Volume 44, Number 3 Summer 2025
A magazine for parents and teachers of blind children published by
the American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults in partnership
with the National Organization of Parents of Blind Children.
Deborah Kent Stein, Editor
ISSN-0883-3419
Copyright © 2025 American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults
For more information
about blindness and children contact:
National Organization of Parents of Blind Children
200 East Wells Street at Jernigan Place, Baltimore, MD 21230 • 410-659-9314
https://nfb.org/nopbc • [email protected] • [email protected]
FEATURE
Staying True to Our Mission While Respecting Our Differences
by Gary Wunder
TRAVEL
The Purpose and Introduction of Sleepshades during O&M Instruction
by Merry-Noel Chamberlain
Can AI Provide Walking Directions for Blind Travelers?
by Jonathan Mosen
ART
From Amoebas to Monuments: Art at Our Fingertips
by Julie Deden
Puzzling Challenges
by Maureen Handwerker
ACCESS
Environmental Ableism and the Importance of Environmental Education for Blind Students
by Justin Salisbury
Technology Accessibility in Higher-Level Education
by Alaula Sprecher
The Square of the Hypotenuse
by Deborah Kent Stein
BREAKING NEW GROUND
Learning from the Pros: How My Federation Family Showed Me that I Can Dye My Own Hair
by Leslie Hamric
Welcome to Blind Cricket: A Rising Phenomenon
by Abey Finklea
ADVOCACY
How TVIs Can Be "Blindness Ambassadors" for Families and Teachers
by Carol Castellano
The Lawsuit that Could Kill Section 504
by Chris Danielsen
National Federation of the Blind Comments on Reduction in Force at Department of Education
The Role of the Department of Education in Specialized Teacher Training and Beyond
by Amy Parker
PRODUCT REVIEW
Accessibyte: An Exciting Tool for Building Typing Skills
by Melissa Riccobono
BOOK REVIEW
Just Maria
by Jay Hardwig, Reviewed by Barbara Cheadle
WHAT'S NEW?
Braille Calendars: A Small Tool with a Big Impact
Announcements
Are you the parent of a blind/low-vision child? Don’t know where to turn? Have you ever wondered what your child will be capable of when he or she grows up? Are you concerned that your child’s future will be limited by blindness or low vision? Do you have questions about how to parent a blind child? We are here for you.
Founded in 1983, the National Organization of Parents of Blind Children (NOPBC), a proud division of the National Federation of the Blind (NFB), is a membership organization of families, friends, and educators of blind children. We have thousands of members in all fifty states plus Washington, DC, and Puerto Rico.
We have a very inclusive definition of blindness which includes children who have some usable vision. Instead of focusing on what the child can or cannot see, we focus on the child and what she or he wants to be.
NOPBC is for families, educators, and friends of blind children, including those who have some usable vision. We welcome all families of blind children, and many of our children have both blindness and other disabilities.
We help families and blind children themselves maximize the child’s abilities and opportunities; we hold high expectations for all of our children, regardless of any additional disabilities they may have.
As a division of the NFB, the largest and most influential organization of blind people in the world, the NOPBC is well informed about the societal, legislative, and technological issues that affect blind people. We enjoy the resources, support, and expertise of fifty thousand blind people who can serve as mentors and role models for us and our children. When we as parents join the NOPBC, our children belong to the Federation family.
The NOPBC:
Most states have an NOPBC affiliate chapter. You can find your state chapter at http://www.nopbc.org. If your state does not have a chapter and you would like to start one, please contact us. We may be able to offer training and other assistance to start a state NOPBC chapter.
We have been where you are, and we want to support you and your blind child. We know that blindness does not define your child's future. We can connect you with other families and blind adults who can serve as positive mentors and role models. They can teach you the attitudes and techniques that will enable your child to become independent and to succeed in life.
The NOPBC offers hope, encouragement, information, and resources for parents, families, and educators of blind children. NOPBC provides:
We offer a wide variety of programs, activities, and training to families, children, and youth. One of our most exciting activities is our annual conference. Every year since it was established, the NOPBC has conducted an annual conference for parents and teachers of blind children as part of the national convention of the NFB. This conference has grown to include five exciting days of workshops, training sessions, activities for all family members, including sighted siblings, and countless opportunities to meet blind adults and other families and children from around the country.
Contact Us:
National Organization of Parents of Blind Children
[email protected]
www.nopbc.org
FEATURE
by Gary Wunder
Reprinted from Braille Monitor, Volume 68, Number 6, June 2025
From the Editor: Gary Wunder is a longtime Federationist with a deep knowledge of the history and philosophy of the blindness movement. He has served as president of the NFB of Missouri and as a member of the Federation’s Board of Directors. For many years he edited the organization’s flagship publication, Braille Monitor. In this article he speaks to the diversity of viewpoints within our organization and calls upon all of us to treat one another with respect while holding true to the purpose and convictions that bring us together.
The National Federation of the Blind is a diverse organization. We are bound by our shared belief in the capacity of blind people to live the lives we want, not by a shared political ideology. Among our members are Republicans, Democrats, Libertarians, Independents, and those who would rather not affiliate with any party at all. This ideological variety is not only expected—it is healthy. But it also means we must walk a fine line between being respectful of one another’s beliefs and being bold enough to speak when policies threaten the programs we rely on.
Some confusion arises when advocacy organizations like ours criticize policies promoted by political parties or public figures. It is not unusual for members to ask, “Are we attacking my party? Are we going after someone I support? Is this a place where I still belong?”
These are fair questions, and they deserve thoughtful answers. In many cases, what may feel like an attack is actually a principled disagreement based on the organization’s priorities—particularly those grounded in the needs and rights of blind people.
We must learn to differentiate between criticism of a person or ideology and disagreement with a policy direction. If a proposed budget slashes funding for rehabilitation training, we are duty-bound to speak up. If Social Security is under administrative strain, making it harder for blind people to get answers to our questions or appeal incorrect decisions, we must say so. If key civil rights provisions of the Rehabilitation Act—protections hard-won in the 1970s—are threatened, then silence is not an option.
None of this should be mistaken for personal condemnation of any politician or supporter. Our role is to advocate. That means we have a responsibility to evaluate proposed changes and their likely effects, regardless of where they come from. If our advocacy seems pointed at times, it is because the stakes are high. The lives of blind children in public schools, blind workers seeking job training, and blind people navigating public systems hang in the balance.
This does not mean we throw respect and sensitivity out the window. On the contrary, we must be especially mindful of how we speak and write. We should not demonize those who disagree with us, nor should we reduce complex beliefs to slogans or caricatures. Mutual respect strengthens our organization and enables deeper discussion. But respect does not mean muting ourselves in the name of harmony.
We cannot allow fear of causing offense to stifle our advocacy. If we believe a particular program or law is essential to our well-being, we must say so. If we think a proposed action—or inaction—will harm blind people, we must say that, too. Silence born of excessive caution is not neutrality; it is complicity in the erosion of hard-won rights and opportunities.
Our movement was not built on silence. It was built on a relentless push for recognition, fairness, and opportunity. That work continues today, and it often requires us to speak against the tide. We are seeing real and threatened cuts to library services that provide accessible books and materials to blind readers. We have seen threatened funding reductions in rehabilitation services on the grounds that they lean toward emphasizing diversity and equity over skill and competence. It is not partisan to argue that these assumptions are not what our lives have shown us, and that we stand for programs and services that are critical for training blind adults to live independently and enter the workforce. We have seen threats to the very civil rights language in the Rehabilitation Act that once opened doors that had long been locked.
We cannot sit quietly while these gains are chipped away—not for fear of offending a friend or fellow member, and not because we happen to support other policies advanced by the same people proposing the cuts. Supporting a party or politician in a general sense does not require us to support every action they take. Standing against a particular policy does not mean we reject everyone who supports its authors. It means we are doing what our organization was formed to do: speaking up when blind people’s rights, opportunities, and access are at risk.
Advocacy requires courage. It also requires trust: trust that we can disagree with one another in good faith, trust that we can examine policy proposals on their merits, trust that our membership can tell the difference between a policy critique and a personal attack, and trust that our common bond—the pursuit of equality for blind people—will remain stronger than our differences.
We must continue to press for policies that support quality education, meaningful rehabilitation, robust access to Social Security and other supports, and the enforcement of civil rights. These are not partisan goals. They are the foundation of a society in which blind people can thrive. Let us pursue them with all the clarity and vigor they deserve—respectfully, thoughtfully, and without apology.
TRAVEL
by Merry-Noel Chamberlain
From the Editor: Dr. Merry-Noel Chamberlain teaches orientation and mobility (O&M) at the Nebraska Commission for the Blind. She is a frequent contributor to Future Reflections and the author of several books. Her most recent title is Structured Discovery Cane Travel Approach to Orientation and Mobility Concepts (2024). Some of the information in this article is excerpted from The ABCs of Structured Discovery Cane Travel for Children (2021).
Most low-vision students receiving Orientation & Mobility (O&M) instruction do not realize that their remaining vision is unreliable. Therefore, they often believe that whatever vision they have is true and dependable. However, this conviction may place the student in dangerous situations. Occlusion (a.k.a. sleepshade) training provides students with abilities and skills they can depend on, regardless of how much vision they have now or how little vision they may have in the future. The Structured Discovery Cane Travel (SDCT) curriculum requires O&M students to be occluded during instruction.
Occluding, according to Kappan (1994) and Pogrund and Griffin-Shirley (2018), is used to block or restrict visual input and build self-confidence in students while they perfect nonvisual skills. Keep in mind that spending time in total immersion helps students gain self-confidence while they focus on the development of nonvisual mobility techniques. When students learn O&M while wearing sleepshades (sometimes referred to as learning shades), the skills they obtain are maintained, regardless of how much vision is lost over time.
NOTE: Occlusion training may not be suitable for all students. Therefore, individual recommendations and training must be based on students’ physical and cognitive abilities, as well as their emotional needs.
According to Maurer et al. (2007) and Mino (2011), one of the most critical mental processes necessary in mobility is having confidence in the nonvisual techniques of problem solving. The SDCT curriculum focuses on mobility skills as occluded students use the long white cane, significantly reducing the overall time spent on training. When a skill is mastered without vision, students are still able to perform the task, regardless of lighting conditions or decreased level of vision over time. In contrast, if a skill is mastered relying on the limited vision the student has available, it may not be usable in poor lighting conditions. Additional training will be necessary if or when the student’s sight decreases. Therefore, students who have any remaining vision benefit from occlusion training because sleepshades allocate their attention toward learning.
The use of sleepshades:
According to Kappan (1994), minimal occluded disability awareness training possibly creates false impressions of the true capabilities of blind and/or low-vision students. Thus, prospective mobility instructors learning the SDCT curriculum spend extensive time in occluded training. Five hundred to two thousand hours of training under sleepshades (Aditya, 2004) models the Veterans Administration’s O&M training program in the 1940s (Miyagawa, 1999). Instructors who undergo this extensive occluded mobility training can demonstrate nonvisual mobility tasks actively and without hesitation. By observing the instructor’s self-confidence and ability, students may internalize their belief in the mobility skills they are striving to master. SDCT instructors can demonstrate that they have acquired the skills that they are requesting from their students, just as algebra teachers are able to demonstrate the necessary steps to complete complex mathematical formulas.
Through the SDCT curriculum, instructors help students build constructive problem-solving travel strategies while they are occluded. These strategies can be transferred from the lesson setting to other locations post-instruction, and students find that they can handle a myriad of travel challenges. When students have confidence in their travel abilities without using their limited or remaining vision, they are more likely to be self-motivated during off-training hours when they can use the vision they still may have. This finding was evident with blind veterans of World War II. On weekends they traveled independently to local establishments when they were on their own (Miyagawa, 1999). When people learn to pay attention to their surroundings, rather than being told what is around them, they learn to tune into their other senses. Gravel (2006) wrote this observation to his former SDCT instructor:
“I’m unafraid to venture out on my own now, even when traveling in a new city. You gave me the understanding and courage to simply ‘get the job done,’ no matter the supposed obstacles. You taught me—undeniably—that I can be dropped off anywhere, not even knowing exactly where, and still find the location where I need to go.” (pp. 23–25)
Some instructors shy away from having students wear sleepshades because wearing them may be scary. Wearing sleepshades may produce anxiety if the introduction is made too hastily. Students need time to gather enough courage to leave their comfort zone. More importantly, they must learn to trust the information their long white cane provides. The following steps have been successful with preschoolers, young school-aged students, and blind/low-vision students with additional disabilities. This program is only a guideline. Repeating steps may be necessary for some students, and that is perfectly okay! This experience needs to be fun for the student and accepted by the parents and all team members.
Before students are introduced to sleepshades, they need to have some positive experiences walking with the long, white cane without sleepshades. Keep in mind that these experiences need not be perfect. The student simply needs to have some general knowledge about how to use the cane and the cane’s intended purpose. Depending on their age, students need to comprehend:
Lessons Days #1 through #3: These lessons begin with the student sitting in their comfort zone. Perhaps this is their desk or workstation at school. Play simple O&M games, such as:
Check out Structured Discovery Cane Travel Approach to Orientation and Mobility Concepts (2024) for more ideas.
