Braille Monitor, 6/91

The

Braille Monitor

Vol. 34,

No. 6 June

1991

Barbara Pierce,

Editor

Published in inkprint, in Braille,

on cassette and

the World Wide Web and FTP on the Internet

The National Federation of the Blind

Marc Maurer, President

National Office

1800 Johnson Street

Baltimore, Maryland 21230

NFB Net BBS: (612) 696-1975

Web Page Address: http//www.nfb.org

Letters to the

president, address changes,

subscription requests, orders for NFB literature,

articles for the Monitor, and letters to the editor

should be sent to the National Office.

Monitor subscriptions

cost the Federation about twenty-five dollars per

year.

Members are invited, and non-members are requested, to cover

the subscription cost. Donations should be made payable to

National Federation of the Blind and sent to:

National Federation of the Blind

1800 Johnson Street

Baltimore, Maryland 21230

THE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF

THE BLIND IS NOT

AN ORGANIZATION

SPEAKING FOR THE BLIND--IT IS

THE BLIND SPEAKING FOR THEMSELVES

ISSN 0006-8829

Contents

Vol.

34, No. 6 June

1991

NATION'S BLIND SPEAK OUT ON ACCESSIBILITY GUIDELINES

by Barbara Pierce

CIVIC ACTIVIST: BOULDER COUNTY COMMISSIONER HOMER PAGE

REHABILITATION DEFINED

by Nell Carney

DIVIDE AND CONQUER

by Melissa Lagroue

AMERICAN PRINTING HOUSE FOR THE BLIND REVERSES DECISION TO

DISCONTINUE PUBLISHING MY WEEKLY READER

THE COMBINATION MACHINE: A HISTORY OF DEVELOPMENT

by The Technical Staff, National Library Service

FURTHER THOUGHTS ON REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION

by Michael Freeman

GENETIC CLUE FOUND TO DIABETES

by Rebecca Kolberg

THE FOURTH GENERATION ON THE MOVE

A LETTER FROM CANADA

PUBLIC RELATIONS: A TOOL FOR CHAPTER-BUILDING

by David Milner

MEET A FELLOW FEDERATIONIST--BILL REIF

by Deborah Kent Stein

BLIND FROM BIRTH, REPORTER IS UNDAUNTED

TEACHING GOOD SPORTSMANSHIP

by David Ticchi

COMMENTS ON HOT DOTS AND THE ARKENSTONE READER

by David Andrews

PURPOSE, OR HAPPENSTANCE?

BACHELOR RECIPES

MONITOR MINIATURES

NATION'S BLIND SPEAK OUT ON ACCESSIBILITY GUIDELINES

by Barbara Pierce

During late February and early March of this year the

Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board

(ATBCB) conducted hearings around the country to give interested

parties an opportunity to respond to its proposed accessibility

guidelines for the Americans with Disabilities Act, which were

published in the Federal Register of January 22, 1991. Fourteen

of these meetings took place, and people representing all sorts

of interests came forward to testify. Theater owners who felt

that proposed requirements to accommodate hearing-impaired

patrons and those using wheelchairs imposed an unfair financial

burden on them, builders with a wide range of concerns about the

impact of access standards on their costs, and deaf and

orthopedically impaired consumers worried that economic

considerations might erode strong guidelines and concerned about

the inadequacy of some provisions: all these and more were

present and eager to be heard.

The blind of the nation were also represented. At virtually

every hearing members of the National Federation of the Blind

stood up to present testimony with a difference. We were not

asking that proposed guidelines be strengthened. We did not even

plead that the line be held on requirements which business

interests might wish to see eroded. Instead, we were arguing that

several portions of the Accessibility Guidelines, chiefly the

detectible warnings section, be removed.

The ATBCB had proposed that textured strips be installed at

intersections and that similar surfaces announce the tops of

staircases and the edges of reflecting pools. Knurled knobs, they

said, should be installed on doors leading to furnace rooms,

loading docks, and other dangerous areas, where the blind had no

business to venture.

Though appreciative of the concern that prompted such

proposed guidelines, we pointed out that the purpose of the

Americans with Disabilities Act was to provide civil rights

protection for a group of people--the disabled community. If

physical barriers to providing those rights exist, it is

appropriate to establish guidelines for removing them. But in the

case of the blind, intersections, staircases, loading docks, and

reflecting pools do not constitute barriers to our civil rights.

The white cane and the dog guide provide excellent methods of

negotiating all of these architectural and traffic phenomena.

Moreover, society should be about the business of encouraging

blind people to use these excellent aids to independent travel

rather than tempting them to manage without a safe method of

mobility. We pointed out the problems associated with suggesting

to the public that blind people cannot travel safely unless these

textured surfaces are present to warn us of danger. Blind people

without much travel experience will begin to believe that they

are not safe without the warnings, and sighted people will draw

the same conclusion. This can only limit further our

opportunities to compete for jobs and live normal lives as

contributing members of our communities.

Over and over in cities across the nation we made these

arguments, and when the hearings ended, hundreds more of us sent

our written comments to the ATBCB before the March 25 deadline.

As this article is being written in early April, the Board

is studying all the comments received and the testimony taken at

the hearings. The final guidelines are supposed to be published

on April 26, though rumor has it that they will be late. It is

not clear what impact our efforts will have on the revisions

being made in the proposed guidelines, but at the very least, we

can be proud of having been heard. We can also take pride that we

went on record as advocating fiscal restraint and urging that the

public be asked to make only those modifications that really will

remove barriers to full participation in society for blind

people. Here is a sample of the testimony presented by

Federationists across the country:

Before the Architectural and Transportation

Barriers Compliance Board

Cincinnati, Ohio

Remarks of Barbara Pierce

President, National Federation of the Blind of Ohio

February 28, 1991

My name is Barbara Pierce, and my address is 237 Oak Street,

Oberlin, Ohio 44074. I am the President of the National

Federation of the Blind of Ohio, and I come today to comment on

Detectible Warnings, Section 4.29 of the proposed accessibility

guidelines for the Americans with Disabilities Act.

We in the blind community applaud the nation's effort to

make our society more accessible to all those who face physical

barriers to their full participation. We are sympathetic to their

problems because, although physical barricades do not impede our

movement through the world, we do constantly encounter

attitudinal barriers to our full participation, which we, too,

are working to overcome.

The Americans with Disabilities Act is an important piece of

civil rights legislation, which is intended to prohibit

discrimination against those who are disabled. When physical

barriers stand between people with disabilities and the

activities they wish to engage in or the places they need to go,

justice requires that the barriers be removed. But in the case of

the blind, there are no physical barriers standing between us and

the places we wish to go, so detectible warnings cannot remove

barriers. Very effective methods have been developed for

identifying stairs, intersections, machinery, drop-offs, and

pools of water. So even if detectible warnings were an efficient,

foolproof means of identifying hazards in travel for the blind--

which they are not--they would still have no place in the ADA

guidelines since they do not serve to remove barriers to our

participation in society.

But the situation that faces the blind is worse than this.

It is not enough that detectible warnings are beyond the scope of

the Americans with Disabilities Act; their inclusion in the

guidelines is positively harmful to the blind because they are

actually counterproductive in a number of ways.

One of the problems that plague the blind is that, in an

effort to assist us, those who are familiar with physical

barriers try to solve our problems by modifying physical objects

rather than by attacking the true problems. This results in

finding the wrong solutions or even solving nonexistent problems.

Detectible Warnings are a case in point. Perhaps an

illustration will make my meaning clear. If federal law were to

mandate that access to all public buildings for people who use

wheelchairs must be provided by having two burly men available to

carry the person and the chair up the stairs and open all doors

whenever access is required, the solution would certainly achieve

the goal of making public buildings accessible to people using

wheelchairs. But most Americans would howl in protest. The

proposed solution would be undignified, expensive, melodramatic,

and silly.

We in the National Federation of the Blind believe that this

is precisely the problem with Section 4.29. The only effective

way of providing access to the world for blind people is teaching

the proper use of the white cane or the dog guide, not

encouraging us to scuff our feet along the pavement or floor in

search of danger-indicators. Both money and energy are needed to

increase our access to the world, but they should be spent on

improving the quality, amount, and availability of travel

training provided to blind people and to breaking down the

attitudinal barriers that too many of us with some residual sight

have to using a mobility aid.

To the argument that, if there are some visually impaired

people who would find textured tiles at intersections, stair

warnings, and knurled door knobs convenient, we should provide

them whether or not active blind citizens object, I answer that

at some point the social and economic cost of the proposed

solution (Detectible Warnings) must enter the equation. Some

people using wheelchairs undoubtedly prefer or even require

personal physical assistance regardless of ramps and wide

entrances, but as a society we have decided that there is a point

beyond which the individual must take personal responsibility for

providing his or her own assistance or for recruiting it along

the way.

We in the Federation believe that, in the case of people

with visual impairment, this line must be drawn before installing

special surfaces as warnings. The social and economic cost of

these modifications will be tremendous. Owners and managers of

buildings and city planners will resent the cost, as they should,

since the modifications are not necessary. We must insist that

the general public make architectural modifications only when

there are physical barriers that prohibit people with

disabilities from full access to our communities.

The social cost to the blind of installing detectible

warnings will be extremely high. The public will come to assume

that the blind need these special surfaces in order to travel

safely, and they will quite naturally go on to draw the

conclusion that we cannot function safely in any area where such

surfaces do not exist. What do you suppose the chances are for a

blind maintenance work applicant who seeks a job in a building

which has been equipped with all the latest knurled door knobs on

furnace rooms and doors to loading docks? The building manager

knows only that the special knobs warn blind people that they

have no business behind those doors, so the maintenance worker

will never even get the chance to educate the manager about the

competence of blind people or the silliness of knurled door

knobs. After all, the manager has made an investment in the

modifications because they are required by law and because he has

been led to believe that they are necessary. His financial

investment will quite naturally reinforce his adherence to all

his pre-existing prejudices.

Employers who walk across textured tiles may be pardoned for

concluding that blind people are helpless outside their homes

unless they have such aids to warn them of hazards. Even without

the installation of these warnings we are turned down for jobs

with the misguided excuse that the building layout is too complex

and there isn't enough staff to provide a blind employee with a

guide for every trip to the bathroom or water cooler. Our

employment problems will only be compounded if stairs and

intersections are commonly introduced by textured materials.

One must also consider what impact such textured surfaces

will have on newly blinded travelers. If they learn to depend on

such indicators of steps or traffic, their confidence in the cane

and on their own capacity to assess the information they receive

through it will be diminished. Guidelines that work against the

independence of the group allegedly being assisted are no help at

all, and those that encourage poor technique or abandonment of

the cane are positively detrimental.

I will make one comment about curb cuts. I am completely

sympathetic to the use of these cuts, but it is true that the

old-fashioned curb was immensely helpful to blind travelers in

stopping at the correct point and lining up accurately for the

street-crossing. Those communities that have eliminated all curbs

have certainly required blind travelers to walk more carefully

near intersections, though textured paving is not a constructive

solution. My community constructed curb cuts at the point of each

corner so that one cut could easily be used by people crossing

either street at the intersection. The curb has been left on the

two perpendicular sides. This has proven to be a good solution to

conflicting needs. The one caution I would give is that the

painted cross walks should be wide enough to protect both

pedestrians using the curb cut and those stepping off the curb.

As it stands now in Oberlin, blind pedestrians must either

venture very close to parallel traffic or forfeit the nominal

protection of the crosswalk. In the future, however, this kind of

curb cut construction would be a relatively inexpensive and safe

way of accommodating two antithetical sets of needs without

resorting to solutions (textured surfaces) that proclaim

incorrectly and misleadingly to the world that without such

assistance the blind necessarily wander into traffic.

Finally I turn to the question of reflecting pools.

Architects have told me that they have learned to their cost that

all unexpected steps, unprotected drop-offs, and hard-to-see

glass doors are hazardous to everyone. That is, absent-minded or

inattentive pedestrians are likely to be hurt and make insurance

claims. This being the case, there is good reason to surround

reflecting pools with low parapets, railings, or even textured

surfaces around the edge, not because the blind are more likely

to fall in, but because everyone will be safer and happier,

including the insurance companies. Blind people might get a cane

wet walking around an unprotected pool, but nothing worse. That

is what the cane is for--to come in contact with things that the

user would prefer to avoid.

In July of 1988 the National Federation of the Blind held

its annual convention at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in downtown

Chicago, a facility with a pool, called the lagoon, in the middle

of the lobby. Nearly 3,000 blind people attended that event. They

included people with every level of independent travel skill. I

confess with shame that the thought passed through my mind that

we would have a few unplanned dips in the lagoon that week,

particularly since the pool was very close to the bar, but, as

far as I know, not a single person, blind or sighted, stepped in.

In summary I repeat that by and large the barriers keeping

the blind from full access to society are attitudinal rather than

physical. Our travel problems can and should be solved by

training in the proper use of the white cane or dog guide rather

than in efforts to remake the world. At best this latter approach

is expensive and doomed to only partial success. It should be

reserved for those instances in which it is the sole possible

approach, e.g., to assist those who must use ramps, curb cuts,

and wide doorways in order to move about freely. No physical

barriers confront the blind in travel. For this reason it is

inappropriate for the ADA guidelines to address the question of

Detectible Warnings at all.

The blind will pay a terrible price if the Detectible

Warning guidelines are enacted. Many of us with a little sight

will refuse to demand and get the travel training that will

always be absolutely necessary for safety and independence in

travel. (A person who depends on textured surfaces to warn of

stairs and oncoming traffic will fall over single steps and walk

into the path of cars in alleys and filling station ramps.) The

world will never be completely safe for any of us. The best we

can do is to equip ourselves with the capacity to deal with the

unexpected.

The social cost for detectible warnings will be, if

anything, even higher than the personal and individual price I

have outlined because it will be paid by every blind person in

the country. The general public will come to assume that the

blind cannot move about safely unless the unusual is heralded by

textured surfaces. In their minds the differences and limitations

that constrict the lives of the blind will increase in size and

appalling restrictiveness. The gulf we have to cross to find

employment or persuade the newly blinded that independence and

competence have not vanished with their vision will have widened

even further.

With some difficulty the National Federation of the Blind

succeeded in having the Americans with Disabilities Act amended

to protect an individual from being forced to use a given

accommodation just because it was available. This is an important

protection for us and will certainly help us when we are

instructed to take handicapped seating on buses or modified hotel

rooms. But in the case of detectible warnings, we will have no

choice but to put up with them and be damaged by their

psychological and economic impact on the general public. I urge

you not to increase the attitudinal barriers we already face in

the name of assisting us.

____________________

There you have a sample of the testimony presented at

hearings around the country. Many more Federationists submitted

written comments directly to the Board before the March 25

deadline. Of course James Gashel, Director of Governmental

Affairs for the National Federation of the Blind, prepared and

submitted the NFB's official comment. Mr. Gashel addressed all of

the proposed guideline sections that had any bearing on blind

people rather than limiting himself to the Detectible Warnings

section, on which most other people concentrated. Here are Mr.

Gashel's comments on behalf of all of us:

Baltimore, Maryland

March 25, 1991

Mr. James Raggio

Office of the General Counsel

Washington, D.C.

Dear Mr. Raggio:

This letter responds to the Board's notice published at 56

FR 2296, Tuesday, January 22, 1991. The notice sets forth the

proposed guidelines for accessible facilities, called for by the

Americans with Disabilities Act.

This comment is the official position of the National

Federation of the Blind. The Federation has a national membership

of over 50,000 individuals, most of whom are blind. There are

statewide affiliates of the Federation in all states and the

District of Columbia, and local chapters can be found in most

sizable population areas. All of our elected leaders are blind.

The positions taken in comments such as this are based on

policies adopted by the Federation through official resolutions

and otherwise.

Focus and General Premises of this Comment

The Federation has reviewed the proposed accessibility

guidelines with respect to their impact on blind people. This

consideration will also determine the scope of our comment. It

should be understood that we apply the term "blind" or

"blindness" to any degree of vision loss which remains after

correction, even though the individual may not be totally blind.

