Volume 35 Number 1 Winter 2016
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 © 2016 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
www.nfb.org/nopbc • [email protected] • [email protected]
FEATURE
Please Don't Throw the Nickel
by Kenneth Jernigan
EARLY CHILDHOOD
Listening to the Leaves
by Carole Conrad
The Power of Your Story
by Kimberly Schildbach
GROWING UP
Of Sparrows, Dirty Dishes, and Following My Arrow
by Danielle Trevino
Using Readers--of the Human Variety
by Carol Castellano
TRANSITIONS
The Transition Conversation: Traveling Hopefully
by Lydia A. Schuck
I Encouraged My Daughter to Be a Cowboy
by Peggy Chong
LOW VISION
A New Perspective on Literacy for Students with Low Vision
by Allison Hilliker
BRAILLE
A Cry for Unity in Creating Textbooks for the Blind
by Carleton Anne Cook Walker
If Braille Were Print
by Erin Jepsen
TRAVEL
Please Don't Throw the Nickel in India
An Interview with Ryan Strunk
And the Winner Is . . .?
by Andrea Jenkins
INNOVATION
Audazzle: Discovering Possibilities, Creating Worlds
by Selwyn Lloyd
PROGRAMS
A Voice for Our Children
by Christina Kuckie-Roberts
Ringing the BELL in Houston
by Kim Cunningham
REVIEW
The Heart of Applebutter Hill
by Donna W. Hill
Reviewed by Jacqueline Williams
AWARDS
The 2016 Distinguished Educator of Blind Students Award
by Carla McQuillan
ANNOUNCEMENTS
ODDS AND ENDS
Are you the parent of a blind or visually impaired child? Don’t know where to turn?
Founded in 1983, the National Organization of Parents of Blind Children (NOPBC) is a membership organization of parents, educators, and friends of blind children reaching out to give each other vital support, encouragement, and information. We have thousands of members in all fifty states plus Washington, DC, and Puerto Rico.
The NOPBC offers hope, encouragement, information, and resources for parents of blind or visually impaired children. NOPBC provides emotional support and a network of other families dealing with the same challenges you are facing. We also provide information, training, and resources to empower you to take an active role in guiding your child’s development and education. We can provide information on your child’s rights and on the laws and legislative issues that will enable you and your child to become strong and effective advocates.
Have you ever wondered what your blind or visually impaired child will be capable of when he or she grows up? The answer to that question is that blindness/visual impairment does not have to stop your child from doing anything he or she wants to do. 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.
What is different about the NOPBC?
Our status as a division of the National Federation of the Blind (NFB), the largest and most influential organization of blind people in the world, provides many benefits. Our members are well informed about the societal, legislative, and technological issues that affect blind people. We also enjoy the resources, support, and expertise of fifty thousand blind people who can serve as mentors and role models for us and our children. Finally, as our children grow up, they have the Federation to belong to.
No other organization for parents of blind/visually impaired children offers more 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. The program 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.
What is the mission of the NOPBC?
The purpose of the NOPBC is to:
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.
What are the programs, activities, publications, and resources of the NOPBC?
Contact Us:
National Organization of Parents of Blind Children
[email protected]
<www.nopbc.org>
by Kenneth Jernigan
Reprinted from Wall-to-Wall Thanksgiving, available at <https://nfb.org/kernel-books#main-content>
From the Editor: Beginning in 1991, the National Federation of the Blind published a series of thirty titles in the Kernel Book series. Each of these compact little books is a collection of personal essays by blind men and women. "We wanted to go to the very heart of blindness, trying to show our readers what it's really like; and, for that matter, what it isn't like," explained Dr. Kenneth Jernigan, the first editor of the Kernel Book series. "What we are trying to do is to cut through the sentimentality and misconceptions to the very kernel of the subject of blindness." The following essay deals with an issue most blind people face on a daily basis: how does one deal with unsolicited and unnecessary help from the sighted public? You can find text and audio versions of all of the Kernel Books online, or you can order the books in print or Braille formats from the NFB Independence Market.
When is it appropriate for a blind person to accept help from a sighted person, and when is it not? If the offer is rejected, how can it be done without causing embarrassment or hurt feelings? Since most sighted people are well-disposed toward the blind, these are very real questions--questions that I, as a blind person, have faced all of my life. As you might imagine, my answers to them have changed as I have grown older and gained experience.
When I was a teenager, filled with the typical self-consciousness of adolescence, I frequently rode city buses. This was in Nashville, Tennessee. The school for the blind, where I was a student, was located on the southern edge of the city, and I liked to go downtown. Incidentally, in those days a bus ride cost a nickel, as did a lot of other things--a hamburger, a Coca-Cola, an order of French fries, a full-size candy bar, a double dip of ice cream, and much else.
But back to the matter at hand. One day I was standing on the corner waiting for a bus when an elderly woman approached me and said, "Here, son, I'll help you." She then put a nickel into my hand.
I could tell that she was elderly because of her voice. There was quite a crowd at the bus stop, and I felt acute embarrassment. I tried to give the nickel back to her, but she moved out of my way and kept saying, "No, that's all right."
Everybody at the bus stop ceased talking, and my frustration mounted. Each time I stepped toward her to try to give back the nickel, she moved out of my way. It must have been quite a spectacle, me with my hand extended holding the nickel, and the woman weaving and dodging to avoid me. Finally, in absolute exasperation, I threw the nickel as far as I could down the street.
That was over fifty years ago, but the memory is still clear. Once the woman had placed the nickel in my hand, there was really no way I could have given it back. If I had simply and quietly accepted it and thanked her, very little notice would have been taken. As it was, I created quite a show. The elderly woman, who was only trying to help me, was undoubtedly embarrassed, and I did little to improve the image of blindness. Instead, I did the exact opposite. Any notions the group at the bus stop had about the helplessness and immaturity of the blind were magnified and reinforced.
Ten years later, when I was in my twenties, I was teaching at the California Training Center for the Blind in the San Francisco Bay area. One of my principal duties was to help newly blind persons learn how to deal maturely with loss of sight and the attitudes of the public about blindness.
Late one afternoon, after a particularly hard day, I was leaving the center to go home. When I came to the corner to cross the street, an elderly man (he sounded as if he might be in his eighties) approached me and said, "I'll help you across the street."
"No, thanks," I said. "I can make it just fine." I was polite but firm.
"I'll help," he repeated, and took my arm.
As I have already said, it had been a hard day. I made no discourteous response, but I sped up my pace as we crossed the street. Clearly the man could not keep up, and if I am to be honest, I knew that he couldn't. He released my arm and said with a hurt tone, "I was only trying to help."
When I got to the other side of the street, I came to a complete stop and said to myself, "Are you really so insecure about your blindness after a hard day you can't afford to be kind to somebody who was only trying to help you?"
As with the nickel-throwing incident, there was a lesson to be learned. I should have accepted the man's offer to help, and should have done it graciously. We would both have profited, each feeling that he had done the other a kindness. As it was, both of us experienced pain, even if only a little and even if only temporarily.
By the time another ten years had passed, I was in my thirties and directing programs for the blind in the state of Iowa. My job required me to do a great deal of traveling, and one day when I was checking into a hotel, a bellman carried my bag to my room. As he was leaving, I gave him a tip.
"Oh, no," he said, "I couldn't take a tip from you. I'm a Christian."
Unlike what I did in the other situations I have described, I did not refuse or resist. I simply thanked him and let it go at that. Of course, I might have tried to get him to change his mind, but I didn't think it would be productive. And besides, I didn't feel so insecure or unsure of myself that I needed to prove either to him or to myself that I was equal.
On another occasion in Iowa, I was giving a talk to a Sunday school class. When the time came for questions, a woman said, "How do you help one of them?"
I assumed that she was asking me what the proper way was for a sighted person to help a blind person, but just to make sure I asked her to explain.
She said, "The other day I tried to help a blind man across the street, and he shook my hand off of his arm and told me to go to hell."
I asked her what she would have done if a sighted person had been rude to her. I said something to this effect: "You shouldn't hesitate to offer help to a blind person in crossing a street or in any other way you think appropriate. After all, the blind person may need your help. How are you to know if you don't ask? Whether the help is needed or not, most blind persons (just as would be the case with most sighted persons) will appreciate the offer and treat you courteously. A few will be ill-tempered or rude. I would suggest that you treat such people exactly the way you would a sighted person who is rude to you. The main thing is not to feel awkward about it. If you wonder whether a blind person needs help, ask. Then, if the person says no, let it go at that."
So far, I have talked about help that has been courteously offered and probably should have been accepted. But what about the other kind? Blind people don't have a monopoly on rudeness or bad manners. Sighted people are human, too.
