:
My topic this morning has to do with problems of counseling the visually handicapped. I do not propose to talk about personality theory. Any of you who have been in a classroom with visually handicapped children or in meetings with blind adults know that there is no such thing as a unified personality of the visually handicapped. Consider a group of six, and you find that one is outgoing and bubbly, and another is quiet and reflective. One is very friendly, another is private, and so on.
Nor do I propose to talk about the psychology of the disabled. I am skeptical that there is any such thing because if there were, society would be justified in stereotyping the disabled. After all, if they have a certified psychology, then why not stereotype them? But obviously the handicapped are different for many reasons. The time of the onset of the disability is very important. There is a big difference between a child who is born blind and someone who has led a very active life for seventy or eighty years before going blind. There is a big difference between somebody who has visual acuity of twenty over two hundred and can read print with some help and somebody who doesn't have any vision at all. So the time of the onset of the disability is very important, life experiences are important, socio-economic considerations are important. You really can't talk about the psychology of the handicapped with so many variables.
The only thing that the blind have in common is that they cannot see, and even then there are differences. Consider the distinctions between a totally blind person and one who has a lot of vision. So even when you talk about the blind, you are talking about the legally blind, and what they can see depends a great deal, not only on the visual acuity, but on the amount of light. You can talk about tunnel vision or peripheral vision—there are so many differences. It doesn't make sense to me to talk about either the personality of the blind or the psychology of the handicapped. I am going to assume for a moment that the blind have serious problems requiring counseling. This is not a given; I assume it only for argument's sake. The reason I have called my talk —Problems with Counseling the Visually Handicapped— is that I don't think there is a unique problem in counseling the visually handicapped. As a group, we are not more messed up than the population at large. The problems we have are with the counseling we receive. I am going to talk about some of the practical problems of counseling: who is qualified to do it, when to do it, where to do it, and what to counsel about. These are important topics; we could spend a day on each of them.
Let us start with who is going to do the counseling. Believe me, that is not an easy question. The visually handicapped child spends a great deal of time with the regular teacher if he or she has normal intelligence—especially on the junior and senior high levels. And in my long and varied life I have dealt with many, many teachers—thousands of them. Having gone through elementary and secondary school myself; having attended thirteen universities on three continents; having served as a special education teacher, working with all exceptionalities; having been a counselor for all exceptionalities; and having been an education specialist for the past ten years, it has been my good fortune to work with many, many regular teachers. And I find that, broadly speaking, they all fall into one of three categories. None of the three is qualified to counsel the blind.
The first kind of regular teacher that the blind encounter is superficially very warm, very supportive, very understanding, very friendly. There are fringe benefits to being this type of teacher. The administrators congratulate you on how wonderful and positive you are with that poor blind child. The parents are delighted that you have discovered their kid is gifted—after all, you're giving him A's. And you feel good about yourself for being such a wonderful human being. What's more, the child is delighted. Somebody has discovered him and made him feel welcome.
There are advantages for the child in being in such a setting. I have found over the years that when you get a teacher who is interested in you, your classmates become interested. When you find a cold, rejecting teacher, your classmates will also leave you alone. The advantage of that kind of teacher is that your classmates will become more friendly. But believe me, the discrimination practiced by this kind of teacher is as harmful to the child as is any other kind. There are two reasons for this. First, by being so warm and by knowing on day 1 that you are going to give the blind kid an A no matter what, you are also giving him an inflated self-image, and he is going to be very badly shattered once reality hits. Eventually he will discover that he is not a forgotten genius, and that is going to hurt.
The other problem with this kind of disguised rejection is that the child is not going to learn much, and that is going to hurt him down the road. Because if he feels that he is doing okay, he will not learn to give his very best. It also gives his classmates the wrong impression of the blind. The blind child may be too young to understand the subtleties of discrimination, but when that child is being treated more like a pet kitten, he is being told (even if he doesn't understand it) that he is not equal. No one can ever be both privileged and equal. Either you insist on privilege, or you insist on equality. You cannot have both.
In my own life I have experienced this truth many times, and sometimes it hurts. Sometimes you cause people to become your enemies when you really don't want them to. But there are times when you have to stand and be counted.
I ran into a teacher like this in graduate school. He came to me one day and said, "You know, you haven't missed a session this year; all your assignments have been A's; if you don't want to take the final, don't. I am giving you an A." Believe me, that was a tempting offer. I was living two hours away, and we were poor at the time. Traveling on the bus cost money that was hard to come by, and I was sure of an A. For a moment I was tempted. I am sure that man concluded I needed counseling because I said, "No sir, I don't want to do that. I want to come and take the exam, and I would prefer a B to an unearned A." I went on, "Look, if you really want to do this, make an announcement that everyone with an A average doesn't have to take the test. Then I will be very happy not to take it, but I will not be the only one not taking the test and making an A." I am sure that I dropped a few notches in his estimation, but I didn't care. I was fighting for a principle. People have to understand: either you insist on fulfilling your obligations, or you don't. Either you insist on your rights, or you don't. A man who fights to fulfill his obligations is going to fight for his rights, too, and deserves to do so. I have fought for my rights many, many times, but always with the knowledge that I was equally willing to demand my responsibilities.