This is done in part for simplicity. However, it is also done

because the problems associated with various degrees of vision

loss are more social than physical. In this respect someone with

a mild to moderate vision loss faces essentially the same

discriminatory barriers as someone who is totally blind.

As with many other forms of disability, blindness is often

more of a social handicap than a physical disability. In fact,

with proper training and opportunity, we have found that

blindness can be reduced to the level of a mere nuisance.

Physical barriers which may affect some blind persons in some

circumstances are far less severe a problem than the social

barriers which do exist in most forms of interaction between

blind and sighted people. Modifications made to

the physical environment have an inevitable effect upon social attitudes

and public understanding

about disabilities. The Board's responsibility includes

addressing attitudinal as well as physical barriers. Certainly

the Americans with Disabilities Act (the "Act") anticipates that

social as well as physical barriers must be removed. Also care

must be taken to insure that guidelines for the removal of

physical barriers are not premised on incorrect information about

disabilities. If they are, the guidelines themselves could lead

to unintended forms of discrimination and thereby defeat the

purposes of the Act. Therefore, the Board must assess the social

as well as the physical impact of its guidelines. With respect to

disabilities such as blindness, this type of assessment is a

particularly critical undertaking. As a threshold

matter, we propose that the Board apply "discriminatory impact" standards

in deciding whether to include or exclude particular guidelines. The Act

requires that

discriminatory barriers be removed. It does not require that

actions be taken which are unrelated to the removal of

discriminatory barriers. Also actions taken in the name of

removing barriers would be prohibited by the Act if those actions

perpetuate discrimination on grounds of disability.

Some of the proposed guidelines appear to be driven by

safety or convenience considerations rather than by any analysis

of discriminatory impact. In fact, the Board does not offer a

justification for any of the guidelines in the form of a

relationship between the guideline and the presumed

discriminatory barrier being addressed. The Board also does not

appear to be sensitive to the possibility that some actions which

would be required by its guidelines could lead to practices that

perpetuate discrimination on grounds of disability. Failure to

provide the kind of analysis suggested here has led to the

inappropriate inclusion of several provisions. A

discriminatory impact analysis should be made with respect to each of the

proposed guidelines. This analysis should include

at least two essential tests. First, guidelines which are

essentially unrelated to discrimination should be excluded. This

includes provisions aimed primarily at improving safety or

convenience. The test should be: "Has a form of discrimination

been identified for which the guideline is a necessary remedy?" Also

the discriminatory impact analysis should determine whether the guideline

may lead to unintended discriminatory

effects. For example, a guideline which calls for protective

safety measures would have a discriminatory impact on persons

with disabilities if there were no factual basis for a safety

concern. The guideline itself would be overprotective and would

almost certainly lead to a more general climate of

overprotection. So the second essential test should be: "Does the

guideline promote an accurate understanding of the abilities and

limitations of those for whose benefit it is intended?"

Comments on Specific Guidelines

Most of the guidelines appear to have very little (if any)

relationship to blind people. The topics which do have an impact

are: Protruding Objects, Section 4.4; Elevators, Section 4.10;

Detectible Warnings, Section 4.29; Signage, Section 4.30; and

Automated Teller Machines, Section 4.39. Specific comments will

be made with respect to each of these guidelines in the order

indicated.

Section 4.4, Protruding Objects

This section proposes to restrict both the height and extent

of protruding objects. Our comments focus on the propriety of

such requirements, rather than on the technical aspects. The

Board should review this section under the discriminatory impact

standards just presented.

First Test: Has a form of discrimination been identified for

which the guideline is a necessary remedy? This test, applied to

this guideline, raises the safety versus discrimination issue. It

is clear that some objects are so constructed and mounted as to

protrude into areas where people may sometimes travel. It is also

true that some of the people who travel in these areas may not

see very well, but people with completely normal vision may not

see protruding objects either. Blind people do not have exclusive

title to colliding with things. It is conceivable that a study

could be done to assess whether blind or sighted people have more

accidents with protruding objects. However, such a study would be

ill-advised under the circumstances. The point is that the

guideline does not address a discrimination concern.

The presence of blind people and protruding objects in the

same space does not result in the existence of a discriminatory

barrier. Neither does the presence of sighted people and

protruding objects in the same space,even though sighted people

sometimes hit them. Protruding objects do not prevent or impede

blind persons from using such spaces, although they will take

extra care. So it is with sighted people. It might be safer for

both if protruding objects were restricted as proposed, but

safety is not really the question.

The guideline must be justified on grounds that it calls for

removing a discriminatory barrier. This guideline appears to call

for removing a discriminatory barrier and for improving safety,

using blind people as a convenient reason. Inclusion of the

guideline expresses the unsupported assumption that the blind

suffer discrimination because they collide with protruding

objects. This is categorically untrue. Blind people suffer

discrimination because of attitudes such as those expressed by

this guideline. People assume that blind persons will run into

protruding objects and therefore seek to restrict either the

objects or the blind. There is no discrimination toward blind

people in the fact that some objects protrude into spaces where

they may be struck.

Second Test: Does the guideline promote an accurate

understanding of the abilities and limitations of those for whose

benefit it is intended? This test calls for an analysis of how

the guideline will contribute to an accurate public understanding

of our abilities and limitations. It has already been suggested

that the guideline is based on a false premise--that blind people

are discriminated against by the presence of protruding objects.

In this sense the guideline will inevitably be a detriment to

accurate public understanding of blindness. However, it is

difficult to argue that the observance of the guideline itself

will communicate any information (accurate or otherwise) about

blindness. The overall effect of the guideline would probably be

inconsequential. Most people are unlikely to conclude that

protruding objects are restricted because of blind people. The

action does not carry any symbolic attachment to the blind.

Recommendation

We recommend that Section 4.4 be removed on the basis that

it does not deal primarily with the question of discrimination,

but with safety.

Section 4.10, Elevators

This section contains a variety of requirements for

elevators to make them accessible. Guidelines concerning raised

characters, audible signals, and verbal enunciators relate

directly to use of elevators by blind persons. These provisions

will be assessed with respect to the discriminatory impact

standards.

First Test: Has a form of discrimination been identified for

which the guideline is a necessary remedy? The guideline presumes

that elevators are less usable by blind persons if they do not

have raised characters on control panels and hoistway entrances

and audible signals to indicate car arrival and floor locations.

It may be argued that problems encountered in using elevators

without such indicators do not rise to the level of

discrimination. An elevator without such indicators is more of an

inconvenience than a barrier. However, there are perhaps some

discriminatory aspects in that sighted people are at a distinct

advantage over the blind in using an elevator equipped only with

visible print characters and no audible signals.

Second Test: Does the guideline promote an accurate

understanding of the abilities and limitations of those for whose

benefit it is intended? Public understanding of blindness is

probably advanced by having Braille and/or raised print

characters which are usable by some blind people and visible to

sighted people. It is certainly not harmful to blind people to

have a guideline which promotes the understanding that blind

people may be present, that they may be using elevators, and that

they are capable of doing so with the same degree of facility and

ease as sighted people.

Recommendation

The guidelines concerning raised characters and audible

elevator signals should be retained as proposed. Elevators

without the indicators specified pose a discriminatory barrier

for the blind to some degree. The guideline would not lead to a

detrimental public understanding of the abilities and limitations

of blindness.

Section 4.29, Detectible Warnings

This section proposes that floor surfaces along a

circulation path should contain warning strips which could be

felt by the feet, detected by the touch of a cane, or seen by

persons with low vision. Warnings would be required at locations

such as the tops of ramps and stairs, along street edges level

with sidewalks, on platform edges where vehicles are loaded, and

around reflecting pools. There is also a requirement that certain

door knobs be knurled to indicate hazards behind those doors.

Among the hazards identified are loading areas, boiler rooms, and

stages. The general idea is to place a detectable warning strip

on the walking path to any area that is presumed to be hazardous

to blind persons. We apply the discriminatory impact standards as

indicated earlier.

First Test: Has a form of discrimination been identified for

which the guideline is a necessary remedy? Again, this test

raises the discrimination versus safety issue. With respect to

stairs, is the presence of a stairway without detectable warning

strips a discriminatory barrier for blind persons? Does the

absence of a detectable warning cause discrimination on grounds

of blindness under any circumstance? The answers to these

questions can best be found in the daily experience of blind

people. Do they fail to use stairs because they are not equipped

with detectable warnings? The answer is that they do not. Are

blind people unsafe in using stairs that are not equipped with

detectable warnings? The answer is that they are not. Are blind

people unsafe near reflecting pools or on streets that are not

marked with detectable warnings? The answer is that they are not.

There is absolutely no discriminatory barrier that would be

addressed by detectable warnings. Blind people do cross streets

and use stairs safely. They use subways in safety, and they avoid

falling into reflecting pools. The fact is that blind people can

go virtually anywhere unaided by others. The limitations for

those who cannot travel by themselves are best resolved by

effective training. These techniques and opportunities exist. It

is a proven and undisputed fact that blind people can be trained

to move safely throughout the constructed environment without

special modifications. There is no barrier whatsoever because of

the absence of detectable warnings. This guideline has been

proposed without a factual basis.

Second Test: Does the guideline promote an accurate

understanding of the abilities and limitations of those for whose

benefit it is intended? In the case of detectable warnings, we

find a clear and obvious linkage between the placement of the

warning and the expected presence of blind people. Among other

things, the warning says that blind people are likely to fall

down the stairs if protective measures are not taken. This is a

wholly inaccurate statement about blindness and blind people. If

an official guideline of the government promotes such thinking,

it will undo all of the public education efforts underway to

change the generally accepted image of the helpless blind.

Detectible warnings convey exactly the wrong image of blind

people and for no good reason. The warnings announce that blind

people need special measures to preserve their safety. Without

these measures the blind cannot move with confidence and safety.

Even worse, the impact of the warnings will not be limited to the

strips required by the guidelines. Employers will conclude, for

example, that machines with sharp blades are not safe for blind

people to operate. This outcome is exactly opposite to the intent

and mandate of the Act.

Recommendation

Remove Section 4.29 and all other references to detectable

warnings. Provisions for detectable warnings do not call for

removing a discriminatory barrier. They primarily address safety

concerns unrelated to the Act. Detectible warnings would foster

an inaccurate public image of blindness and would lead to

unlawful forms of social discrimination against the blind.

Section 4.30, Signage

This section proposes various guidelines to make signage

more readable by blind people. Applying the discriminatory impact

analysis, we conclude that the guideline should be retained as

proposed.

Doors without signs of the type described in the guidelines

can pose barriers to efficient use by blind persons. Essentially

we would apply the same analysis to the signage questions as to

the elevator indicators. Audible signs should not be required for

reasons of expense and technology. Information on such signs can

normally be obtained from others.

Section 4.34, Automated Teller Machines

This section proposes that automated teller machines (ATMs)

be made accessible to persons with disabilities. Again we would

apply essentially the same discriminatory impact analysis as in

the case of elevators and signage. It is not appropriate at this

point to specify the means of accessibility for blind persons.

Technology must develop further in this area. The guideline

appropriately sets the standard.

Respectfully submitted,

James Gashel

Director of Governmental Affairs

National Federation of the Blind

[PHOTO: Dr. Homer Page

converses with a member of the Boulder County Board of Commissioners. CAPTION:

Dr. Homer Page.]

CIVIC

ACTIVIST: BOULDER COUNTY COMMISSIONER HOMER PAGE

From the Associate Editor: Homer Page is First Vice

President of the National Federation of the Blind of Colorado. He

also coordinates the work of those who make things run so

smoothly at national conventions. He is everywhere, spotting

traffic jams, sending the nurse to those who need her

consultation, calming restless teenagers, and dispersing

youngsters who are playing on the escalators. He is unflappable,

amusing, gentle, patient, and kind. On February 3, 1991, the

Rocky Mountain News published a story about Homer Page written by

reporter Kevin McCullin. It captures the essence of the man in

his public life, and it tallies with what we know of him in his

private life. Here is the story as it appeared:

Homer Page's heart ached when war erupted in the Persian

Gulf, and he made a vow to himself.

Boulder County, he said, would not become a battleground of

bitterness about the war.

So Page, chairman of the Boulder County Board of

Commissioners, assumed his familiar role of peacemaker.

The night war broke out, Page hurried over to the Boulder

courthouse, bullhorn in hand, to try to keep peace between anti-

and pro-war factions.

He then summoned civic, community, business, law

enforcement, and religious leaders together. Collectively, they

formed a community support network that aims to comfort anyone--

regardless of political perspective--affected by the war. "I don't want anger and hatred to dominate my community, to

take over the hearts of my people. I don't want to see people

choosing up sides like a high school football game, my side

against yours," Page says. "It's why I'm willing, and why I have

to do this."

In nearly a decade of holding political office--and in

earlier years as an educator, theologian, and civil rights

activist--Page often has succeeded in resolving disputes. A deep-

rooted sense of social justice, instilled while growing up in a

farming family that insisted he become self-sufficient, prompts

Page to strive for a consensus.

Yet Page, a lifelong advocate for the disabled, realizes he

cannot solve all conflicts.

Blind since his birth forty-nine years ago, Page has felt

from others the ignorance of emotional and intellectual

blindness.

But the drive that helped him earn three varsity letters as

a wrestler at the University of Missouri and unwavering faith in

the American political process push Page to find a common will--

even in a war. "Good people with good faith can have different interests

and opinions," Page says. "It's my job to be fair, treat each

with dignity and try to generate some respect for people on each

side."

Page was elected to the Boulder County Commission in 1988

after serving six years on the Boulder City Council, where he

became deputy mayor. His election to the Commission also forced

Page to resign his job of fourteen years as director of the

University of Colorado's Office of Services to Disabled Students,

which he helped establish. He remains active in

community service. Page serves as chair of the Colorado Center for the Blind,

which he formed three years

ago to serve as a "boot camp for the blind" by teaching survival

skills and promoting self-confidence.

Page and his wife Marci also publish a newsletter for the

blind. They are active in a Boulder Baptist church. And, when

each has the time, they indulge themselves in cross-country

skiing, hikes, rock climbing, or Denver Broncos games. Seldom

is Page bored. "Homer does not spend time sitting

around," says Marci, who married him three and a half years ago.

Nor, say those who know him, is Page ever boring. "Homer is a true philosopher," says Linda Jourgensen, who

served with Page on the City Council and County Commission. "He's

a great thinker, and he always thinks issues through."

Page's thoughtfulness stems in part from a rich educational

background. He received an undergraduate degree in sociology from

Missouri, graduated from divinity school, and later received his

masters and doctoral degrees from the University of Chicago in

social ethics.

In the early 1960's, Page joined civil rights activists in

working to repeal Missouri's segregation laws. He worked another

summer in a public housing project in St. Louis. His

intellectual experience, he says, has been in "dialogue

with the world. Knowledge and thought are interactive."

Were it not for his parents, however, Page never might have

developed an intellect or self-confidence.

Page grew up with a brother and a sister on a 184-acre farm

outside Troy, Missouri. His father, Homer Sr., served as town

marshal and expected his blind son to milk cows or water and feed

the cattle.

The elder Page completed the eighth grade, and Page's

mother, D'Arline, finished the 10th grade. But they insisted that

their blind son study and be treated like sighted classmates.

In first grade Page's teacher tried to place him in a slow-

reading group. His father would not hear of it. "I hesitate to think of what my life would have been like if

the expectations of me had been low, that I needed attention,"

Page recalls. "Instead, their expectation was that I was to

produce, to perform, and to do quality work--no excuses."

His father defended his son again. In the summer between

third and fourth grade Page and his father were putting a roof

over a chicken house when representatives of the Missouri School

for the Blind drove to the farm.

Homer, they said, should come with us to St. Louis for

schooling with other children like him. His father thought for a

moment and said no. "He said, `A boy's place is in the home, with his family.

Besides, if he left, who would help me with all this work?' They

left," Page says. "That told me my family cared for me, that I

was an economically viable part of that family, and what more

could you tell a nine-year-old kid? It allowed me to develop a

strong sense of myself."