I think of a time when I was standing on a street corner in Des Moines, minding my own business and waiting for a friend. A big husky fellow with the momentum of a freight train came along and scooped me up without ever even pausing. "Come on, buddy," he said, as he grabbed my arm, "I'll help you across the street."
As it so happened, I didn't want to cross that street. I was going in another direction. But he didn't ask. And he wouldn't listen when I tried to tell him. He just kept walking and dragging me with him.
In the circumstances, I planted my feet and resisted--and I should have. All of us, whether blind or sighted, owe courtesy and consideration to each other, and in this case I was being treated like a none-too-intelligent child. No, worse than that--for children are rarely manhandled in public.
Not long ago I entered an elevator, and a man standing next to me reached out and placed his hand on my arm, between me and the elevator door, in a protective manner. He probably felt that I might lean into the door as it was closing, or that I might have difficulty when the door opened. It was a protective gesture, totally inappropriate but meant to be helpful. He would have been shocked at the thought of behaving that way toward a sighted adult passenger, but in my case he saw no impropriety.
When the door opened, the man restrained me with his hand and said, "Wait. You can't go yet."
Since I was standing immediately next to the door, and since there was no traffic outside, it is hard to know why he felt I should wait. Maybe he thought I should take a moment to get my bearings, or maybe it was simply more of the protectiveness. Who knows?
He treated me very much as he would have treated a small child. How should I have reacted? It all depends on how insistent and how obtrusive he was. There is something to be said for restraint and not hurting other people's feelings, but there is also something to be said for recognizing when enough is enough.
In what I am about to say next, I am not just talking about persons who are totally blind but also about those who now see so poorly that they cannot function the way a sighted person does--persons who may be losing sight and who may be having trouble accepting it. I am also speaking to relatives.
As I have already indicated, most blind people appreciate help when it is offered. When a blind person is walking through a crowd or down the street with someone else and trying to carry on a conversation, it is easier to take the other person's arm. This is true even if the blind person is quite capable of traveling alone.
All of us like to do things for ourselves, but there are times when refusing to take an arm that is offered constitutes the very opposite of independence for a blind person. If, for instance, a blind person is walking with a sighted person through a crowded restaurant, the sensible thing to do is to take the sighted person's arm and go to the table without fuss or bother.
As will be seen, my views about independence and help from others have changed over the years. Probably the single most important factor in helping me come to my present notions has been the National Federation of the Blind. Having chapters in every state and almost every community of any size, the Federation is the nation's oldest and largest organization of blind persons.
As it is with me, so it is with thousands of other blind people throughout the country. We work together to help each other and ourselves. We give assistance to parents of blind children, to blind college students, to the newly blind, and to blind persons who are trying to find employment. Above all, the Federation teaches a new way of thought about blindness.
We want to take the mystery out of blindness. Mostly, we who are blind are very much like you. We work and play, hope and dream, laugh and cry--just like you. We need opportunity, not pity. And we are willing to do for ourselves. That doesn't mean that we don't want or need help from our sighted friends and relatives, for we do. All of us (whether blind or not) depend on each other and need mutual help and assistance.
This is the message of the National Federation of the Blind, and it has made a great difference in my life. If I had to sum up my personal philosophy in a single sentence, it would probably be this: Do all you can to help yourself before you call on others; try to make life better for those around you; and don't throw nickels.
by Carole Conrad
From the Editor: Parents often struggle to imagine how their blind children perceive the world. They grieve for the visual beauty that will always be absent from their lives. However, parents may underestimate the wealth of information that blind children can absorb with their remaining senses. In this article, the mother of a blind three-year-old awakens to the richness of her daughter's world of sound. This article, along with a trove of other resources for parents of blind children, can be found at <www.nfb.org/nopbc>, the webpage of the National Organization of Parents of Blind Children.
Sara, the most exciting thing happened to me today! I want so much to tell you all about it and share my excitement with you, but at three years of age you wouldn't understand the significance of my discovery. So I'll share it with you by writing it now, and perhaps by reading it to you when you are older.
You were right, Sara; I heard the leaves fall today. I was sitting right here on our cement front steps, looking over our large front lawn, when I heard it. The autumn breeze was stiff, and the giant oaks that line our yard let go of their first dry, brown leaves of October. They have done this for hundreds of years, but today was different--at least for me--because today I heard it.
Ever since we learned how seriously impaired your beautiful blue eyes are, I have tried to teach you more about our world. I've struggled to explain what clouds look like and why I can see across a pond but not across Lake Michigan. I've tried to tell you about the beauty of trees and the rich green of springtime. And oh, how we've argued! You say the trees are fighting; I say the wind moves them so that their branches bump into one another. You say the summer leaves are brown at the treetops and green further down. I say all the leaves are green until fall, at which time they all turn to brown. And I've tried to explain that we don't hear leaves fall; we see them.
Today as I sat alone on the step, I shut my eyes and listened. It was one of those rare moments when I didn't need to be anywhere or do anything. I just listened. And then I heard them. I heard the leaves rustle in the air as they fell, bumping into each other. When they reached their destination, they tumbled across each other as the breeze stirred them. They skidded stiffly across the drive, scraping their thin yet rigid points. And acorns dropped from the sky to land on the grass with a soft but audible thud.
I can hear without straining now. I just needed to tune down my own thoughts so that I could hear. My closed eyes filled with tears as I listened.
I have tried, oh so hard, to see as you do so that I can help you understand things as they really are. I have shut one eye and squinted the other nearly closed to try to experience what you see. But I can't. And I realized today that my objective had been to teach you the difference between the incorrect perceptions you acquire and the reality that the rest of us observe. But today, when I heard the leaves fall (much as you probably hear them), I understood something. You have a lot to teach me, little girl. You hear things, feel things, and experience things in ways different yet not always less correctly than I do.
I will never experience what you do. You always hear trains coming before anyone else does. You continually amaze me when you identify the voices of individual children as they play together in our back yard. And only you can tell those neighborhood identical twins apart.
You have something special, little Sara. You don't see much anymore, but God has given you perceptions that I can't understand. Thank you for sharing a little bit of your gift with me. Thank you for insisting that I listen . . . to the leaves.
by Kimberly Schildbach
From the Editor: Kimberly Schildbach homeschools her five children in the woods of Massachusetts. Her family is adding another blind child to their tribe in 2016. This article is an open letter to Kimberly's daughter, Anelia. You can follow Kimberly and Anelia on Facebook at <https://www.facebook.com/kimberly.schildbach>.
Your story, Anelia, the one you will tell one day, will be very powerful. It might begin with your time in the orphanage, where you tried desperately to stimulate your brain by any means at your disposal. Or it might begin with incredible loss, the place where my own story starts. In that story you lose the only life you have ever known. You lose that life because we chose you.
I desperately hope that your story will contain something of love. Surely you didn't feel love at first, but now, I hope, you feel it fiercely for us. My side of the story contains so much, but at its core is my love for you.
I believe in the power of stories. In my work as a family therapist, I stand in awe of how clients take pain and turn it into triumph. I have seen that even the most privileged individual, with access to all the right resources, can feel wholly alone. Hearing a person's story is such a holy experience, an experience where you feel God very close. I believe my training and work as a therapist uniquely prepared me to be your mama.
Adoption is such a funny process! Who knew we would adopt a blind child? There were inklings of it from time to time in our favorite movies, through children we encountered, or during late-night discussions about where we were heading as a family. Adoption was always on our minds. But as many who have taken the plunge will attest, the money issue would derail our dreams for many years. God spoke at last, giving us a hearty shove in the right direction.
I still find it amazing that over thousands of miles, with all the hurdles of adoption (money being just one), we found each other! How is this possible? Your listing picture showed you in the chair where they sat you. You have chubby brown cheeks. On the chair's tray is your little piano. One tear runs down your face. Your big brown eyes look forlorn and lonely. Your blindness is part of the package of you, and we wanted all of you, no holds barred. We fell immediately and intensely in love.
I am so curious about what your life was like in the institution. You didn't learn to speak--or maybe you learned, and something silenced you? We will never know. The records we got were spotty at best. You were considered "delayed in all areas." Doctors reported "repetitive movements" and "lack of skills," but we knew better. In that one short video we were given, the careful movements of your fingers over the piano told a different story.
Nate, your papa, visited you in October. It was warm in Bulgaria. You were in Sofia, the capital. When Nate showed up at your orphanage, the director was not there to greet him. He entered the common room, turned to the left, and there you were. "And guess who I saw? Our sweet Nellie girl, rockin' out in her chair," he would tell me later. I pumped him for every detail, even the smell of your head!
Nate took you out of that chair the next day and played leapfrog with you. He brought you another little piano. He came every day and spent hours playing, just with you! What must you have thought? You were not used to having anyone pay so much attention to you. He got in the way of your rigid schedule, but you were seriously amused by him.