Many of these battles have been private, and I will not bore you with them. But there have been times when I have had public fights. Sometimes I won, and sometimes I lost. Twenty years ago, soon after I got my doctorate and joined the school system and became an American citizen, I decided that the best way to show my appreciation, to be useful to my adopted country, was to offer my services to the State Department to be sent anywhere they could use me as a Foreign Service Officer—to show the world that this country believes in the value of the individual, that this country treats people according to what they can do, not according to what they can see.
Naively I applied to Civil Service to take the Foreign Service exam. The local officer agreed. But then I said, "Look, I need someone to read the exam to me because I am blind."
Nonchalantly she said, "Oh, but we don't take the blind." I said, "That's nice; who is your supervisor?" She gave me the name of her supervisor, who at the time was a bit nervous toward political appointments (it was the early seventies, and civil rights was a big issue), and she said, "I'm going to pass the buck by sending you to the Atlanta office."
I said, "fine," and I called the Atlanta office. They said, "Oh no, no, no, that is a Washington decision." So I called Washington, and I got someone who sounded intelligent.
I said, "Lady, I am trying to do something, and without knowing anything about me you are telling me that I cannot do it? The Department of Health, Education, and Welfare is spending hundreds of millions of dollars rehabilitating the handicapped, and another department in the same government is telling me that you have no opportunities for the blind? I insist on taking this test, and if I have to go to a class action suit, I will."
She said, "Now just calm down. There is no law that says you can't take this exam, but I promise that we are not going to pass you." I said, "Ma'am, one step at a time. Let me put a foot through that door—let me crack open that door, and let me take that exam." She said, "You are wasting your time." I replied, "Am I not allowed to waste my time?" She said, "Okay, if you feel that way." I took the test, and she kept her promise, and of course, I was rejected. You know, it took twenty years before a blind person was recently admitted to the Foreign Service by the State Department.
That was an early disenchantment. I began to lose my idealism very quickly thereafter. But to go back to teaching, all this is why I feel that the teacher who is too warm and too accepting is subtly rejecting you as surely as any other kind of person. That is why I told my professor that I did not wish to be privileged.
When I did school counseling, many times blind kids would come to me and say, "Write me a note for my regular teacher to get me out of class ten minutes early." When I would ask why, they said, "Oh, we don't want to be in the halls between classes." I would act horrified and say, "You're telling me it's going to take you fifteen minutes to get from room to room? Are you blind or something?" The child would grin and say, —Okay, not ten minutes, just two." I would say, "All right, if you really insist, I will give you two minutes; but to be honest with you, I would rather give you no minutes at all. I would rather you go out in those halls between bells like everybody else. If you need somebody to guide you, let them guide you. I don't care. I'd rather have you do that than leave before the end of the class." I said that for two reasons. "Every time you get up out of that seat ten minutes or two minutes or even thirty seconds early, you are alerting the whole class to the fact that you are different—you need special treatment. This is not why we put you in this class. We put you there because we believe you can be an equal. We don't want you gaining notoriety. Besides, in those last two or three minutes you'll be looking at your watch all the time to make sure that you are leaving two minutes early instead of concentrating on what the teacher is saying. Many teachers sum up at the end of the class, reviewing what they have covered that period and telling you what the assignment will be for the next time. If you miss that last two or three minutes, you aren't going to know what the homework is or when the exam will take place. Is it worth all that?" Sometimes I would convince them, and sometimes I would not. That's all right because as a counselor you honestly have to learn to listen to the child and, if he makes sense, do what he says. We should not be playing God with people's lives, not even children's.
We have to respect their opinions. So that kind of warm teacher is not going to be able to counsel the blind child. There is a second type who is more honest about his or her feelings. These teachers reject the child outright. On the junior or senior high school level teachers see about one hundred fifty youngsters a day. Some of them work six periods a day because they are needed or they need the money, so they don't even have a planning period.
Some of them have after-school activities to supervise. Some are advancing their careers by getting a master's or specialist degree so they can earn more pay. Some are teaching adult education. They look at a blind student coming in on top of all their other responsibilities, and they say, "Oh my God, what did I do to deserve this?" They say, "We aren't going to take this out on the child; we are simply going to pretend he isn't here. We aren't going to flunk him, but no matter what he does or doesn't do, we are going to give him a D. Out of the goodness of our hearts, we might even give him a C." That child will just sit there—tolerated but not accepted. Proximity does not mean equality. The fact that he is sitting in that class doesn't mean he is an equal. The year goes by, and that child does not learn very much. I have had more than my share of that kind of teacher on college campuses, both undergraduate and post-graduate level. I have sat in classes when the teacher was passing out papers, and he would give a handout to the person on my right and to the person on my left, to the person in front of me, to the person behind me but skip me. Eventually, you learn to say, "Hey, I paid for the course, too." Would you like to have your child counseled by that kind of teacher? Not me. The third type of teacher is my favorite. This is the learner, and I have known some of those. Years ago, I sent a blind student to a music class. The teacher saw the kid, and immediately he called the office to have somebody sent to cover the class. He marched down to my room and said, "Guess what, they have given me a blind kid!"