Lesson Day #4: For this lesson, challenge the student to point to the door of the classroom with their eyes closed. Using age- and stage-appropriate vocabulary, discuss whether memory or auditory skills were used to complete the task. Display a variety of sleepshades (many are available on Amazon) to the student. Encourage the student to select a pair to wear.
Ask the student to point to the classroom door. Talk with the student about sounds around the area. Usually, students will point to items that make sounds. Discussion can lead to how near or far the objects may be.
It is important that students comprehend that sleepshades are special tools.
Depending on the age of the student, have a brief discussion on the value of the sleepshades. For instance, they permit a person to focus on their hearing and memory; they block out unreliable visual distractions.
Finally, discuss a special location where the sleepshades can be stored for future lessons. The sleepshades might be stored with the student or with the instructor.
Lesson Day #5: On this day, the student wears sleepshades while listening to a story or two being read aloud. Be sure to read a story that includes a blind or low-vision character who uses a long white cane. Repeat this step on occasion as needed, especially when the weather is bad. Here are some suggestions:
Lesson Day #6: Henceforth, students wear sleepshades during the majority of their O&M lessons. On this day, repeat an O&M game from Lesson Days #1 through #3. Keep in mind that this is done with the student seated in their comfort zone.
NOTE: If the student accidentally rolls dice off the table, the student must retrieve them. This leads to baby steps.
Lesson Day #7: Repeat the previous lesson. While playing a game to encourage the student to move a step or two away from the comfort zone, creativity may be necessary. Perhaps ask the student to retrieve a toy from a shelf nearby. Review the sounds from Lesson Day #4 (i.e., ask the student to point to a nearby location). Then challenge the student to use the cane to walk to that location, provided the path is free from obstacles. If not, select a location that is free from obstacles. Repeat to another nearby location.
Lesson Day #8: Now it is time to venture forward! Build upon each walking opportunity. Here are some ideas:
Aditya, R. N. A Comparison of Two Orientation and Mobility Certifications. 2004. http://studylib.net/doc/6790954/a-comparison-of-two-orientation-and-mobility-certifications.
Chamberlain, Mary N. Structured Discovery Cane Travel Approach to Orientation and Mobility Concepts. Charlotte, NC: IAP, 2024.
Gravel, Elaine. “Learning to Walk.” In Letters to My Teacher: Tributes to the People Who Have Made a Difference, edited by B. Karg and R. Sutherland, 23–25. Avon, MA: Adams Media, 2006.
Herbert, James T. “Simulation as a Learning Method to Facilitate Disability Awareness.” Journal of Experiential Education 23, no. 5(2000): 5–11. https://doi.org/10.1177/105382590002300102.
Kappan, Daniel. On Simulating Blindness. Viewpoints, 1994. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED378743.pdf.
Maurer, Marc M., Edward C. Bell, Eva Woods, and Roland Allen. “Structured Discovery in Cane Travel: Constructivism in Action.” 2007. https://nfb.org/images/nfb/publications/bm/bm07/bm0704/bm070405.htm.
Mino, Natalie M. “Problem-Solving in Structured Discovery Cane Travel.” Journal of Blindness Innovation and Research 1, no. 3 (2011). https://www.nfb.org/images/nfb/publications/jbir/jbir11/jbir010302abs.html.
Miyagawa, Sharon. Journey to Excellence: Development of the Military and VA Blind Rehabilitation Programs in the 20th Century. Lakeville, MN: Galde Press, 1999.
Pogrund, Rona L., and Natalie Griffin-Shirley. Partners in O&M: Supporting Orientation and Mobility for Students Who Are Visually Impaired. New York: American Foundation for the Blind Press, 2018.
by Jonathan Mosen
From the Editor: Artificial intelligence (AI) offers some amazing new possibilities for blind and sighted people alike. But can it provide accurate walking directions useful to blind pedestrians? Jonathan Mosen, who hosts the Federation’s Access Onpodcast, conducted an interesting investigation, prompted by a question from one of his listeners. Here is what he shared with his audience.
JONATHAN MOSEN: Rick Roderick from Louisville, Kentucky, sent me an email. He writes, “I wonder if there is an app or AI that can give me the detailed walking directions that I want. I want to walk from my house to Bristol Bar and Grill on Barnstown Road. Many apps will give the distance and turn-by-turn directions, but they won’t tell me which streets I will need to cross to get there. Other information would also be helpful. Which intersections have traffic lights? Will I encounter any stretches that don’t have sidewalks? I want all this information before I undertake the trip. Any recommendations?”
All right, let’s give this a try and bring ChatGPT into the conversation.
Welcome back to the Access On podcast from the National Federation of the Blind!
ChatGPT: Hey Rick, thanks for having me back on! Always a pleasure.
JONATHAN MOSEN: Okay, you can call me Rick. I’ve been called worse. This is what I want you to do, if you would. Can you give me detailed walking directions suitable for my use as a blind person—I want all the details of the route. I want to walk from the National Federation of the Blind on East Wells Street to Blue Moon Two Café on Cross Street. I want you to describe the route for me, including all the streets I will walk on, all the streets I will cross, and whether the street has traffic lights at the intersection or not. And please tell me whether there is any part of the route that doesn’t have sidewalks.
ChatGPT: Jonathan, to walk from the National Federation of the Blind on Wells Street to Blue Moon Two Café on Cross Street, exit the NFB building and turn right. Proceed to the intersection with Pratt Street. Cross Pratt Street and continue straight on Cross Street until you reach the café. This route is approximately 0.5 miles. It should take about ten minutes.
JONATHAN MOSEN: So do I have to cross any streets?
ChatGPT: Yes, you’ll need to cross Pratt Street. There’s a traffic light at the intersection, which should help with crossing safely. The rest of the route should be straightforward, with sidewalks all the way.
JONATHAN MOSEN: I checked those directions out with people who know more about Baltimore than I do, and I was told that that is a hallucination. Those directions are not going to get me to where I want to go. So I think we can say that, for a task like this, you cannot rely upon ChatGPT to give you this sort of direction.
Let’s see whether Google Gemini will do a similar thing. Hello, Gemini!
GEMINI: Hello. It’s great to meet you. What can I do for you today?
JONATHAN MOSEN: Welcome to the Access On podcast from the National Federation of the Blind.
GEMINI: Oh, that’s exciting! Are you looking for a specific episode, or did you want to know more about the podcast itself?
JONATHAN MOSEN: I’m actually hosting the podcast right now myself, and you are on it.
GEMINI: Wow! That’s fantastic! Congratulations on hosting the podcast. What’s the focus of this particular episode? I’m really curious to hear more about it.
JONATHAN MOSEN: What I’d like to see is whether you can help me with a query. I want you please to give me detailed walking directions suitable for me as a blind person. I want to know all details of the route. I want to walk from the National Federation of the Blind on East Wells Street to Blue Moon Two Café on Cross Street. I’d like you to describe the route for me, including all the streets I will walk on, all the streets I will cross, and whether the street has traffic lights at the intersection or not. And please tell me whether any part of the route doesn’t have sidewalks.
GEMINI: I can’t access real time information, including information about walking routes. For walking directions and navigation, you can use Google Maps or other map services.
JONATHAN MOSEN: That was very unhelpful, wasn’t it! So Google Gemini can’t help with this at all, and ChatGPT gave it a shot. Let’s talk about Grok, which is a pretty interesting AI. This is the one from X AI. It’s a bit expensive to get the premium service. We’ll see what it can do. Hello there, Grok! How are you?
GROK: I’m doing great! Thanks for asking! Just chillin’ in the digital realm, ready to answer your questions with a bit of sass and a lot of smarts. What’s on your mind this morning?
JONATHAN MOSEN: First I’d like to welcome you to the Access On podcast from the National Federation of the Blind, where you are live!
GROK: Oh wow! I’m thrilled to be here on the Access On podcast with the National Federation of the Blind. Thanks for the warm welcome. So, what’s the vibe today? Ready to dive into some tech talk, or is there something else entirely?
JONATHAN MOSEN: I want you to give me detailed walking directions suitable for me as a blind person wanting to know all the details of the route. I want to walk from the National Federation of the Blind on East Wells Street to Blue Moon Two Café on Cross Street. Describe the route for me, including all the streets that I will walk on, all the streets I will cross, and whether the street has traffic lights at the intersection or not. And please tell me if there is any part of the route that doesn’t have sidewalks.
GROK: All right! Let’s get you from the National Federation of the Blind at 200 East Wells Street, Baltimore, to Blue Moon Two Café on Cross Street. I’m going to walk you through this step by step, tailored for you as a blind traveler, with all the streets, crossings, traffic light details, and sidewalk info.
Since I don’t have real-time access to every detail about Baltimore sidewalks or intersections, I’ll base this on typical urban navigation and standard accessibility features. If anything is unclear let me know, and I can refine it.
Starting at the National Federation of the Blind, you’ll exit the building onto East Wells Street, facing roughly west. Sidewalks are present here, as this is a developed urban area. You’ll head west along the south side of the sidewalk on East Wells Street. Use your cane or guide dog to follow the tactile edge of the sidewalk, listening for traffic on your right to stay oriented. East Wells is a quieter street, but stay alert for any driveway cuts or uneven pavement.
After about one block you’ll reach the intersection of East Wells Street and South Calvert Street. This is a signalized intersection with traffic lights. You’ll hear the flow of traffic on Calvert, which runs north-south. Wait for the audible pedestrian signal, often a chirping or beeping sound, indicating it’s safe to cross.
These signals might also vibrate if you locate the push button, typically on the pole to your right.
Cross South Calvert Street, keeping straight to stay on East Wells. Check for tactile paving to guide you onto the crosswalk. The crossing should take about ten to fifteen seconds at a steady pace.
Once across, you’re still on East Wells Street, continuing west on the sidewalk. Sidewalks remain consistent here, with no gaps, based on standard city layouts.
After another block you’ll hit the intersection of East Wells Street and South Caroline Street. This is also a signalized intersection with traffic lights. Listen for the traffic pattern. Caroline runs north-south, and you’ll hear vehicles stopping or moving parallel to your path. Find the tactile paving and audible signal to cross South Caroline Street. The crossing is similar in length to Calvert, so expect another ten to fifteen seconds.
After crossing, keep going west on East Wells Street sidewalk. You’re now approaching a slightly busier area, so traffic noise on your right will be steady. After two more blocks East Wells ends at South President Street. This intersection has traffic lights, as President is a major north-south road. You’ll cross South President Street, again using the audible signal and tactile paving. This crossing might feel wider, closer to twenty seconds, since President is a broader street. Pay attention to turning vehicles, as this area can have more traffic.
Once across, East Wells becomes West Wells Street, and you’ll continue west on the sidewalk. Sidewalks are continuous here, no gaps expected in this downtown stretch.
After one block you’ll reach South Charles Street, another signalized intersection. Charles is busy, with clear traffic light cycles. Cross South Charles Street, using the audible signal, which might include a voice or distinct beep. Tactile paving should guide you. This crossing is about fifteen seconds.
Now on West Wells Street, keep walking west. After a few more blocks, roughly three, you’ll reach South Hanover Street. This intersection has traffic lights, and you’ll cross Hanover, a north-south street. The audible signal and tactile paving will help, and the crossing is standard, around fifteen seconds. Stay alert for pedestrians, as this area might have more foot traffic.
After crossing Hanover, continue west on West Wells Street. You’re getting closer now. After about two more blocks West Wells Street merges into West Baltimore Street for a short stretch. The sidewalk remains intact, no interruptions. Follow West Baltimore Street west until you hit South Utah Street, a signalized intersection with traffic lights. Cross South Utah Street, using the audible signal and tactile paving, another fifteen-second crossing.
Once across, you’re back on West Wells Street briefly, but you’ll soon need to turn left onto South Ponca Street. This is a signalized intersection, too, so listen for the traffic shift. Turn left and head south on Ponca sidewalk, which is continuous. After about two blocks you’ll reach West Pratt Street. Cross Pratt at the signalized intersection, using the audible signal. Pratt is a busy street, so the crossing might take twenty seconds.
Now on South Ponca Street, keep going south for another block until you hit West Cross Street. This intersection has traffic lights. You won’t cross Cross, but turn right to head west on Cross Street sidewalk.
Sidewalks are present throughout. Follow Cross Street west for about three blocks. You’ll pass South Charles Street and South Hanover Street again, both signalized crossings if you need landmarks, but you’re staying on Cross. After those blocks you’ll reach the area near 1036 So. Cross Street, where Blue Moon Two Café is located. The sidewalk should lead you right to the entrance. Listen for café sounds: people chatting, dishes clinking, to confirm you’re there.
Quick recap: you’ll walk on East Wells, West Wells, briefly West Baltimore, South Ponca, and West Cross Street. Crossings are South Calvert, South Caroline, South President, South Charles, South Hanover, South Utah, West Pratt, all with traffic lights and audible signals. Sidewalks are continuous throughout. Based on Baltimore’s Urban Setup, total distance is about a mile, maybe twenty to thirty minutes, depending on your pace.