For five days he played with you. He showed you Braille and gave you tactile toys. He took videos of everything you did.
Then he had to say goodbye. On that last day he stood outside the orphanage and bawled while he waited for his interpreter to hail a cab. He says he literally bawled like a baby. His interpreter averted her eyes. He said leaving you was the hardest thing he had ever done. He wanted you tucked away in his suitcase, heading for home, but we had to wait another five months.
I wonder how you felt after Papa visited. Did you think it had all been a dream? Maybe you resigned yourself again to sitting and rocking.
Dear girl, we ached to bring you home! Those were the longest five months of our lives! We had videos and pictures--lots of pictures, since I had to live vicariously! Yet I couldn't bring myself even to look at them. I went into a kind of depression--waiting for you. I missed you so much I didn't want to hear your name. We missed you, and we hadn't even been properly introduced. The heart is an amazing organ!
Finally, when Papa went to pick you up, you were inconsolable at times. He had no tools for dealing with your grief. He could only truck on, survive the hotel room, get you home. Every day he took you to a park in the capital. There was fresh air, but you would have none of it. You had never been outside before. You were a model orphanage child, quiet, still.
In a stroller Papa took your six-year-old body to the park, where he met other parents who were picking up their children. You wouldn't leave the stroller. You were almost catatonic.
I started coaching (read: being a know-it-all) from America. In my defense, being at home was excruciating! "Place her hand on something," I said. "Unstrap her and see if she'll get out of the stroller."
You did! You started to explore some concrete animal structures. You smiled! Oh my dear heart--you lived!
But when you arrived home, it was a different story. You grieved heavily. You wanted only your thumb, and food, and a corner. You wanted nothing to do with us.
I wasn't prepared for how "delayed" you were. I feared labels such as autistic, unreachable, post institutionalized. I didn't fear your blindness. For this one grace I am grateful. It forced me right from the start to have high expectations for you.
You loved the piano. You loved a warm bath. You loved your bed. I started adding new things. I used essential oils to wake you up and help you go to sleep. I put toys in the bath.
At piano time I sat near you. I added in hugs, even though you pushed me away after a moment. I knew you needed the contact in order to heal.
After X-rays confirmed that you had no orthopedic issues, we insisted that you walk. We insisted that you climb stairs, holding a hand at first. We insisted that you come to the table for supper and seat yourself in your chair. We showed you how to brush your teeth and eat with a spoon.
Things changed a bit after a while, and you knew it. Some things I think you enjoyed, and some things you liked not so much. Daily I reminded myself that you were intelligent, that neglect had clouded this picture. I prayed hard and leaned heavily on the Author of All who created you and who created me the way I am, with all my intensity and fortitude, to be your mother.
Baby steps, I reminded myself, and I allowed myself to grieve. We smelled foreign to you. We sounded foreign. We had different routines and different behaviors. I know you must have felt that way, because I felt that way, too. I loved you fiercely, but I didn't know you, and you didn't know me. You didn't smell like my child. Wiping your nose or cleaning your bodily functions was an act of will in the beginning!
The reciprocal nature of our relationship was not established. When I comforted you, you pushed me away. When you laughed, it wasn't in response to anything I did, and it wasn't your way to make contact with me. I was learning moment to moment, and so were you.
Yet you did start to love us. Is this not an amazing thing? You began to interact with your siblings. Jericho, age eight, became your protector. Olive, age three, was your buddy and Seeing Eye sibling. Lucas, age nineteen, was your elusive big brother. He was at college all day, but he gave you great hugs before bed. And your sweet Gaelan, fifteen, swung you high and put you on his lap while he read. He got through to you as only he could--with silliness. That was exactly what you needed!
You were healing. You were happy most of the day, so again we expanded on the things that brought you comfort and happiness. Gross motor activity was the name of the game! We took trips to the park, swung you around, hung you upside down. You responded with verbalizations and giggles. We put away the stroller; you walked now, albeit reluctantly. Your muscles grew stronger. Perhaps your heart healed a little bit. Maybe we weren't so bad after all.
You loved books. You loved tactile images, and you loved to run your fingers over the Braille. We read more books to you. We spent time every day doing finger rhymes and games with you.
Then I pushed the envelope and snuggled you next to me during our bedtime reading. The first night you screamed. The second night you deeply considered your new situation. By the third night you were turning pages. Now reading time is your favorite time of the day!
You loved music and all things auditory. We made sure you had hours at your beloved piano. We played a variety of music for you, from classical to Leonard Cohen, from Bobby McFerrin to the Chipmunks. Nothing was off limits! Even though you didn't speak, you would hum a song you knew. Now we hum songs you love together. It's like a little conversation through pitch and harmony.
Now, home just over one-and-a-half years, you are thriving! You can feed yourself and ask for more! You can choose a toy and even drag one of us to find it (and you remember where you put it!). You spend hours composing songs on the piano. You still enjoy gross motor activities, but you are starting to engage in fine motor activities, too. Anything with jingle bells involved is a good activity indeed!
You are a sibling. The sound of Olive's voice always gets a smile from you. Jericho's often repeated chorus songs become your hums. You can say "No!" Once you said it to let Gaelan know that you wanted Mama's hand and not his! Your siblings are like gold to you, and you in turn are their treasure.
What will the future bring? I often say that you will have a place in this world in "any way you choose to express yourself." But I have specific hopes for you. I hope that you will learn to read and write Braille, so that you can enjoy on your own and with increasing complexity the books you love me to read to you. I hope for you to go to college and major in music, if this is your choice, so you can express your heart in this very special way. I want you to continue to love and be loved.
If I am very honest, I will admit that most nights I go to bed praying for you to find your voice. This whole story is very one-sided. These days, your future is dancing on the tip of your tongue, waiting for you to breathe life into it. What will you say once you decide to talk? We patiently await your voice, as we tried to wait patiently for you to come home. It will surely be a holy experience when you start to speak, and I can't wait to hear you!
by Danielle Trevino
From the Editor: Parents and teachers hear a great deal from the NFB about having high expectations for blind children. But what does that mean in everyday life? In this article Danielle Trevino reflects upon the ways her parents held her to high expectations and helped equip her for future success. Danielle recently moved to Baltimore to take a position at the National Center for the Blind as coordinator of social media and member engagement.
The house where I spent the first fifteen years of my life was an old one, built in the 1890s. The rooms were divided in an interesting way. There were two mudrooms between our back door and our kitchen, and the attic was located at the far end of our upstairs bathroom. Because of its location and a gap in the roof, our attic sometimes became the entryway for birds.
One day when I was seven, I walked into the bathroom, closed the door behind me, and was met by the furious flapping of wings. Screaming, I ran downstairs, yelling for my dad. I had never been so close to a bird in my life.
After making sure that I was okay, my dad told me to go wait in my room. When he came to find me, he shut the door behind him and told me to hold out my hand. I did so, and my fingertips touched something small and soft and alive.
I started to scream again when I realized that he had brought the bird into my room. "It's more scared of you than you are of it," he told me. He took my finger and made me touch the little sparrow's beak and wings. When I touched its tiny chest, I felt how fast it was breathing, and I knew that my dad was right. That poor thing was terrified! Now, as an adult, I'm still not a huge fan of birds, but I'm glad I faced my fear all those years ago.
My parents were born in Mexico. They both came to the United States as young kids. When I asked my dad recently how they knew how to raise me, their blind daughter, he said, "We did what we could. We made it a point not to treat you any differently, and we worked with what we had." I was the second of three siblings, and when Dad says that he treated me no differently, he's telling the truth.
There's a defining moment in each of our lives, a moment when we suddenly know how things are going to be. For me that moment came about thanks to a sink full of dirty dishes.
When I was eleven, all I wanted to do was talk on the phone. I would speed through my homework and chores, trying to beat my big brother to the corner of our kitchen where the phone hung on the wall. One evening I was rushing through the dishes when one of my uncles stopped by. My dad asked me to bring my uncle a glass of soda. I grabbed a "clean" glass, filled it with Pepsi, and brought it to the dining room.
As I walked away, Dad called me back to the table and told me to give him my hand. He apologized to my uncle and said, "I can't let you drink out of this glass."
My uncle protested, but my dad put my finger on a line of something sticky on the outside of the glass.
"It's not a big deal, Jaime. She couldn't see it," my uncle said.
"She's going to learn to do it right, blind or not," my dad responded. He took me back to the kitchen and proceeded to put all of the dishes I'd just washed back into the sink. "Do them again," he said, and walked away.
Today I know the language for that experience--he was raising the expectations for me. Back then, though, I didn't know how to explain the feeling I had, my sense that this was how it was going to be from now on. I just knew that my dad expected more from me, and my blindness was not going to serve as an excuse.