I said, "I know, I sent him there." He said, "You know it is a music class?"
I said, "I know, and I wish I could help you, but I don't know the first thing about music. Years ago I took a whole year of music, and on my best day I imitated a cat fairly well on my violin. I am not the person to help you; I am sorry."
He said, "I want this kid out, right now. Put him somewhere else." I said, "Sir, you are a teacher, and others are teachers. If I took him out of your class and put him somewhere else, the next teacher is likely to feel the same way you do. Do me a favor. Keep this child in your class for two weeks. Let's find out what he can do. Honestly, I don't know what he can learn from you if you feel that way. I don't know what you can teach him with this kind of attitude. And I don't know anything about music; I don't even know if I made a wise decision. But let's give him two weeks and find out what goes on." Reluctantly he agreed but assured me he would be back in two weeks. A week later he came back and said, "I apologize to you. I was too harsh last week. That kid has the best attitude and attendance in the class. He is no trouble at all. He is eager to learn. I feel so ashamed; I shouldn't have rejected him that way. I am here for you to advise me on how I can help this child." For the balance of that year he was the kind of teacher who took assignments home to tape for the student. He worked with the kid productively all year, and it was a wonderful experience. I wish we had more of that type of teacher. If anyone could do the counseling, this third type of teacher would be the one, but of course, he is not the right one because he is more the counselee than the counselor. So we have now eliminated regular teachers as potential counselors.
Who, then, should do the counseling? The guidance counselor? Some of you work at the junior or senior high level. Let's not tear down guidance counselors. But you give any man five hundred counselees and a lot of paperwork, especially on the high school level, where the counselor has to make recommendations for college, deal with crises, schedule classes, advise students about courses, counsel the kids who got F's, hold parent conferences, cope with emergencies, and you have overload. In my experience regular counselors have as little to do as possible with special education as a whole, and with the blind in particular. They keep as far away from these students as they can. They don't have time, they don't have experience, and they don't know anything about the speciality. All right, in our center we have a Special Education Administrator. Maybe he should do the counseling. In many of the centers we have a hundred, a hundred-fifty handicapped children. The person in charge is getting the paperwork ready for psychologicals, making sure that the IEP's are in place, conferring with parents, and attending meetings. The director may well have no time for counseling. Just because he or she has probably majored in learning disabilities or administration, he or she is not necessarily expert in the visually handicapped either. So the special education administrator is not the person to do it.
That by default leaves you, the special ed teacher, the vision teacher; and the counseling may have to fall on you. Are you qualified to do this counseling? (Oh dear, here it comes. I have to stand before an audience and tell you why I don't feel you're qualified. I am sorry.) Some of you are undoubtedly qualified and very good. I commend you for choosing to work with the visually handicapped. Your hearts are in the right place. But some of you are itinerant teachers. You may have ten or fifteen kids in six or ten schools. Maybe some of you are luckier and see the kids more often. But it is not uncommon for the itinerant teacher to see each student one hour a week. So such a teacher sees each student thirty-six clock hours a year, assuming the following: the teacher is never sick, is never absent, does not have a biologic child who is ever sick or absent, her car never breaks down, the blind child is never sick, is never on a field trip, is never at an assembly. Do you believe that all these assumptions are going to happen? Even if they did, you have only thirty-six clock hours to work with that child. How much can you accomplish in thirty-six hours? How well can the child get to know and trust you in thirty-six hours? Not only that, but can you honestly justify to your conscience chatting with that child when he needs help with English, math, and science; when he doesn't know what to do with the homework assignment that is due; when there is a test to be administered? There are so many other pressing duties for you. Frankly, when I see a teacher chatting away a few of those thirty-six hours, I get concerned. Counseling can so easily degenerate into chatting, and there are many, many academic needs for that blind child. Counseling may not have the highest priority.
Now I come to an even more ticklish point. Let me stipulate in the beginning that I am not including any of you. In the vision field there is a rumor of a tremendous shortage. We are taking people cold who do not know the first thing about teaching the blind or visually handicapped. We are saying, "Okay, here is a class; go ahead and teach." I feel bitter about this for a number of reasons. First of all, I ache for the blind children, who need all the help they can get, and instead of a knowledgeable teacher they get somebody who is totally illiterate in their own medium. That child will not learn much.
I also feel sad because it is a poor reflection on our own society. We are told that we have a tremendous shortage of teachers of the visually handicapped, yet there are hundreds and hundreds of visually handicapped graduate students who are working on second and third degrees just to mark time because nobody will employ them. Wouldn't that blind person with three degrees be better for the blind child than someone practically taken off the street? How much more could that visually handicapped person teach that blind child? Good heavens, they could teach, not only literary Braille, but music Braille, mathematical notation, computer Braille. There is a rumor that Braille is a dying thing, and nobody needs it anymore.
This is a sellout.