Because Page's rural school lacked special instructional

materials, Page was forced to learn mathematics without benefit

of Braille. He learned to perform equations in his head, a skill

he uses daily as a county commissioner. During budget

hearings last fall, commissioners were doling a block of money to non-profit

agencies. Jourgensen said to no

one in particular, "Well, how much money do we have left?" Page instantly

blurted the five-figure amount, to the penny. A county staff member, using a

calculator, confirmed the

figure moments later. "Homer does all of our finances," Marci

laughs. As a teenager, Page also refined a skill that enables him

today to resolve disputes or comprehend issues. He learned to

listen, to hear voice inflections and tones, to interpret the

speaker's thinking. "My listening, I think, is more of a philosophy. It's my way

of being able to understand," he says. "Some people listen with

their eyes. Most of us act in our unique way, with a structure of

meaning. You listen not so much to the words, but to the

structure of what is being said." To Marci,

Page's special trait "is a way of living. It's

part of what I love about him."

Colorado University hired Page in 1974 to develop and

oversee its programs for the disabled. Few disabled students were

on campus at the time, and even fewer services. Over the years,

Page added programs and services.

He aimed to help disabled students have control and

management of their lives and succeeded with many. By 1988, 325

students were in the program.

One of Page's students became a Fulbright Scholar. Another

earned a fellowship in Washington. Another now teaches law.

Marci now serves as assistant director of the program, but

Homer was forced to resign after becoming a commissioner. He

still teaches a graduate education class.

Page's devotion to education continues today. He and Marci

helped form the Colorado Center for the Blind in 1988, a school

where rock climbing is part of a curriculum designed to help the

blind student become independent. "I want to create high expectations. I want them to become

self-sufficient," Page says. "We talk about the Colorado Center

as boot camp for the blind. People need to understand there is an

expectation of them, that they do not have to be dependent on

society. "There is a presumption that blind

people should not be expected to clean their rooms, to mop the kitchen, to

take care

of themselves. So they get into a life where they are told being

mediocre is wonderful. To me, that is not acceptable." The

Center has produced success stories. Page speaks of a

man who "sat on a couch for three years" after losing his sight

but now works again as a mechanic. Another student, who lost his

vision after an accident, was not allowed to walk alone across a

room. Now he works for a restaurant and is raising a child.

Page performs his job without much assistance. Instead of

reading background memorandums, Page listens to the memos on

tapes. When required to travel, he catches a bus, hitches a ride,

takes a taxi, or walks the two miles from his home to the

courthouse.

Page expects no special favors. Yet, to his disgust, he

occasionally finds unintentional or deliberate slights in a

sighted world. "I was walking to work one morning and a woman said, `God

bless you. It's wonderful what you're doing.' It was amazing

because I could walk down the street?" Page says, and shakes his

head. "We have to break through that phony expectation so that

blind people realize they can compete with sighted people in the

job market, the marriage market, all these places where our lives

are carried out." Airlines, Marci says, particularly

are annoying to her husband. So was a letter to the editor that appeared

shortly

after Page's election as County Commissioner. The writer

castigated voters for electing a blind man "who couldn't do the

reading," Page recalls. "It was so ignorant and so unfair. It's one thing to say you

don't agree with me in a political sense because I'm a Democrat,"

he says. "But to have them think the most damning thing they

could say about me is that I'm blind and can't read was so

unfair." Public service beckoned to Page early

in life. To a boy who grew up in the Midwest of the 1940s and 1950s, citizenship

and

democracy became "one of the most important things we have, and I

still believe it is. I've found the political process to be

challenging and a place where my skills can be used well."

Page ran for the Boulder City Council in 1982 and won. He

sought along with other council members to balance human service

needs with the city's pro-environmental stance.

His capacity to listen to all sides of an issue and to find

a compromise acceptable to the conflicting parties was

appreciated by then-Mayor Ruth Correll and Jourgensen. "Homer has this ability to find the middle ground and tie

together opposing forces to solve a problem and bring opposite

ends to a consensus," Correll says. "On Council he was able to

pour oil on troubled waters and bring a reasonable approach to a

problem." Page sees politics as "listening

to the public and leading and expressing in policy the common will of the

community. You

try to take a situation and find a way to harmonize it, to take

the risk and make a decision."

Anxious for new challenges, Page ran for County Commissioner

in 1988 against incumbent Republican Buz Smith and won. His

mediation soon helped resolve a smoldering dispute between the

Commissioners and former sheriff Brad Leach over his budget. Former

Commissioner Josie Heath and Leach sparred at a budget hearing just before

Page's election. The exchange

culminated in Leach's telling Heath, "I won't take a public

whipping over this, Josie." Page soothed the

hard feelings soon after his election. "I thought it was a conflict situation where no one was

going to win," Page says. "I tried to help facilitate a

discussion about what was real. It allowed both sides to come

together and go forward."

Leach, who served as sheriff for twenty years, left

impressed with Page. "I think Homer's one of the most knowledgeable Commissioners

on any issue because he researches it and he listens," Leach

says. "He's an excellent Commissioner."

Indeed Page relishes his work. On an average day he may

leave his north Boulder home at 8:30 a.m. and not return for

twelve hours. On weekends he often brings home tapes of

background material for the upcoming week.

He knows not everyone agrees with his decisions, and some

Boulder County residents may not like him. Page accepts the

criticism but rejects cynicism and hopes the electorate

recognizes that he truly cares. "People have tried to put me in a lot of pigeonholes over

the years and pin me down," he says. "But those pigeonholes can

be expanded, and I'll keep expanding them."

[PHOTO: Commissioner Carney

sitting in her office at her desk. CAPTION: Nell Carney.]

REHABILITATION

DEFINED

by Nell C. Carney, Commissioner

Rehabilitation Services Administration

From the Editor: This article appeared in the March, 1991,

Newsletter of the National Rehabilitation Association. Nell

Carney, to the best of our belief and knowledge, has the highest

appointive office in the federal government which has ever been

held by a blind person and also the highest appointive office in

the federal government which has ever been held by a woman with a

disability.

With reauthorization of the Rehabilitation Act on the

horizon, a few individuals and groups representative of single-

focused interests have suggested rehabilitation needs to be

reorganized, revamped, restructured, or redefined to provide

lifelong services and care for individuals with disabilities.

This is so, they say, because present rehabilitation programs are

not meeting the total needs of disabled people, most of whom need

lifelong care.

Of the approximately 43 million Americans with physical and

mental disabilities, the majority do not need lifelong care.

Indeed, those of us who have received appropriate rehabilitation

services participate fully in society and need only the

opportunities and conveniences afforded to all citizens.

People with disabilities now participate in every vocation

known to our civilization. We run for public office, hold public

office, participate in political activities, and influence

election outcomes. Vocational Rehabilitation, Independent Living,

and Supported Employment have all played a major role in gains

made in independence and integration into the work place and

community by disabled people. By no means, however, are these the

only services that may be needed by people with disabilities in

order to live full, productive, meaningful lives.

The word rehabilitation suggests a process that is finite.

Rehabilitation services authorized in the Rehabilitation Act are

designed to be of relatively short duration because

rehabilitation service is an intervention process that moves in,

provides the necessary service, and moves out of the way to allow

the disabled person to integrate physically, socially,

psychologically, and economically into the environment. There are

provisions for extended services in cases where needed, but no

service is infinite nor should it be. The basic underlying

philosophy of rehabilitation is to increase independence, not

create dependence.

Traditionally, rehabilitation has been defined as

individualized, structured, and a short-term human service

process that utilizes the case management method to provide

diagnostic, training, and referral and placement services to

people with disabilities.

Rehabilitation services is a process that allows a human

interaction to take place between a person with a physical or

mental disability and a service provider. In the process, need

for adjustment to the disability, training needs, and other needs

including technological, social, and economic are identified. The

person with the disability and the service provider then jointly

agree on a plan to meet the identified needs, and the plan is

implemented, leading to competitive employment and/or

independence and increased quality of life for the person with

the disability. Throughout the process, the person with a

disability has input and choices and the service provider

provides guidance, resources, advocacy, and coordination of

services with other service providers. All rehabilitation

services are goal-oriented and are designed to create

independence.

Irrespective of definitions, the programs authorized in the

Rehabilitation Act and administered by RSA have proven to be of

value to disabled people. The largest of these, the state/federal

Vocational Rehabilitation Program, has placed 15 million disabled

people in employment since it began as a small program 70 years

ago. Last year alone (1989), just under 1 million disabled people

were placed in employment. Two hundred twenty-six thousand of

these were placed in competitive employment. The program has

always had the support of the Congress and the various

administrations and has repeatedly proven to be cost-effective.

Similarly, the Supported Employment program and the

Independent Living programs, although much newer authorities,

have established value to disabled people and to the community.

In 1989 the Supported Employment Program placed 51,000 severely

disabled individuals in employment. Many of these will go on to

natural support systems and to integration into the community.

The preparation for and attainment of independence and

integration by disabled people is dependent on more than one

service delivery system. While rehabilitation is a key service

system because it offers the potential for economic and social

independence, other services, including health care, insurance,

affordable housing, recreation, accessible transportation, civil

rights, and advocacy are crucial to the goals of independence and

integration and ultimately choices and empowerment. To suggest

replacing rehabilitation services with other crucial programs

does not seem like a reasonable solution to the dilemma created

by services deficits. Rehabilitation services are critical to the

empowerment of disabled individuals, and to suggest that all of

the needs of the disabled population can be met by continuing to

expand the Rehabilitation Act is to suggest legislation so

diverse that major focus could not be directed to any single

program and effective and efficient administration would be

difficult if not impossible.

Coordination among the various agencies providing services

for people with disabilities has become a routine function of

federal government for the current administration. We are already

seeing the positive effects. Rehabilitation and the President's

Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities are working

together to create additional opportunities for competitive

placement. RSA and EEOC are working together to provide technical

assistance to employers for compliance with the Americans with

Disabilities Act. Rehabilitation and Special Education are

joining efforts to create transition programs from school to work

for disabled people, and RSA and the Social Security

Administration are sitting down together to plan for future

endeavors that will bring the two agencies together to increase

opportunities for disabled people.

The services provided through the present authorities in the

Rehabilitation Act are essential to the empowerment of people

with disabilities. Vocational Rehabilitation, Independent Living,

and Supported Employment create opportunities for economic and

social independence for millions of people with disabilities each

year. Maintaining and promoting these programs are

responsibilities in which we all share if we are sincere in our

commitment to choices and empowerment for people with

disabilities.

[PHOTO/CAPTION: Portrait of Melissa Lagroue.]

DIVIDE

AND CONQUER

by Melissa Lagroue

From the Associate Editor: One of the program items during

the morning session of the student seminar that took place

February 2, 1991, immediately preceding this year's Washington

Seminar, was a panel discussion comprised of three students who

have experienced discrimination of various kinds. Each spoke

eloquently of the experience and the emotional strain associated

with the event. Melissa Lagroue, one of the leaders of the

National Association of Blind Students and a 1988 National

Federation of the Blind scholarship winner, was the concluding

panelist. Here is her story as she told it to the audience that

morning:

As a lot of you know, I am an elementary education major.

I don't think until this past September and October I really

experienced any sort of powerful emotion, exclusive of sympathy,

in regard to discrimination. This past summer I was accepted into

the Teacher Education Program at Birmingham Southern College,

where I attended. I didn't realize that there would be any

problems associated with the little piece of trivia I am about to

give you. One of the professors was on sabbatical

leave when the

decision to admit me was made. She returned a couple of days

before classes started this past September, and I was to take the

course Teaching Math to Children from her. After the first

meeting in each of my classes, I go to the professor to discuss

test-taking with him or her. So I did that on the first night of

class. I said, "Dr. Moore, how would you like me to take tests in

your class? Here are the options I have used before." And I gave

them to her. She said, "I don't know how you

are going to handle testing; I don't know how you are going to handle doing

papers; I don't

know how you are going to watch children; I don't know how you

are going to be able to make the games for this class; and I

don't understand why you are in teacher education at all." I

said, "Well apparently we are having some problems here,

and you clearly have some questions concerning my blindness. I'll

make an appointment with you. When would be the best time?" I

made the appointment with her for the following day. I walked

out, turned the corner, and burst into tears. I really felt that

she had undermined my confidence, and that wasn't the end of it.

I went to see her the next day and sat down. She asked me a few

questions about how I would grade papers and how I would write on

the chalkboard and that sort of thing. Then she said, "You know,

Melissa, the real problem I have is this: having a blind person

teach sighted children is quite like having a person who doesn't

know math trying to teach it." I thought for

a second, and it occurred to me that this analogy breaks down. I said (trying

not to be obnoxious, but the

temptation was really strong), "I'm not trying to teach them how

to see; I am trying to teach them how to read and write and do

math." She sat there for a few minutes. Then

she said, "Well,

Melissa, apparently we're just not going to agree on this, so I

am going to bring your Teacher Education Program application up

for review and see if we can get you out of the program." I

said, "Well, clearly I am not satisfied with that, and I

am going to do everything I can to make sure that it doesn't

happen. I am going to give the head of the department some names

and telephone numbers of blind teachers in the National

Federation of the Blind." And that's what I did. I went home,

called another professor in the department, and said, "Look, I

have to be kept up to date about what is going on in the

department and what everyone is saying." I really needed to know

that since I wouldn't be allowed to attend the meeting in which

my application would be reviewed. I wanted to make sure that,

whatever happened and whatever was said, I would have somebody

who would tell me about it. She said that she would. Then I

called Pat Munson [President of the National Association of Blind

Educators] and left a message on her answering machine requesting

some phone numbers. She called back, leaving a message on my

machine, and gave me several. The following day

I went to the head of the department (this was a Wednesday, I guess) and

said, "Here are these names and

numbers. I understand that we have a little problem with Dr.

Moore, and I think we ought to talk about it." He

said, "Yes, we have a large problem with Dr. Moore, and

I'm not very thrilled, as you might imagine, so I am going to

call some of these people before this meeting takes place and see

what I can learn." I thought, "Hallelujah! somebody with some sense." I said,

"Look, in any case, I am going to write a letter to the dean

because if this reconsideration doesn't work out in my favor, I

want to have this event reported. I want to make sure that people

in the right places know what has happened." He said that was

fine. I told him that I would be glad to send him and Dr. Moore

copies. I was nice in my letter; I was very nice. I just

recounted what had happened, including the lovely math teacher

comment that Dr. Moore made. I also told the dean that I didn't

want any action immediately. I wanted the situation to be handled

calmly and tactfully. After all, she was still going to grade my

performance in the course. I sent the letter, and a couple of

days later I was walking across campus when the Dean yelled to

me. I stopped, then went over. He said, "Well, I had a discussion

with Dr. Moore." I said, "Oh, that's

nice. How did it go?" He said, "I

don't think you'll be having any more problems.

Has she apologized yet?"

The Department had a meeting in which my Teacher Education

Program application was reviewed, and apparently there was a

large shouting match among some of the professors. I'm still in

the Teacher Education Program, and I got an A-minus. I learned a

lot about discrimination firsthand. Before this experience, I

really hadn't felt strong emotion about it. But I took advantage

of a lot of Federation shoulders over the telephone. I cried a

lot because I had never had an experience in which not only my

confidence, but my future was threatened. I thought, if I can't

teach, what am I going to do? Teaching was all I ever wanted to

do. Then I decided, I will teach; there is no way I won't teach.

There are 50,000 people standing behind me saying you will teach,

and there is no way that this one professor is going to stop that

from happening. I realized that it was true.

Something else that has occurred to me is that

discrimination is not just an event. It's not just something that

happens to you. People who discriminate see the world--my place

in it and yours--in a completely warped fashion. I remember once

a science teacher brought in prism glasses that had been used in

a psychology experiment, and when we looked through them

everything appeared reversed. It was very strange. That is what

this experience reminded me of.