Anything you want me to doublecheck or zoom in on for this route?
JONATHAN MOSEN: That was very thorough. Thank you for your help.
GROK: You’re so welcome! Glad I could lay out all the details for you. If you need another route mapped out, or anything else, just give me a shout. Safe travels to Blue Moon Two Café.
JONATHAN MOSEN: Well, yes. But the trouble is that if you followed that route you wouldn’t get there, according to experts here who know far more about Baltimore than I do. I ran this past a couple of blind people who are very good with the streets of Baltimore, and they told me that those directions were way, way off. That’s actually a compelling example of a hallucination, of AI sounding incredibly plausible and giving you an answer that makes no sense. So I think the answer here is that you don’t want to rely on these large language models for this particular task.
Maybe others have some ideas about GPS apps they’re using, where, as a blind person, you can sit in the comfort of your home and really get a good feel for the route that you will take before you take it. There are explore modes on several of these GPS apps, some of them mainstream and some of them not. If you have any thoughts on this, [email protected] is how you can get in touch.
ART
Caption: Julie Deden works on an art project involving paper cutouts.
by Julie Deden
From the Editor: Julie Deden is the director of the Colorado Center for the Blind (CCB), the NFB training center in Littleton, Colorado. The CCB has long included courses in tactile art as part of its curriculum. In this article Julie Deden describes the Teach-In, a three-day conference to promote tactile literacy.
The flicker of a butterfly floating away. The V formation of wild geese overhead. The Washington Monument rising in the distance. As a blind child, I could not visualize any of these phenomena. What does a butterfly look like, I wondered. How big are those noisy geese? What is the shape of the Washington Monument, and how could I tell it apart from the Lincoln Memorial?
The world around us is rich with sights, sounds, textures, and so much more. As blind children and adults we want to experience everything and know the world as everyone else does. Much that we cannot perceive visually can be available to us through touch, as long as we have the opportunities we need for tactile exploration. Touch affords us the knowledge base that sighted people gain primarily (though not exclusively!) through vision.
However, some actual objects can never be available for hands-on exploration. Amoebas and bacteria are too tiny; hummingbirds aren’t about to hold still; and monuments are, well, too monumental for us to examine top to bottom with our hands. In such cases we need access to tactile representations in the form of 3-D models and raised-line drawings.
Blind and sighted children need the opportunity to explore the world. While sighted kids can explore by studying objects that are physically out of reach or by examining printed pictures and diagrams, blind children learn through tactile exploration. Tactile literacy is an essential skill for blind children, and, like any other skill, it must be encouraged, developed, and strengthened. Like Braille instruction, the development of tactile literacy skills is critical for learning, and it should begin early. When we encourage blind kids to explore with their fingertips, we bring the world to life for them. Quite literally, we bring it within their reach.
On May 1st, 2nd, and 3rd, more than forty people from all over the US and Canada gathered for the Teach-In, a unique event held in Littleton, Colorado. They came to teach, learn, explore, and experience. Sponsored by the American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults, the Teach-In was held at the Colorado Center for the Blind (CCB).
Ann Cunningham and Chancey Fleet facilitated and coordinated the conference. Ann, a stone carver, began working with blind people more than thirty years ago. She wanted to make art beautiful, exciting, and wondrous. From the beginning she believed in blind people, empowering them to explore and create. As her career evolved, Ann worked with others to pioneer the use of tactile pictures and graphics through her books and other media.
Chancey Fleet works as the assistive technology coordinator at the New York Public Library. She is dedicated to making all things accessible. Her love of learning, her passion, and her creativity are reflected in her work, and her enthusiasm for teaching is contagious.
Most of the conference participants wanted to develop methods for teaching others. During the first two days they received in-depth training from renowned and experienced tactile art advocates and educators. Workshops focused on teaching concepts about perspective, gaining spatial awareness, and understanding what things look like through tactile drawings. Participants created tactile images using the Sensational Blackboard, a drawing tool developed by Ann. Many of the sighted participants wore learning shades so they could focus exclusively on tactile feedback.
Each participant learned to create recognizable tactile images. Perspective was a key element used to help participants learn about foreground, middle ground, and background. A grasp of perspective provides spatial integration and an understanding of scale. Each participant learned these concepts as they constructed a picture using the Flip-Pic, a multi-layered set of images.
On the third day of the Teach-In, the brand-new teachers taught a group of enthusiastic students. This innovative workshop began with eight instructors, who taught fifteen other people. Those fifteen people went on to instruct fifteen more.
As blind people, we want to be active learners. For us this means getting our hands on things so we can see them through our fingertips. Understanding pictures and images and learning about what things look like visually is invaluable for us. We can pick up a Sensational Blackboard and begin drawing and doodling, just as a sighted person might.
Tactile literacy provides us with the ability to understand maps, graphs, and tables. It gives us a knowledge of things around us—a butterfly, a wild goose, the Washington Monument. Anything we want to see can be represented tactually and understood through our sense of touch.
The concept of a Teach-In works beautifully. By spreading our passion and knowledge to others we create a ripple effect. The Teach-In participants will work in their communities to teach others, ensuring that blind people of all ages have equal access and understanding of our world. We can compete equally when we have the tools and the knowledge we need.
Caption 1: Maureen Handwerker assembles one of her 3-D puzzles.
Caption 2: A collection of 3-D puzzles.
Caption 3: A puzzle based on a quote from Dr. Seuss.
by Maureen Handwerker
From the Editor: When I visited the Art Room at the 2025 NFB National Convention, I noticed that one table was especially busy. In fact, it attracted so much attention that people were waiting in line to explore its offerings. The table displayed a series of three-dimensional puzzles designed by Maureen Handwerker. In this article Maureen explains how she began designing three-dimensional puzzles that are fully accessible and challenging for blind people of all ages.
I started my professional life as a biomedical engineer, working in orthopedics. I designed implants and instruments for surgery, first for spinal surgery and later for work on the hand. I really loved my work; it was kind of a dream job!
That phase of my life lasted until my husband and I had three children. Not being great at multi-tasking, I decided to become a stay-at-home mom. Once the kids were basically launched, I decided to get back into the workforce, but I wanted to do something new. I went back to school to become an occupational therapy assistant, which requires a two-year degree.
The areas of occupational therapy (OT) that most interested me were assistive technology and hand therapy. I shadowed a hand therapist to learn more about the field, and at the same time I decided to look for some volunteer opportunities. In my search for volunteer work I discovered Ignite Adaptive Sports. The organization is based at Eldora Ski Mountain in Colorado, not far from where I live. Ignite introduces people with disabilities to snow sports, including downhill skiing, crosscountry skiing, and snowshoeing.
I volunteered with Ignite for a season, mostly on Fridays. On many Fridays a busload of people came up from the Colorado Center for the Blind (CCB). This was the first time I had ever worked with blind people, and I loved it! The CCB students were a great group!
One day after the ski season was over I was out biking, about an hour away from my house. I began to notice serious floaters in my vision, and I knew something was very wrong. It turned out that my retina was detaching. The doctors were able to repair the damage, but the experience got me thinking about what my life would be like if I lost my sight.
I’ve always loved to do jigsaw puzzles. At the time of my detached retina, I was working on a very challenging puzzle with two thousand pieces. I thought that if I lost my vision I probably could figure out a way to fit the pieces together, but would I be motivated without being able to see the picture?
I had a 3-D printer at home, and I loved working in CAD (computer-aided design). CAD is one of the tools engineers use when they develop designs for projects. I decided to design a puzzle in CAD and print it with a 3-D printer. Then I reached out to the people at the CCB to ask if I could show my prototype to some of the students there. They were wonderfully receptive! I am forever grateful to them for the welcome they gave me!
I had no idea whether my puzzle project would be worthwhile, and I didn’t even know where to start. I didn’t know how many pieces to make, or how big they should be. It was all trial and error.
Dan Hlavinka is the art teacher at the CCB. He invited me to spend a day at the art room and show my puzzles to each group of students that came in. I met people with a whole range of experience levels. Some people were very familiar with the way puzzle pieces fit together, and there were people who never had been exposed to puzzles in their lives. I realized I needed to address the whole range of levels of experience and ability. I wanted to create puzzles that could be challenging to people at very different levels of expertise. I decided to incorporate magnets into each puzzle, since magnets would hold the pieces once they snapped into place. I put magnets in the base frame, and they connect with the pieces when they are laid on top.
Sighted people get to look at a picture on the puzzle box. I tried to create a similar experience for blind users by creating a prototype 3-D image. On the suggestion of some of the CCB students, I also incorporated Braille into my puzzle designs. People were very pleased that the puzzles encouraged both Braille literacy and tactile literacy.
I know there are a lot of amazing apps out in the world. Blind and sighted gamers can play all sorts of games on their phones. I think that’s great, but I’m more of a low-tech person. Assembling puzzles can be a social activity that people enjoy together in real time.
I remember one student at CCB, a guy who had been blind from birth. He worked on a puzzle that had a Braille quote at the top. Below the quote was a picture of a bird, and I also put a couple of smaller birds in the distance. They were just little M shapes. When this fellow put the puzzle together, he recognized the image of the close-up bird, but he didn’t know what the little M shapes could be. Dan told him, “Those are birds, too. That’s what birds look like in the distance.” The guy doing the puzzle said, “Wow! I didn’t know that’s how birds look when they’re far away!” It was very interesting for me to hear that. When I design puzzles now, I think about incorporating perspective in ways people will understand.
So far I’ve designed four puzzles that I call shape puzzles: a horse, a rabbit, a dog, and a jeep. Each puzzle is in the shape of the object itself. I also have seven layered puzzles. With those you construct one puzzle initially, and other pieces fit on top. I’ve also branched out into cube puzzles. When I started out with the cubes they were just plain, but then I decided to add graphics. Now I have one cube that depicts animals and one that depicts modes of transportation—things like a train and an airplane. The cubes have either five or six pieces, but they’re more challenging than they appear to be at first.
Finally, I have a puzzle on my website that’s based on a quote from Dr. Seuss. All of the pieces fit together, but for the words to make sense, the pieces can only go together one way. You have to read the Braille words to make that happen.
So far I haven’t applied for any grants to help cover my costs. I’m working on my own and hoping the puzzles will catch on. Since Convention, more orders have started to come in.
Meanwhile, I have lots of ideas. I’m designing a perspective puzzle. I’d like to create a volcano puzzle and a puzzle with an underwater scene. I’d like to roll out new puzzles around holidays as they come up. I also would like to do more quote puzzles like the Dr. Seuss one.
So much learning can happen through puzzles! They can teach spatial relationships. They can teach perspective. And they’re fun! Puzzles are a low-tech option with lots of possibilities.
You can learn more and order puzzles at InsightAblePuzzles.com, or you can contact Maureen Handwerker at [email protected].
ACCESS
Caption: Standing on a boat, Justin Salisbury holds up an enormous fish.
by Justin Salisbury
From the Editor: Justin Salisbury is a graduate student in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Minnesota. He has taught cane travel, Braille, home management, and classes on NFB philosophy at residential and nonresidential training centers for the blind. He works to bring the knowledge of the National Federation of the Blind into research, policy, and university training spaces.
The idea that we must provide equal access to science education for blind children and adults is widely understood by the readers of Future Reflections. I am here to expand this idea to venues beyond the traditional classroom and to address the systemic environmental ableism that impacts the blind community. Our nation is making important decisions about the future of our planet, and blind people deserve to play a part in those decisions.
Publications of the National Federation of the Blind frequently include discussions about the importance of accessibility to curricular content in science classrooms. The lack of full access is a widespread problem. Many blind students are not given the support and equal access that they deserve, and this gap has material consequences for everyone. Our planet and all its inhabitants deserve to benefit from the contributions that all of us, including blind people, can offer to our shared future.
In my high school, environmental science was treated as a second-class STEM option. It fell outside the course sequence that was designed to prepare students for competitive college admissions: biology, chemistry, and physics. There was no honors-level option in environmental science, and I was told that I was limiting my desirability in college admissions by taking environmental science. I took it anyway, because I thought it was important. I hear that some high schools now offer Advanced Placement (AP) environmental science courses, and I am glad that more students today have this opportunity.
The second-class treatment of environmental science can be a double-edged sword for blind students. Sometimes schools focus only on getting blind students to succeed in the widely accepted core subject areas. At other times, schools push blind students into those “second-class” courses based on low expectations. Regardless of how a school treats environmental science, blind students deserve to have an equal opportunity to study it with their sighted peers.
Performing environmental service is a great way for students to give back to the local community. It feels good to go out and help pick up trash or build or restore nature trails. As a sighted kid I enjoyed these activities until my sophomore year in high school. Blind students deserve the benefits of these experiences, and our communities deserve the benefit of the service that blind people can provide. Kids who grow up understanding themselves as part of a community that takes care of its environment have a greater sense of social responsibility.
In Hawai‘i there is a common understanding of a concept called kuleana, which translates roughly as “mutual responsibility.” We have a duty to take care of our environment as our environment unconditionally takes care of us. Whether we do our part to nurture this relationship, by living in the world we are a part of something greater than ourselves. Blind kids deserve to grow up with this understanding as much as sighted kids do. Yet one of the ways that ableism acts within our society is by telling us that blind people cannot give back to the community. Blind people are perceived as needing help rather than being capable of making positive contributions.