This is betraying our blind population. The reason that people tell you that is frankly that they don't know Braille and they don't want to learn. So they tell the blind that Braille really does not matter. It does matter; I assure you that it does matter! I would never have gotten my degrees without it. I use records and tapes, computers, scanners, and sighted readers; but when I am really in a jam and really need to know something, I have to read it in Braille.
Another thing we have done is to take a person who sees at about five over two hundred and say that he can see some, so we aren't going to give him Braille. Never mind that he can read for only five minutes before getting tired. How many text-books is he going to cover in five minutes? Wouldn't that child be better off with Braille?
So we are getting teachers who are definitely not able to counsel with the blind because they don't know anything about the blind. They just came into the field when they were drafted. Why have we stopped taking the blind into our classrooms as resource people, where they could not only teach the blind but serve as role-models? (if we have time, I want to tell you how important role-modeling is.) We haven't taken them because we have changed the rules of the game. In their wisdom, the experts have decided that it is better for a teacher to spend half her life in the car, going from school to school, spending an hour with the kid, instead of having a resource room, where six or seven or eight children can come to her and spend all day. In that classroom the blind could have functioned, but they cannot do so when teachers are required to spend the day on the road in a car. We change the rules of the game, and then we tell the blind, "I'm sorry, you are not qualified to teach the blind."
I have applied to teach at colleges and high schools, and the argument they give me is, "How can you teach, you can't read print?" Yet nobody makes the same argument to the sighted teacher who can't read Braille. This is bad. So I tell you that many vision teachers are not qualified to do the counseling. I'm sorry; this is what I believe. Some of you in the resource room may, of course, be qualified to do this counseling. This brings me to the question of when to do the counseling. Okay, you are a resource teacher; your heart is in the right place; you have chosen the right profession; you're dedicated; you're wonderful. All right, you want to counsel the blind? When do you do it? When you have six or seven kids around, all asking for your help? When do you ever get the kid all by yourself to sit down and really counsel with him? Do any of you have that luxury?
Years ago, we had a serious problem. Somebody wanted me to counsel a blind youngster; it was an urgent thing. Do you know when I had to choose to do it? Both of us had to give up our lunch periods. We gave him another assignment, but my break was gone. Lunch is the only time a teacher can sit down privately and talk with a child. As a classroom teacher, you are not often going to have only that one kid. You cannot really expect the kid to open up, and if he does, he might get into trouble because the other kids might start teasing him about the private issues they have overheard. So we conclude that you don't have time to do the counseling.
All right then, let's send him to a qualified psychologist or psychiatrist for that matter. You know, there are teachers of the visually handicapped who seldom see a blind child, and most psychologists have never dealt with a blind child. They really don't know how to begin counseling. They want to do it, but their concept of the blind is no different from that of most of the rest of the population, and they really don't know what that kid can and can't do. The psychologist may not be any more qualified than anybody else to do the counseling, and the same goes for the psychiatrist, because he has had so little exposure to the blind. In other words, there really is nobody to do the counseling. And if there were a professional who could do it, when could it be done and where? If you are, let us say, an itinerant teacher, you are lucky if you can find a quiet place. In a library people are walking in and out. Maybe in a closet under a stairway? Maybe in a corner of the cafeteria? I've been in schools; I know what goes on. Should that child gain your trust and openly start talking to you in the cafeteria or in the library or under the stairway? There are problems with talking—where and when and who does it.
Let us assume we have found a psychologist with experience, willing to work with the blind. Who is going to pay for it? Maybe the state rehabilitation agency? If that agency pays for it, then is that counselor working for the client or for the agency? That is really an ethical problem, and I wish we had more time to go into it. When the state rehabilitation agency or another agency sends a blind client to a counselor, it is saying directly or indirectly, openly or implicitly, "Shape that blind person in our image." And knowing what I know about agencies, it is not an image I want to be shaped in. That counselor is not your agent; he is the agent of the agency, and the blind counselee will view him as such. He is going to tell the blind person to shape up, that society is right, that the system is correct, to take that chip off your shoulder. He's not working for the client because the client is not paying him. He is working for whoever is paying—in this case, the agency. I wish psychological counseling were like legal counseling, where you pay your lawyer, and he is honestly working for you, facilitating your objectives, giving you what you are trying to get, not telling you that you are messed up and you are wrong and you had better shape up.
But let us assume that we have a situation in which the parents are paying for their child's counseling and the counselor is going to be on that child's side and that he is not working directly or indirectly for any agency that potentially may be sending him other clients, when is he going to schedule the appointments? Kids in a metropolitan area like Miami have to get up at five in the morning to catch a bus at 6 so they can be in school by 7:15 or 7:30. They leave school at 2:30, and they don't get home till 4:00. Many latchkey kids, after that kind of day, go home to an empty house. When are they going to see a counselor? When do they have time, and how are they going to get there?
So far, the counseling problems we have discussed are who, where, when, and how. Now let's talk about what, and here it gets worse. I have been a blind person for a long time—since the age of nine months. And the counseling I have gone through with professionals led me for years to pray every night, "God save me from the experts." Let me tell you what I am talking about, and if I have to be personal to make a point, I will-I don't mind.