We are not just fighting a bunch of ideas; we are fighting a

total world view. It is hard, and we have a long, long, long way

to go. But we have no choice. We cannot sit back and let people

go on seeing things this way. We cannot for our own sakes; we

cannot for our parents'; and we cannot for our kids'. There is

too much left to do, and it's going to be hard, but in all

honesty, what choice do we have? I hope that this weekend and the

week to come will be productive. I'm sure that they will.

We can't just stop at the conclusion of this seminar. We

have to go home and walk down the street and deal with the people

who grab us by the arm as if we were small children running out

in front of cars. We have to cope with the people that question

our judgment when we go to amusement parks and those who try to

keep us out of exit rows and put us into those obnoxious beeping

carts at airports. Then there are the special discounts on all

sorts of things that give the impression that blind people are

appropriate objects of pity. We have all this to

deal with every day when we go home. We

can't just say, as I have said, "I'm sick of educating the

public." Have you ever said that? "I'm tired of dealing with

these ignorant people. I'm sick of it." But we can't do that. We

have to educate; that's our job as members of the Federation,

every single one of us. When I think about the pain that

discrimination caused me on a very personal level, it only brings

home more forcefully the pain that it causes every single one of

us. That's the pain we have to get rid of. Thank you.

[PHOTO: Front view of American Printing House for the Blind

building. CAPTION: The American Printing House for the Blind is

located in Louisville, Kentucky.]

AMERICAN PRINTING HOUSE FOR THE BLIND REVERSES DECISION

TO DISCONTINUE PUBLISHING MY WEEKLY READER

Children who cannot read normal print easily and comfortably

must use text materials that are available in Braille or large

print even though they are not the ones being used by the rest of

the class. For a number of years the American Printing House for

the Blind (APH) has produced several scholastic publications in

Braille and large print so that blind children can have access to

some of the same interesting stories and articles as their

sighted peers. Teachers and parents have come to count on these

materials because they provide a link between the blind child and

sighted classmates.

All this changed on February 1, 1991, when APH discontinued

production of the Braille and large print editions of several

publications, the most widely known of which was My Weekly

Reader. The Printing House said that they would continue to

provide audio tape recordings of the periodicals, but these did

not play the same valuable educational role for blind children as

the Braille had done. One parent reported that her daughter was

now being removed to a separate room to read her taped version of

My Weekly Reader even though she was using earphones. Further

segregation, not the desired integration, was the obvious result

of the APH decision.

Parents, teachers, and concerned blind adults began calling

and writing Federation leaders to see if there was anything the

Federation could do to persuade APH to reverse its decision.

On March 7, 1991, Betty Niceley, President of the National

Association to Promote the Use of Braille (NAPUB), called Dr.

Tuck Tinsley, President of the American Printing House for the

Blind, to discuss the issue. Mrs. Niceley reports that their

discussion was both friendly and direct. She pointed out that

many organizations can provide recorded versions of scholastic

materials, but only the Printing House can provide Braille and

large print. At one point she actually asked Dr. Tinsley what

justification there could be for the five-million-dollar federal

grant to APH if it couldn't even provide Braille and large print

materials that were of such fundamental importance to young

readers who are only beginning to master the Braille code.

To Dr. Tinsley's credit, he told Mrs. Niceley that he saw

real merit in her arguments and wished to take her comments back

to the committee that had made the decision to discontinue. On

March 14, he called her to say that the decision had been

reversed. Here are several representative pieces of the

correspondence that has been exchanged this spring. Once again

they tell the tale. People turn to the National Federation of the

Blind when there are problems in this field, and we do our best

to solve them. Our job is made considerably easier when we find

reason and good will in the minds and hearts of those with whom

we have to deal. Here are four letters that tell the story:

Gary, Indiana

March 6, 1991

Dear Dr. Jernigan:

Starting on February 1, 1991, the American Printing House

for the Blind has decided to stop publication of My Weekly

Reader, Senior Weekly Reader, Current Events, Know Your World,

and other magazines and periodicals in Braille and large print.

These publications are used by many schools throughout the United

States with students in grades two through eight. The Braille and

large print editions of these publications enabled blind and

visually impaired children and youth to participate on equal

terms with their seeing peers in mainstream settings. They also

provided leisure time reading materials in Braille.

With the elimination of Braille and large print editions of

these magazines, blind and visually impaired school age children

will not have access to many magazines available to their sighted

classmates.

Since learning Braille at this age is very important for a

blind child, many educators use these magazines as supplementary

materials to encourage reading. Audio cassette format does not

adapt itself to all the purposes for which the Braille format was

used. May I request you please to use your resources and good

offices with the Printing House and the U.S. Congress to restore

publication of these and other magazines and periodicals in

Braille.

Thank you for your consideration.

Very sincerely,

Bashir A. Masoodi

Coordinator for Visually Impaired Program

Gary, Indiana Public Schools

____________________

There you have Mr. Masoodi's

letter of concern, only one of many received at the national office. Here

is Dr. Jernigan's response:

Baltimore, Maryland

March 28, 1991

Dear Mr. Masoodi:

Thank you for your letter of March 6, 1991, concerning My

Weekly Reader and other publications which the American Printing

House for the Blind contemplated cutting. We have taken strong

action on this matter, and I believe most of the decisions

(particularly, the cutting of My Weekly Reader) have been

reversed. We will continue to exert the strongest possible

persuasion to set this matter right. I hope you will also write

letters to the Printing House and do what you can.

Cordially,

Kenneth Jernigan

Executive Director

National Federation of the Blind

____________________

Under date of April 19 Betty Niceley, President of both the

National Federation of the Blind of Kentucky and the National

Association to Promote the Use of Braille, wrote to Dr. Tinsley

to thank him for APH's reversal of its earlier decision to cease

Braille and large print production of its scholastic periodicals.

Here is her letter:

Louisville, Kentucky

April 19, 1991

Dear Dr. Tinsley:

Recently I called you to express concern about the APH

decision to discontinue the Braille edition of Weekly Readermagazines in favor of a taped edition. As I explained to you at

that time, Braille literacy is one of the major initiatives of

the National Federation of the Blind. Such a decision on the part

of APH was, therefore, sufficient cause for action from our

Parents of Blind Children Division and the National Association

to Promote the Use of Braille. Also, we recognize that the

American Printing House for the Blind is in a position to have

far-reaching effects on the future of Braille literacy as it

relates to the education of blind children.

I must say that you listened to me with patience and

understanding while I described to you the various NFB strategies

designed to insure a working knowledge of Braille for blind

people of all ages. Then, you contacted me the next week to

report that the decision to discontinue Braille Weekly Readershad been reversed. Your understanding of the negative

consequences which this decision would have generated and your

prompt attention to the matter deserve commendation. Please know

that Federation members everywhere appreciate your quick and

positive response to this important matter.

Sincerely,

Betty Niceley, President

National Association to Promote the Use of Braille

____________________

Dr. Tinsley responded to Mrs. Niceley's letter on April 25

with a diplomatically general reprise of the events of the

spring. But we know who protested the APH decision, and we are

pleased to receive Dr. Tinsley's assurance of the American

Printing House's reaffirmation of its commitment to Braille and

large print production of useful school materials. Here is Dr. Tinsley's letter:

Louisville, Kentucky

April 25, 1991

Dear Mrs. Niceley:

Thank you for your letter of April 19 regarding APH's

production of Weekly Reader. I appreciate your kind comments.

As you know, we have been concerned for some time about the

cost and timeliness of delivery of the Braille and large type

editions of the Weekly Reader. In an effort to address both of

these concerns, we reviewed the situation with our Publications

Committee last fall and decided, on an experimental basis, to

provide only a recorded edition during the spring, 1991,

semester.

In response to concerns raised by visually impaired

students, their parents, teachers, and others it became clear

that the written editions are preferred to the recorded edition.

Therefore, our Publications Committee authorized us to

discontinue the recorded edition and return to Braille and large

type formats at the beginning of the 1991-92 school year.

Your concern and comments regarding this issue are certainly

appreciated and, as always, we continue to respond to consumer

needs.

Sincerely,

Tuck Tinsley, III

President

American Printing House for the Blind

[PHOTO/CAPTION: The Combination Machine.]

THE COMBINATION MACHINE:

A HISTORY OF DEVELOPMENT

by The Technical Staff,

National Library Service

From the Associate Editor: Those who are lucky enough to

have used the new combination cassette and record player now

beginning to be available from the National Library Service (NLS)

report that it is a wonderful innovation--one that may well

change the reading habits of NLS patrons. President Maurer, who

has been using one for several weeks, says that the quality of

the tape deck is much better than that of the current playback

machines. He also points out that the needle-protection feature

in the record player portion is ideal for families with young

children. When the machine lid closes, the needle automatically

retracts into the tonearm. When it is opened again, the needle

returns to the place where it was when the reader turned off the

machine. To my mind, this feature verges on witchcraft, but

there is apparently more. Records as well as tapes can be

rewound, and cassettes can be directed to play the other side or

second track with the flip of a switch. All this will soon be

available to borrowers across the country. Here is the story of

how this amazing machine came into being as recounted by the

technical staff of the National Library Service:

Since the inception of the Project, Books for the Blind, in

1931 and indeed since the establishment of a special reading room

for blind people in 1897, the Library of Congress has been

committed to providing the highest quality service for blind, and

later physically handicapped persons. Over the years specialized

playback machines and accessories have been developed to give

patrons access to the program. In the development of these

products consumers have always been intimately involved, since

all the machines and accessories are developed and produced

exclusively for their use.

It was with this high level of consumer involvement in mind

that NLS identified the need for a combination record and

cassette machine in the early 1970s. As early as 1973 NLS began

studying the feasibility of producing a machine in which a single

set of controls would operate both a record player and a tape

deck. It was hoped that such a combination machine would offer

the advantages of smaller size, less weight, greater ease of

operation, and lower unit cost. In 1975 NLS conducted a broad-

based user study that concluded that it should pursue developing

such a machine. In fiscal year 1977 the research

and development for producing a combination machine began with the issuance

of a

Request for Proposals "for design, fabrication, and delivery of

combination talking book machines." Because no such machine had

ever been designed for mass production, the contract included

specifications that listed only the minimum functional

requirements of the finished product. Requirements for existing

record and cassette machines were combined to produce the

specification. The features that would be unique to a combination

machine were listed as ten "optional innovative features," including

single motor drive, overall size reduction, and automatic reverse and track switching.

No drawings or schematic

designs were included. It was the contractor's job to develop a

specific design for the machine. Because this was a developmental

project, the functional specifications served as a starting point

from which a combination of research, consumer evaluation, and

field testing would yield a final design. As with

all NLS machines, consumer input through field testing was anticipated and

provided for at the outset of the

contract. Two engineering design models (EDMs) were to be

provided. The contract stated that "the performance and

appearance of the EDM will be evaluated." The next requirement

was fifty-five reproduction units for user evaluation with a

production run to follow.

The Request for Proposal was issued by the Library's

Procurement and Supply Division, and two companies, Telex

Communications and Video Research Corporation, submitted

competitive bids. After a technical evaluation by NLS, the

contracting officer awarded the contract to Video Research

Corporation (VRC) of Riviera Beach, Florida. (The company later

became Deltronics, Inc.) The contract was awarded September 13,

1977.

During the course of the contract, there were reviews of the

design and technical issues in the engineering phase. These were

conducted by NLS engineers and quality assurance specialists

meeting with the contractor's representatives. Ironing out design

difficulties was expected to be a part of the natural course of a

design and development contract.

The changes in the performance schedule during the life of

the contract reflected the results of the design development. New

enhancements to the design naturally necessitated additional time

in the contract schedule. The first of these readjustments came

in January, 1978, after a meeting between NLS engineers and VRC

representatives. Specific machine elements such as case design,

switch design, batteries, and other technical matters were

discussed. These were all specific engineering problems and

concerns that arose as a part of the development of the

specifications and technical designs by the contractor. A revised

schedule showed production, delivery, and consumer evaluation

would take place during late 1979 and 1980.

On September 11, 1978, a change order was issued to allow

for development of a cassette deck that could be used for both

the combination machine project and future cassette machine

contracts. The E-1 (easy machine) was later produced using the

same cassette deck and many of the same advanced features as the

combination machine. Further, the arrangement made would give

control of tooling and design to the Library, provide technically

superior performance, and reduce dependence on foreign suppliers.

The deck would have a three-motor design and an anti-jam feature.

Tests of prototype designs took place in October and

November, 1979. The two demonstration units underwent thorough

testing, not only by NLS staff, but also by a consumer evaluation

panel. Provided for in the contract, the evaluation by consumers

was vital to the development of the machine. Consumers who took

part in the evaluation were encouraged to test the units

vigorously. Their task was not only to give input on the ease of

use and the efficiency of the machine's operation, but also to

subject the units to normal treatment for a machine. Their

suggestions were to be incorporated into final design plans.

These were not changes to any existing specifications; rather

they were to become part of the specifications that were still

evolving. This prototype testing was considered a success because

it pointed out specific areas for further development. The second

change order spelled out the changes in engineering

(reproduction) tooling and unit (production) costs needed to

achieve these specification refinements. At the same time VRC was

awarded a contract under competitive bidding procedures for

production of the E-1 (easy cassette machine). This was a spinoff

of the combination machine since it used the same cassette deck.

As work continued there was constant refinement of the

performance specifications by the contractor in conjunction with

NLS engineers. In March, 1981, VRC produced forty-five

reproduction units. NLS technicians tested them and identified

several design problems. The defects included free-wheeling

supply hubs, oscillations, and speed maladjustments. These

problems were corrected by the contractor, and the forty-five

units were produced for user field evaluation in April, 1981.

This rigorous testing by NLS and refinements to the

specifications further modified the design of the machine as new

features, such as direction sensing, side selection control,

voice-over indexing, and seven other features were incorporated.

To accommodate these enhancements, the production phase was

rescheduled to 1982, and the contract amount increased.

The consumer field test was completed in the summer of 1981,

and as expected many improvements were suggested. Thirty-three

specific changes were recommended by consumers. By December, ten

of the changes were in the process of being incorporated in the

prototype design.

On July 6, 1981, the Procurement and Supply Division issued

a Request for Proposal to solicit bids on production of

combination machines. The RFP was issued using the revised

specifications as developed by VRC (Deltronics) in conjunction

with the changes proposed by the consumer evaluation test. Three

companies (Telex Communications, Deltronics, and Interstate

Industries) submitted responsive and responsible bids. Bidders

were rated by NLS staff on their production capability responses

to the statement of work and proposed innovative features to be

added to the machine specifications. As with the previous

contract, this RFP had built-in prototype testing by consumers

and encouraged the contractor to develop new features for the

machine. Emphasis was on designing a mass-producible machine that

would incorporate emerging technology such as the microprocessor.

The contracting officer awarded the combination machine

development and production contract to Telex Communications,

Inc., on September 21, 1981. They promised a design more

realistically meeting production capability. Telex would use the

functional design developed by VRC but incorporate microprocessor

technology into some elements of the machine's functions. This

would result in both a superior product and a machine that could

be more easily mass produced. Telex was also awarded a contract

for production of the E-1 (easy machine) under competitive

bidding. It was to use the same cassette deck and microprocessor

technology as that developed for the combination machine.

The contract called for prototype machines to be delivered

by March, 1982; a reproduction machine to be delivered six months

after prototype approval; and complete delivery six months later.

In February and March, 1982, NLS engineers and Telex

representatives held discussions on the design of the turntable

and tonearm. Telex provided a prototype that was tested and

accepted by NLS in April, 1982.

Design modifications continued through 1982, and in October

a prototype machine was reviewed by NLS. The evaluation report

suggested further changes in the design. These included

rectifying problems with tape spillage, battery location, fast

forward and rewind functions, and automatic/manual switch

labeling. The process of refining the specifications continued to

accommodate changing technology and the needs of the consumers.

The first change order increased the unit cost and quantity,

based on the design changes.

During 1983 and 1984 urgent consumer need gave high priority

to development of the spinoff easy machine which was a direct

response to a user study that showed that patrons needed a

machine easier to operate than the standard cassette machine. The

development of the easy machine went hand-in-hand with that of

the combination machine. The cassette deck and automatic side-

changing feature were a direct result of combination machine

development. Prototype testing of the E-1 machine provided

another opportunity for testing features which would also be an

integral part of the combination machine.