My childhood is full of similar instances. My mom taught me how to clean house and take care of my appearance. When I was twelve and my baby sister came along, Mom taught me to take care of her, too. My dad would build or modify things for me as it became necessary, all the while teaching me how to change lightbulbs and how to change gears in a stick shift car. He taught me the names of all of his tools. My life education went this way until I moved out of my parents' house at the age of eighteen.
The year 2015 has been a time of significant changes in my life. One of the more drastic changes was my move to Baltimore to work for the Federation. When I told my dad about the job, he asked me if I was excited. Yes, I told him, I was--but I was terrified, too.
"What is there to be scared of?" he asked. "We've equipped you and taught you. Now you got to run with it."
Recently my dad came to visit me. I was honored to have him stay at my apartment; to take him to dinner; to visit Washington, DC; and to go with him for a few walks around my neighborhood. During breakfast on the last morning, he told me that I've done well. He said he's proud that I didn't let my blindness hold me back. I reminded him that he raised me without a choice. He made me redo the dishes, just as my siblings had to redo them if they did a poor job. He just laughed and said that's how it should be.
He's so right! I'm grateful that he and my mom held me to that high standard. As our one-minute Federation message says, "Low expectations create obstacles between blind people and our dreams." My parents didn't know it back then, but they were equipping me to be successful. They gave me the confidence to follow my arrow wherever it leads.
by Carol Castellano
From the Editor: In this age of Bookshare, iPads, and the KNFB Reader, blind students may think that human readers are obsolete. As Carol Castellano points out, however, this is far from the case. It is still important for blind students to be skilled in the use of live readers in order to be as efficient as possible. Carol Castellano is a longtime Federationist and is past president of the National Organization of Parents of Blind Children (NOPBC) as well as cofounder and past president of Parents of Blind Children-NJ. She is the author of four books on the education of blind children. Her most recent title is Getting Ready for College Begins in Third Grade.
A reader--of the human kind--is a person who reads text or other material to a blind person. Even with all the technology available for reading purposes today, there are many times when using a human reader is the best, or even the only, option. Sometimes electronic devices break down or cannot handle needed material such as handwritten documents or complicated charts, diagrams, or mathematical and scientific formulae. Some websites are not fully accessible; sometimes an exam or standardized test simply won't work with a screen reader. With good skills in using a human reader, a blind person can access all of the material needed at school or on the job.
I once heard a human reader referred to as "an information acquisition tool." I like to think of a reader as a pair of eyes on loan to the blind person. The reader's job is to move through printed material at the direction of the blind person, providing the information he/she wants. The blind person gives the directions, such as "read," "stop," or "skip," and the reader follows them. A skilled blind person can move a reader through the material in the same way he/she would go through it if he/she had direct access.
To understand how this process works, think about how you would approach a certain reading task if you had full access to the information. For example, if you had to determine whether a particular book would be useful for a research paper, you might first check the table of contents or skim the introduction and opening chapter. Perhaps you would glance at the index, looking for names or key words. When using a reader, the blind person directs the reader to perform these tasks.
Most of the time the blind person wants the reader to read as quickly as possible and to read without dramatic inflection--in other words, to read like a machine. Blind people experienced with using readers say it's much easier to slow down a fast reader at points when the material is dense than it is to speed up a slow reader. In addition to telling the reader how fast to read, the blind person tells him or her when to skip a paragraph or section, when to skim, when to read every word, when to repeat a passage, and when to stop. The key factor is that the blind person is in control. The reader takes direction and moves through the material, giving the blind person the information he/she wants.
The reader and the blind person have a professional relationship. A reader's job is to read the material at the direction of the blind person. It is not a reader's job to be a companion, a caregiver, or a friend. Though warm feelings may grow through the reader relationship, the reader is there to do a job. Furthermore, a reader is not a teacher or tutor. The reader does not find the answers when reading an assignment, and the reader does not explain or teach the material. If the blind student needs assistance to understand course material, he/she should find a tutor.
Readers may be volunteers or individuals who are paid, and as such they may have very different motivations for doing the work. A volunteer might want to do a good deed or fulfill a social service requirement. A paid reader may be motivated by the need to earn money. These differing motivations make it necessary to think about what kind of reader is appropriate for a particular task.
For personal material such as mail, bills, or handwritten notes, where reading speed is not a big issue, a volunteer reader is probably fine. For reading jobs at school or at work, when the blind person needs to be businesslike and time may be of the essence, it is often better to have a paid reader. With a paid reader, the blind person is the employer, and the reader has to do the job well or get fired. With a volunteer who is doing the job out of the goodness of his heart, it can be awkward to give businesslike instructions. Experienced blind people suggest trying out a reader with typical materials that need to be read and gauging the person's reactions to instructions such as "Read as fast as you can--I don't need inflection," or "skip," "skim," and "stop." Some people will be fine with this; others may find it difficult.
For school-age children, readers will probably be volunteers. In addition, readers will most likely be considerably older than the child--adults, in fact. This situation can be awkward. Children are not used to giving directions to adults, and adults are not used to taking direction from children! Even so, children need training in the use of readers. Eventually they must be in charge of the process, giving appropriate and effective directions. If an adult volunteer is reading for your child in school, it might be wise to explain the process so that the volunteer can help the student learn to take charge.
The blind child needs to learn a variety of skills in order to direct a reader through all sorts of materials and get the information he/she is seeking efficiently and effectively. Some of these skills are: the ability to listen to fast reading, to process and analyze information quickly, to figure out what material can be skipped, and to take notes quickly. (When using a reader for school purposes, in most instances the student will be taking notes.)
The blind student should be included fully in all library and research projects at school so she or he can gain knowledge of typical book formatting and database setup, including:
The child also needs to develop appropriate assertiveness in order to be able to interrupt an adult reader and direct him or her to stop, skip, skim, spell, or describe. Children usually need a good deal of practice in this skill, especially those who are passive, shy, or extremely polite.
When you are training a child to use a reader, you will shift back and forth between the roles of teacher and reader. At times you will be following directions exactly; at other times you will step out of the reader role to teach the child how to give better directions. Here are some practice assignments you can try.
Assign the child to find a certain piece of information in a print book, using a human reader. Choose a familiar story so that the child will know where to find the information. The child's task is to direct someone else to get to that place. For example, you could ask, "What did the very hungry caterpillar eat on Thursday?" Have the child think about how he or she would go about the task if the book were fully accessible. Have the child practice giving directions based on how he or she would approach the task.
Have the child find a piece of information, such as the population of Bolivia, in an encyclopedia or article. The goal of this assignment is for the child quickly to figure out when the desired information is not in the paragraph being read. This is an opportunity for the child to practice saying "Skip" as soon as he or she realizes the paragraph does not have to be read fully. Have the child practice telling you to begin reading. You can also use this type of assignment to have the child learn when it is appropriate to direct a reader to skim for numerals.
Again, you will be stepping in and out of the reader role, sometimes instructing the child in ways that make him or her think and figure out what to do.
Tell the child you are going to read a few paragraphs fast and ask a few questions afterward. Use part of a story and part of a factual article that are at the child's level of comprehension. See how fast you can read with the child still able to take in the information. Find a speed that works for the child. Increase the speed little by little so that she or he learns to listen and gain information as quickly as possible.
Simulate a typical school assignment, such as the following: "Sam learns a lesson in the story. What lesson does she learn? Support your answer with words from the text."
Use a story that is familiar to the child, such as “Little Red Riding Hood,” so that he/she will know where in the story to direct you. Tell the child you will sit quietly and wait for him/her to tell you what to do. Follow the child's instructions exactly, even when they are bad, so that he/she will learn how to give clear and concise directions. Again, you will be stepping in and out of the reader role to teach the child what to do. You may need to prompt the child with cues so that he/she can figure out what to say.
Find a multi-columned, multi-row chart that would be difficult to access using technology, large print, or Braille. Perhaps the chart takes up a whole page in regular print but spills over to several pages in alternative formats. Assign the child to find a certain piece of information by directing a reader.
Give the child practice using skills learned in school, such as choosing books, looking at the table of contents and index, skimming for key words and names, and deciding whether a book would be good for the research paper, all using a reader. Again, the child should direct the reader based on how she/he would approach the task if the book were accessible.
Choose a section in a history or science textbook. Have the child practice directing you to stop reading when she/he wants to take notes. Have him or her practice telling you at the beginning of the reading session to stop when you see him/her starting to write. The child will also direct you to begin reading again.
Despite advances in technology, the typical blind college student will need to use human readers. There may well be texts that are not in an accessible format, technology that crashes, and databases that are not accessible. A college student must have the skills to direct a human reader so he or she has access to all the necessary information.
Usually a college student will need more than one reader. It is important for the student to have enough readers so that he or she doesn't wind up at exam time with no access to the material or with a totally inexperienced reader who doesn't read well.