My parents grew up in a south Lebanese village. As soon as they got married, they wanted to strike out on their own, go to the land of opportunity, and really make it big—like all young people. They traveled fifty miles to the south to the port town of Haifa, in Palestine at the time. They established a home; they rented a little flat. My father got a job, and within a year of their marriage I was born. They thought that their cup of happiness was full. They had a healthy baby, a home, and a job. Things had never been better, and they had every hope that things would go from better to better. Nine months later that child was blind-totally, finally, irrevocably. They were plunged into such a depression that it took them a very, very long time to recover. They lost their appetite for food; life had no meaning. For years any time they heard about a quack anywhere in two countries, they went to see if he could help me. If they had received the right kind of professional advice, they could have saved a lot of time and money and effort and much aggravation. But they did not mind. No one had trained them to be the parents of a blind child.
They did not know anymore about it than anybody else, and their concept of blindness was that of the entire population. Just because you have a blind child, it doesn't mean that you feel different about blindness, not initially, at any rate. What were the experts telling my parents? "Oh, you're twenty-one, twenty-two; you can make another twelve kids if you want. Forget about this one, or assume he was born dead; many kids are born dead. Put him away somewhere, forget about him, and start again." That was not the kind of advice they wanted to hear. Finally an expert came and said, "Look, put him in an institution. True, it's only an asylum, but at least they will teach him some Braille." That was better advice than some we give families today. At least they did not tell my parents to forget about Braille.
Anyway, that could have been the end of the story. If I had survived in that asylum, I would still be there today. The only reason I am standing before you this morning is that my parents went to visit me there after two months. They had no degrees, they had no college education, they were not professionals, they were not even high school graduates, but they had hearts, and they allowed their hearts to guide them. They looked at that place, and they said, "This place is not for our son." They took me out. Had they not done that, I know I would still be there, and any spirit would have been crushed, even mine. My history would have been totally different. It was only because my parents allowed their hearts and minds to rule the situation that I have achieved what I have in life. This was the first pernicious counseling I received from professionals.
There are many other examples. When I began college, my teachers were so impressed that one of them came and said, "I want you to go on to graduate school in America, where there are more opportunities." He thought it would be a good idea to get some advice from the experts on blindness, so he wrote to one of the American institutions. He explained that he had a blind student who seemed to be talented and whom he wanted to help, and he got a letter from the expert which said, "We don't believe in college education for the blind. We believe that the blind should go into open industry." That man, having heard from the experts, decided, "Well, what can I do?" And that was the end of that attempt to give me greater college opportunity. God save us from the experts. I encountered another expert at about this time. I had applied to an international organization for a scholarship. It was very interested; in fact, I was the highest applicant on their list.
They ranked people, and I was number 1 in the entire population of my country, not the blind. I was certain that I was going to receive a good scholarship and be placed at a good college in America. The first year nothing happened. The second year nothing happened. By the third year I had found another way to come to this country to further my education. That international organization never came through. Upon investigating the matter after I was already here, I learned that an expert somewhere decided, without consulting me, of course, that I needed a small community, where I would be given a room and could go to college. If that had gone through, it would have been the worst thing for me because what I really needed was a huge metropolitan area, where I could draw on volunteers, where I could find resources, where there was variety. But the experts thought I needed a small community. Where they got that, I have no idea; they didn't ask me. What did I know; it was only my life. The expert advice we get is often poor advice.
Does that mean that blind people don't need counseling at all? No. We need counseling, and a lot of it. But the kind we need is more in the realm of education than psychology. When you walk around a class of blind kids, you may see one who is sitting there, rocking back and forth. His hands may be flying all over the place or he may be twirling a handkerchief. Maybe his head is shaking side to side. Do you just call the ambulance and commit him to the psychiatric hospital? In an autistic child these are indicative of deep psychological problems. Among the blind they may or may not be. The blind child with a lot of energy, having to sit still, not seeing what other people are doing, may develop these mannerisms without being aware of them. He does not need counseling that will reveal things about his grandmother. He needs for a teacher to say, "Look here, this is not acceptable behavior." Do it gently; do it firmly; do it as often as it is needed. If you have done this for a couple of years without any results, then you know that the problem may be more deep-seated. At least try the educational approach first; I have known it to work in many, many cases. Very often it is not that the blind are messed up; it is that they do not have enough information.
Maybe I should not talk about this in public, but I will anyway. Years ago I had contact with a blind student. The principal came to me saying that he was disturbed about a boy who was taking regular courses and was masturbating in class. This problem is, or can be, serious, and I was very concerned by it. It could have been indicative of serious psychological trouble. We had worked for years to build a positive image of the handicapped, and all we needed was a few incidents like this to ruin everything we had done.