By January, 1984, Telex provided machine prototypes that

were tested by NLS and found to be very close to the

requirements. Two advanced prototypes for consumer evaluation

were delivered in April of 1986. At the same time field testing

of the easy machine continued, giving further feedback on

features common to both machines. By November of 1988 the last of

the production run of E-1's was delivered. The cassette deck

proved itself reliable and efficient. NLS now could give the go-

ahead for use of the same deck, as well as the other advanced

features, in the combination machine.

Developing technology and further input through consumer

testing resulted in additional changes to the machine's

specifications, particularly to the microprocessor program. Two

hundred production control samples were tested by NLS, and

modifications were made to the design during 1988 and 1989. In

September of 1989, 200 units were sent to regional libraries for

testing by consumers working in the libraries. In December of

1990 Telex produced for final testing by consumers 1,000

combination machines incorporating microprocessors with

changeable programs. Currently the microprocessor is being

reworked for a problem with a diode. It is expected that the

1,000 units will be ready for field evaluation shortly.

[PHOTO: Portrait of Michael Freeman. CAPTION: Michael Freeman is

the First Vice President of the National Federation of the Blind

of Washington.]

FURTHER THOUGHTS

ON REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION

by Michael Freeman

From the Editor: I recently received the following letter:

Vancouver, Washington

March 19, 1991

Dear Dr. Jernigan:

I recently received the March, 1991, issue of the Braille

Monitor, and it is first rate. Every issue of the Monitor is

informative, but this one in particular seems to be packed with

articles giving food for thought. In this connection, I am

enclosing an article written in response to Ted Young's article

on reasonable accommodation. I'm sure it will be controversial,

should you decide to publish it. (My wife, Barbara, doesn't agree

with all of it--a fact which has led to some interesting fireside

discussions.) Anyone who thinks that there is no give and take

and free exchange of ideas in the Federation doesn't know us very

well! In any case, I herewith submit the article and, now that

I've gotten it off my chest, my household will return to such

domestic tranquility as a growing, rambunctious, sixteen-month-

old girl will permit.

Sincerely,

Michael Freeman

First Vice President

National Federation of the Blind of Washington

Accompanying this letter was the following article:

The March, 1991 issue of the Braille Monitor contains

thought-provoking article by Ted Young, President of the National

Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania, on the subject of "reasonable accommodations" for the blind. This is a subject of

prime importance for Federationists for, as the article states, a

discussion of the meaning and implications of "reasonable

accommodations" is fundamentally a discussion of the meaning of

equality. At first glance, Mr. Young's analysis seems plausible.

Upon closer examination, however, I believe it to have

implications for Federation philosophy and action which could

jeopardize some of the rights which the blind have gained over

the past half-century. The discussion begins with

an admirable summary of the standards blind people use to judge whether or

not they have been

equally treated. Two of these standards are pertinent to the

following analysis. Some blind people hold that in demanding

equal treatment, they have the right to participate in activities

on the same basis and under the same conditions as do the

sighted. This may be called the "equal participation" standard.

Other blind people maintain that asking for equal treatment means

that they have the right to receive equivalent or similar

benefits from activities as do the sighted. This may be called

the "similar benefits" standard. These two standards of equality

have had a venerable history of advocacy in the Federation. Dr.

Jacobus tenBroek's 1944, 1948 and 1952 banquet speeches, for

example, state that one of the major goals of the NFB is

Equality, which I take to mean equality of opportunity to

participate in the activities of society. This notion of equality

is also evident in the oft-repeated Federation tenet that with

training and opportunity, the average blind person can do the

average job in the average place of business on an equal basis

with the sighted. Dr. Jernigan's 1990 banquet speech states this

most succinctly. Legislatively, the "equal participation"

standard is exemplified by the white cane laws in the fifty

states and by the NFB-sponsored amendment (which did not pass

Congress) to include the handicapped under Title VII of the Civil

Rights Act of 1964. It also is evident in the NFB-sponsored

amendment to the Americans with Disabilities Act which provides

that a handicapped person does not have to accept special

accommodations. Yet the notion of equality as meaning equivalence

of benefit also is prominent in Federation thinking. Dr.

tenBroek's "The Pros and Cons of Preferential Treatment" is

illustrative. I contend that it is far easier to apply the "equal

participation" standard than it is to apply the "similar

benefits" standard when trying to ascertain what (if any)

reasonable accommodations are needed for a blind person to

participate on a basis of equality with the sighted in a given

event. Mr. Young's first example illustrates the problem. In

1972 or 1973, Mr. Young states, a blind woman visited her husband in prison.

The visit consisted of talking to her husband

over the telephone while being separated from him by a glass

partition. The visit took place under the same conditions as did

visits by others to incarcerated individuals at that institution.

Thus, under the "equal participation" standard, the blind woman

received equal treatment and no accommodation was due her. Mr.

Young argues, however, that the "similar benefits" standard

should apply. He maintains that thousands of nonverbal messages

were exchanged between sighted visitors and the prisoners they

visited; that because the blind woman was deprived of these

exchanges, she did not receive equal treatment and that she

was therefore due some accommodation such as being allowed to sit

across a table from her husband (with appropriate security

arrangements). Mr. Young says that the blind woman could just as

well have stayed home and have spoken with her incarcerated

husband over the telephone. This ignores the benefit she gained

from the fact that her husband could see her (unless he, too, was

blind). This view will seem reasonable to many. Yet consider what

is being implied. If the woman was not being equally treated

because she could not see her husband, those "thousands of

nonverbal messages' must have been an essential part of the

communication. If visual messages are an essential part of

communication, how can we maintain, as we rightly do, that blind

judges and jurors can competently participate in trials involving

physical evidence? How can we maintain that the blind are

competent (as they certainly are) to handle most situations in

which visual communication is considered essential? What becomes

of our stand on the ADA in favor of the equal participation

standard rather than the accommodation standard in determining

whether or not discrimination has taken place? In a lighter

vein, what becomes of the point of view espoused by many

Federationists that they would like to pay for earphones to

listen to in-flight movies just like everybody else and that no

compensation (as, for example, getting the use of these earphones

for free) is due them because they cannot see the movies? What

becomes of our stand that the blind neither need nor want special

treatment in amusement parks because they cannot visually

anticipate the chills and thrills of the rides? (See "ValleyFair:

An Amusement Park Not So Amusing for the Blind" by Curtis Chong,

the Braille Monitor, March, 1991.) In other words, trying to

evaluate equality in terms of similar or equivalent benefits is a

tricky business and we should think long and hard before we adopt

this standard as a matter of routine in judging when special

accommodations are appropriate. Some people may reasonably ask if

my stand on this matter does not imply that, for example, the

blind should not advocate making historical sites, museums, etc.

accessible by touch whenever possible. It does not, since it

applies only to those situations in which vision is not essential

to the communication in question. In the case of museums,

historical sites, etc., the prime purpose of their existence is

to display things of interest to the public. Since these displays

are predominantly visual in nature, application of the "equal

participation" standard does not provide the blind person with

equal access to such facilities. It is therefore reasonable to

apply the "similar benefit" standard and to advocate making these

facilities accessible by touch.

Next, Mr. Young discusses situations in which accommodations

are not reasonable. His analysis here is right on-target. He

concludes that accommodations by an employer to allow a blind

person to perform a given job are not reasonable unless the

employer thereby gains significant benefits from the blind

worker's labor or unless the blind worker, by virtue of the

accommodation, can perform the job to the same standards as would

be expected of a sighted person. Finally, Mr. Young

discusses what he calls "equivalent

accommodations"--accommodations that don't cost the employer a

significant amount of money but which make life for the blind

employee a bit easier. For example, few would quarrel with the

proposition that if a sighted secretary is offered a computer to

make her word-processing easier, it is reasonable for the

employer to provide a blind secretary with a computer adapted for

access by the blind. Yet the first example cited by Mr. Young in

order to illustrate this concept is based upon a false analogy

and therefore leads to a false and, I believe harmful, conclusion

as to what constitutes equivalent accommodation. In the example,

Mr. Young assumes that a blind employee uses a dog guide as his

sole travel aid and that the dog becomes incapacitated. Mr. Young

asks if it might not be reasonable to let the blind employee take

sick leave instead of vacation time while the dog recovers. Mr.

Young, in propounding this notion, notes that many employers

allow their employees to take sick leave when family members are

ill. I most emphatically disagree with this analysis. It seems to

be based upon the false premise that the dog guide is primarily a

family member and not a mobility tool. I use a white cane. If my

cane breaks and I have not had the foresight to purchase extra

canes, my employer does not (and should not) make allowances for

my lack of sense. I am still expected to report to work, and it

is my job to find a way to get there--obtain a temporary ride,

take a cab, travel without a cane, etc. If I can't wangle any of

these alternatives, then I have to take annual leave just like

everybody else whose transportation breaks down. If I am to

expect equal treatment with my sighted colleagues, I should not

expect special treatment or allowances because of my blindness.

To say otherwise would be to say that I couldn't cut it on terms

of equality with my fellow employees. This logic holds true for

all blind individuals, including those who use dog guides. If

their dogs become ill (that is, their mobility tool becomes

unusable), it is up to them to find an alternate means of travel

if they are to remain competitive. We, the blind, whether we use

a cane or dog, can compete on terms of equality with the

sighted--but only if we are prepared to do so. Mr.

Young's final example of "equivalent accommodation" is a

good one. He posits a situation in which an entry-level job can

be done by a blind person while the next level in the promotion

ladder is a job that cannot be done by a blind person (e.g.,

operating a fork-lift). The third-level job can be performed by a

blind person. How can the blind person obtain a promotion to the

third-level job in a way that is both fair to the blind employee

and to his/her fellow workers? Mr. Young suggests a scheme

whereby the blind entry-level person be kept in that level a

somewhat longer time than is customary to compensate for the

inability of the blind employee to perform the second-level job.

I would prefer some sort of job-restructuring of the second-level

job to keeping the blind person in the entry-level position

longer than normal. Nevertheless, the situation Mr. Young

describes often occurs, and his solution is a plausible one.

Those who encounter such situations would do well to keep it in

mind. The concept of "reasonable accommodation" is

controversial. I suspect that neither Mr. Young nor I will have the last

word on

the subject. It merits careful consideration by all of us for, as

was previously noted, it is fundamentally a question of equality.

We cannot ask for integration of the blind into society on a

basis of equality until we decide for ourselves what equality

means.

GENETIC

CLUE FOUND TO DIABETES

by Rebecca Kolberg

From the Associate Editor: On February 15, 1991, newspapers

across the country carried a story written by UPI Science Writer,

Rebecca Kolberg. It reported on a breakthrough in the ongoing

struggle to conquer diabetes. Researchers have now identified the

gene that seems to cause one form of adult-onset diabetes. This

is only the beginning of a long battle to correct the gene in

question, but it is a beginning. Here is the story as it appeared

on February 15:

After more than three years of searching, scientists

reported that for the first time they have closed in on a genetic

defect that appears to cause a common form of diabetes.

Researchers said Thursday that they have traced a gene

responsible for non-insulin-dependent diabetes to chromosome

twenty, although they have not yet pinpointed the genetic

culprit's precise location. Every human has twenty-three pairs of

chromosomes, which carry the genetic blueprints for traits

ranging from hair color to risk of cancer.

About thirteen million Americans suffer from non-insulin-

dependent diabetes and another one million have insulin-dependent

diabetes, the American Diabetes Association said.

It has long been known that inheritance plays a major role

in diabetes, but until the latest work scientists have not been

able to find a specific genetic clue to the most common type of

diabetes. "This finding confirms, first of all, that genetics play a

role in the development of diabetes," said Graeme Bell of the

University of Chicago, who led the study published in the

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Diabetes refers to disorders related to abnormal levels of

sugar in the blood. In healthy individuals chemical messengers

such as insulin help control blood sugar levels to prevent damage

to organs and other tissues.

The two major forms are called Type 1, or insulin-dependent,

and Type 2, adult-onset or non-insulin-dependent diabetes. Type 1

diabetics do not have enough insulin; Type 2 diabetics often have

insulin, but their bodies do not respond properly to this

messenger.

Diabetics are two to six times as likely to have strokes.

One in five develops cataracts or glaucoma. About five percent go

blind.

In the study University of Chicago, University of Michigan,

and University of Pennsylvania researchers examined the genetic

makeup of members of a large white family from Michigan with a

high rate of non-insulin-dependent diabetes. About forty of the

two-hundred-seventy-five family members, who spanned five

generations, had a subtype of diabetes usually detectable before

the patient reaches the age of twenty-five.

Family members with diabetes shared a pattern in the genetic

material on the long arm of chromosome 20 that was different from

the pattern seen in their healthy relatives, the researchers

said.

Bell's team now is trying to find the exact site of the gene

and determine its function in the hope of gaining insights into

the underlying cause of the disease and perhaps better ways to

treat the illness. "A lot depends on how lucky we get. A couple years (until

the gene is found) would not be unreasonable," said Bell, who is

a professor of biochemistry and molecular biology. Richard

Kahn, chief scientific officer for the American Diabetes Association, called

the latest finding "a major

advance." "For the first time, this begins to address the issue

of what gene or genes are responsible for Type 2 diabetes," Kahn

said. "This opens the way towards better understanding of the

disease and how to prevent or cure it."

However, Kahn cautioned that it is uncertain what proportion

of people with non-insulin-dependent diabetes would be affected

by the new discovery. It is not known exactly how many of the

people with non-insulin-dependent diabetes suffer from the

subtype of the disease that troubled the Michigan family.

Estimates of the frequency of the subtype, which is called

mature-onset diabetes of the young, range from one percent to

eighteen percent in various ethnic groups.

Researchers are now testing other families with a high rate

of non-insulin-dependent diabetes to see if they have a genetic

pattern similar to that found in the Michigan family.

Bell said it is unlikely the gene will be the only one

responsible for insulin-dependent diabetes, and other genes also

probably will be found to play a role in the disease. "If we can identify these genes, it might be possible for

doctors to develop more specific therapies to treat the

disorder," Bell said.

In the meantime Bell said the new genetic patterns can be

used in the Michigan family to tell which individuals are likely

to develop diabetes and which do not have to worry about getting

the disease.

[PHOTO/CAPTION: Merri-beth Sabin (left) and her sister Christie

(right) are pictured here with Bob Bennett, one of their high

school teachers.]

THE FOURTH GENERATION ON THE MOVE

From the Editor: Today's young Federationists (those in

their teens and even younger) know where they want to go and how

they intend to get there. They have read Federation literature,

attended Federation meetings, and thought about their future. A

good example comes from Pocatello, Idaho, where four young blind

women are enrolled in the local high school.

Betty Sabin, who is President of the Gate City Chapter of

the Federation in Pocatello, sends the following newspaper

article. If one reads between the lines, not only Federation

philosophy but also the study and thought which undergird it are

apparent. Here is the article as it appeared in the March 12,

1991, Chieftain, the newspaper of the Pocatello High School:

Blind Students Looking for Acceptance at Poky

by Christie Dille

What would you do if your P.E. teacher did not allow you to

participate in class activities? I think that I, and most

everybody, would rejoice at not having to exercise.

But what if you weren't allowed because of who you were, or

the instructor thought you weren't athletic or smart enough, or

because they believed you just could not do it?

What if you weren't allowed because you were blind?

Believe it or not, this type of discrimination occurred at

Pocatello High School (PHS). Three or four blind students here

could verify the story.

The teacher, however, wasn't being mean or spiteful to the

students; most people that discriminate have good intentions. But

it was believed that the girls could not handle the activity.

This is an example of the type of thinking these four wish

to dispel.

Merri-beth Sabin, senior; Roxanne Homestead, junior; Jennie

Honeycutt, sophomore; and Christie Sabin, sophomore; are four

blind students here at PHS. They are all involved in school

activities.

