Blindness Skills: The Only Sure Bet in Vegas!

by Carlton Walker

From the Editor: Carlton Walker is one of the most active advocates I’ve ever met. She knows what it is like to have a child who needs services, knows how to find the people who can help get them, and knows how to become a part of those people so that “they” become “us.” What a pleasure it is to be on the same team with her as once again the National Organization of Parents of Blind Children organizes a week-long educational and sharing opportunity for parents of blind children. Here is Carlton’s argument for why you and your children should be with us in Las Vegas:

Every year the Annual Convention of the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) brings new ideas, incredible resources, and the love and support of NFB members into the lives of blind people of every age and their families. This July, thousands of members of the NFB will meet in Las Vegas, Nevada, to hold our annual convention. Concurrently, the National Organization of Parents of Blind Children (NOPBC), a proud division of the National Federation of the Blind, will host a conference within the NFB convention. We gather together to learn and share, to reconnect with friends, and to meet new friends. We certainly hope that you can join us.

There’s an old truism: “Vegas wasn’t built on winners,” and it makes perfect sense. The odds of any game of chance must be in favor of “the house,” or there would be no way to afford the building, utilities, and staff required to host the game. Some games of chance have better odds, and some have worse, but all games are stacked in favor of “the house.”

Unfair odds are part of the gambling world, but they are not supposed to be part of our daily lives or part of school for our children. However, for years, it felt like the odds were stacked against my daughter, Anna Catherine, and our family. School officials insisted that she should “maximize” her vision—even though doing so gave her headaches, caused neck and back pain, and left her demoralized and exhausted.

Nothing can improve my daughter’s vision, so the odds are always stacked against her if she relies on her vision. However, with blindness skills, like Braille, cane travel, and accessible technology, my daughter can do what she needs to do—efficiently, effectively, and without headaches, neck pain, or feeling like she is less-than her peers.

This June my daughter will graduate from high school, and may I proudly say that she will do so with honors. Every day she uses blindness skills like Braille, Nemeth Code, a long white cane, and accessible technology to perform her schoolwork, take part in community activities, and perform chores around the house, like laundry, cleaning, and meal preparation. None of this would have been possible had we listened to the “experts” in the schools. If we had tried to maximize her use of vision, we would have been minimizing her in every way.

You’ll hear “There‘s no such thing as a sure bet,” but this is wrong. Throughout the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino July 7 through 12 you will find information about and access to the only sure bet in Vegas: blindness skills—those skills which allow our children to survive and thrive without any regard to how much vision they do or do not have.

Come join us at the NOPBC Conference and the NFB Convention in Las Vegas this July. Please join our sessions, which will include information and ideas for families of blind students from birth through college. We also will have sessions on IEPs (individualized education programs), tactile graphics, accessible art, and bringing more STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics) into blind children’s lives. You will also enjoy:

Sunday, July 7:

• Kid Talk, with NFB President Mark Riccobono
• Lunch with the NOPBC Board
• Megan Bening Memorial Technology Giveaway (last year, we gave away $10,000 in accessible technology to blind children and youth)
• Family Game Night (where we will have accessible games for a great evening of family fun)

Monday, July 8:

• Cane Walks (an opportunity to receive free cane travel instruction from orientation and mobility professionals—and sighted family members are encouraged to participate as well)
• NOPBC Style Show (our children and youth walk the runway and share with us their interests and goals)

Tuesday, July 9:

• NOPBC Annual Meeting (an opportunity to learn more about and become involved with our division; speech from the 2019 Distinguished Educator of Blind Students; electing members to the NOPBC Board)
• Braille Book Fair (all books are available at no cost and will be shipped to you at no cost)
• Braille Carnival to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the American Action Fund (the organization which has provided thousands of Braille books at no charge to blind children and youth)

July 7-12 (Sunday through Friday):

• Exhibit Hall (opportunity to have hands-on experience with accessible technology; meet and speak to vendors of blindness and low vision tools and technology)
• Independence Market (opportunity to handle, test out, and learn how to use blindness and low vision tools and technology; accessible games and household items; accessible watches, calculators, books, and other items)
• NFB Literature (Free: hundreds of articles, speeches, Kernel Books, and past issues of Future Reflections and Braille Monitor magazines in print and Braille—all free for the taking)
• Breakout sessions on technology, interest areas, and many more topics

July 10-12 (Wednesday through Friday):

• NFB General Session: Hear from nationally-renowned speakers on a plethora of topics affecting blind individuals of all ages at the NFB General Session and vote on the resolutions which set forth NFB policy
• Wednesday July 10: IEP Night as well as Tactile Art and NFB BELL Academy sessions
• Friday, July 12: Mock Trial and other evening events put on by NFB divisions and centers for the blind
• NFB Banquet: Banquet speech by NFB President Mark Riccobono, announcement of NFB Scholarship winners, good food and conversation with our Federation family