I told him I would see what I could do. I did not make light of the situation. I talked to the child, who did have problems. There were some autistic tendencies. But it turned out to be that the child, who was born blind and was not particularly bright, had no idea what vision entailed. And I don't blame him; I'm not sure that I know what vision entails either. I can't be certain that any profoundly deaf person understands what hearing entails. For a deaf person it is very difficult to know what people can and cannot hear, what hearing people can and cannot do. The same is true of the blind. Vision is confusing. If the blinds are drawn, people outside can't see you, and another time with the blinds open, they can see you. If the glass is transparent, they can see you; if it is one-way, they can't. It is very difficult, particularly for a person blind from birth really to know what vision involves. After talking with that young man, I concluded that he honestly believed that because masturbation was silent, nobody could see him.
[At this point a member of the audience commented that sighted people have a hard time knowing how much a partially sighted person can see. In front of a college class a professor once indicated his surprise that she could see him at all. She commented that a tactful person would never have made such a comment in public. Dr. Haj then continued:] And how many professors talk about you as if you couldn't see them? How many of them ignore you. I wish I could tell you the number of times I have gone to a classroom that was empty because the teacher had written on the board, "I am not going to be here next week." Or "Next week is a vacation." Or "We are going to meet somewhere else next week." A good teacher would have had the courtesy to speak while he wrote. I cannot tell you how many midterms I could have done better on if I had known that the test was coming. A teacher should have the courtesy to say, "We will be covering chapters thirteen to sixteen." Such an instructor should have the courtesy to say these things even if there were no blind student in the class. But, like every other profession, not everybody is perfect.
So many of the things that seem to be in the counseling domain may not be. Many of them are more properly in the realm of teaching. For example, take a blind kid who is unkempt. His hair is always flying, and his shirt is always hanging out. Frankly, he is not very clean, and he is not brushing his teeth often enough. Is that a counseling situation? Maybe it is, but I think it is more effectively handled as an educational one.
When my own boys were teen-agers, we went through a nightmare. They wanted to buy the most expensive clothing because it carried a certain tag. Surely that was not a personal need. That was an acquired need—just to be like the other kids. It was because their peers were doing it. People learn so much from their peers. When you have a blind child who is not handling his food properly, who is not dressing himself properly, that doesn't necessarily mean that he needs a psychologist.
It may do so, but it may simply mean that he never had enough environmental clues, enough visual clues to be able to imitate accurately. He doesn't know what is involved. This is why it is appropriate for the teacher to take the time to teach him how to cut his meat, to eat spaghetti, to handle all his food. I see nothing wrong with that. If this is what he needs, then it is an appropriate educational objective.
A hundred years ago home economics was taught at home. Nobody went to school to study the subject. A girl was taught to make her dresses, set the table, and cook at home. When the need eventually arose to study home economics outside the home, students took it in school. If the blind person needs education in grooming, eating, or social behavior, why not tackle it in school—what's wrong with that? This brings me to two points. Though we may assume that we can give the blind counseling because they have all the time in the world, the truth is that they don't. A blind person who really wants to accomplish a lot has to spend much more time on his or her books than the sighted. If a teacher tells you to go to page 153 and study it, you flip to the page and begin studying. If I am using tape, and the teacher says page 153, I don't know which tape or track the page appears on. It might take me fifteen or twenty minutes to find the right place in that book. A sighted child reading that book would have a pencil handy, he can mark important passages. If I want to mark that passage, I have to play that tape again and again, writing it down in Braille a few words at a time. If you tell me that I have to spend time in counseling, too, I don't know when I am going to do it.
Have I ever had a counselor? Yes I have. I have been fortunate to have very, very good counselors. The ones who had the greatest influence on my life never said, "Come, I want to counsel with you." One of these was a nun. When I finished elementary school, I returned home, and because a war had just ended and there were no laws requiring the education of the handicapped, there was no place for me to go. My parents applied to one school after another but were told there was no place for a blind child. I was cheering the schools on because I didn't want to go to school, so I hoped my parents would just give up. But they were stubborn; they didn't.
Finally they found a Catholic school for girls which said they would take a chance as long as I never talked alone with a girl. I went to that girls' school, and I did my best. Am I glad I went there! The curriculum was English. Had I not improved my English, I don't know how I would ever have studied because English is one of the few languages in which you can get all the Braille you want. I have found that, when you are handicapped, you can turn anything to your advantage. The fact that no school would have me turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to me because I was able to go to that English-speaking girls' school. As a handicapped person I have found in life that it is necessary to follow the motto: if you are given a lemon, make lemonade. Turn everything you can to your advantage.
The Superior of that school was a very, very wise woman. She had perhaps completed high school, but she was one of the best educators I have ever encountered. When I had been there three years (it was one year before I was to graduate), she called me down and said, "Look, we need to talk." In those days in Israel we still took British degrees. Students received the matriculation certificate, later called the general certificate of education, both of which were issued from London. She said, "Those people don't know you. I am not sure if we can give you the matriculation certificate that is issued to everyone else. But we will give you a school certificate of completion stating that you have finished our program."
I am not an aggressive person, but there are times when a principle is involved and I surprise myself by standing up for my rights. Here I was, in the eleventh grade, talking to my school principal, who was a mother superior, and I said, "Mother you are wrong. I am not going to do that." She was rather taken aback, but she told me to go on. I said, "I have worked as hard as everybody else. A certificate of completion from you will not have the same weight as a regular national diploma from London, and I am not going to accept it. I have worked too hard."