Roxanne is a member of the Soundsations and Sergeant at Arms

of Junior Civitan, Merri-beth is Junior Civitan treasurer, Jennie

is a member of the band (flute and choir) and Junior Civitan, and

Chris would like to be involved in Junior Civitan and drama.

These students feel they are just like everyone else, and

they don't like being treated as if their blindness is a disease. "Blindness is not a handicap. It's a nuisance," says

Roxanne, who is very friendly and outspoken.

However, they believe that most kids don't understand that. "Some people are afraid of your blindness, like they could

catch it," says Merri-beth, who was the first blind student at

PHS. "People don't know how to accept a cane," says Jennie, "or

they think you bump into them on purpose."

From the students' point of view most people are scared of

or just don't understand blindness.

Jennie and Chris agree that some people are amazed at

everything they do; things that sighted people do everyday. These

are misconceptions made by people who think they may understand

the handicap.

Roxanne and Merri-beth agree that students get more open

minded as they become older. However, they state that people

still react negatively to their blindness. When asked if negative

reactions made them angry, the two replied that it makes them

angry because people should know better. On the other hand, it

makes them sad when they realize the person has probably been

raised in an environment that fosters misconceptions and negative

thinking and because of that they don't know better. Despite

this, Chris believes that the majority of the time reactions and responses

are, and have been, positive. Merri-beth

says that it's "the best feeling in the world" to change

someone's thoughts and stop prejudices from beginning.

As for the future, each of the girls has a career she would

like to pursue. Merri-beth plans on going to ISU Vocational

Technical school to study office occupations and become a

secretary or medical transcriptionist. Roxanne wants to become a

special education teacher and would also like to have a choir

composed of children with handicaps. Chris would like to pursue

the performing arts, and Jennie would like to continue working

with the flute, i.e., teaching, performing, and composing.

As you can see, they have ambitions just like any sighted

person. "Don't try to ignore us. We want to be normal and not taken

out and put aside," says Merri-beth. "Don't be afraid to walk up to us and say `Hi,'" is

how

Chris sums up the general feeling toward being a blind person, if

there can be a general feeling about having any type of handicap.

Most of us are quick to make prejudgments; just remember

that people with handicaps are really no different than anyone

else.

******************************

If you or a friend would like to remember the National

Federation of the Blind in your will, you can do so by employing

the following language:

"I give, devise, and bequeath unto National Federation of

the Blind, 1800 Johnson Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21230, a

District of Columbia nonprofit corporation, the sum of $_____ (or

"_____ percent of my net estate" or "The following stocks and

bonds: _____") to be used for its worthy purposes on behalf of

blind persons."

******************************

[PHOTO/CAPTION: Portrait of James Sanders.]

A LETTER FROM CANADA

From the Editor: James W. Sanders is National Director of

Government Relations and International Services for the Canadian

National Institute for the Blind. He is also an interesting and

witty dinner companion and a competent participant in regional

meetings of the World Blind Union. As will be obvious from the

following letter, he is blind. Here is his reaction to the

article on "Laughter About Blindness" by Jim Burns, which we

carried last fall.

Ottawa, Ontario

December 6, 1990

Dear Dr. Jernigan:

As a regular reader of the Braille Monitor, I

have followed

with interest the commentaries on humor and laughter as they

relate to blindness. The October-November issue's article "Laughter About Blindness" by

Jim Burns prompts me to take the discussion one step further. The medicinal qualities

of humor and

laughter are well known. Both can be used to solve practical

problems and preserve one's dignity in the process.

What do you do when you have just filled up your wife's

brand new extra large purse with your dinner guests' leftover

lasagna, salad, and garlic bread with those same dinner guests

all crowded in the kitchen looking down at the mess in amazement?

What do you do when you realize that you have probably checked

into the wrong hotel but are not quite sure what hotel you are

actually in?

It is human nature to look for someone or something to

blame. You could get mad at yourself, the purse for being in the

wrong spot, the taxi driver for letting you off at the wrong

hotel... or you could solve the problem and get on with it. Blind

people face an additional potential pitfall. It is easy to blame

blindness when, in fact, blindness has nothing to do with it. I

was the ringleader of these incidents. A friend of mine, who happens to be

sighted, also checked into the wrong hotel not

so long ago. I was flying from the west coast to Ontario last

year when a somewhat rowdy and disruptive threesome two rows in

front discovered half way through the flight that they were on

the wrong airplane. It did not occur to them to blame their "sightedness."

We all face uncomfortable situations, usually due to our own

miscalculations. Once the problem has been solved, you end up

with another great story with which to regale your friends.

Sincerely,

James W. Sanders

[PHOTO/CAPTION: Portrait of David Milner.]

PUBLIC

RELATIONS: A TOOL FOR CHAPTER-BUILDING

by David Milner

From the Associate Editor: David Milner is an energetic

member of the National Federation of the Blind of Texas. He

recently had occasion to talk with several Federationists about

the importance of public relations. They asked him to put his

ideas on paper so that they could refer to them again. Here is

the letter he wrote; its advice is useful for us all:

Austin, Texas

January 12, 1991

Dear Friends:

You have told me that you want to increase your chapter

membership and that you could use some ideas on public relations.

Three things are necessary for the successful waging of a

public relations campaign. They are dedicated people, time, and

money. You should begin by finding people to work with you who

are dedicated to the principles of our movement. Time is

sometimes even more precious than money. And like money, the more

time you are willing to put into your PR project, the more

benefit your chapter will receive from it. Now all you need is

funding. It does not require a huge investment of money to run a

successful public relations campaign. However, if you limit your

PR budget, you will limit the number of techniques that will be

at your disposal. Public relations, as a means of attracting new

members, raising funds, or simply informing the public about the

organized blind movement, is well worth any reasonable

expenditure, and you should have little difficulty justifying

chapter support. Once you have your funding, you

will have all of your basics. Begin by assembling press kits. These can be

given to

radio and television station news directors, station managers,

newspapers, etc. In fact, they should be given to all contact

persons with whom you plan to deal on a regular basis. A

reasonably good one can be made by including the following

material in a plain file folder or an NFB document folder,

available from the national office for one dollar: (a) a chapter

business card, if you have one (the NFB folder has slits on one

pocket designed to hold a card); (b) our pamphlet, "What is the

National Federation of the Blind"; (c) "Do You Know a Blind

Person"; (d) your chapter or state affiliate's public outreach

pamphlet, if there is one or you can prepare one; (e) copies of

the latest state and national legislative agendas; (f) copies of

the most recent state and national convention presidential

reports; (g) copies of the latest state and national NFB

resolutions and (h) the most recent copy of The Braille Monitor.

This is a lot of material to read, but it will answer almost any

question that a contact person may have about the Federation. A

well-compiled press kit will provide a thought-provoking overview

of the movement, available more or less at a glance. The material

in these kits should be updated at least once a year. They can be

quite helpful in establishing and maintaining contact between the

public relations person and the media representative.

Other material will be needed from time to time. Get a

literature order form and place an order to the Materials Center.

Order and read our public relations handbook, The Media and the

Message. This public relations primer will advise you in general

terms and in specific situations better than I can in one letter.

Also get a good supply of materials for handouts. Besides the

items mentioned for use in the kit, you can also distribute such

literature as "Why I am a Federationist" by Dr. Jernigan, "Why

the National Federation of the Blind," Future Reflections, Voice

of the Diabetic, and "The Student Slate." These are only a few of

our publications suitable for distribution. Your most difficult

task could be deciding what to order because there is so much to

choose from. You should not order more material than you believe

will be used, but certainly order a reasonable amount. In my

opinion NFB chapters and members should always have materials on

hand to distribute when the occasion demands. Bear in mind that

there may not always be time to order PR materials before an

event. (It takes at least two weeks to get material you have

ordered unless you want to pay the cost of overnight shipping.)

Be prepared for the unexpected. You will need a

current press list. In Austin we have an organization called American Women

in Radio and Television. They

have put together a package called "Public Service: An Inside

View." This is a complete listing of all radio and television

stations, newspapers, and periodicals in the Austin area. This

list also details community affairs programs through which a

given organization can inform the general public about itself. It

might be productive to inquire about a branch of that

organization in your area. Other sources for prepared press lists

are the convention bureau, the Chamber of Commerce, the local

Republican or Democratic party offices, or the League of Women

Voters. I draw your attention to these possible sources of

prepared press lists, because compiling one yourself can involve

much time and drudgery. But if you must do it yourself, I would

suggest starting with your local Yellow Pages directory. If you

are going to wage a successful campaign, you must know the

territory you wish to conquer.

You now have everything you need to begin. A good start

would be to find out what public service announcement formats are

used by your local radio and television stations and order the

right ones from the Materials Center. When they arrive,

distribute them in person to your local stations. This is a good

opportunity to get to know your contact people. Depending on the

size and management style of the station, the person you will

deal with may be called the program director, the news director,

the manager, or the public affairs or public services director.

Whatever the title, almost every station has a person whose job

includes dealing with community groups, and an acquaintance with

these folks is invaluable. See that they are informed about the

National Federation of the Blind. They have the power to keep our

PSAs on the air, which is important. If they come to know us and

believe in what we stand for, they can do other helpful things as

well. Contact people are good friends to have.

Do not forget that your local radio and television stations

will run short announcements as a public service. These are

useful for advertising chapter meetings, membership drive get-

togethers, fund-raisers, etc.

Your local cable television operator may offer public access

television service. If this is available, it may be possible for

you to produce or appear on local-access television programs.

Once you begin making contacts, you will find that more

opportunities reveal themselves. In large measure this is due to

the organization's increased visibility. If people have heard of

us, they will think to contact us when matters concerning

blindness come up. But it is also true that the more you think in

terms of public relations, the more opportunities you will spot

for yourself. Like so much else in life, successful public

relations is a matter of forming good habits.

Be willing and ready to give interviews at any time and

appear on all types of community affairs programs whenever

possible. Remember that a good media representative for the NFB

should be one who is knowledgeable about the movement, its goals,

its programs, and its philosophy. He or she should also be

reasonably attractive, intelligent, and articulate. In a perfect

world the message would have more appeal than the messenger, but

the mass media audience has been conditioned to the point where

it places more importance on the package than the contents. As a

result, the person who appears for the Federation on radio or

television must have enough personal appeal to make an audience

stay tuned and the ability to deliver our message at the same

time. Actually, I make this individual's job sound more difficult

than it really is. It is important, but far from unmanageable.

If you are short of time, personnel, or money (and who

isn't?), you might want to narrow your field somewhat and

concentrate on a few specific markets. This frugal technique is

used by advertising agencies to sell everything from insurance to

the latest miracle wrinkle treatment. Let us say, for example,

that you wish to attract new members between the ages of eighteen

and twenty-five. You would concentrate your efforts on the radio

and television stations and print media that appeal to that age

group, such as your local FM top forty station. Believe me, this

technique works well.

Local newspapers and magazines might be persuaded to donate

space for local chapter promotion. Also you might consider

purchasing advertising in these for the promotion of chapter

activities such as fundraisers. One should hesitate before taking

this step because it is very difficult to persuade the media to

donate time or space once they have been paid for it. But there

are times when immediate need overrides the luxury of waiting

until donated space is available. A very effective

means of informing the public about the Federation is the handout method.

Get whatever permits are

needed, and pass out NFB information along with our Braille

alphabet cards, or tuck pamphlets in with things that your

chapter may be selling to raise funds. Doris Henderson, the

President of our Dallas Chapter, once told a group of us that

Dallas chapter members pass out our pamphlets when they sell

candy. In her words, "We wrap each bar up in a `What is the

National Federation of the Blind' pamphlet to keep the candy nice

and warm." Discount stores and malls are usually good places for

this technique.

Speaking of malls, check with your local ones. Many of them

host public events that are sponsored by their stores. When they

do, it might be a good idea to staff a booth at these activities.

This is a good way to interact personally with large numbers of

the general public. I have participated in these efforts, and

they can be a great opportunity and lots of fun besides.

Consider posting NFB information on bulletin boards, such as

those found in grocery stores, churches, shopping centers,

laundromats, and public buildings. These bulletin boards are

usually free for the use of the community, and you might as well

take advantage of them. Doing this takes a certain amount of time

and footwork, but it is well worth it. You never know how far our

information will travel before it reaches a blind person. On the

way it will educate people about blindness and the National

Federation of the Blind.

Finally, be ready to capitalize on any and every chance to

promote the Movement. Opportunities may present themselves at any

time, and visibility is one of the keys to public relations.

Above all, have fun. Yes, ours is serious business, and we

have much important work to do on our path to first-class

citizenship. But remember to have fun. Public relations can be

dull, boring, and tedious if you approach your PR activities with

the attitude that they will be dull, boring, and tedious. But if

you think about the good that you are about to do, if you think

about the people whose lives you are about to enrich through the

Federation, you will view all your public relations activities as

the fulfilling events that they are. Whether you are promoting

your chapter, recruiting new members, or raising funds to finance

the organization, you can turn these activities into times of

joy. Make a day of it, if you can. Recruit as many of your

chapter members, family, and friends as possible. You have the

ability to transform a mundane task into a productive team effort

which will not only get the current job done, but will also

create a sense of unity, pride, and purpose in chapter members.

Doing PR for the National Federation of the Blind should not be

considered a chore, but a chance to help change the meaning of

blindness. I find this exciting, and I am sure you do too.

MEET A FELLOW

FEDERATIONIST--BILL REIF

by Deborah Kent Stein

From the Associate Editor: "The Braille Examiner," the

publication of the National Federation of the Blind of Illinois,

carries a periodic feature called "Meet a Fellow Federationist,"

which is a series of sketches of affiliate members written by the

distinguished author and active Federationist, Deborah Kent

Stein. This is not the first time we have reprinted one of these

profiles. They are lively without being melodramatic and

sensitive without being sentimental. This time the subject is

Bill Reif, President of the Sangamon Valley Chapter. It first

appeared in the December, 1990, edition of "The Braille

Examiner." Here it is:

To this day, Bill Reif has vivid memories of the National

Federation of the Blind student seminar he attended during his

senior year in high school. "What they kept saying was that we

had to take responsibility for ourselves," he explains. "People

there were telling me I shouldn't just accept what the so-called

experts said I should be doing--I should push to learn whatever

skills I needed and figure out the techniques that would work

best for me."

Bill's parents would not hear of sending him to the Illinois

State School for the Blind in Jacksonville. In retrospect, he

feels that their decision to have him attend public school in his

hometown, Glen Ellyn, both helped and hindered his education. He

was able to take most of his classes with his sighted peers while

spending part of each day in a resource room for blind students.

He became a proficient Braille reader and usually had a resource

teacher available to translate his test answers into print for

the regular teachers to grade. Unfortunately, however, the

resource teachers never felt that he needed to learn to write

with a slate and stylus, or even to touch-type.

During the summer after he graduated from high school, Bill

put the advice he heard at the NFB seminar into action. He knew

he would have to hand in assignments in print when he started

college in the fall. So he taught himself typing, a skill which

the experts had somehow considered unnecessary for a blind

student.

Even in high school, Bill knew that he wanted to become a

lawyer. He attended the College of Du Page for two years and then

transferred to Illinois Benedictine College in Lisle, where he

had the chance to live away from home for the first time. After

receiving his B.A., he entered law school at the University of

Illinois in Champaign. Law school was more challenging

than anything he had tackled before. In college lectures he had relied heavily

on his memory,

but now he realized that he needed an effective way of taking

notes in class. So he taught himself to use the slate and stylus.

Since he didn't have anyone to show him the standard method, he

invented his own. "I start at the bottom of the page and go from

left to right," he confesses. "Instead of reversing the letters

right to left, I reverse them top to bottom. My dot 1 is most

people's Dot 3, my Dot 3 is the usual Dot 1. To read it, I flip

the page over, bottom to top." It's a little different, but it

works.