For college students, most readers are fellow students. Often when a reader is needed for a particular class, the blind student lets the professor know and asks to make an announcement. The advantage of using a classmate is that he or she is likely to be motivated, as he/she will have to read the same material anyway. The disadvantage is that at exam time the reader may not be available, because he or she is busy studying. The blind student can also find readers by placing notices on bulletin boards and by placing ads in the school paper or on social media.
It is important that whenever possible, the blind person chooses his or her own readers. Good readers can be identified through an interview process. For the interview, the blind student should be ready with typical materials that need to be read. The student should explain the process--that she or he will tell the reader to begin, stop, skip, etc., and will ask the reader to read as fast as possible without worrying about inflection. The blind student can then gauge the reader's reaction to taking and following instructions.
How much and when the reader will be paid must be discussed during the interview. Usually blind students can obtain money for readers from their state vocational rehabilitation office. Sometimes reader service is offered through the college's disabled student services office. Whatever the situation, the blind student must be free to choose readers based on their abilities and to get rid of readers who aren't working out.
To use readers successfully at college, the blind student must learn time management, scheduling, and record-keeping. The student should never put up with a reader who wastes his/her time. By the same token, the student should never waste the reader's time, either. The student should be ready and waiting with his or her books and other materials when the reader arrives. Music and other distractions should be eliminated. Ideally, friendly chatting waits until the work is done. The blind student should treat the reader with respect, consideration, and appreciation, but the relationship must also be businesslike, so that the work gets done properly and in a timely manner.
The skills acquired through using human readers are invaluable throughout a blind person's lifetime. Using readers provides experience in recruiting, interviewing, hiring, training, scheduling, supervising, paying, and firing employees. These are all management skills that your child can use someday in the world of work. Make sure your child learns to use readers as early as possible so that he or she will become comfortable, competent, and confident in using the skills. Through the use of readers, your child will be able to access all of the materials needed for success.
Before I close, I want to express my special appreciation to the many Federationists from whom I have learned over the years. Their ideas are woven through this article. In particular I wish to acknowledge Peggy Elliott; Jerry Whittle; my daughter, Serena Cucco; and the late Adrienne Asch.
by Lydia A. Schuck
From the Editor: Lydia Schuck is a rehabilitation counselor and the parent of an adult blind daughter. She conducts federally funded research that aims to help school districts design transition programs for youth with disabilities. She is a past president of Michigan Parents of Blind Children and an active member of the Lansing Chapter of the National Federation of the Blind. This is the fourth article in a series on transition that she has written for Future Reflections.
Parents and their children sometimes carry on conversations that continue over many months. They pick up a topic, explore it, and drop it again, only to return to it days or weeks later. This gradual exploration process gives everyone time to grow and build understanding.
Children learn about the world of work in the same way, a little bit at a time. The "take your child to work" movement has helped children understand the workplace. Children who are blind may need even more experiences to help them gain a real understanding of the working world.
When I taught seventh- and eighth-grade mathematics, I asked my students to devise problems based on realistic work situations. I found that they knew very little about the work their parents and other adults did every day. Many students knew what an orthodontist does, and many wanted to be marine biologists to "save the whales." Some thought they knew a bit about the life of a teacher. Students often knew their parents' job titles, such as investment banker or even supply chain management consultant, but had no idea what the work actually entails. They didn't know much about what happens behind the scenes at a hospital, bank, factory, or other workplace.
Young people's limited knowledge about the workplace can make it hard for them to engage in meaningful conversations about transition. Sometimes a student may announce a career goal such as winning the lottery or playing in the NBA. If he or she plays sports at school, the student probably has some idea of the work involved. However, she may not have any understanding of the odds against success in professional sports or buying a winning lottery ticket. How do parents and other adults help youth with and without disabilities to learn about work?
Orientation and mobility lessons in the community, and even in the school setting, can provide important opportunities for incidental learning about work. Any family outing can function in this way as well. For instance, most students will know that a pharmacist works at the drugstore filling prescriptions and talking to people who purchase medications. But many pharmacists are also small business owners, supervising staff members who clean the store, maintain the merchandise, order supplies and medications, and run the checkout counter. A number of entry level jobs are available at pharmacies, banks, financial planning firms, florists' shops, and every other type of business.
The transition conversation can take place during every family outing or cane travel lesson. When you walk into a place of business, quickly describe the place to your child or student. "I see about eight people working today. The pharmacist is behind the back counter where the medications are dispensed, and it looks like there are two pharmacy assistants today. Wow, the phone keeps ringing. Good thing they have a person taking care of that. Now as soon as we find the cough medicine, we're going to check out up front where the cashier is."
You can have a similar conversation almost anywhere you go. Don't miss the opportunities! I even described farm fields when we were driving. I got pretty good at estimating the number of cows in a field as we zipped by.
The IEP document contains a place for school personnel to record the transition-age student's goals for adulthood. Your student or child will be asked about his goals in the areas of education and training, employment, and, if appropriate, independent living skills. The legal process for transition planning requires assessments to be performed that will help the child develop adult goals. However, not all school programs carry out such assessments.
You can assess your child's progress by continuing the transition conversation. Ask him to describe his goals once a year, and write them down. You will be able to look back and see that he is developing and maturing, year by year. Gently try to ask follow-up questions that will help him identify steps he could take now to reach his goals in the future.
Looking at long-term goals is helpful, but the student also needs to learn to identify the next step. She may be stumped by the question: What do I do next?
Education and training goals become more meaningful as students approach working age. Some careers will demand specific training. Some students with additional disabilities may not be able to complete the education required for a specific career. Here are some careers and sample follow-up questions.
Doctor or other medical worker
Teacher
Chemist or other scientist
Warehouse manager or logistics support
Car mechanic or other hands-on occupation
One young man told his team that he wanted to be a NASCAR mechanic. However, his intellectual disability prevented him from learning the things he would need in order to compete in that career. His parents asked him some more questions. They found out that he liked the way the group of NASCAR mechanics would all rush out to work on a car in the pit stop. He wanted to be part of a team working on cars. His family helped him find work at a quick oil change business, where he was welcomed onto its team.
We can learn a lot from this story. Don't automatically tell your child that his idea is unrealistic. Dig a little deeper.
In our family the transition conversation has been a long-term process. Our child, who is now twenty-three years old, has several disabilities. Autism-related anxiety is her biggest barrier. She has great skills in literary, math, and music Braille, and she is a good writer. She plays and composes beautiful music at the piano keyboard. However, she finds many sounds intolerable, especially the noise of vibrating machinery and the sounds of babies crying. She cannot work for any extended period without help or interaction.
Our transition conversation has progressed to the point where our daughter has created a job goal of becoming a fiction writer. Her rehabilitation counselor has officially listed her as needing supported employment, which seems logical to all of us. The commission for the blind in our state has provided her with a BrailleNote, and she is taking a correspondence course on English composition from the Hadley Institute for the Blind and Visually Impaired. Her fiction is already off to a good start, as she has been writing stories for years. Online college courses or massive online open courses (MOOCs) are probably her next step toward her goal.
Our daughter has some very special interests, a common feature of individuals who have autism. She collects plastic animals and action figures to populate the stories she makes up for fun. She is furnishing a dollhouse. She buys her "favorites" at local toy stores and does a bit of buying online. She can search the web independently on her BrailleNote Apex. We help her buy some items. She is now selling her "not favorites" on a consignment basis at two locations. This activity helps her understand how retail selling works.
We also noticed how much our daughter likes to entertain guests, and we realized that she likes to interact with people in structured social situations. She likes to find just the right gifts for family members and friends. Over time her interests in writing, toys, and hospitality have led her to be interested in having her own hybrid at-home and online retail business. She wants to sell items related to her special interests and also to sell her stories and novels. It will take a long time for her to get up and running, and she will always require some outside support, but this is the life she wants to live.
"I really want to get off of SSI," our daughter tells us. We support her intention to do so, though she may not completely accomplish this goal. For a start, she will be enrolling in courses on small business offered by the Hadley Institute.
What happens if our daughter changes her mind? Her current path is pretty broad, and nothing she does now will be wasted effort. The most important aspect of our family's transition conversation is always to remain positive, with a hopeful attitude.
J. R. R. Tolkien wrote, "All that is gold does not glitter, / Not all those who wander are lost." Transition to adulthood is a wandering process for most young people, with or without disabilities. Robert Louis Stevenson wrote, "To travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive." We certainly want our children to arrive somewhere, but we can't make it happen. We can, however, inject hope into every step of the journey. We can help our children develop their literacy, technology, and travel skills. Young people may wander quite a bit, but we have to remember as they journey that blindness is not the thing that holds them back. They can live the lives they want.
