Stacking the Deck, April 1997

The

Braille Monitor

April 1997

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Stacking the Deck Against

Blind Travel Instructors

by Marc Maurer

Can blind people teach cane travel? The

answer to this question is so thoroughly documented that there can be no doubt.

Blind people can and do teach travel to other blind people every day. Blindness

does not necessarily guarantee that the teacher will be a good one. However,

Cane Travel

The Braille Monitor

April 1997

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Teaching Cane Travel

Blind?

by Arlene Hill

From the Editor: Some months

ago Arlene Hill wrote the following article about teaching cane travel as a

blind instructor. Here it is:

When I was invited to write this article, I wondered what I

could possibly say. I was asked to write about any special problems blind people

have teaching orientation and mobility. In my view this notion is one of the

Straight Talk

The Braille Monitor

April 1997

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A Letter from the Trenches: Straight Talk

About Cane Travel

by Georginia Kleege

From the Editor: Listening to erudite discussions among orientation

and mobility instructors about cross-body technique, shorelines, hand position,

and arc-width, its easy to forget that the fundamental principle of successful

cane travel is to use a long white cane efficiently to find out as much as possible

Helping The SIghted To See

The Braille Monitor April 1997

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Helping the Sighted to See

From the Editor: Week in and week out one of the most

important jobs Federationists are called upon to undertake

is educating the public. Not only do uninformed people need

help recognizing the very real and substantial problems

facing blind people, but often they require instruction to

comprehend what they are actually looking at. When the

Washington Seminar '97

The Braille Monitor

April 1997

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The 1997 Washington Seminar

by Barbara Pierce

By now everyone in the National Federation of the Blind knows

that the first week of February means one thing in our organizational calendar:

the Washington Seminar. Activities actually began Friday evening, January 31,

with the student division party at the Capitol Holiday Inn.

But the daylong Mid-Winter Conference of the National Association

Legislative Agenda, 1997

The Braille Monitor

April 1997

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Legislative Agenda,

1997

FROM: Members of the National Federation

of the Blind

TO: Members of the 105th Congress

RE: Legislative Priorities of Blind Americans

Public policies and laws affecting blind people have a profound impact on our

entire society. Most people know someone who is blind. It may be a friend, a

family member, or a co-worker on the job. The blind population in the U. S.

Winning the Chance to Pay Taxes

The Braille Monitor

April 1997

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Fact

Sheet

Winning the Chance to Earn and Pay Taxes: How the Blind Person's Earnings Limit

in the Social Security Act Must be Changed

BACKGROUND: The Social Security earnings limit, also known

as the "retirement test," was recently changed by Congress. The new

law, which first took effect in 1996, provides a 1997 earnings exemption threshold

Fact Sheet: Blindness, Rehabilitation, and the Need for

The Braille Monitor

April 1997

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Fact Sheet: Blindness,

Rehabilitation, and the Need for

Specialized Programs

BACKGROUND: Under title I of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973,

federal grants assist every state to provide comprehensive vocational rehabilitation

services to eligible persons with disabilities, including persons who are blind.

Braille Literacy

The Braille Monitor

April 1997

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Fact Sheet: Braille

Literacy and the Individuals with Disabilities

Education Act

BACKGROUND: The National Literacy Act of 1991 defines "literacy"

as "an individual's ability to read, write, and speak in English, and compute

and solve problems at levels of proficiency necessary to function on the job

Telling Our Story

The Braille Monitor

April 1997

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Telling Our Story

by Michael Baillif

From the Editor: Michael Baillif

is President of the Capital City Chapter of the National Federation of the Blind

of the District of Columbia. He is also a past president of the National Association

of Blind Students (NABS). He was invited to address NABS's Mid-Winter Conference

on Saturday, February 1, in Washington, D.C. President Maurer made the following