Environmental service projects are a great way to foster a sense of kuleana in our blind students. They can allow our blind students to show the community how much they can contribute. Unfortunately, however, many environmental service projects are not easily accessible to blind people. Often they are designed in ways that are not ideal, although this does not need to be the case.
When I was a college student, I participated in an environmental cleanup project. The organizers handed each of us a garbage bag and instructed us to walk around campus, picking up garbage. By design that activity expected participants to visually scan a big area, spot pieces of garbage, and walk over to pick them up. That garbage could be unsafe to touch, but a person has to know that before reaching for it. I never hurt myself picking up trash, but I wonder what my life might have been like if I had picked up a used syringe because my way of finding it was with my hands. A blind person can do this work, especially with sighted assistance, but it is not naturally accessible.
When I worked in Honolulu, we once took our blind students to engage in an environmental service project. Traditional Hawaiian saltwater fishponds are similar to human-made lagoons with openings in them for the fish to pass through. When the tide comes in, the fish come with it. At high tide, gates are dropped over the openings. Then the tide goes out, trapping the fish in the fishpond. Our job was to strip the bark off mangrove wood so the wood could be used for the gates. It was a very natural activity for us to undertake nonvisually. We could feel the spots where the wood still had bark, and we could remove the bark when we found it. We did our part, and it was very intuitive to us.
It is totally possible for blind people to take part in outdoor recreational activities such as hiking. However, we seldom are encouraged to partake in these activities. Furthermore, many of the great places to engage in outdoor recreation are not located on public transportation routes. It does not have to be this way, but it often is. Sometimes this is because the people holding power and prosperity in a given area want to keep these outdoor venues inaccessible to people of lower socioeconomic status. Though not spoken directly, the idea is that the outdoor site will become less appealing once poorer people gain access. Blind people end up suffering due to these urban planning decisions. I experienced this lack of access with a beautiful seaside lighthouse trail that I loved hiking in Hawai‘i. Fortunately I managed to find ways to get there because it was important to me, but it took extra effort and planning.
I have spent a lot of time searching, but I have not found literature about environmental ableism that lines up with the concept that I want to present here. I am a mixed-race person, which includes being American Indian. I hear a lot of discussion about environmental racism, which is very real. I think it has a lot in common with environmental ableism. If this description of environmental ableism sounds similar to environmental racism, that is because it is similar in the way I think about both concepts. Consider these core principles of environmental ableism applied to the blind community:
When environmental issues impact the blind community, organizations of blind people, such as the National Federation of the Blind, can take action to try to address those issues. If environmental hazards come up at a school for the blind, the affiliate of the National Federation of the Blind in that state may advocate to address that environmental issue. When something affects a blindness-specific institution, it becomes a blindness issue. If a school for the blind has a problem with its drinking water, blind children in that school will be affected. The societal conditions that made that environmental hazard possible were likely influenced by attitudes about blindness. If blind people are perceived as less valuable than others, protecting the spaces that we occupy is less of a priority to the larger society than it would be if we were perceived as equal to the sighted.
Access to environmental education for blind people of all ages is essential to promote the well-being of the blind community. I am glad to see environmental education included in some of the youth science programming run by the National Federation of the Blind. I saw this emphasis at the Youth Slam and STEM-X events in 2011 and 2013. Giving blind people access to outdoor recreation allows us to enjoy the great outdoors and feel connected to the world around us. When blind people engage meaningfully in environmental service projects, we honor our kuleana—mutual responsibility—to take care of our environment as it takes care of us. As we raise the environmental consciousness within the blind community, we increase our ability to diagnose and correct environmental ableism. Let’s make sure that environmental education is accessible to all blind people.
by Alaula Sprecher
From the Editor: Alaula Sprecher has participated in numerous NFB programs over the years, from NFB BELL® Academy to STEM2U. Today she is majoring in astrophysics at a prestigious university. In this article she writes about the ongoing accessibility challenges that confront blind students who pursue higher-level studies in the sciences.
It is spring 2024, and I am standing before a lab table in a physics laboratory. At this point I am just finishing my first year in my undergraduate Astrophysics program. Today’s experiment is to help us understand how a circuit behaves over time. I begin to set up my data tables as my partner builds the circuit on the breadboard. The older student assigned to assist me with labs is setting up the computer and the software we use. They make the proper connections between the circuit modeled on the breadboard, the voltmeter (for voltage measurements), the ammeter (for current measurements), and the oscilloscope (for graphing circuit properties over time). I am taking data while they navigate the computer and modify the circuit as per our lab manual.
Notice what is happening here. I participate in the sense that I record data, keep track of the lab manual, and use my knowledge from class to understand the experiment and evaluate its results. However, I cannot manipulate the equipment or read any of the data myself. Every device has a screen, and the software is not compatible with any existing screen reader.
This experience is common for blind students in lab courses, and it extends far beyond the laboratory. In the case of software, much of the problem has to do with the technology not being updated in years by the university or the developers. This failure leaves them noncompliant with technology accessibility standards. Hardware, too, is not updated for several reasons, including compatibility, funding, and sustainability. Overall, a student’s success may depend more upon whether the technology allows them to complete the work than their understanding of the material or the lab procedure.
As blind people gain greater access to higher-level education, the accessibility of academic tools has become increasingly critical. One set of guidelines that addresses this challenge is the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), developed in 1999. These guidelines are recognized internationally, and they are used to determine the accessibility of software for individuals with disabilities. Today, the world of education is filled with Learning Management Systems (LMSs) such as Blackboard and Canvas, digital textbooks with accompanying course modules and assignments, and specific software for data analysis and coding. Yet, more than two decades later, many applications and websites still do not comply. Those that are partially compliant have pages on their websites about accessibility. After examining the website for the software we were using in my lab, I discovered that there were no mentions of accessibility for the software; anything about “access” was speaking to the ease of use for sighted individuals.
For those studying in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields (STEM), accessibility presents additional challenges. Mathematics, for example, is often improperly coded for screen readers and Braille displays. This improper coding causes students to lose key details such as superscripts in exponents or numerators versus denominators for fractions. In fortunate cases, textbooks are tagged correctly, but additional materials are not. In terms of writing, students can use equation editors found in document editors, or they can learn LaTeX, an industry standard scientific writing language. Across all disciplines, the lack of image and audio descriptions is common. STEM students are told to watch videos to supplement lectures. These videos often include presenters who write silently and point to images. I have encountered only one website that implemented basic audio descriptions. Images and diagrams are especially important for students, due to the essential information they provide. Not having this information can make problem sets impossible to complete. Many higher-level texts do not include image descriptions, and the texts are often provided as inaccessible PDFs from publishers.
For data analysis, clicking and dragging seem to be the standard form of navigation, which proves to be nearly impossible for individuals who rely on keyboard commands to navigate a computer. In most cases screen readers will not interact with elements on the page, or elements are unlabeled.
Fortunately, coding is more flexible, and I have used languages such as Python to work around the challenge of data analysis. This, however, takes a significant amount of time. Students who are unfamiliar with coding may not learn these languages initially, or may never learn them as part of their curriculum. These challenges are frustrating when they come from new tools, and they are even more so coming from older systems that are not updated.
The challenges are not limited to software. At my university, I encountered lab computers that were several years old and equipment that was not built with accessibility in mind. Older computers may run the required software for labs, but they do not offer ways to adapt for screen readers and other assistive technology. Older operating systems struggle to run modern screen readers, and computers may not have the processing power to support these programs. I have had classes where audio output did not work at all. Some equipment only has display screens that require a sighted individual to read them aloud.
Manufacturers are not supporting older equipment, which means that there will be no accessibility improvements. These challenges exist on their own, and are only partially caused by similar challenges with outdated software.
Universities keep older equipment for a number of reasons. Cost is first among them. Associated fees come with software for licenses and training. Equipment is also expensive, so it is understandable that universities continue to use older equipment for as long as possible. Furthermore, many universities prioritize research equipment over lab equipment for undergraduate students. Through a sustainability lens, using older equipment is better than disposing of it. Not updating tools to existing, more accessible alternatives, however, causes blind students to have additional challenges when completing course materials.
Given these challenges, it is important to know what equipment and software is currently being used for classes. This knowledge allows students time to become familiar with tools and materials. If accessibility challenges are present, there is additional time to find or create a solution. Ahead of class, Braille, technology fluency, and tactile graphic reading skills are instrumental. More broadly, talking to developers and publishers can be helpful in obtaining accessible tools and materials. Having these conversations increases awareness around and preparations for challenges with accessibility. Universities may also purchase these tools and use them for future students.
These challenges seem daunting. However, over the years solutions and alternatives have been created. In some cases, new approaches have been discovered to work extremely well. A few companies sell accessible lab equipment, for example, and other ways of communicating visual data have grown in popularity. Haptic feedback (vibrations) and sonification (audio tones) are used in talking graphing calculators and graphing software. One of my professors took an interest in the tools I used and sponsored a research project where I researched sonification techniques. I am currently developing a sonification and basic data analysis program with a peer.
Some universities support initiatives dedicated to making labs accessible. These challenges seem insurmountable, but it is possible to work around them by working with others to find solutions, speaking with the creators of these tools, and asking universities to invest in newer tools to assist with accessibility.
Caption: On a trip to Morocco, Deborah Kent Stein stands beside a camel.
by Deborah Kent Stein
From the Editor: When I reflect on the challenges faced by blind students pursuing higher education in the STEM fields, I recall my experience back in high school, studying plane geometry. We had no high-tech equipment back in the 1960s. We used protractors, rulers, compasses, and, of course, hardcopy textbooks. In my case, that meant textbooks in Braille. Here are some thoughts and memories I’d like to share.
At the close of each school year during high school, I used to box up the dozens of hand-copied Braille volumes that comprised the textbooks I had used in my classes since September. Mom and I would load the cartons into the station wagon and drop them off at the post office to go back to the New Jersey Commission for the Blind so someone else could use them next year.
A number of the books I needed were produced on sound recordings, but the Commission made sure I had the rest in Braille—English grammar and vocabulary, Spanish, and math. Most of my Braille textbooks were transcribed by volunteers from organizations such as B’nai B’rith and the American Red Cross. The transcriber’s name always appeared on the title page of each Braille volume.
My math class in tenth grade was plane geometry, and my fourteen-volume Braille textbook contained not dozens, but hundreds of raised-line diagrams and figures. Not one of those squares, circles, octagons, bisected angles, and trapezoids was printed on swell paper or churned out by a 3-D printer. Each one was created by a volunteer who used a tracing wheel, copying the print figure by hand onto a sheet of Braille paper. The figure had to be copied precisely in reverse of the figure in the print textbook. When the page was flipped over, the raised-line figure appeared right side up. Each diagram was drawn with meticulous attention to detail, the angles and axes labeled in Braille just as they were labeled in the print textbook used by my classmates.
As we packed up my books at the end of tenth grade, my mother glanced over my shoulder. “Let me see that,” she said, and I handed her a random geometry volume.
Mom flipped through the pages, studying one raised-line figure after another. “Who transcribed this book?” she asked. “It’s wonderful!”
“Not wonderful,” I grumbled. “Just geometry.” But I turned to the front page and read, “Transcribed in Standard English Braille by Pauline Packard, American Red Cross, Montclair, New Jersey.”
“Do you have any idea how long it must have taken her to Braille this whole book, with all these diagrams in it?” Mom asked.
I had no idea. I hadn’t given it a moment’s thought.
“You really ought to thank her,” Mom said. “Write and tell her how much you appreciate having all these drawings. Let her know it helped you understand what you were studying in class.”
“Oh Mom!” I groaned. “Nobody else has to be grateful for their geometry book! It’s just something you’re supposed to have in tenth grade.”
My mother was very persistent. She pointed out that Pauline Packard, whomever she was, had spent uncountable hours creating this book for me, a student she would never even meet. She made sure I had the same textbook my classmates were using, complete with all the diagrams I needed to gain some basic understanding of Euclidian geometry.
Dutifully and under duress, I wrote a letter thanking Pauline Packard. I sent it to her care of the American Red Cross in Montclair and moved on. Life swept me along through the decades, and I didn’t give Pauline Packard another thought.
I was shocked a few years ago when I learned that blind high school students in some school districts were being excused from studying plane geometry. Despite all the technological advances in Braille production today, providing textbooks with the necessary graphics was considered too costly and time-consuming. I heard the underlying message that blind students really don’t need to study geometry. When would they ever have to understand the Pythagorean Theorem? Most likely they would never enter a STEM field anyway.
It’s hard to tally up all the flaws behind this reasoning. If educators believe sighted high school students should learn the basics of plane geometry, whatever their career aspirations, then plane geometry is equally important for blind students. Working out a proof in a geometric problem calls for a student to use reasoning based on established corollaries and theorems. Such systematic reasoning is invaluable as we solve problems, mathematical and non-numerical, throughout our lives. Besides, there is an intrinsic beauty in the geometric order of the universe: parallel lines never meet; a straight line is the shortest distance between two points; the whole is equal to the sum of its parts.