IDEA language for goal statements for the IEP
<http://www.parentcenterhub.org/repository/transition-goals/6>
Stevenson, R. L. "El Dorado," <www.readbookonline.net/ReadOnLine/8384>
Tolkien, J. R. R. (1967). The Fellowship of the Ring. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, p. 222.
by Peggy Chong
From the Editor: Peggy Chong is a longtime Federationist who has developed a deep interest in the lives of everyday blind people from the past. She says she draws renewed energy for her Federation activities by looking back at the struggles and triumphs of blind people who came before us.
When my daughter was six, she told me that when she grew up she wanted to be a cowboy, a nun, and a mommy. As most moms would, I told her that was great!
My daughter is sighted. The adults around her assumed that, when she reached the age to think seriously about her career options, she would realize on her own that being a cowboy, a nun, and a mommy all at once might present some problems. As it turned out, I did not have to explain why her career could not be all of the above. She is now a successful computer guru, like her dad.
Something different tends to happen when a blind child announces her future occupation. If a blind girl says to her parents, "I want to be a bus driver when I grow up," Mom or Dad is likely to say, "That sounds nice, dear. But you know, you can't get a driver's license. You're blind."
How is a parent to talk with a blind child about careers? What jobs have blind people chosen throughout history? In what careers can a blind person succeed today?
Over the past several years, I have researched the lives of blind men and women in the United States from the 1700s through the early years of the twentieth century. I have gathered some surprising information.
"But newspaper work is all print oriented!" you might say.
Francis O. Edgecomb was born in 1864 to a well-to-do family, and he obtained a college education. He and his family had great hopes for his future. In 1890, Edgecomb became a banker in Rulo, Nebraska. He rose quickly, not only in his local bank, but in the financial community in general. Then, in 1892, Francis Edgecomb was injured while he was out hunting prairie chickens. A friend shot him accidentally, and as a result he lost his sight.
Not knowing any other blind persons, Edgecomb assumed that he could no longer run the bank. As he had a wife and small children to support, he determined to find another line of work. The bank owned and operated the local newspaper. Edgecomb decided that he would become a newspaper editor.
At first Edgecomb performed all the tasks necessary to run the paper. Through the bank he had easy access to the news of the town. He also had a network of connections with businesses that would take out ads. He was so successful that he and his friends began to buy up other newspapers in the area. Soon Edgecomb was operating his own paper, the Geneva Signal.
Francis Edgecomb did not have training in the skills of blindness. However, he had a supportive family and the drive to succeed. If one strategy did not work, he tried another. He had a thirst to learn. Though he could not read print himself, he found people who could read to him. When he could not travel to the news, he found creative ways to make the news come to him. Today his great-grandson runs the Geneva Signal and all the other papers that Edgecomb purchased.
Was Francis Edgecomb an exception? Well, then there was William Cramer, who was deaf as well as blind. For seventy years he owned and operated a newspaper that is now the Wisconsin Journal. Robert Gust and his wife, who was also blind, ran one of the local newspapers in the new and growing town of Cyrus, Minnesota, for about ten years in the 1920s. Max Frost edited and ran the Santa Fe New Mexican for more than ten years, until his retirement in 1908. B. F. Ervine edited The Oregon Journal for many years and was a powerful political figure. Franklyn Bruce Smith worked for more than fifty years in the Saginaw, Michigan, area as a salesman, reporter, editor, and finally as the owner of a newspaper.
Thomas Muir of Plainfield, New Jersey, became blind as a young man while working as a reporter for a New York paper. He did not think that blindness would interfere with his career. In fact, he went on to become the editor of the Plainfield Record in New Jersey. He was elected to the state house of representatives and served for twenty-six years.
We do not have space to look at the lives and accomplishments of the many other blind newspapermen and women I have found. Here is a brief list: Siver Serumgard, North Dakota; Raymond Blackmer, Minnesota; Edwin Frost, Wisconsin; Henry Belk, North Carolina. The list goes on.
Not so shocking!
Thomas Nicholson was the first blind electrician I ran across. Born in 1877, he lived in San Francisco. By the time he was fourteen, he and his sister were on their own. Nicholson became a messenger for the local phone company, where his sister also worked. He asked a lot of questions, wanting to learn all he could about the new invention, the telephone. At the age of seventeen he was blinded when a piece of copper wire broke off and struck him in the eye.
After he healed from his injury, Nicholson received blindness training, probably at the Home for the Adult Blind in Oakland. He learned to be a piano tuner, but he went back to the phone company and asked to become an electrician. It took a bit of convincing, but the company finally hired Nicholson to build telephones. The job required considerable knowledge of wiring and other electrical work.
Years later, also in California, a man named Jack Polston received wide publicity. Polston was established as an electrician when he was blinded in an explosion. He attended the blindness orientation center in Oakland, where he studied under Kenneth Jernigan and regained his confidence. After completing the program, he returned to his work as an electrician. Polston later testified before the US Congress, demonstrating that blind persons can work successfully in the skilled trades.
Due to the labor shortage during World War II, many blind people obtained good jobs. They proved their ability and did well. Nevertheless, most of these blind workers were laid off when the sighted veterans came home. Irwin Herschkowitz was one of the fortunate exceptions. He got his first job as a radio mechanic during the war, and he kept his job with the Air Force for many years. He also worked as a telephone repairman.
Other blind electricians include Pat Knowles of New Jersey, Mike Mineweaser of Pennsylvania, and Joseph Remington of Michigan. I am sure there are even more that I haven't found yet.
Edward Max is the best documented blind barber I have discovered. Born in New York, he moved to Michigan and established a successful barbershop. When he was thirty-seven years old, he began to lose his sight very rapidly. At first he tried to ignore his vision loss, but soon he began to explore new ways to cut his clients' hair. His skills as a barber had long been sought after by clients in Detroit. Now he modified those skills so he could keep on shaving clients and cutting hair. He trained himself to listen to the many different sounds in his shop. As the boss, he managed the till. He could accurately charge a client for the services rendered by the barbers who worked under him. I have found references to at least four other blind barbers.
Yes, they made house calls.
We have all heard of Dr. Jacob Bolotin, who practiced medicine in Chicago from 1912 until his death in 1924. Well, there was yet another blind doctor in the Chicago area, Dr. Robert H. Babcock. Babcock became a renowned heart specialist. Born in 1851 and blinded at age thirteen, he set out to get a good education, beginning at a school for the blind in Philadelphia. He found out that several blind people had become lawyers, so for a time he studied law. However, his true love was medicine. He took the necessary courses and then, with his strong personality, he got to know the right people. He volunteered to serve in many capacities in medical associations, doing all that needed to be done. He wrote many papers and articles, and he addressed medical conferences around the United States.
Babcock kept in touch with blind persons around the country, including other blind doctors. He promoted opportunities for blind persons and served on the board of Outlook for the Blind, a publication of the American Foundation for the Blind. His intimate knowledge of the workings of the heart made him a sought-after consultant for other doctors.
Several blind people have worked in the field of chiropractic. Henry Schluntz, a blind chiropractor from Iowa, hired a driver and visited all of the farms in the area. He provided home treatments to anyone who was interested, sometimes offering his services free of charge. In this way he built a loyal clientele, and eventually he became a millionaire.
In the past, traditional fields for blind people included piano tuning, chair caning, and weaving. Like Henry Schluntz, blind piano tuners found creative ways to recruit and keep clients. Several blind piano tuners in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, rode bicycles around town to transport their equipment, moving as fast as their sighted counterparts. Following the wagon ruts, they rode straight down the streets.
This is only a short summary of the inventive, enterprising blind workers whose stories I have uncovered in my research. I hope these accounts show that the choice of a career for a blind person is wide open. What matters is the person's drive and determination to do whatever the job requires, and to do it well. The individuals I have described built successful and meaningful lives for themselves and their families. Some had blindness training, and others did not. None of them had the gadgets that make our lives so much easier today.
Back to the blind child who wants to be a bus driver, or an Uber driver, or an airplane pilot. Why not? The self-driving Google car is now on the streets. Technology is advancing so fast that things we think are impossible today may be taken for granted next month. Still, technology doesn't have all the answers. Ingenuity is where it all begins.
by Allison Hilliker
Reprinted from Bookshare Blog, November 24, 2015
From the Editor: Allison Hilliker provides Bookshare customer support for Benetech's global literacy program. She has a bachelor of science degree from Arizona State University, serves as secretary of the National Association to Promote the Use of Braille (NAPUB), and has been part of the Benetech team for more than eight years. As a legally blind person who has experienced reading both Braille and print, Allison has a special passion for the topic of reading for people who have low vision. Her daughter, Allyssa Kathleen Leveda Hilliker, was born on January 9, 2016.