After graduation from law school, Bill decided to look for a

job in Champaign, where he had made many friends. For a while he

did legal research, but he found full-time jobs were hard to come

by. After two years he moved to Springfield, taking a job with

the Illinois Department of Insurance, a state agency which

regulates the insurance industry. The position lasted only ten

months; then he was sending out resumes again. Over

the next two years Bill flooded the job market with applications and went

on dozens of interviews. But employers were

highly skeptical of hiring a blind lawyer. "Who brought you

here?" they would ask him during interviews. "Is your mother

waiting for you out there?" They questioned how he could handle

travel on the job and what he would do about the heavy reading

load. While Bill tried to focus attention on his professional

skills and interests, the employers all too often couldn't find

their way past blindness-related concerns. "You know, this

building is awfully big and complicated, and the washrooms are up

on the second floor...."

When a job finally came his way, it was through a fluke he

could never have foreseen. A friend was taking a journalism class

and wrote an article about Bill, which was published in the

Springfield paper. The article was straightforward and

unsentimental. It described how Bill had taught himself to cook,

how he enjoyed roller skating, and how he was searching

diligently for a job. A few days after the article appeared, the

telephone rang. The caller was Illinois Attorney General Neil

Hartigan. "I was utterly amazed," Bill recalls. "He

not only invited me to come in for an interview, he offered me a choice of

working

in practically any division I wanted within his office. I

couldn't believe it was really happening!" In

April, 1983, Bill went to work in the Department of Consumer Protection within

the Attorney General's office. "I

selected that particular area because it's very deeply concerned

with justice," he explains. "It's really a matter of seeing that

people get their rights."

Bill had been reading the Braille Monitor and other

Federation literature for a long time. When a new chapter was

founded in Springfield, he quickly became involved. Today he is

President of the Sangamon Valley Chapter and also serves on the

Board of Directors of the National Federation of the Blind of

Illinois and the State Scholarship Committee. Federation

philosophy has proved an asset as Bill resolves blindness-related problems

on the job. Each time he has had a

change of supervisor, he has had to prove his abilities over

again. Some, for example, have reassigned cases which they feared

would require more research than they thought he could handle.

Others have been reluctant to give him direct courtroom

experience. He has learned to be assertive, to explain his

techniques for getting the job done, and to insist on gaining

experience which will enhance his professional development. "If

you're not careful," he warns, "the job will get structured

according to what others think you can do."

Bill got married in 1985. He met his wife, Roberta, through

the Lutheran church, where he is an active member. Their son

Bruce is two years old. During law school Bill taught

himself to play the guitar. He has perfect pitch and finds music a wonderful

source of

relaxation. He also enjoys swimming but doesn't have much time

these days to get to a pool. "At this point in my life, my main

hobby is Bruce," he says. "I love playing with him and watching

him discover the world." Even when he planned

to marry and raise a family, Bill encountered some people who told him he

would never be able to

manage such responsibilities. Again his personal philosophy,

supported by his involvement in the Federation, strengthened his

belief in himself. "You can't let anybody else tell you what you

can do and can't do," he advises. "Be honest with yourself about

your abilities and limitations but never be afraid to take

chances."

[PHOTO: Liz Campbell walks across Fort Worth, Texas,

intersection. CAPTION: Like any reporter, Liz Campbell is

comfortable walking the streets of the city she writes about.]

BLIND FROM BIRTH, REPORTER IS UNDAUNTED

From the Associate Editor: Liz Campbell is the president of

the Fort Worth Chapter of the National Federation of the Blind of

Texas and a general assignment reporter for the Fort Worth Star-

Telegram. She had had some contact with the Federation before our

1990 annual convention, held in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. She

wangled an assignment to cover the convention and wrote several

good stories before and during the convention about the

organization and its work. When the members of the Texas

affiliate recovered from the excitement of hosting the fiftieth

anniversary celebration, they decided that the time had come to

organize a chapter in Fort Worth, and Liz Campbell pitched in to

help and was elected president.

On December 24, 1990, the Publishers' Auxiliary printed a

story about Liz Campbell and her work at the Star-Telegram. It is

clear that Campbell's colleagues respect and admire her as an

equal and that without fanfare she carries her share of the load.

Here is the story as Jennifer Wright wrote it:

Like any other good journalist, Elizabeth Campbell of the

Fort Worth (Texas) Star-Telegram approaches her stories as an

observer of events. "Good journalists have to listen carefully to people," says

the general assignment reporter, blind since birth. "And most

important, whether they have sight or not, [journalists] must

have curiosity."

Campbell, twenty-eight, has been on staff at the Star-

Telegram since her graduation from Baylor University's school of

journalism in Waco, Texas. She covered religion for four years,

then moved to the features department, where she enjoys the

diversity of assignments and writing styles involved. Campbell

said she feels the wide variety of stories she covers in features

will help prepare her for situations she may face later in her

career as a journalist.

She does interviews for stories over the telephone about 75-

80 percent of the time, which she said is typical of her co-

workers as well, considering the time-saving aspect of the

telephone. When she does go out into the field, she is aided

solely by a white cane. "If you think hard enough about ways to do something, you

can always overcome obstacles," said Campbell, who takes taxis or

buses or gets rides from photographers to her stories.

Campbell was born in Fort Belvore, Virginia, three months

premature. Weighing just 1 1/2 pounds, she was administered so

much oxygen by doctors that although it helped her to survive, it

left thick scar tissue over the lenses of her eyes. Only a small

amount of light can get through. She can tell the difference

between light and dark, but she cannot distinguish separate

images. "Some journalists may rely too much upon vision or other

individual senses when covering stories," she said. Campbell

emphasized the need for journalists to use all of their senses as

best they can when covering stories. She said that in her

articles, she would probably be more apt to describe sound and

the tone of people's voices, giving her stories a different feel

than the other writers.

Features Editor Michelle Hancock said she was pleased with

Campbell's work. "Liz has done a very good job for us," she said. "She's

fearless." Hancock said Campbell's performance

had been "wonderful." She works independently, needing little assistance.

She referred

to Campbell as an asset, even volunteering to work while on

vacation. During a ski trip, Campbell did a story on blind skiers

for the paper. Hancock said, "Liz is not only

a fine and courageous person,

but a fine journalist as well."

Chris Evans, a staff reporter for the Star-Telegram,

described Campbell in a positive light. "Liz is part of the

fabric here," he said. "She is a good and trusted friend and an

incredible person who would be an asset to any business."

Evans said Campbell is involved in the community through the

Junior League of Fort Worth and has started a chapter of the

National Federation of the Blind. "She is very impatient with disabled people who don't use

their knowledge and qualifications," he said.

Campbell said she appreciates the chances her colleagues and

editors have taken with her, and she would like all employers to

have the same attitude she's encountered at the Star-Telegram.

[PHOTO/CAPTION: Portrait of Dr. David Ticchi.]

TEACHING

GOOD SPORTSMANSHIP

by David Ticchi

From the Associate Editor: David Ticchi is the president of

the Cambridge Chapter of the National Federation of the Blind of

Massachusetts. He sets the record straight about blindness

whenever and wherever it becomes necessary. He does not merely

hope that someone else in the Federation will deal with the

problem or even notify his state president so that she can write

a letter or register a protest. Last November he heard a sports

commentator casually insult the capacities of blind people. Here

is the letter Dr. Ticchi wrote in an effort courteously to

provide the information that was obviously lacking:

Cambridge, Massachusetts

December 14, 1990

Mr. Ron Barr" Sports Byline"

San Francisco, California

Dear Mr. Barr:

I'm a regular listener to "Sports Byline," and

I'm writing

you regarding a recent program segment. The show I refer to

originally aired on WEEI in Boston on November 21, 1990, and was

re-broadcast on November 25. Your guest was Fred Hickman of the

Cable News Network.

I found your interview and conversation enjoyable and

informative. It was obvious the two of you enjoyed it as well.

You were both jocular, and it was clear that there was mutual

admiration. The conversation moved to the sometimes unusual

lifestyles and habits of sportscasters. You commented in passing

that some looked like they were dressed by a blind man. The

conversation continued, and subsequently Mr. Hickman made

reference to Stevie Wonder and Ray Charles trying to find their

way down a highway. These two remarks were inappropriate,

damaging, and devoid of humor. I don't mean to imply that they

were intended to be so or that blind people are humorless.

Still, these two statements imply that blind people are

unable to dress appropriately and attractively or to travel

alone. These statements reinforce the common but mistaken notion

that blind people cannot and do not live full, productive, and

independent lives. Statements and implications like these help to

deny blind people opportunities for education, social

integration, and employment. In fact, seventy percent of the

blind are unemployed, and half of the thirty percent who are

gainfully employed make less than the minimum wage.

Mr. Barr, the blind as a group are truly a cross-section of

the population with all that that implies. There are blind people

in the professions, in business, and in public service. Many

others are self-employed. Some blind people are quite talented,

highly motivated, and intelligent; others less so.

The National Federation of the Blind, the nation's largest

advocacy group of blind people, believes that with proper

training and opportunity blind people can compete on terms of

equality in our society. Assuming that an individual has mastered

the necessary skills of blindness--Braille, mobility, and

orientation--blindness becomes no more than a physical

characteristic. For your information I have enclosed some

literature about the National Federation of the Blind and a

public service announcement. I hope you will read this material

and that station KSFO will play the spot.

My purpose in writing this letter is to be of assistance to

you and to make you aware of some issues. If you would like more

information about the National Federation of the Blind, please

contact President Marc Maurer, NFB, 1800 Johnson St., Baltimore,

MD 21230.

Thank you for your attention.

Sincerely,

Dr. David A. Ticchi

President, Cambridge Chapter

National Federation of the Blind of Massachusetts

COMMENTS ON HOT

DOTS AND THE ARKENSTONE READER

by David Andrews

David Andrews is the Director of the National Braille and

Technology Center for the Blind. As a regular part of his daily

activities, he will be making analyses of technology for the

production of Braille, voice output, and related matters. The aim

is to help consumers decide whether the product would be of value

to them.

Arkenstone Reader II

The reading machine market was created by Kurzweil Computer

Products in the late 1970s and early-to-mid 1980s, but it has

been made competitive by the arrival of Arkenstone, Inc. in the

late 1980s. Arkenstone markets a line of PC-based reading systems

to blind people.

In January of 1991 it introduced new software for its

Arkenstone Reader line. Primarily the software upgrade offers new

and improved interfaces, but it has at least one superb feature--

the ability to determine if a page is on the scanner sideways or

upside down. Further, even if the page is improperly oriented,

the system will still read it.

The Arkenstone Reader II features three user interfaces:

EasyScan, ArkScan, and Scanall. EasyScan, originally written by

Noel Runyan of Personal Data Systems, has been bundled with all

Arkenstone Readers for about a year. The latest version has a

number of new commands, including ones to control the orientation

identification process and the new Quick Speech feature. This

generates speech while the machine is still scanning. Though it

means that you start reading sooner (as little as fifteen

seconds after scanning commences), the speech is a little choppy.

Some users report liking the new feature; others do not. Finally,

the Quick Speech may not read all columns in a multi-column

document although the data are present and can be read with

EasyScan's normal browser program. The EasyScan

software is an interactive command-driven program. You generally type in

one-, two-, or three-letter

mnemonic commands, such as "CN" for "Contrast Normal." Once

you

learn them, they are fast; but with the new software, there are a

lot to master. The list of commands in the help facility is four

screens long. Other new features include improved document

structure analysis, expanded prompting and messages, the ability

to save to devices such as VersaBraille as well as to files,

support for additional word processor formats, user-definable

dictionaries to improve scanning accuracy, and more.

The second interface is Arkscan, a modified version of the

standard Calera TrueScan software. Calera makes the optical-

character-recognition software/hardware that Arkenstone uses. The

Arkscan software works well with screen review programs and is

easy to use. The menu-driven program allows you to control all

features of the system and to set up configuration files that all

three interface programs use. If you like to experiment, this is

the software for you.

There is also a command line program Scanall, which can be

used by itself or in conjunction with batch files. This program

allows you to perform routine scanning chores easily and quickly

from the DOS command line.

I am asked, almost daily, which is better, the Arkenstone or

the PCKPR from Kurzweil (now Xerox Imaging Systems). The quick

answer is that they are pretty close. The PCKPR, will run on an

XT-class computer, has a very easy and straightforward user

interface, and starts reading quickly. The Arkenstone is slightly

less expensive, offers a choice of interfaces, gives the fiddler

more to fiddle with, and offers the automatic orientation

identification option, which alone may be enough reason for some

people to choose the Arkenstone. Its value to a blind person

can't be overestimated. Further, although we have not conducted

exhaustive, scientific comparisons yet, the Arkenstone Reader

seems to be slightly more accurate in day-to-day use, although

the differences are minimal. The PCKPR does have a Learn feature,

which probably improves its accuracy as it scans a multi-page

document. We plan on doing more thorough tests of all scanning

systems later this year. Finally, the Calera/Arkenstone system

offers an applications program interface that others are starting

to exploit. In a future issue we will review Personal Data

Systems' money identifier and Braille graphics programs for the

Arkenstone called BUCKSCAN and PICTAC, respectively.

For further information or an opportunity to see different

reading systems, contact the National Braille and Technology

Center for the Blind at (301) 659-9314. For information from the

two companies, call (800) 444-4443 for Arkenstone, Inc., at 1185-

D Bordeaux Drive, Sunnyvale, California 94089; or call (800) 343-

0311 for Xerox Imaging Systems, Kurzweil Reading Machine

Division, 185 Albany Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139.

Hot Dots Version 3.0

Hot Dots Version 3.0 is a Braille translation/formatting

program for IBM and compatible computers. Though the program has

been around for a number of years, it has not been a major force

in the translation field, which is ironic because its maker,

Raised Dot Computing, has the lion's share of the market in the

Apple II world with its BEX and TRANSCRIBEX products.

Most of the components in Hot Dots have been rewritten with

version 3.0, and the program works much more smoothly and

accurately than previous versions. Rewritten components include

both the back and forward translators and the manual.

One of the program's most notable new features is its

ability to import files DIRECTLY from some thirty word

processors. It accomplishes this feat by incorporating a

commercially available conversion utility into its innards. I was

only able to test WordPerfect, WordStar, and ASCII files. The

program worked well with all except WordStar files. I had a

WordStar Version 5.0 file, but Hot Dots only handles files

through Version 4.0. It also did not seem to handle WordStar 4

files quite as well as the other tested types, but most well-

known word processing programs are supported.

Hot Dots can be run from a menu, directly from the DOS

command line, or by using batch files. Translation and formatting

a file is a multi-step process, so some assistance, a menu or

batch file for example, is helpful. The program first imports a

file and inserts its formatting commands. These are the dollar

sign commands which will be familiar to all old BEX users. This

file is then converted into an unformatted Braille file and

finally into a formatted Braille one. If you need precise control

of translation or formatting, the first file (called the HD$

file) can be edited.

Most of today's Braille translators provide some level of

automatic formatting assistance. Hot Dots Version 3.0 does this

by producing its HD$ files. In general translators tend either to

underformat by throwing out too much of the information from the

original file or overformat the Braille output. Hot Dots leans

towards overformatting, but not badly so, and you can always edit

the HD$ file. It also handles hanging indentations well,

something that several other programs have problems with.

Further, there is a pre-processing batch file to handle files

with tables of contents, sometimes a problem.

The program can also back-translate Braille files into print

files, and the dollar sign commands are designed to facilitate

the production of print and Braille files from the same master

file. Hot Dots also supports Dipner Dots, a method pioneered by

Raised Dot Computing, of producing draft quality Braille on a

daisywheel printer. Dipner Dots can also be printed on regular

paper by an ink-print printer to facilitate viewing by a sighted

person. Hot Dots Version 3.0 also features a new view function

which allows anyone, sighted or blind, to direct the ASCII

Braille output of a translation to the computer's screen. With a

little practice a person could learn to read this output to check

formatting without wasting paper.

The manual for the program is clear and well written and

features a tutorial to take you through all basic procedures and

interface instructions for all commonly used printers.

Raised Dot Computing is a major player in the Apple world,

and Hot Dots Version 3.0 is definitely a competitive product. The

company offers some of the best customer support in the business

and has an ongoing commitment to Braille. Anyone interested in

Braille translation should seriously consider Hot Dots.