There aren’t many Pauline Packards in today’s world, women and men with the time and commitment to transform hundreds of figures by hand from a print textbook into raised-line drawings. Perhaps new devices such as the Monarch, with its multi-line tactile display, will meet some of the need. So far such high-tech devices are dauntingly expensive, only available to a handful of the students who could benefit from their use.
It’s been a very long time since anyone called on me to recite the Pythagorean Theorem. Yet I still remember that the sum of the squares of the two shorter sides of a right triangle is equal to the square of the hypotenuse. The theorem goes beyond mere words for me. In my mind I carry the tactile image of a right triangle with squares sprouting from each of its three sides. It’s an image I explored with my fingertips again and again when I studied plane geometry long ago in tenth grade.
I wish I could write to Pauline Packard today and express my real, heartfelt thanks for her months of dedicated effort all those years ago. She and thousands of other volunteer Braillists helped me and other blind students learn alongside our sighted peers. Surely they deserve a place of honor in the history of the blind people’s movement.
BREAKING NEW GROUND
by Leslie Hamric
From the Editor: Leslie Hamric is a professional cellist, the mother of a teenaged son, and a longtime member of the NFB of Illinois. In this article she shares how her connections in the Federation helped her tackle a new personal challenge.
It was a cold evening in November 2024. A bunch of us from the NFB of Illinois were having dinner at a small restaurant after seeing Hand, Foot, Hand, a play written and performed by our very own Debbie Stein. I was telling a story about how a friend of my son, Michael, had seen me at Target and wondered if I was Michael’s grandma.
Until that incident, the fact that my hair is mostly gray didn’t bother me. However, after that episode in Target, I began to feel differently. Wasn’t I too young to be mistaken for a grandma?
Yes, I concluded, I was.
My first thought was to get my hair colored professionally. I mentioned this idea to fellow Federationist Patti Chang, who was sitting next to me at the table after the play. Patti commented that getting one’s hair colored professionally is expensive, and she assured me that I could do it myself.
My first thought was: a blind person dyeing their own hair? No way! I was sure to mess it up, since I could not see what I was doing. Forget it!
Then, as I listened to Patti describe the process, I realized how wrong I was. Patti explained that coloring hair is very tactile, so you don’t even need a mirror. She said it is easy to tell where the color is going because you can feel the wetness on your hair, including your roots. The color is all cream, so you simply start at your roots and work it through to the ends of your hair. Leave it in for at least ten minutes, or for the length of time specified in the package directions. Then use the provided shampoo and conditioner and, voilá!
Patti explained that it was a longtime Federationist, Carmen Dennis, who taught her how to color her own hair. I began to think that if Carmen and Patti could do it, I could do it too.
However, it would be five months before I felt ready to take on this new adventure.
In March 2025 I decided I would get my hair colored professionally to see what it was like. I received so many compliments on how it looked that I went a month later to get the same thing done again. My hair looked awesome, but I had spent more than two hundred dollars to get it dyed. Patti was right. It was frightfully expensive to have my hair colored professionally. There had to be another way.
On May 10, 2025, I finally took the plunge. I bought a package of hair dye. I called Aira, the personal visual interpreting service, and had the agent email the instructions to me. Then I transferred the instructions to a note on my phone for easy access. The time was now or never!
Patti recommended that I sit in the bathtub without clothes on. She said that the color would run all over, and that way I could avoid staining my clothes. I had decided to go with Loreal Excellence, since Patti also uses this brand. I proceeded to squeeze the tube of Natural Brown (N6) color into the bottle of developing cream. I shook the bottle hard to mix the two elements together.
Next, I began squeezing the mixture onto my roots. I was amazed to find how easy the process was. I was glad to find out there was more color in the bottle than estimated. However, I didn’t want to overdo it and put too much color on my roots. I ended up working the rest of the color into my hair, applying it as if it were shampoo. I squirted it into my hand, starting closest to my head and massaging away to the ends of my hair. Once the color was finished, the instructions told me to leave the dye in for thirty minutes.
When I had my hair done professionally in April, the stylist suggested I put on a shower cap to help even everything out, so I took her suggestion. Once my timer went off, I turned on the shower, rinsed my hair, and applied the provided shampoo. I was able to tell when my hair was rinsed all the way because it felt squeaky and not soft. It’s hard to explain, but something about my hair felt unnatural. That’s how it is supposed to feel, according to the stylist I had in April. The provided conditioner saved the day, and my hair smelled wonderful.
After leaving the conditioner on for five to ten minutes, I rinsed my hair again. Once I stepped out of the shower, I waited with anticipation to hear how I looked. All my husband, Andy, said was, “You did a very nice job.” That was all I needed to hear, and I was momentarily stunned. Once again, I had done something I thought was impossible for a blind person to do. Once again, I shattered low expectations!
The next day Andy looked at my hair again, and I had my mom look me over, using Facetime. They both said that I could have done more with my roots, but otherwise, my first attempt at coloring my own hair was excellent.
How will I know when my hair needs coloring again? I simply put a reminder on my phone to check in with either Andy or my mom every six weeks. One of them will tell me it’s time, or they’ll suggest I wait a week or two.
I could tell that my mom was ecstatic when I told her I had colored my hair by myself. I told her Patti had learned from another NFB member, and now she passed on her process to me. All my mom said was, “It makes sense to learn from other blind people. After all, they are the experts.” I look forward to coloring my hair with ease so it will look great at Convention in New Orleans!
Little did I know on that cold November night that I would see an inspiring play. Little did I know that I would be on the road to shattering expectations. I hope to share with others that coloring your hair is possible, even when you are blind.
Caption 1: A player of blind cricket prepares to hit the ball.
Caption 2: A player pitches the ball in blind cricket.
by Abey Finklea
From the Editor: When I met Abey Finklea at the 2025 Midwest Student Seminar in Chicago, I had never heard of the adaptive sport called blind cricket. Abey’s enthusiasm was contagious, and I invited her to share her story with the readers of Future Reflections. She eagerly seized this opportunity to spread the word about this exciting new opportunity for blind athletes.
Less than a year ago, in the fall of 2024, there was not a whisper about competitive blind cricket in the United States. Yet somehow, in the fall of 2025, the National US Women’s Blind Cricket team will travel to India to compete in history’s very first Women’s Blind Cricket World Cup Championship. For any sport to grow so quickly is remarkable. It’s all the more amazing when the sport is blind cricket, which was nearly unknown only months ago.
Although cricket is the second most popular sport globally, falling just behind soccer, it is not commonly played in the United States. Despite this challenge, blind cricket has gained a strong foothold in the US in the past year. For the first time in blind sports history, this US blind sport is growing up alongside its mainstream counterpart, rather than waiting for the mainstream sport to become deeply established in US sports culture. Furthermore, the women’s team is being built up first, whereas typically, women’s blind sports don’t develop until long after the men’s sport has taken root.
The seeds for US blind cricket were sown in July of 2024, when the Cricket Association for the Blind in India provided a blind cricket demonstration at the NFB National Convention in Orlando, Florida.
At the time, blind cricket was completely off my radar. Although I was aware of mainstream cricket as a sport, I knew almost nothing about the game. I never guessed that attending the blind cricket demo at Convention would completely turn my world upside down, dropping me into international adaptive sports and a whole new life abroad! It might seem overly dramatic to make such a claim, but as you read, I’m sure you’ll come to see just how profoundly my life changed because of cricket.
My initial attraction to the NFB blind cricket event stemmed from my interest in traveling to India, and the sports aspect was only a secondary motive. Of course, I was eager to try the sport, but most importantly, I wanted to explore options for volunteering in India. I saw the event as an opportunity to network with India’s Cricket Association for the Blind. That was the extent of my expectation when I arrived at the event. Yet by the time I left an hour later, I found myself agreeing to help establish blind cricket in the United States. More importantly, I had received an invitation from the organization’s founder, Dr. Mahantesh, to travel to Bangalore, India, for one month to learn cricket.
Although my brother, Drew, was not with me at the blind cricket event, the instant I told him I was traveling to India, he was eager and ready to leave with me. I had met India’s Cricket Association for the Blind right at the beginning of its US tour in early July. By the time the group headed back to India in late September, Drew and I had our visas approved and our tickets booked. We were set to arrive in early October. We were warned to expect severe culture shock when entering southern India, but we slid right into our new lifestyle. We fell in love with the languages, the people, and the culture of Bangalore.
Upon arrival in India, I knew only the most basic information about how blind cricket is played. I had experienced the adapted ball, which is similar in size to a standard cricket ball or baseball and filled with small metal ball bearings that rattle loudly. Unlike the traditional leather ball used in mainstream cricket and American baseball, the blind cricket ball is white and made of hard plastic. I also had experienced the bat used in blind cricket, which is nothing at all like a baseball bat. It is made of wood, and one end is wide and flat, somewhat resembling an oar or a paddle. I had only the most basic understanding of the game: I knew that one person throws the adapted ball toward the batsman, and the batsman must hit the ball. Beyond that I was hopelessly lost.
From day one, my life in India revolved around cricket. During my first week, I attended a training camp of twenty-five women in Karnataka State. While my fellow cricketers lived in a group hostel for the week, I walked from Dr. Mahantesh’s house and joined the group first thing each morning. I arrived for training at 7:00 a.m. and remained until 6:00 or 7:00 p.m. Not only was I engaged in a deep immersion in cricket for the first time, but also in the Karnataka State culture and language. Few of the women in the camp spoke English. Since I lacked the ability to communicate with body language, I quickly picked up my first words and phrases in the local language, Kanada. Although the coaches attempted to provide me with instructions in English, the language barrier made it challenging for me to pick up the sport. Nevertheless, I quickly fell in love with the feeling of playing on a team and building my skills as a cricketer.
After I finished my week of group training, I transitioned into daily one-on-one coaching sessions with Lokesha (Loki), one of India’s long-time national players of blind cricket. All day, every day, six days a week, Loki trained me alongside Kavya, a state player for women’s blind cricket. As I trained under Loki, I was preparing myself to bring my new skills back to the United States and to pass them on to others.
Many people like to compare cricket to baseball. The truth is that baseball was developed based on cricket, and it carries many similarities. Rather than running to bases, cricketers run between two base-like structures known as wickets. There are two wickets on the cricket field, positioned on opposite sides of the pitch. The batsman stands next to one wicket, while the bowler stands across from them, at the opposite wicket. Once the bowler throws the ball toward the batsman, the batsman will strike the ball before running across the pitch to the bowler’s wicket to score one run. Meanwhile, members of the bowler’s team, known as fielders, are spread throughout the field. Once the batsman strikes the ball and begins running, the fielders must retrieve the ball. The fielders attempt to get the ball to the wicket before the batsman finishes running. If they can beat the batsman to the wicket with the ball, the batsman will be out, and another will replace them on the pitch.
One team will bat exclusively for the first half of the game, while the opposing team will exclusively bowl and field. Halfway through the game, their positions will reverse. The team that was originally batting will begin bowling and fielding, while the bowling team takes up the batting. At the end, whichever team scores the most runs is the winner.
One of my favorite things about blind cricket is that very few adaptations have to be made from the mainstream sport. The major adaptation is the ball, which is a hard leather ball in mainstream cricket. For blind cricket, a hard plastic ball was developed, filled with metal ball bearings as a non-electronic auditory adaptation. Aside from this, all of the equipment in the sport is the same as that of mainstream cricket.
The two other primary adaptations made for blind cricket are the batting and bowling styles. In mainstream cricket, the ball is thrown overhand, bouncing on the ground just before it reaches the batsman. In blind cricket, we throw the ball underhand, much like the regular bowling style, so that the ball makes a clear sound when it rolls toward the batsman. Due to this adaptation, the batsman may choose to stand and bat like a mainstream cricketer, or they can lean down and sweep the entire length of the bat against the ground in a powerful sweep shot.
Apart from these three primary adaptations, blind cricket is very similar to the mainstream sport. Often people watching blind cricket don’t even realize that the game has been adapted into a blind sport. I cannot count the times people have mistaken me for a sighted cricketer. When they find out that I’m playing blind cricket, they’re completely perplexed.
Once I had learned the basics of blind cricket, it was time to take the game back to America. However, I was very reluctant to leave India. After just one month soaking up Indian culture, I came to see my new community as family, and I was addicted to playing cricket every day. My only consolation was that my brother and I would be working to build blind cricket from the ground up in the US. It was a daunting task, but teaching is a passion for both of us. The challenge of establishing a national sport was exciting and empowering.
I wish I could say that the US blind community welcomed cricket with open arms. The truth is that it took time and extended exposure to build interest in the sport. Many people had never heard of mainstream cricket, let alone blind cricket, and at first they were hesitant to try a new sport.
The first step was to begin the exposure process, showering the blind community with information about blind cricket. During November and December 2024 and January 2025, Drew and I focused solely upon online outreach. From NFB email lists to blind sports networks, we blasted the community with news of our intention to start national men’s and women’s blind cricket teams.