Imagine a reading solution that would allow students with low vision to read for hours without eye fatigue. Imagine a solution where their ability to distinguish among letters would not be dependent upon print size, contrast, lighting, color, or font style; where skimming or rereading a paragraph or page wouldn't be cause for frustration or eyestrain; where students could easily discern the subtleties of spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and paragraph layout. Imagine a reading option in which individuals wouldn't have to hold the book close to their faces or hunch over a tablet screen in order to read.
Well, there is a reading solution that enables students to accomplish all this and more. That solution is Braille.
Readers who have varying degrees of usable sight have demonstrated that they can read on or above grade level simply by using Braille. For decades, Braille has enabled individuals with low vision to compete effectively with their sighted classmates in higher education and with colleagues in the workplace. Studies have shown that, while there is a high rate of unemployment among adults who are blind or visually impaired, the majority of those individuals who are employed use Braille. These facts demonstrate that there is a tremendous benefit to students who obtain Braille skills and use Braille consistently.
An individual need not be totally blind, or even close to it, in order to benefit from reading Braille. Many students with low vision keep pace with their peers in the primary grades because the print is large and/or minimal on any one page. As these students progress to the upper grades, however, the print decreases in size and increases in volume. These changes often cause frustration and lead students to avoid reading altogether or resort to using audio materials only. This situation creates a wide gap between students with visual impairments and their fully sighted peers.
In contrast, when a student with partial sight becomes proficient in Braille, he or she has the option to choose the reading medium (print or Braille) that works best in any given situation. As a result, Braille readers with low vision are equipped with multiple tools to help them achieve success.
No. It's often believed that Braille is difficult, tedious, and time consuming to learn, resulting in low comprehension levels. However, the experiences reported by Braille-reading adults demonstrate the opposite. Many adult Braille readers read with a proficiency level equal to that of their sighted friends and colleagues. Students who learn Braille and are encouraged to practice it daily emerge with reading speeds and comprehension levels comparable to those of their sighted peers.
During preschool a sighted child typically begins to learn reading skills in print. When a preschool-age child with a visual impairment learns reading in a similar manner to sighted classmates, but uses Braille instead of print, both learners typically develop similar reading abilities. It may or may not take a little longer for older students just beginning Braille to become proficient readers. However, with daily encouragement and practice, all students can develop Braille skills quickly and read as fluently as their sighted counterparts who use print.
Braille itself is not inherently slower or more difficult to read than print. However, when individuals learn a skill later in life, they may find it hard to master at the beginning. The important thing is for teachers to have a positive attitude about Braille so that students will be motivated to use it, even if they find it difficult at first.
If an instructor is excited about Braille, students are likely to be excited as well. Enthusiasm for Braille will reduce resistance to using it. Exposing students to role models who use Braille (especially individuals who are the same age as the learner) can be encouraging. Students learning Braille often feel isolated because they believe they are the only Braille readers in the area or because they don't know anyone else who reads Braille. Introducing students with low vision to other Braille users can normalize Braille and motivate them to learn to read just as well as or better than others in either Braille or print.
It is normal for children, and some adults for that matter, to resist working on tasks that are difficult at first. As with any other skill, Braille becomes much easier with daily practice. A positive attitude about Braille will go a long way toward encouraging students. If an instructor has the attitude that Braille is important, exciting, and fun to use, students will be more likely to believe the same thing.
While listening to a book may seem a viable alternative to reading, it has some limitations. Adults who primarily listened to books instead of actively reading for themselves when they were young often discover they struggle with academic writing. The audio format prevented them from obtaining proficiency in spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and other writing skills. Not every writing challenge can be resolved through spell-check, and two words that sound the same can be spelled differently. Limited opportunities for interacting with text while young can create difficulties with writing in higher education or employment. Braille, when presented in a positive way and reinforced with practice, eliminates those deficiencies.
In addition, an audio format does not allow students to read from notes while giving a presentation or delivering a speech. This may not seem like an important task for younger students, but presentation skills are often required in higher education and in some employment settings. Holding a printed page close to one's face, or speaking to a group with an ear-bud in one ear, may not present a professional impression. On the contrary, a skilled Braille reader skimming Braille notes while facing and engaging the audience can be extremely effective. In this way Braille can enable students to read aloud with confidence and poise.
Braille may also be preferable to audio options for labeling important items such as medication bottles, school folders, etc. Braille can be useful for making board games and card games accessible; for reading aloud to younger children; or for keeping lists of groceries, passwords, guests, and so on.
Absolutely not! Students with low vision are not required to use Braille exclusively. While individuals will become more proficient readers by using Braille daily, they may still read print when and if it meets their requirements in terms of print size, color contrast, and font style. Having proficient Braille skills and the ability to read print presents students with two viable options. Many successful students with low vision are competent readers in both Braille and print (either large print or via magnification devices) and are skilled in deciding which reading medium is best in a given situation. This expertise develops over time with practice and confidence. Experienced Braille readers often discover that Braille is the most effective option the majority of the time, while other formats may be options when Braille is unavailable. In addition, students' preferences for Braille over print are likely to increase as their reading becomes faster and more fluent. The optimal scenario for a student with low vision who is proficient in Braille is having several media options from which to choose.
There is no shame in anyone with partial sight choosing to read Braille in addition to or instead of other formats. Braille has been a respectable reading method for over one hundred years. Many young students are amazed to learn that Braille was invented by a French boy, Louis Braille, at age fifteen. As is true with many subjects, an instructor's positive attitude toward Braille helps students develop a positive attitude, too.
Students with low vision may already feel self-conscious if they have to read enlarged text on oversized pages; hold papers close to their faces; hunch over a table to read textbooks, worksheets, or tablets; or sit very close to a computer screen. Students who perfect Braille reading skills may find that they are more like their sighted classmates because they are comfortable reading in a variety of settings.
Braille enables a student to sit up proudly while reading with confidence. Any student who reads well is more likely to be comfortable reading in groups, regardless of medium choice. Moreover, Braille readers can read regardless of lighting quality or eye fatigue. The versatility of Braille may motivate a student to read more often. In addition, introducing students to Braille as young as possible can increase acceptance and lead to a smoother learning process.
Braille readers who can read fluidly, quickly, and without stress are more likely to be confident and have higher cognitive levels than poor readers who struggle to use regular print like their peers.
The National Reading Media Assessment (NRMA) is a free assessment tool available to instructors that uses current research to determine whether a student with a visual impairment would benefit from learning Braille or print as his/her primary medium. The results of this assessment may be shared with other members of a student's education team, such as parents, administrators, and classroom teachers. Seeing a demonstrated need for Braille instruction may help others understand the importance of Braille. With a positive approach toward Braille and the belief that Braille will help students be successful in education and employment, instructors may find that others will be more open to Braille as an option.
Feel free to explain to others that Braille does not mean the student with low vision will no longer use any remaining vision. Instead, Braille enhances one's education by adding an additional literacy tool to use when vision may not be reliable. Through reading Braille, a student's confidence grows because reading efficiently in any situation has occurred.
Yes! All of Bookshare's English language books are available in Braille Ready Format (BRF). They can be read on a Braille device such as the BrailleSense or BrailleNote, or they can be printed out in hard copy. Bookshare recently tested Unified English Braille (UEB), which was officially released on its site early in 2016. This feature will allow access to hundreds of thousands of books in the new code. It also will enable instructors to demonstrate the new UEB standard through books that will engage readers with diverse interests.
Bookshare titles can be downloaded by logging onto the Bookshare site at <www.bookshare.org>, searching for a title, and selecting BRF from the format dropdown box. Note that some DAISY readers can read the DAISY text format using an electronic Braille display. Such displays will show text in Braille, even if it has not been directly translated into Braille by other means.
Any student in the US who has a print disability such as visual impairment or dyslexia is eligible for a free subscription to Bookshare. With 385,000 titles in January 2016, Bookshare has the largest collection of accessible books in the world, and it is growing every day. We invite you to sign up and try one of our Braille books today!
Braille eLearning Activities for Children
<www.pdrib.com/pages/brailkids.php>
Resources for Teachers from the National Federation of the Blind
<https://nfb.org/braille-teachers>
Ten Braille Resources from the American Foundation for the Blind
<www.afb.org/blog/afb-blog/10-braille-resources-from-the-american-foundation-for-the-blind-in-honor-of-louis-brailles-birthday/12>
Spanish Braille Resources
<www.perkinselearning.org/scout/spanish-braille-resources>
by Carlton Anne Cook Walker
Reprinted from Braille Monitor, December 2015
From the Editor: Carlton Anne Cook Walker is president emerita of the National Organization of Parents of Blind Children (NOPBC). In the fall of 2015 she took a position as manager of Braille education programs at the National Federation of the Blind Jernigan Institute in Baltimore. In this capacity she writes to express the concern of the National Federation of the Blind about the lack of standardization in the states regarding the Braille code used in mathematics textbooks. This is an updated version of an article recently published in the Braille Monitor.