For further information contact the National Braille and

Technology Center for the Blind at (301) 659-9314 or Raised Dot

Computing at (608) 257-9595 or write the company at 408 South

Baldwin Street, Madison, Wisconsin 53703.

[PHOTO: Portrait of Cindy Handel. CAPTION: Cindy Handel is the

Treasurer of the National Federation of the Blind of

Pennsylvania.]

PURPOSE, OR HAPPENSTANCE?

Recently President

Maurer received the following letter from Cindy Handel:

Willow Street, Pennsylvania

March 8, 1991

Dear Mr. Maurer:

I recently bought a copy of Walking Alone and Marching

Together on cassette. I'm about a third of the way through the

book and enjoying it very much. But I have a question: I noticed

that the book contains 1,116 pages. NFB was founded on November

16, 1940--11/16. Is this coincidence or done intentionally? I

mentioned it to Ted Young, and he thought it would make a good

trivia question: What do Walking Alone and Marching Together and

the founding of NFB have in common?

By the way, I purchased a print copy of the book in

November. Then, I took it to the Lancaster County Association for

the Blind to ask if Steven Patterson, Executive Director, would

consider buying it. I left my book with him to look at, and he

bought that one. I believe he was going to order a cassette copy

also for the library there and for some staff members who wanted

to read it.

Sincerely,

Cynthia E. Handel

In response to the letter, President Maurer said:

Baltimore, Maryland

March 14, 1991

Dear Cindy:

Frank Richard Stockton wrote a famous story. He told of a

man who was being sent into the Roman amphitheater. There were

two doors in the arena. Behind one of the doors was a ferocious

tiger which would kill him instantly. Behind the other was a most

beautiful lady.

If the man opened the door with the tiger, he would die. If

he opened the one with the lady, he would be married to her

immediately with all ceremony.

The man being sent into the arena had become deeply in love

with the emperor's daughter, who had learned which door led to

the tiger and which to the lady. In Stockton's story the man

enters the arena and searches the stands for a sight of the

emperor's daughter. She makes an almost imperceptible movement

indicating a door. If the lady emerges, the marriage will end

forever the possibility of an alliance between the emperor's

daughter and the man in the arena. The tiger, of course, will end

any possibility just as surely. The last scene in the story shows

the man walking firmly to one of the doors and opening it.

Cordially,

Marc Maurer, President

National Federation of the Blind

[PHOTO/CAPTION: Zach Shore (left), Chris Kuczynski, and Michael

Gosse (right) stand hopefully around the microwave oven at the

National Center for the Blind.]

BACHELOR RECIPES

From the Associate Editor: When I first met my husband, he

was one of the few eligible bachelors on the faculty at Oberlin

College, and I was an undergraduate. He had already survived

graduate school and several years of teaching on his own and

considered himself a competent, but not ambitious, cook. I was

somewhat less impressed with his prowess: drained tuna from a can

crumbled on lettuce was tuna salad, a fried ground beef patty (no

spices, salt, or pepper added) was a hamburger; and Stouffers,

Inc. provided the entree whenever he was intent on impressing

anyone at dinner. But he could and did wash dishes. He could peel

potatoes, and he appreciated good food prepared especially for

him. Since I enjoy cooking and he is happy to help clean up, it

has been easy for us to work out mealtime duties through the

years. I was reminded of those

early days in my acquaintance with

my favorite member of the genus Bachelor Cook, when I read

several recipes sent to me by some of the Federation's most

delightful bachelors. They pointed out that there are rules

determining whether or not a given offering qualifies as a

bachelor recipe. They should employ a heating element,

preferably a toaster oven or microwave, but not necessarily. The

entire preparation and cooking time should not exceed ten minutes

(the shorter the better). The number of ingredients should not

exceed five or six, the fewer the better. The true bachelor

recipe will involve some originality. Consequently, warming a

frozen dinner and adding salt would not satisfy this requirement.

The recipe should include words such as "sizzling" or "oozing" or

those with similar descriptive power. Follow these simple rules

and you, too, can create bachelor recipes of your own. I may

petition for inclusion of my husband's old tuna salad recipe on

the grounds that no cooking at all is surely a procedure that

falls within the spirit of the bachelors' requirements, but

perhaps it lacks someting in the creativity line. Here are the

recipes contributed by three Federation bachelors:

UNCLE ZACH'S CHEDDAR TRISCUIT SQUARES

by Zach Shore

For several years Zach Shore has been one of the leaders of

the National Association of Blind Students, the student division

of the National Federation of the Blind. Since moving to Seattle

last fall, he has become the editor of The Blind Washingtonian,

the newsletter of the NFB of Washington.

Ingredients:

1 box low salt Triscuits

1 block sharp cheddar

Method: Arrange nine Triscuits on a plate in three rows of

three. Cut cheddar into nine Triscuit-sized squares and place on

top of crackers. Insert squares in microwave for fifteen to

twenty seconds, or until cheese is sizzling. For an added touch

garnish with sour cream. Serves one.

Note: If bachelor does not own a microwave, use toaster oven

at 400 degrees for 3 to 4 minutes. Every bachelor must have a

toaster oven.

KUCZYNSKI'S GARLIC ROLLS

by Christopher Kuczynski

Chris Kuczynski is First Vice President of the National

Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania and an attorney with a

prestigious Philadelphia law firm.

Ingredients:

1 loaf French bread

1 stick butter or margarine

1 jar garlic powder

Method: Remove French bread from freezer. Defrost and spread

liberally with butter. Shake on garlic powder. Place in toaster

oven for 3 to 5 minutes, or until you can't stand it any longer.

Note: For a crispier crust, place bread directly on the rack

of the obligatory toaster oven.

DR. GOSSE'S EGG-CHEESE ASSEMBLY

by Michael Gosse

Michael Gosse is the President of the National Federation of

the Blind of Connecticut. He is completing his doctoral

dissertation and is teaching courses in electrical engineering at

Lehigh University.

Note: This is an advanced bachelor recipe and should not be

attempted by the amateur bachelor.

Ingredients:

1 egg

2 slices of oat bread

1 slice individually wrapped processed American cheese

butter

Method: Melt butter in Teflon-coated frying pan. Crack egg

into pan when butter is sizzling. Isolate egg in a bread-sized

area of pan and break yoke with spatula. After roughly two

minutes flip egg and begin toasting bread in toaster oven. Next,

unwrap cheese and place on egg still in pan. Cover pan for 30

seconds, or until cheese is oozing over egg. Carefully lift egg-

cheese assembly from pan and delicately place between slices of

toast. Serves one. Repeat if still hungry. Optimum serving time

between midnight and two a.m., or after rising at 1:30 p.m.

MONITOR MINIATURES

**Braille FONCARD Available:

have been asked to print the following:

US Sprint has a Braille FONCARD available for making long

distance calls when you are away from home. The Braille FONCARD

can be used to make both domestic and international calls and can

also be used to call back to the United States from seventeen

countries. US Sprint is the only long distance company to offer a

Braille travel card. If you are interested in obtaining a Braille

FONCARD, please call US Sprint's toll free number at 1-800-473-

0899. Remember that you can use telephone credit cards from any

carrier regardless of which one provides your personal long

distance phone service.

**Elected:

At the 1991 convention of the National Federation of the

Blind of Oklahoma, March 8 to 10, the following officers were

elected: Eva Chaney, President; Donna Jackson, First Vice

President; Joe Triplett, Second Vice President; Sue Lee,

Secretary; and Steve Shelton, Treasurer. Billy Mills and Lisa

Bozworth were elected to serve on the Board of Directors.

**Summer Fun:

Pam Jordan, camp director of Oral Hull Park, has asked us to

print the following:

Visually impaired adults, eighteen years and older, may

enjoy a week-long camp in the lovely country-woodland setting of

Oral Hull Park near Sandy, Oregon. Activities abound from

fishing, hiking, and swimming to handcrafts and woodworking.

Three delicious, well-balanced meals are served daily.

Comfortable accommodations, transportation, and live

entertainment are all available for $150 per week. Camp dates are

July 21-27, and August 17-24, 1991. Space is limited, so please

make your reservation soon by calling (503) 668-6195, or writing

Summer Camp Committee, Oral Hull Foundation for the Blind, Inc.,

P.O. Box 157, Sandy, Oregon 97055.

**Blindness Studies 101:

Jonathan Ice, Treasurer of the Metro Chapter of the National

Federation of the Blind of Minnesota, has asked us to print the

following:

You are invited to explore the shaping of blind culture from

Wednesday, August 21 through Sunday, August 25, 1991. Dig for our

past, share our present, and shape our future. Come join us at

Wilder Forest, a rustic but classy conference center of over one

thousand acres near the Twin Cities. Enjoy the lush hiking

trails, the sparkling lakes, and our famous Minnesota blue skies.

For more information call Lolly Lijewski at (612) 561-9243.

**Braille and Large Print Material Available:

John Dragona, one of the leaders of the National Federation

of the Blind of New Jersey, has asked us to print the following:

TFB Publications still sells Brailled desk calendars, $1;

pocket calendars, $.50; and appointment calendars, $4 (two bound

together, $7). We also have a catalog of crocheting and knitting

patterns ($1) and a catalog of Brailled young people's stories

and books, from pre-school to high school levels (free). Our free

General Publications catalog contains appliance manuals,

cookbooks, safety information, pamphlets for blind homemakers,

women, parents, and more.

For more information on our low-cost Brailling or large-

print reproduction services, or about any of the catalogs

mentioned here, which are available in Braille or large print,

call us at (201) 662-0956 or write TFB Publications, 238 75th

Street, North Bergen, New Jersey 07047.

**Elected:

Nancy Martin, Secretary of the Clark County Chapter of the

National Federation of the Blind of Washington, reports the

following election results:

In December of 1990 the chapter elected Doug Trimble,

President; Michael Freeman, First Vice President; Kaye Kipp,

Second Vice President; Nancy Martin, Secretary; and Charles

Rogge, Treasurer. Among the three new members welcomed into the

chapter was Shanthi, Michael and Barbara Freeman's new little

daughter.

**Sell:

We have been asked to print the following: I have for sale a

Telesensory VersaBraille model P2C, which includes charger/power

supply, overlay tapes, and Braille contract. It has had moderate

use and is in good working order. I am asking $2,000 or best

offer. Contact Kevin Utter at 2034 W. Plum, Apt. A3, Fort

Collins, Colorado 80521; telephone (303) 221-4809.

**Two Points:

Lori Duffy is president of the Parents Division of the

National Federation of the Blind of Ohio. She and her husband

Eric are both leaders of the Ohio affiliate. As an elementary

education major, she was required last quarter to participate in

a field experience in the local school system. Right to Read Week

occurred during the time of her classroom work, and as any

Federationist would, she took advantage of the opportunity. Her

cooperating teacher had put together a display including a poster

of a famous basketball player sitting on a stack of books. The

poster's slogan read, "Reading takes one to great heights." Each

student wrote a special message on a cut-out basketball, which

was then placed on the display. Lori took a cut-out too and had

her husband Eric write "Braille Readers Are Leaders" in Braille

on it. Then she placed it on the display along with a Braille

alphabet card. The cooperating teacher posted a message asking,

"What does Mr. Duffy's basketball message say?" The students had

a wonderful time figuring out the message. They also learned that

Braille wasn't such a mystery.

**New Baby:

Fred Schroeder reports that Karen Arellano Edwards and her

husband Randy are the proud parents of Savanna Lee Edwards, born

January 20, 1991. She weighed four pounds, two ounces and was 17

inches in length on arrival. She attended her first state NFB

convention the weekend of April 5-7, 1991, in Albuquerque, New

Mexico. Despite arriving eight weeks early, Savanna Lee, big

sister Krista, and their parents Karen and Randy are all doing

well.

**Wedding Bells:

We recently received the following announcement in the

National Office: "Mr. and Mrs. David T. Bills announce the

marriage of their daughter Laura Silas to Christopher Mark

Hathaway, son of Mrs. Marilyn Day, Saturday, the thirtieth day of

March, Nineteen hundred and ninety-one, and cordially invite you

to attend a wedding reception in their honor from four until five

thirty that afternoon. The Seville Reception Center, 4897 South

Redwood Road, Salt Lake City, Utah."

**Show Unto Us a Sign:

Paul Van Dyck, who is a medical transcriptionist and who is

also a member of the Clark County Chapter of the NFB of

Washington State, writes as follows:

The Clark County, Washington, Chapter of the NFB has had

pretty good success with selling candy for fund raising. Several

of the grocery store managers in Vancouver have permitted us to

sell on store property, just the same as other nonprofit groups.

One weekend, however, due to poor scheduling or lack of

communication, we were treated to some stiff competition from the

Lions Club, also seeking donations for the blind, at the same

time, same store, within just a few feet of us. How ironic! The

Lions Club, with their brightly colored Lion logo plastered everywhere and

their high visibility, overshadowed the

two "plain clothes" NFB members standing there, outnumbered, with

only a white cane and box of chocolate bars. A few people bought

from us because they felt sorry. This, I thought, is nowhere! The

scheduling difficulty was later dealt with and resolved. I have a friend

in the sign-making business whom I also contacted

about our visibility problem. I sent him our pamphlet, "What is

the National Federation of the Blind," which he read, and from

which he imaged the NFB logo on his computer. A few days later we

had the donation of a beautiful laminated plastic free-standing

sign with the NFB logo in blue on white, and the words, "Clark

County Chapter, National Federation of the Blind." People now

really see us and look, read the sign, and stop long enough for

us to give our pitch, hand them literature, and sell our candy.

By making this reasonable accommodation to the sighted public, we

increased our sales significantly, and I'm not Lion!

[PHOTO: Cheryl McCaslin dances with Arthur Murray instructor.

CAPTION: Cheryl McCaslin and her instructor Michael Hamilton trip

the light fantastic.]

**Doing the Fox Trot:

February 24, 1991, at 12:20 p.m. was an exciting time for

Cheryl McCaslin in Dallas, Texas, at the DFW Sheraton hotel. Why

was this an exciting day for Cheryl McCaslin? She is the only

blind person in Dallas, Texas, enrolled in Arthur Murray ballroom

dance lessons. February 24 marked the showcase day for Cheryl.

She and her instructor, Michael Hamilton, had worked up a Fox

Trot routine. Cheryl won a trophy, and on February 26 Sam, the

judge, gave her an evaluation, and she earned a score of 91.

Cheryl enjoyed herself tremendously and plans on continuing the

fun and excitement of the dance lessons and meeting new people.

Two things have made this venture successful. It has provided a

good chance for exercise and, second, it has shown once again

that the blind can compete on equal terms with the sighted.

**RFB Offerings:

RFB will begin making its own publications available on

computer disk, beginning with the Winter, 1991, issue of its

newsletter, RFB News. Anyone who would like to receive this or

future issues of RFB News on either 3.5" or 5.25" IBM compatible

floppy disks may call or write Lorraine Gresty, Department of

Public Affairs, RFB, 20 Roszel Road, Princeton, New Jersey

08540, (609) 452-0606.

A revised Guide to Using Recording for the Blind's Services

is now available in both print and recorded formats. The guide,

an RFB consumer handbook, begins with general information and

continues with sections on RFB's lending library, recording

service, recording procedures, and award programs. A list of all

thirty-two recording studios is provided, along with a sample

form for book orders. For single or multiple copies of the guide,

call RFB's Borrower Services Department toll free at (800)

221-4792.

**Sell:

R. B. Gomez has asked us to print the following: I have for

sale a Braille 'n Speak recently updated by Blazie Engineering.

It contains a separate module for cassette storage, patch cords,

printer cable, AC adapter and battery charger, and carrying case.

It stores up to 200 pages of Braille and is six months old. I am

asking $550 or best offer. Contact Ms. R.B. Gomez, 2017 55th

Street, Sacramento, California 95817 or phone (916) 456-2735.

Share a Comment

URL

https://www.nfb.org/sites/default/files/images/nfb/publications/bm/bm91/brlm9106.htm

Braille Monitor, 6/91

Share a Comment

Plain text

Frequently Used Forms & Toolkits

Site Map