Although it took time for interest to build, once it was there, Drew and I found ourselves in a whirlwind of excitement. We were bombarded with requests for us to provide in-person demonstrations. By the end of January, our calendar was completely booked up through May, and we had fifteen clinics scheduled in eight states. We traveled to schools for the blind such as Perkins, the New York Institute for Special Education, and the Maryland School for the Blind, where we held all-day clinics with the students. The focus of these clinics was to introduce the youth to a new sport and to teach them the basic skills of the game. Most importantly, our goal was to give the students a good time. I’d say this effort was a definite success, as the students at many of these schools are still asking for more cricket.
In addition to teaching at schools for the blind, Drew and I traveled to adult training centers such as SAAVI Services in Arizona and the Louisiana Center for the Blind. We traveled to state conventions and blindness-centered events, where we spread the word about blind cricket and invited people to join us on our journey toward forming the national men’s and women’s teams.
It’s hard to believe that in November 2024 blind cricket was largely unknown in the US. Now, in the summer of 2025, we just finished our first national training camps for the first US women’s team. Often Drew and I feel like proud parents! We have breathed life into this project, and now we’ve watched the birth of a new sport in the US. Soon we will see the impact that it’s having on the lives of our players. No feeling can compare to this! Not only will the game shape me as a person, but it will affect those who have taken the initiative to jump into a new sport and give it their everything.
In the second half of June 2025, twenty-four women traveled from eleven states to attend our first two national training camps for women’s blind cricket. Twelve players trained for three days in New York. The other twelve traveled to California the following week for their own three-day camp. Throughout this journey, there have been many magical moments for me, but nothing compares to the experience of seeing twenty-four women come together to take on a completely new challenge.
During clinics, I only worked with players for a few hours at most. But during these camps, I spent three days with the women and got to know each of them as we learned and played together. The magic of these camps came from the way the women interacted with each other and with the sport itself. I watched them build each other up and bring the absolute best out of one another. Any activity has the power to bring people together and to change lives, but never have I witnessed this phenomenon so closely before. I’ve seen these players restructure their lives around cricket and each other to build a strong, resilient team of incredible women.
With this achievement under their belts, the women who have been selected to progress through the program will attend an intensive eight-day training camp from July 26 to August 3. During this camp, the women will dive more deeply into cricket, learning the intricacies of the sport. At the conclusion of this camp, the top seventeen players will be selected as our very first National Women’s Blind Cricket team. Rather than easing into their role as international athletes, these players will jump straight into the World Cup competition in November of 2025. With only a few months of training to prepare, these dedicated athletes will travel to India and Nepal for one month to make history in the first ever World Cup for Women’s Blind Cricket.
Although the United States has lagged behind other nations in mainstream cricket, we are right up at the top for blind cricket. We are right on time to compete in this historic event.
It’s hard to believe that there was almost no interest in blind cricket back in November of 2024. Now, exactly one year later, the US will compete for the World Cup. This remarkable feat is a reflection of the strength, passion, and tenacity of our US athletes. They have embraced change and joined forces to create something new and beautiful. Someone always has to be the first to take a step toward change and progress to inspire others. These athletes will inspire generations to come to embrace change and dive wholeheartedly into new adventures.
If you take only one thing away from this article, I hope you are as inspired as I am by these women. I hope to see you cheering the US National Women’s Blind Cricket team on during the World Cup this November!
ADVOCACY
by Carol Castellano
From the Editor: For more than forty years Carol Castellano has been a mainstay of the National Organization of Parents of Blind Children (NOPBC). She is a tireless advocate for blind children and their families in her home state of New Jersey and throughout the United States. Her books such as Making It Work: The Blind Child in the Mainstream Classroomand Getting Ready for College Begins in Third Gradeare classics in the literature of blindness education. In this article she draws upon her long experience to suggest ways for teachers of blind students to support parents and classroom teachers, helping blind and low-vision students reach their full potential.
I still remember the day two teachers of blind students showed up at our door to talk to me about the blind baby we had recently brought home from the hospital. I was almost afraid to let them in—somehow their visit felt like a step in making my baby’s blindness real. I wasn’t sure I was ready to go there yet.
I did let them in, and to my relief, they were gentle and kind and spoke with downright enthusiasm about the many ways I would learn to play and interact with and have fun with my daughter. When I look back on this visit, I see that these teachers, the first people I met in the “blindness field,” had the unique opportunity to influence how I viewed blindness and even how I felt about my own daughter. TVIs really can be Blindness Ambassadors!
My daughter is a grown woman now, and over the years I have collected many ideas on ways that teachers of the blind can teach and support the families and classroom teachers with whom they work. In this article I would like to share some of these ideas, which I hope teachers will find helpful.
Chances are parents and classroom teachers new to blindness have some negative assumptions about blindness and the abilities of blind people. For example, they may think that blind people are helpless much of the time. TVIs have the opportunity to create a better understanding of blindness and to empower parents and teachers with knowledge of the skills and tools the blind child will learn and use to accomplish tasks. To create this new understanding, teachers can:
It’s important for teachers of the visually impaired to keep doors open for blind children with additional disabilities. TVIs can teach intervention ideas and techniques
Teachers of the blind played a pivotal role in helping my daughter become the person she is today. I look back upon them with fondness, gratitude, and appreciation.
by Chris Danielsen
Reprinted from Braille Monitor, Volume 68, Number 4, April 2025
From the Editor: When Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act was written into law in 1973, it opened the way for people with disabilities to participate more fully in nearly every aspect of life. Today Section 504 faces a serious challenge that could upend disability rights as we have come to recognize them. In this article Chris Danielsen, editor of the NFB’s flagship publication Braille Monitor, reviews the history of Section 504 and explains the current crisis.
In September of 2024, seventeen states, led by Texas, sued the United States Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) over a regulation that the agency had issued in May. The other sixteen states that brought the suit are Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, and West Virginia. At the time the lawsuit was filed, the 2024 election had not yet taken place, and so the named defendant was Xavier Becerra, who was DHHS Secretary under President Joe Biden.
The regulation that the lawsuit challenged was issued under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. It is an update of previous DHHS regulations, and its goal is to prevent discrimination against people with disabilities in Medicaid and other state-run healthcare programs and facilities—such as nursing homes, hospitals, and child welfare agencies—that receive federal funds. Among other things, the regulation says that individuals with disabilities must receive care in the “most integrated setting” and, pursuant to court cases, acknowledges that this requirement means that states must also avoid putting individuals “at serious risk of institutionalization.” It also acknowledges that, according to a recent court case decided by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, gender dysphoria may be included in the legal definition of disability in certain circumstances.
The final rule is hundreds of pages long, but the first two counts of the lawsuit focus on the inclusion of gender dysphoria in the definition of disability and what the states perceive as the unwarranted expansion of the “most integrated setting” requirement to include the “serious risk of institutionalization.” They say categorizing gender dysphoria as a disability violates the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) as originally written. (The definition of disability contained in the ADA is the same as the definition used when applying the Rehabilitation Act.) The states also claim to worry that the “serious risk” standard will limit their flexibility and saddle them with burdensome costs. In other words, they want flexibility to institutionalize more patients with disabilities because they believe that community care placements will cost too much. These initial counts therefore ask the court to invalidate the regulation, but unfortunately the lawsuit then goes much further.
Count III of the complaint is simply entitled “Section 504 is unconstitutional.” This language could not be any more straightforward. The complaining states are saying that Section 504, a bedrock of our nation’s disability laws for over fifty years, is now—and always has been—unconstitutional and should be struck off our nation’s books. The complaint then goes on for approximately twenty paragraphs spread across three pages to explain the reasoning behind this count. A few pages later, in their demand for relief, the states ask not only for the court to enjoin (or prohibit) DHHS from enforcing the regulation, but to “declare Section 504 unconstitutional” and “issue permanent injunctive relief against [DHHS] enjoining them from enforcing Section 504.”
The threat this poses to blind people and all Americans with disabilities, including students at all education levels, cannot be overstated. If the court were to declare Section 504 unconstitutional and block DHHS from enforcing it, all other federal agencies would be prohibited from enforcing it as well, and states would no longer be bound by its requirements. Section 504 plans, which are like Individualized Education Plans, would be a thing of the past; blind or disabled K-12 students and their families would find their rights curtailed or eliminated. Furthermore, blind individuals (including blind postsecondary students and state and federal workers), as well as the Federation and other advocacy organizations, would no longer be able to bring lawsuits to enforce the law’s antidiscrimination mandate. And because the Rehabilitation Act is linked with the ADA and other civil rights statutes in several ways, the lawsuit could result in even greater damage to protections for the blind and our rights.
The lawsuit is in limbo following the inauguration of President Donald J. Trump. A new president’s administration can review, change, or even revoke regulations made by the prior administration or decline to defend all or part of them in court. Almost immediately after President Trump’s inauguration, he issued an executive order that purports to remove all federal protections for people with gender dysphoria. For the time being, the complaining states say they are willing to hold off on further pursuing the case to see how this policy shift plays out. So the lawsuit, now known as Texas v. Kennedy since Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is the new DHHS secretary, is technically paused and may or may not be made irrelevant. But the lawsuit has not been dismissed, which would be the best outcome given the serious threat that it poses to Section 504. That is why the National Federation of the Blind and other advocates are acting.
On February 13, 2025, we issued an alert that urged our members in the states that brought the suit to contact their attorneys general and the elected officials who serve as the states’ lawyers, and ask them to withdraw from the lawsuit or, in the case of Texas, to voluntarily move to dismiss it. Our affiliates went to work, as did other advocates. By the time President Riccobono, along with our Advocacy and Policy team and General Counsel Eve Hill, conducted a Zoom meeting to update affiliate leaders on the lawsuit and other issues on March 11, our activism was making national news, with stories appearing in the Washington Post and USA Today. Prior to that, local media in Montana and Iowa had also covered the litigation.
To date, the lawsuit has not been dismissed, and no state has withdrawn from it. In response to the public-relations nightmare they created for themselves, however, some of the states have loudly and heatedly denied that they seek to kill Section 504 and have even gone so far as to claim that the Federation and other disability advocates are lying about the lawsuit, or at least exaggerating its potential impact. A spokesperson for Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen told Helena’s KTVH that “bad faith actors are deliberately misconstruing this lawsuit nine months after it was filed to frighten parents into believing that the Attorneys General put Section 504 in jeopardy. That is categorically false.” Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird similarly protested, “This lawsuit puts the full force of seventeen states behind ending the woke, Biden-Harris mandate that sexualizes kids. We are protecting Section 504 accommodations for students who need it.” Significantly, however, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a firebrand known for controversial statements and litigation tactics, has remained quiet, refusing to comment to reporters or respond to advocates.
Notwithstanding the pontification and attempted placation by some politicians, the language of the complaint has not changed and flatly contradicts all the assurances that are designed to try to get us to pipe down. If Texas and company really do not want to kill Section 504, then they can dismiss their lawsuit or, at the very least, amend their legal complaint to remove Count III. So far, they have done neither. They did purport to “clarify” their intentions in a February 21 joint status report to the court, but this does nothing to alter the underlying complaint. A status report is not a pleading. It is the states, and not the Federation or other disability advocates, who are being disingenuous about the possible effects of the lawsuit as written. The National Federation of the Blind is merely taking the states at their word. This is only fitting, since their legal representatives, who being attorneys swore an oath to be honest with our nation’s courts, signed the complaint.
Here is the bottom line: dropping the lawsuit entirely is the only way to fully protect Section 504. That is why President Riccobono wrote Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton the following letter on March 4, with similar letters going to the other sixteen state attorneys general:
Dear Attorney General Paxton:
The National Federation of the Blind urges you to consider the full importance of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (“Section 504”) and the benefit it has for Texans with disabilities, and to immediately move to dismiss Texas v. Kennedy.
The stated goal of Texas v. Kennedy is to severely limit Section 504 by applying it only to those programs, services, and activities directly funded by and through the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (“the Rehab Act”). The parties’ status report dated February 21, 2025, reads in pertinent part: “Plaintiffs clarify that they have never moved—and do not plan to move—the Court to declare or enjoin Section 504 . . . as unconstitutional on its face. Plaintiffs have not sought and do not seek to enjoin the disbursement of funds from the Department on the basis that the statute is unconstitutional,” however, we note that at the time of this writing, Plaintiffs have not chosen to amend pages 37 and 42 of their complaint, which read: “Count 3: Section 504 is Unconstitutional,” and “Demand for Relief . . . d. Declare Section 504, 29 U.S.C. § 794, unconstitutional; e. Issue permanent injunctive relief against [the Department of Health and Human Services] enjoining them from enforcing Section 504.”
Section 504 protects people with disabilities from discrimination by federal agencies and recipients of federal funding in public education, work readiness programs, healthcare, elections, the court system, and more. In brief, it is not at all overstating the point to say that if Section 504 is found unconstitutional, we will ensure that a generation of people with disabilities will be less educated, less employable, and less able to participate fully in all aspects of life.