She asked, "What do you propose that we should do?" "I think that you should write a letter saying that you have a blind student, who you think deserves to get the regular diploma, and let them make arrangements. Tell them that I can type my answers." She was the kind of counselor I respect because she was not too big to learn from a child.
She said, "You know, you have a point. Why don't I do that?" Students were supposed to take exams in three ordinary subjects and in two advanced ones. I took six ordinary level and four advanced (double the load of everybody else), and I was the only one to pass everything that year. I did get the diploma. That nun was the best kind of counselor—one who was willing to listen.
I had already met another counselor like this in elementary school. When I was in the sixth grade, I discovered that I had been retained. I couldn't understand why. I wasn't brilliant, but I wasn't that bad. So I marched off to the principal's office, knocked at the door, and asked to talk to him. I surprised myself with my boldness, but I asked him why I had been retained in the sixth grade. He explained that, because of the war then going on, he was afraid that, when I completed the seventh grade, there would be no place to send me afterward. They could not contact my parents, and they feared I would become a refugee and that I would be turned out on the streets. His concern touched me, but I said, "Sir, civil wars have been known to drag on for twenty years. If we have to face this problem in two years, why not face it in one?" I guess he thought I was not so stupid after all. He admitted that he was no wiser than I in this matter and agreed that, if this was what I wanted, I could have it.
That man had a greater influence on my life than any other educator that I have ever had. He was a totally blind man himself. Fifty years ago in Palestine he was appointed the principal of a school. Look around you here today. How many handicapped administrators do we have in Dade County, Florida? Ten percent of our educational employees (2,000 people) are employed to help the handicapped.
Where are the handicapped in important staff positions? If we want to influence the handicapped, their parents, and the legislature,"I am reminded of a song—Don't Speak of Love; Show Me." We can talk about opportunities and rights for the handicapped, and in the meantime we are employing thousands of able-bodied people to help the handicapped. But wouldn't it be more effective if we had handicapped people in high positions who could really influence decisions?
This is a disgrace! That man in a third-rate country fifty years ago was made the principal of a special school, and he had the greatest impact on all of us blind children and on our families. My parents, who knew nothing about the blind, thought that this was the worst thing that could have happened to me, until they met that man. They saw that he was married, had children, and held a job—that he was living a normal life. His example, more than any counseling, gave them the courage to go on, the conviction that something good could happen. Until they met him, they had a terrible image of the blind. One day, when I was about two, they looked out the window during lunch and saw a blind beggar. They both ran after him to try to give him something. Their lunch was never eaten that day.
It's inspiration and role-modeling in counseling that are more important than any talking we do. Actions always speak louder than words. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then an action is worth a million.
Editor's Note: For many years blind people dreamed of a time when they could buy (at affordable prices) their own Braille books. In 1984 an important step in this direction was taken when National Braille Press announced its "Children's Braille Book of the Month Club" featuring affordable Print/Braille children's books. Later, in 1986, the National Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS) announced that it would permit Braille book manufacturers producing books under contract to NLS to produce and sell extra copies to individuals at a cost in line with the cost of print books. Now, the American Printing House for the Blind is getting into the act. Here is part of an announcement that was recently published in the APH Slate.
The American Printing House for the Blind (APH) proudly announces the creation of the Century Series, a special selection of Braille books. This series is designed to enable Braille readers to obtain Braille books at the same cost as the original print editions. APH has set aside monies from its Endowment Fund to produce 50 Braille copies of each of 100 titles over the next several years. It is intended that these titles will not conflict with titles produced by the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS) or by any of the other major producers of Braille books. The reading levels and interest levels of these books will range from kindergarten to adult. The first four titles selected for the Century Series are: Mouse Tales, by Beatrix Potter. Four short Stories for children. 1 volume, Catalog number 5-84300-00, price $9.00. My favorite Goodnight Stories, by Linda Yeatman. A collection of 25 retold bedtime stories for children. 1 volume, Catalog number 5-85000-00, price $10.00 Tekway, by William Shatner. A science fiction novel for young adults and up. 2 volumes, Catalog number 6-40100-00, price $18.00.
The City of Gold and Lead, by John Christopher. Science fiction for young adults. 1 volume, Catalog number 5-23250-00, price $4.00.
These Century Series books are available as long as the supply lasts. For more information contact: American Printing House for the Blind, P.O. Box 6085, Louisville, KY 40206-0085. Phone and Fax: (502) 895-2405.
We have been asked to carry the following announcement: Braille Institute's 42nd edition of Expectations, A Braille anthology of the latest children's literature, soon will be available free of charge to English-speaking blind children in grades three through six. This annual volume, produced in grade II Braille, stimulates the imagination of blind children around the world. The theme is an international one, with stories by authors from many countries. Children can receive the book at home or at school. Libraries also can receive copies.
Expectations is supported entirely by donations. Those who would like to receive the 42nd edition or make a donation should write to Douglas Menville, Braille Institute, 741 North Vermont Avenue, Los Angeles, California 90029.
