American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults
Future Reflections       Winter 2020      NOPBC

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Houston: We Have a Solution! Failure is Never an Option

by Carlton Anne Cook Walker

Carlton WalkerFrom the Editor: The 2020 NFB National Convention will be held in Houston, Texas, from July 14-19. As always, this year's convention will be jam-packed with activities for parents and teachers, children and teens. In this article NOPBC President Carlton Anne Cook Walker gives a preview.

Once again, for the eightieth year in a row, the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) will host its annual convention. Blind people of all ages and their families and friends gather to share insight from the past, information for the present, and ideas for the future.

This year Houston, Texas will host our annual convention from July 14 through 19 at the Hilton Americas-Houston Hotel. As a proud division of the NFB, the National Organization of Parents of Blind Children (NOPBC) will again host our annual conference within the NFB annual convention. NFB members of all ages will gather to learn and share, reconnect with old friends, and form new friendships. We certainly hope you can join us.

On April 11, 1970, three astronauts with the United States space program launched into space on an exciting, yet relatively routine, trip to the moon on Apollo 13. Along the way, they encountered unforeseen obstacles that threatened their mission and their lives. Two days into the mission, Apollo 13 Commander Jim Lovell realized that something unexpected, and potentially damaging, had occurred. He alerted Mission Control in Houston, Texas, "Houston, we have a problem."

At first no one in the spacecraft or in Mission Control or, indeed, anywhere on Earth knew the solution to the problem. Nevertheless, everyone at Mission Control in Houston jumped into action to find a solution. The 1995 movie, Apollo 13, recounts Mission Control's race against time to save the astronauts from certain death. The movie coined the phrase, "Failure is not an option."

When my daughter, Anna Catherine, had severe medical issues that eventually led to her blindness, I felt as though I were on Apollo 13. I had read all the right books, so I thought I knew what to expect from pregnancy and caring for an infant. I didn't expect to spend months of the first year of my daughter's life in hospitals, and I didn't expect to be told that her first Christmas with us would likely be her last.

Over time Anna Catherine's medical issues resolved, but then we found out that she was blind. Now what? We didn't have a Mission Control to call. Anna Catherine was healthy, but she was not as independent as sighted children her age and even younger. Month by month she fell farther behind. For two years we just did our own thing. Then we found the National Federation of the Blind and attended the first Blueprints and Beginnings Early Childhood Conference in Baltimore, Maryland. Wow! We had finally found Mission Control—the National Federation of the Blind and its members across the nation. We had a problem; the NFB had many solutions. And, even when NFB didn't already have a solution, we soon learned that NFB members would devote themselves to working with us to find an answer. With the NFB failure is never an option.

The NOPBC is a proud division of the National Federation of the Blind. We thrive because of our relationships with incredible blind adults throughout the nation. Our annual conference in Houston is part of the NFB National Convention. As such we enjoy the support of the Federation in terms of expertise, advocacy, and mentorship.

Our conference offers activities and information for parents of blind and low-vision children birth through high school (and, sometimes, beyond). We know that many of our children have disabilities in addition to blindness, and we design our sessions and activities to be inclusive. In addition, we have activities for youth ages eleven through eighteen in our Youth Track. Parents of younger children may choose to use the childcare option provided by NFB Camp.

On Seminar Day (Tuesday, July 14), we hold concurrent sessions that address the needs of blind children at different ages and with different abilities. We look forward to meeting and getting to know conference attendees at our "Lunch with the Board" activity. On Tuesday evening we will enjoy Family Game Night, where everyone will be able to play adapted games for a great evening of family fun. This year every blind child ages birth through age twenty-one whose parents or guardians have registered for the NOPBC Conference will receive a free game to take home. These games will come with accessibility kits so the child and/or family members may make an off-the-shelf game accessible for everyone in the family!

Wednesday brings our Cane Walk sessions, where orientation and mobility professionals provide blind children and their sighted family members instruction in Structured Discovery cane travel—a method of instruction that promotes independence and problem solving. Through the generous support of the NFB, each blind child who participates in a Cane Walk session will receive a free NFB long white cane.

Our annual meeting (Thursday, July 16) will be packed with information for parents of blind children of all ages and abilities. Students will share their experiences of finding solutions through the NFB, and parents will learn more about how to become involved with our division. At the end of the annual meeting, we will elect new officers and board members. Attendees will receive priority entrance tickets for our annual Braille Book Fair, where you can get free Braille books and have them boxed up to send home—at no cost to you.

During convention week many other activities will be taking place. One highlight will be our Megan Bening Memorial Technology Giveaway. Last year we gave away more than ten thousand dollars' worth of accessible technology to blind children and youth.

Each day of convention week will bring information-packed sessions that will be of interest to parents of blind children of all ages. These sessions include meetings of divisions focused on areas such as law, teaching, and the performing arts. An annual favorite is the Mock Trial, hosted by the Blind Lawyers Division. No one should miss our Exhibit Hall, the NFB Independence Market, or the NFB literature table. At the Exhibit Hall, you will have opportunities for hands-on experience with accessible technology, and you may meet and speak to vendors of blindness and low-vision tools and technology. The NFB Independence Market is staffed by knowledgeable volunteers who can help you and your child handle, test out, and learn to use blindness and low-vision tools and technology, accessible games and household items, accessible watches, calculators, and other items—all available for purchase. The NFB literature table offers hundreds of articles, speeches, Kernel Books, and past issues of the magazines Future Reflections and Braille Monitor in print and Braille, all free for the taking.

The three days of the NFB General Sessions (Friday, July 17, through Sunday, July 19) are so important you won't want to miss a minute! At General Sessions you'll hear from nationally renowned speakers about emerging issues in blindness and topics that have an impact on blind people of all ages. During General Sessions we, the membership of the National Federation of the Blind, will vote on resolutions that set forth NFB policy in the years ahead. Throughout General Sessions you'll hear how the National Federation of the Blind is helping us tear down the obstacles that separate blind people from our dreams. What more could parents want for their children?

We cap off the week with our wonderful Convention Banquet on Sunday evening. At the banquet we enjoy the company of our Federation friends and hear the banquet address from NFB President Mark Riccobono. Also at the banquet, NFB will award scholarships to thirty blind college and graduate students from around the nation.

As you can see, the NFB convention will be a week packed with information and opportunities for learning. Truly, in Houston you will find solutions! Even more important, though, in Houston, you will meet and get to know confident and successful blind adults who are eager to serve as mentors for your child and for you. Remember, with the NFB, failure is never an option.
 
Come join us at the NOPBC Conference and the NFB Convention in Houston this July. Please join our sessions, which will include information and ideas for families of blind students from birth through college. Here is a quick rundown of what you will enjoy in Houston:

NOPBC Conference

Additional Opportunities

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