The United States has long recognized a disabled person’s value as a student, employee, and a member of the public. Reducing Section 504 would constitute a sea change, excluding people with disabilities from education, employment, and civic life. Disabled students, teachers, and parents would lose access to course content and educational accommodations. Teachers, utility workers, farmers, office workers, county administrators, attorneys, judges, and other workers with disabilities would lose access to the government-funded software, websites, and other information vital to maintaining their employment. People with disabilities who seek to be involved in civic life, be it through joining municipal boards, exercising their right to vote, or even just crossing the street, would all be negatively impacted by the suspension of Section 504. Put another way, limiting Section 504 in the manner proposed would guarantee that countless people with disabilities would stay home, be unable to work, and be forced to subsist solely on government benefits.
The National Federation of the Blind is the transformative membership and advocacy organization of blind Americans, and our goal is the complete integration of the blind into society. The Federation has spent a large portion of its 84-year history combating discrimination and low expectations. We believe that all Americans can and should be afforded the opportunity to work, learn, and participate in community life. Accordingly, we believe that disabled Americans have the right to receive the education, training, and opportunity required to lead productive lives. We do not believe that people with disabilities should be forced by the government to leave school, lose work, or stay on public benefits.
We appreciate the need for effective and responsible governance. However, truncating a disabled person’s opportunity to participate fully in society runs contrary to your state’s true interests. We urge you to immediately move to dismiss Texas v. Kennedy and the dismantling of Section 504.
Sincerely,
Mark A. Riccobono, President National Federation of the Blind
The parties will report next to the Federal District Court for the Northern District of Texas, where Judge James Wesley Hendrix is presiding over the case, about the status of the litigation on April 21. In the meantime, advocates in Texas and the thirty-three other states not involved in the lawsuit should write to Texas Attorney General Paxton and urge him to dismiss the lawsuit.
Advocates in the other sixteen states should contact their own state attorneys general and urge them to withdraw from the lawsuit. You can learn more about the details of the lawsuit and access a list of state attorneys general with their contact information on the following web page hosted by the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund: https://dredf.org/protect-504. The Braille Monitor will continue to follow developments in the litigation and report what we learn.
Reprinted from Braille Monitor, Volume 68, Number 4, April 2025
Introduction by Braille Monitor Editor Chris Danielsen: On Tuesday, March 11, news outlets reported a dramatic reduction in force, which is federal government-speak for mass layoffs or firings, at the United States Department of Education. The news reports and information that the Federation was able to acquire from other sources confirmed that the department’s Office of Civil Rights, which enforces the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and other laws and regulations protecting blind students, was hit particularly hard. On March 12, we issued the following statement of concern.
The National Federation of the Blind, which advances the lives of its members and all blind people in the United States, issued the following statement regarding the announcement of a dramatic reduction in force at the United States Department of Education, specifically its Office of Civil Rights.
Mark Riccobono, President of the National Federation of the Blind, said: “The National Federation of the Blind is gravely concerned about the devastating reductions in force affecting the Department of Education Office of Civil Rights (OCR) and the closing of many of its field offices, since OCR is responsible for protecting the rights of blind and disabled students at all educational levels. Thousands of blind students and their families are left without any assurance of how their rights will be protected. We stand ready to work with policymakers to improve our education system, but we vigorously oppose actions that undermine the safeguards that have opened doors for generations of blind students. We urge Secretary McMahon and the administration to reconsider dismantling OCR and to collaborate with the blind and others with disabilities to ensure that continuity is maintained for the protections and services on which so many blind students rely.”
by Amy Parker
Reprinted from Braille Monitor, Volume 68, Number 4, April 2025
From the Editor: What does the possible elimination of the US Department of Education mean for the education of blind, low-vision, and deafblind students in the United States? In this article Dr. Amy Parker shares her insights, drawn from years of experience in the field of blind education. Dr. Parker serves as Coordinator of the Orientation and Mobility (O&M) program at Portland State University. She collaborates with Dr. Holly Lawson to prepare teachers of blind and low-vision students and O&M students for Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Alaska, and Hawai‘i. Her observations are critically relevant as our government considers dismantling the DOE and shifting its programs and responsibilities to other entities or eliminating them entirely. Here is what Dr. Parker says:
The United States Department of Education has played a significant role in my life personally and professionally. In 2006, I was selected, along with twenty-four other fellows, to pursue a doctorate in special education with a focus on meeting the needs of students who are blind, have low vision, or are deafblind. A consortium of universities collaborated, each to host its own doctoral scholars, to prepare us to work in higher education and other leadership roles. This grant was one of many that were awarded because Congress recognized there were severe teacher shortages in regular and special education. The teacher shortage was not only impacting schools; it was compounded by the challenge of not having sufficient faculty members to lead teacher preparation programs, particularly in the field of special education (Smith & Montrosse, 2012). The fellowship that I received, like all personnel preparation grant monies, required a service obligation for graduates to work in public education to serve the needs of American schools and universities. For every year of funding received, two years of service had to be documented by the graduate’s employers to fulfill the agreement of the award.
My family and I moved from Georgia to Texas for my doctoral studies so I could study with faculty who had deep expertise in how to serve children with low-incidence disabilities. Since graduation, I have worked at universities to design curriculum, often collaboratively with practicing teachers and with family members to create educational videos and resources to prepare future teachers as well as to support teachers who are already working in classrooms every day. Now as an associate professor, managing a program at a university, I am writing and receiving personnel preparation grants to support my master’s students financially as they choose to take on the challenge and the calling of teaching students who are blind, have low vision, or are deafblind. Often my students are already working in the field of special education full time; many are early to mid-career teachers, supporting families while taking on the challenge of graduate school to deepen their expertise and to meet the needs of students whom local educational systems are not well-equipped to serve. My students who receive these grants are from red and blue states—anywhere in the world where American students are learning—including teachers who serve on US military bases.
It is important to understand that the personnel preparation grants that are administered by the US DOE require that 65 percent of the funds go to support our scholars, covering some or all of their tuition and fees. Only 8 percent of the grant goes toward the university’s overhead costs. Other components of the grant go to hiring local supervisors to mentor teachers, again supporting local personnel to prepare teachers to meet the needs of some of our most vulnerable students and families. The US DOE, staffed by people who have often been in classrooms and have their doctorates, provides technical support as we teach students, tracking and reporting our outcomes, providing us guidance for using research and best practices to maximize our efforts.
Along with all fifty states and with US territories, millions of American children are critically dependent on the US Department of Education for support. This support takes shape in the technical assistance, infrastructure, and grant funding to state entities, including universities, that prepare teachers and related services personnel such as speech and language pathologists, physical therapists, sign language interpreters, and orientation and mobility specialists. These personnel provide direct support to students within states, supporting local schools in serving children with disabilities and the families of those students.
It is a false narrative to say that the effort to dismantle and destroy the US DOE is about giving the responsibility for education back to the states. States are already responsible for educating children within their borders. At the federal level, the Department is a conduit for support, information, and guidance across a vastly diverse and populated country. Many states do not have the capacity or resources to prepare personnel, especially personnel who serve children with rare disabilities.
The US DOE was created by law (Section 102, Public Law 96-88) to implement laws (the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 1975, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, the Higher Education Act of 1965, the Educational Sciences Reform Act of 2002) for the good of the American people. There are millions of children and families who will be impacted by the efforts to dissolve the US DOE, and the students do not have the legal right to represent themselves in this ideological attack. The word “equity,” which is now viewed as inflammatory, is one of our most treasured values that has been enshrined in our laws. I urge us to recognize the key role that the US DOE provides to all of our educational systems and to uphold the laws that are implemented by this agency.
Smith, Deborah Deutsch, and Brooke E. Montrosse. 2012. “Special Education Doctoral Programs: A 10-Year Comparison of the Suppliers of Leadership Personnel.” Teacher Education and Special Education 35 (2): 101–13. https://doi.org/10.1177/0888406412444455.
PRODUCT REVIEW
by Melissa Riccobono
From the Editor: As most readers of Future Reflections are aware, Melissa Riccobono is the First Lady of the National Federation of the Blind. She is also an educator and the parent of three children, two of whom are blind. From these perspectives she writes about an exciting program for teaching students the critical skill of typing on a Qwerty keyboard.
Play is, without a doubt, the work of childhood. Many professionals see children as “little scientists.” They argue that by playing, children practice various physical, social, and emotional skills; learn about the behaviors of objects and other people; and find ways of expressing themselves and working through life experiences.
There is no doubt that play has changed over the years. Most of the play I love to encourage takes place outdoors. When it’s time for inside play, it usually involves doing something active such as building a fort out of boxes; serving pretend food at your own restaurant; or teaching a class of dolls, stuffed animals, younger siblings, or even parents in your very own school.
However, today another type of play is available to most sighted children: play with an iPad, other tablet, or videogame system. Say what you want about screens—the fact is, they are here to stay. Due to the availability of games such as ABC Mouse, sighted children are gaining reading skills, app and tablet navigation skills, and even typing skills—all while they play.
Where does this leave blind children? Well, some auditory games work with VoiceOver gestures for the iPad and with other computer skills. These are fine games, but often they seem very basic, at least to me. However, I am aware of one resource that is incredibly fun, engaging, and accessible to blind and sighted children alike. And, as a huge bonus, it teaches two incredibly useful skills—typing on a Qwerty keyboard and using a Perkins style keyboard to learn and form Braille letters. The company behind this and other resources is called Accessibyte.
I discovered Accessibyte and their product, Typio, in the very early days of the pandemic. Schools had shut down, and though the school my children attended was doing its best to provide educational content, it was limited in what it could offer. So I had three bored children; what was a mom to do? I decided this was a great time to go back to basics.
I knew that in order to be successful in this increasingly digital world, all of our children need to learn to type efficiently. I had long bemoaned the fact that keyboarding was not being taught at my children’s school. Though our younger daughters had typing goals in their IEPs (Individualized Education Plans), we did not have access to whatever software was being used to teach them. I searched for something to bridge this gap … and what a thrill it was to find Typio!
Typio is a completely self-voicing accessible program that teaches keyboarding. The user works through the entire Qwerty keyboard, lesson by lesson. The best part? Actually, there are many best parts! The one I like the most is the fact that, for younger children, or even older children who enjoy playing games, Typio encourages completing lessons and making progress by having the student create a “Typing Pet.” You hatch the egg of the pet by pressing random keys on the keyboard. Your pet is given a name, is described, and has lots of fun, creative characteristics. The more you type, the more your pet grows.
As you progress along your “typing journey” by completing lessons and mastering the keyboard, you earn coins as well as stars. You can spend your coins to purchase things such as food, supplies, and toys for your pet. And, of course, all of this is easy to navigate, completely accessible, and, at least for most children, motivational.
The pet is visually appealing for anyone who has low or perfect vision.
Of course, it is not absolutely necessary to use this feature, and you can choose to go through the lessons without raising a pet. But with this program, blind kids finally have the chance to gain skills by playing a game that is also visually appealing. They can learn to type with the same program used by their sighted classmates, friends, or family members.
I have been impressed with the Typio lessons. New keys are clearly introduced, and you can practice pressing the keys before starting the lesson to make sure you know where they are. As soon as you know enough letters, you go from pressing only single letters to typing words and, in later lessons, sentences. In order to pass a lesson, you need to type at a certain speed. Even if you pass a lesson, you can go back and work on it again for review at any time.
Typio is available anywhere with access to an internet connection. You can use a desktop computer, laptop, iPad, or iPhone. If you choose to use a phone or tablet, I suggest having an actual keyboard connected to the device. Using a keyboard will make learning to type much easier and will promote proper finger placement. Also, the student will receive tactile feedback from the keyboard. You still can use the on-screen keyboard to practice typing if you are in a pinch. This is an incredible feature. A student could gain access to Typio at school, be given their login information, and be able to use Typio at home, even if their home device does not yet have a screenreader.
These are the features of the basic Typio program. Accessibyte, however, offers even more! If you sign up for Typio Pro, you get all the features of Typio plus Braillio. Braillio is just like Typio, but your typing pet is raised and grows as you complete your journey to learn typing letters and contractions on a Perkins-style keyboard. If you have a Braille display, it can be hooked up to a device and used to enter the Braille characters. If you do not have a display, however, you can use the f, d, and s keys on a Qwerty keyboard for dots 1, 2, and 3, and the j, k, and l keys for dots 4, 5, and 6. Again, this means you can practice Braille writing wherever you are, as long as you have a device and an internet connection.
Typio Pro also offers a flashcard program for studying for tests, access to a dictionary and encyclopedia for research, and an arcade with accessible video games just for fun. The website also includes information about Accessibyte Studio, which is supposed to combine many apps into an easy-to-use interface.
Much as I like Typio and other Accessibyte programs, I do have a few caveats. I believe using mainstream apps such as Microsoft Word and Google Docs is the best option for blind kids. If a student uses Accessibyte Studio exclusively, I would worry that it might provide only a handful of tools for each app rather than the full experience. This situation seems similar to having a student use a Braille notetaker for most or all tasks, without developing skill in the use of mainstream technology. Perhaps Accessibyte Studio will have its place among very young blind students, or perhaps it will be useful to blind seniors who need and might appreciate a simpler interface while they learn to use a computer for the first time. It might also be a tool for students with multiple disabilities. It is not clear when Accessibyte Studio will be released, but this will certainly be an app to review when it does become available.