Maryanne Hutchins, a parent from Vermont, is interested in starting an NFB sponsored home-schooling network for parents of blind children. Maryanne states that inability to work out an appropriate IEP with the local school district was the catalyst for her and her husband to begin home-schooling their eleven-year-old blind daughter. The network would be a way for parents to share information about resources, helpful teaching tips, solutions to common problems, and to offer mutual moral support—all within a framework of positive attitudes about blindness. If you are a parent of a blind or partially sighted child and you are successfully home-schooling, or you simply want to explore the possibility, please contact: Maryanne Hutchins, 91 Saybrook, Essex Junction, VT 05452; (802) 879-1413.
We have been asked to print the following announcement: HAVE YOUR SAY! You are invited to participate in a survey being conducted to determine the availability or lack of religious materials in Braille for children. State your opinions and/or needs. Write for a survey form to EYES OF FAITH MINISTRIES Survey, 47316 Riverside, Newberry Springs, CA 92365.
We are very pleased to print the following news release: National Braille Press, Inc., a nonprofit Braille printing and publishing house located in Boston, received the 1990 Literary Market Place Special Award "honoring excellence and innovation in the book publishing industry" at a special dinner ceremony held in the United Nations Delegates' Dining Room on January 22, 1991. This is the first time that a Braille publishing house has received this distinguished award.
National Braille Press is committed to publishing in Braille practical information important to the independent functioning of blind people. For example, Take Charge: A Strategic Guide for Blind Job Seekers, by Rabby and Croft, is a practical self-help manual based on experiences of successful blind job seekers. Take Charge received the 1990 Book Award from the President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities. In 1984, NBP established its Children's Braille Book Club. The club produces a new print-and-Braille children's book each month.
DEAF-BLIND MANUAL AVAILABLE ONE STEP AT A TIME: A Manual for Families of Children with Hearing and Vision Impairments is a booklet designed to help parents of the young deaf-blind child—interpret the world to your child, one step at a time. This 37-page guide, written by Sharon Bolton, edited by Kris Strom Williamson, covers the topics: communication, eating, play (including a list of suggested toys), self-care skills (dressing, toilet training, and bedtime), motor development, and general resource information. The booklet was funded by the Association for Persons with Severe Handicaps (TASH), Technical Assistance Project, and is available for $10.00 per copy from: Teaching Research Publications, 345 N. Monmouth Avenue, Monmouth, OR 97361.
Editor's Note: Barbara Pierce, associate editor of the Braille Monitor, recently called to tell me about a nifty handmade toy she had discovered. A woman in her area (Beth Glenn) made a board toy for children who were recuperating from broken bones, or some other ailment which kept them bed-bound but no longer seriously ill. She soon discovered that healthy children enjoyed the toy, too. Mrs. Pierce (who is blind and was once a blind child) took a look at the "Roadboards" and was very excited about its potentiality as an educational toy for blind kids.
Beth Glenn describes the toy as a "original wooden toy with road and parking places for matchbox-sized (about 3") cars." The brightly painted (non-toxic) 18"x26" wooden board is grooved so that the little cars won't slide off and streets and parking areas are easily distinguishable from the sidewalk and lawn areas. Mrs. Pierce immediately saw possibilities in the toy for teaching compass directions and concepts about intersections, parking lots, driveways, gas station islands, and other features in our environment. The board is uncluttered (you add your own toy buildings if you want them) making tactile exploration easy and comprehensible to the blind child.
Here is the information about Roadboards and how to order one:
Roadboards: an original wooden toy with road and parking places for matchbox-sized cars. Features: encourages imagination; is fun for one or more players; rounded corners; no pieces to lose, break, or pick up; washable; bright colors (non-toxic); easy to store (can be hung by strong nylon handle). Models: Roadboard: 18" x 26" $34.00; Tray Roadboard (for hospital bedside trays): 13-1/2" x 30-1/2" $34.00. Roadboards, Beth Glenn, 24426 Bruce Road, Bay Village, OH 44140; (216) 871-9013.
What do you like to do in the summer? Fish? Swim? Sail? Bird-watch? Have you considered sharing these pleasurable leisure time activities with your blind son or daughter, or have you put it off because you didn't think, or didn't know how, a blind person could enjoy it? In fact, many blind persons enjoy these recreational activities. If you and/or your blind son, daughter, or student would like to get more information about these activities, contact the Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS) and request one or more of these free leisure time booklets: FISHING, An Introduction to Fishing for Fun and Food for Blind and Physically Handicapped Individuals; SWIMMING, An Introduction to Swimming, Diving, and SCUBA Diving for Blind and Physically Handicapped Individuals; BIRDING, An Introduction to Ornithological Delights for Blind and Physically Handicapped Individuals; SAILING, An Introduction to the Wonders of Sailing for Blind and Physically Handicapped Individuals. Each is available in print, large print, flexible disc, and Braille. Send your request (please be sure to designate the format desired) to: Reference Section, National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, Washington, D.C. 20542.