Several times I have had the pleasure of speaking with Joe Jorgenson, the owner of Accessibyte. Each time I am impressed with his commitment to this project, which he created on his own as a side business. He wants and responds to feedback. He is constantly looking for ways to make this product better, and if there are problems, he will work with you to solve them. This is a small business, and he is always looking for ways to spread the word.
I am extremely happy to share Accessibyte with all of you. I believe it is a tool that should be used in many more classrooms and homes around the US, for both blind and sighted children.
Typio and Typio Pro offer fourteen-day, fully functional free trials. You can purchase an individual home license for Typio at a cost of $69.95 a year. The annual cost of Typio Pro is $99. No monthly plans are available. This cost may seem steep, but many popular children’s learning games, such as ABC Mouse, actually cost more for a yearly subscription.
If you are a teacher, you can get the school edition of Typio Pro. Pricing varies, depending on how many student seats you need, but this version comes with a teacher dashboard. You can set up students’ accounts, view their progress, create custom lessons, design flashcards for studying, and much more. I purchased a school edition license during the pandemic so I could provide accounts for all three of my children. This option could be great for families that homeschool, as more than one child can have an account.
The NFB of Maryland worked with Joe Jorgenson to offer Accessibyte to the students in our NFB BELL® Academy last year. Again, I have found Joe a pleasure to work with, always open to new ideas. He is very receptive if you have a conversation with him about what you might need in order to include Typio as part of a program, homeschool, or classroom.
Are Typio and Typio Pro perfect? Undoubtedly not! I’m sure there are things we all would like to see changed. On the other hand, these are well thought-out resources that are motivational and are visually and nonvisually appealing. They teach skills that are greatly needed for future success. Accessibyte is run by someone who wants to make these products the best they can possibly be. So I say, let’s consider using Typio and Typio Pro! Let’s get these tools into the hands of blind and sighted kids and see what they say. As teachers, let’s use the dashboard features, customize lessons, track progress, and put all the pieces of this tool through their paces. And then, let’s give feedback—positive when it is deserved, and wishes for improvements when the tool does not perform as we hope.
Right now few in our community know about the tools Accessibyte has created. I hope this article brings these resources greater attention. I truly think they are special, and they can get even better over time.
For more information about Accessibyte, visit http://www.accessibyte.com.
BOOK REVIEW
by Jay Hardwig
Reviewed by Barbara Cheadle
From the Editor: Barbara Cheadle is the founding president of the National Organization of Parents of Blind Children (NOPBC) and the founding editor of Future Reflections. She is a librarian with a special interest in children’s books that portray blind characters.
Just Maria
by Jay Hardwig
Regal House Publishing, LLC Raleigh, NC 27612
Copyright 2022
ISBN: 978-1646030828
Available from Bookshare.org and from NLS BARD as DB125548
This lively little book for and about middle schoolers is engaging, with a snappy pace. It manages to educate and debunk a lot of myths about blindness, seamlessly and without a hint of preachiness.
Just Maria was written by Jay Hardwig, a veteran teacher and orientation and mobility instructor of blind children. Within the context of the plot, the book provides details about how twelve-year-old, sixth-grader Maria Romero learns to travel safely with her folding white cane, “Roxie,” under the instruction of her cane travel instructor, Mr. Torres. Mr. Torres teaches Maria to “use your cane and your brain, and figure it out.”
The first chapter, intriguingly with just the right hint of shock value, is called “Undies.” Right away we learn that not all blind kids are alike. Sam, one of Maria’s blind friends, grosses her out when she discovers that he doesn’t bother to put away his clean undies—he just gives them the sniff test to find the clean ones if they get mixed up with the dirty laundry. Maria thinks he’s just lazy. She likes to have a place for everything, and everything in its place; she lives her life “by the book.”
Maria is conflicted about wanting more independence and also fearing it. Although Maria is twelve, it was only a few months ago that her mom finally was willing to leave her alone in the house while she runs errands or stops by the gym for a workout. Frustrated, Maria muses that “sooner or later, she’s going to have to let me grow up a little.”
Maria is also afraid of being cut loose and becoming a “Maria pancake” if she fails to cross a street perfectly without Mr. Torres by her side to correct her. She lives only four blocks from a bakery, but she has never gone there by herself, or even crossed a street alone. Mr. Torres says it won’t be long, but Maria still hangs back.
Above all, Maria yearns to be accepted—or at least not rejected and outright snubbed—by the popular kids, especially Hannah, cheerleader, teacher’s pet, and ringleader of the popular girls. “I don’t expect to be queen bee or anything,” Maria reflects to herself, “but I’d at least like to be a part of the hive. Is that so wrong?”
It’s not that she likes Hannah that much. After all, the only time Hannah is nice to her is when the teachers are around. It’s just, well, it’s hard being stereotyped as The Blind Kid when all she wants is to be “just Maria.”
One thing is sure: Maria is certain that hanging out with her next-door neighbor and classmate, weird JJ Munson, “King Geek of the sixth grade” will not enhance her chances of being accepted into Hannah’s popular circle of friends. But she doesn’t have much choice. JJ is determined to be her friend and to pull her into his weird schemes, like being his partner in the Twinnogins Superhero Detective Agency. It doesn’t make it any easier that her single-parent mom insists that she be kind to JJ. And Maria does reluctantly admire JJ for his gentle, genuine affection for and cheerful acceptance of his little sister, Cynthia, who is nonverbal and autistic and attends a special school. It is Cynthia who ultimately provides the circumstance for the Twinnoggins Detective Agency’s one and only case. That case provides just the challenge Maria needs to face her fears, use the travel skills she’s learned, exert her independence, and discover it’s okay to “zig where others zag.”
At first I was skeptical of the plot line—another kids-become-detectives storyline (roll my eyes). Not only does it work, but it has some interesting twists. Spoiler alert: JJ actually succeeds in luring a reluctant Maria into his detective scheme, but they only ever actually solve one mystery. Most of the action and development of the story comes from JJ’s insistence that they must prove themselves worthy of the title “detectives.” He insists that they give each other four challenges to test “our mind and mettle, our moxie.”
The chapters carrying the plot are interspersed with chapters about blindness. These chapters are brief but informative, presented in Maria’s voice and perspective, and they complement the plot. Early in the book Maria tells us about her “Crabby-Abby Days Top Ten List of the Most Annoying Things About Being Blind.” The list includes things such as, “People who think I’m amazing,” and the “Can you guess who this is?” game. This list is divided into four parts and makes up four of the chapters. And there also are four chapters that address “Things you might be wondering,” such as Braille, Maria’s white cane (Roxie), how she became blind (retinoblastoma), and the question she gets most often: “Do you wish you could see?” (“No, not really.”)
I recommend this book as a good read for any child or adult (I’m a big fan of youth literature), but I especially like the way the common questions and misunderstandings about blindness are addressed and integrated into the story.
WHAT'S NEW
Each January, thousands of blind and low-vision individuals across the country begin their year with something simple yet powerful: a Braille calendar. For many, this unassuming tool offers more than just dates and days of the week. It is a tangible reminder that accessibility matters, that blind people have the right to plan and organize just like everyone else.
Through the free Braille calendars program, powered by the American Action Fund in partnership with the National Federation of the Blind, these calendars are distributed annually free of charge to individuals, families, and organizations that request them. Whether it’s hung on a wall, tucked into a backpack, or placed on a desk, the calendar becomes a daily companion. It supports independence, confidence, and agency.
Many people use their Braille calendars every day to mark doctor’s appointments, birthdays, or important work deadlines. The calendar also can help teach young Braille readers how to track time, understand the rhythm of weeks and months, and plan homework schedules. For seniors, it can be a comforting return to a means of staying organized after becoming blind.
One blind adult says, “I look forward to receiving my Braille calendar every year. It’s always one of the first things I set up in January, and I use it every day to keep track of work meetings, family events, and reminders. Having a calendar I can read independently helps me to stay in control of my schedule, and that means a lot.”
Thanks to donor support, thousands of calendars are printed and mailed at no cost to recipients each year. Each calendar includes both Braille and large print, making it ideal for a wide range of users. The calendar is more than a tool. It is a symbol of belief in blind people’s futures and a commitment to supporting them every day of the year.
For those who have received a Braille calendar, the impact is clear. And for those who contribute to this program, their support ensures that thousands more will begin each year with the tools they need to live boldly and independently.
Your support helps keep our resources free for blind children and adults. You can contribute to the Action Fund in three easy ways.
Often the simplest and most significant way to make a charitable contribution is to plan a legacy gift. Creating a lasting impact is easier than you might think. Choose an option that works best for your circumstances.
You can plan to give all or part of a bank account, insurance proceeds, investment assets, real estate, or a retirement account. You can even give a required minimum distribution from your IRA directly to charity and avoid taxes on the distribution. After taking care of your loved ones, you could bequeath a specific dollar amount or a percentage of your estate to an organization whose mission is important to you.
The American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults Legacy Society recognizes and honors the generosity of friends of the Action Fund who have chosen to leave a legacy through a will or other planned giving option.
If you wish to give part or all of an account, simply fill out a POD (payable on death) or TOD (transfer on death) form. For pensions and insurance assets, simply designate a charity as a beneficiary. If you would like to leave a legacy to the Action Fund in your will, simply include the following language:
I give, devise, and bequeath unto the American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults, 1800 Johnson Street, Suite 100, Baltimore, Maryland 21230, (EIN# 52-1192529) 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.
If you have questions or would like more information, please reach out to Patti Chang at 410-659-9315 or [email protected]. If you have included the American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults in your will or have made some other provision for a future gift, please contact Patti so we can recognize you as a member of our Legacy Society.
Legacy gifts carry the values and ideals that have been important to you throughout your lifetime and provide for generations of blind children and adults. Please consider the American Action Fund in your future plans.
Staying in touch with the National Organization of Parents of Blind Children (NOPBC), using your smartphone, is as easy as 1, 2, 3!
Having trouble joining the group? Don’t want to create a GroupMe app or have one more app on your phone? Don’t have a smartphone with a web browser, but can still receive text messages? We can help! Just send a text message to Melissa Riccobono at 443-803-0266. The message will need to include your name and say that you would like to join the NOPBC Announcements Group. Melissa will add you to the group, using your phone number, and you will receive announcements via text message only.
https://nfb.org/programs-services/education/nfb-stem2u
The National Federation of the Blind is excited to announce that our 2025 STEM2U curriculum is now available online! Designed specifically for blind and low-vision youth, STEM2U Online provides step-by-step instructions for accessible experiments, downloadable activity books and tactile graphics, and engaging instructional videos. These self-guided activities use everyday materials and can be completed at home or in the classroom. Complete the STEM2U Online form to receive the link to the curriculum.
https://aphconnectcenter.org
800-232-5463
The APH Connect Center offers information on a broad range of blindness-related topics, including specific eye conditions, resources for families, job preparation, and national and local services.
American Foundation for the Blind Leadership Conference
[email protected]
Dates: November 12-14, 2025
Location: Crystal Gateway Marriott, Crystal City, VA
This year’s theme highlights the power of collective leadership at a time of rapid technological and societal transformation.
National Braille Press
https://www.nbp.org/ic/nbp/programs/gep/ge_index.html
The Snail and the Whale, by Julia Donaldson
This title has been added to the Great Expectations program, a series of specially selected books with supplements created by National Braille Press with the goal of bringing picture books to life for blind children. Each print/Braille copy of The Snail and the Whale will arrive with a bonus stuffed humpback whale, along with a list of free activities available on the Great Expectations webpage. The list includes meeting blind oceanographer Amy Bower, crafts, a whale song activity, jokes, and information on water safety and sustainability.
Dots, Paper, Scissors Project
edentransition.org
[email protected] or Lydia Schuck at [email protected]
New handmade books with Braille and print plus tactile images are now available. Books are made, in part, by young adults with disabilities through the Dots, Paper, Scissors Project of Eden Transition Alliance. Flower Talk has no words on the pages, just tactile flower images made with a variety of materials. This book is designed for you to look at with your little one. It’s a good tool for sharing a conversation, describing pictures, and teaching concepts such as top, bottom, middle, right, and left. Counting Hearts and Counting Butterflies are typical print/Braille counting books with tactile images on every page.
https://insightablepuzzles.com/
Contact: Maureen Handwerker, [email protected]
InsightAble Puzzles produces a series of 3D puzzles for blind children and adults. (See the article “Puzzling Challenges” in this issue.)
National Braille Press
https://shop.nbp.org/products/spelling-wordfinder-puzzles
Braille, 1 Volume
Test your word knowledge with these 100 fantastic anagram puzzles with a twist! In each puzzle, find as many words of four or more letters as you can. Each puzzle contains seven letters. The first letter listed for each puzzle must be used in every word you find. You can use letters multiple times in a word, and proper nouns are not allowed. Check your answers at the back of the volume.
The NFB is gathering information regarding the accessibility of educational technology used in our nation’s schools (kindergarten through graduate level). If you are a student, parent, teacher, or administrator who uses screen access software or other accommodations to participate nonvisually in educational programs or services, or if you are the parent, teacher, or administrator of someone who does, please complete the Education Technology Survey once a semester and contribute to this important research.
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