As you may know, Unified English Braille (UEB) replaced the current literary Braille code (EBAE, or English Braille, American Edition) on January 4, 2016. In 2012 the Braille Authority of North America (BANA) resolved to take this action, but to retain the Nemeth Code for all Mathematics- and Science-related texts. BANA did not waver from this position in its public statements on this matter in 2012, 2013, and 2014.
Unfortunately, in November, 2015, a split in the BANA membership led the organization to set forth the following statement regarding Nemeth Code: "BANA stands by our original motion to adopt UEB as a complete code as well as the implementation statement issued in 2014 in which we expressed that the Nemeth Code remains integral to Braille in the United States. The board of BANA could not reach consensus regarding the establishment of a single standard code for technical materials for Braille in the United States. The decision to use UEB or the Nemeth Code within UEB context for technical materials should be made based on Braille readers' individual needs."
BANA's current statement is confusing. However, its original motion to adopt Unified English Braille to replace the current English Braille American Edition in the United States (while maintaining the Nemeth Code for mathematics and science notation, 1972 revision and the Music Braille Code 1997) is the course of action most recently approved by the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) in Resolution 2015-29 and first approved in Resolution 2012-13. The American Council of the Blind (ACB) also passed a resolution in 2012 supporting UEB only if Nemeth Code is retained.
As the January 4, 2016, deadline approached, the change from EBAE to UEB Braille in the literary context proceeded rather smoothly. While some expressed regret at one or more of the nine contractions eliminated in UEB and the change in spacing, contraction use, some punctuation, and highlighting of text, the transition to UEB for literary documents is a relatively minor one. Many believed that updating Nemeth Code to include UEB rather than EBAE for its literary content would present the same orderly and nationally cohesive transition. Unfortunately, this was not to be.
At some point in the process, a few individuals began advocating for the complete abandonment of Nemeth Code in favor of "UEB Math," contrary to the wishes of most blind individuals and professionals in the STEM fields in this country, and counter to the unwavering guidance of BANA. "UEB Maths" is a term (used in "All UEB countries," by the way) that refers to the numbers and mathematical operations included in UEB. Please note that UEB Maths uses Literary Braille numbers only--that is, numbers written on the upper portion of the Braille cell. The representation of numbers in the upper portion of the Braille cell creates the need for numerous and duplicative number indicators and letter indicators in many mathematical equations.
Unfortunately, some states have taken the position of the "All UEB" abandonment of Nemeth Code splinter group under advisement--despite clear opposition to such a plan by the NFB and the ACB, and despite BANA's position on this matter. In response to the movement to remove Nemeth Code and use only UEB for all literary, mathematical, and science purposes, the NFB membership adopted Resolution Number 2015-29 at the 2015 NFB Annual Convention in Florida. This resolution (1) urges state departments of education across the United States to follow the BANA guidelines regarding the use of Nemeth Code for mathematical documents, and (2) urges BANA to clarify that, "Braille code standards are not set by individual states," and, "to indicate unequivocally that the Nemeth Code, with the guidance for Nemeth in UEB contexts, is the standard for mathematics Braille in the United States." I urge you to review Resolution 2015-29, for it sets forth the issue of concern in a clear, logical, and concise manner.
On August 24, 2015, NFB President Mark Riccobono sent a letter to the department of education in every state. In his letter, President Riccobono sets forth the issues involved with this matter and provides guidance to the educational professionals: "The differences between the presentation of mathematics in Nemeth Code and math using UEB symbols are so fundamental that a blind child moving to a state with a different math standard could find his or her math books and tests inaccessible, even though they are in Braille." President Riccobono urges each state's department of education "to eliminate needless confusion and unnecessary cost by using the Nemeth Code for Mathematics and Science Notation, with BANA's guidance for Nemeth in UEB contexts, as the standard for math Braille." A companion article, "Talking Points," (reprinted below), sets forth a brief history leading up to the current situation. "Talking Points" contains links to the referenced files.
A May 2006 article in Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness (JVIB), "Studies of Braille Reading Rates and Implications for the Unified English Braille Code," reports, "The mathematical computational format, algebra, and calculus were 21 percent to 54 percent longer in UEBC, linear arithmetic was only 1 percent longer, and computer code samples were 1 percent longer to 4.5 percent shorter." As noted in the article, this significant increase in the length of equations in the higher-level math areas of mathematical computational equations, algebra, and calculus cause grave concern about the potential negative impact upon Braille readers in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. "Nemeth Code's use of lower cell numbers allows the upper part of the Braille cell to be used for mathematical functions, critical to the overall successful use of the code for mathematics," observed Dr. Cary Supalo in a presentation at the spring meeting of BANA on April 28, 2012.
"UEB versus Nemeth States" lists the public positions taken by various states with regard to plans for the implementation of UEB and how it impacts Nemeth Code. At this point, twenty-one states (Arizona, California, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, Ohio, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin) have indicated that they will follow BANA's guidance to retain Nemeth Code. Two states (North Carolina and Utah) have indicated that they will go the "All UEB" route, but students who request Nemeth materials will still be provided these materials. Only one state, Massachusetts, has declared that it plans completely to eliminate Nemeth Code from its training, instruction, and curricular materials. One state, South Dakota, has indicated that it will fully support both Nemeth Code and the "All UEB" option, while three states (Kansas, North Dakota, and Wyoming) have declared that "the Nemeth Code or All UEB question will be decided on a piecemeal, local level by each school district."
To date, the majority of the states have not taken a final position on this matter. However, many of these states have disseminated proposals regarding whether they plan to follow BANA's guidance on retaining the Nemeth Code. We are hearing that NFB affiliates have not been contacted in many states, even though other non-consumer stakeholders have received information about these proposals.
Please contact your state department of education regarding this matter. Please review "Talking Points" and advocate for the retention of Nemeth Code for blind students now and in the future. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Carlton Anne Cook Walker, manager of Braille education programs, National Federation of the Blind Jernigan Institute, at (410) 659-9314, extension 2225, or at <[email protected]>.
Current BANA Guidance on the Issue
Implementation of Unified English Braille (UEB), of November 9, 2014, at:
<http://www.brailleauthority.org/ueb/implementation/statement.pdf>
Provisional Guidance for Transcription Using the Nemeth Code within UEB Contexts, November 2014, at:
<http://www.brailleauthority.org/ueb/nemeth-provisional/guidance.pdf>
BANA Press Release, November, 2013, at:
<http://www.brailleauthority.org/pressreleases/pr-2013-11-26.html>
Motion to Adopt UEB, November 2, 2012, at: <http://www.brailleauthority.org/ueb/UEB-PASSEd.html>
NFB Position on the Matter
NFB Resolution 2015-29, at: <https://nfb.org/2015%20Resolutions#resolution2015-29>
NFB Resolution 2012-13: at <https://nfb.org/images/nfb/documents/word/resolutions2012.doc>
ACB Position on the Matter
ACB Resolution 2012-07: at <http://acb.org/resolutions2012#Res07>
States going "rogue" can only hurt students.
Teachers of students with blindness/visual impairment will have LESS time to instruct children.
"All UEB" state high school and college graduates will be ill-prepared to enter the postsecondary workforce in any STEM field, due to what will become their lack of Nemeth Code knowledge.
Abandoning Nemeth Code will create a problem with accessible math textbooks.
There is no certification for "All UEB" transcription in the US.
by Erin Jepsen
From the Editor: Erin Jepsen is a low-vision homeschooling mother of four elementary-age children, one blind, one low vision, and two sighted. She is passionate about education for all kids and about teaching Braille. She and her family live in Idaho.
Chatting with a friend today about a refreshable Braille display got me thinking again about the absurdities that I've seen firsthand in my daughter's classes. I've seen a silly attitude about Braille in both a local public school and in a state virtual academy. I've also heard about it from friends around the country who support one another online.
This problem comes, I think, from society's general perception that Braille is complicated, difficult, and specialized. My daughter's TVIs work endlessly to provide peer enrichment, to normalize Braille, to minimize errors, and to add Braille in spaces within the school. I have tried to do the same at home. Still, in spite of our best efforts, misperceptions remain in attitudes about Braille and print.
To address some of these misperceptions for the non-Braille-reading public, I want to try an experiment. I want to reframe some of the things that students commonly hear when they are being taught Braille by imagining that they are being said to a sighted print reader. I'd like to say these things about the reading method that nearly everyone in my area uses: English print.
Imagine a typical first- or second-grader of average intelligence who is learning to read. Keep in mind the material this learner will need to read in eighth grade. In twelfth grade. In college. On the job. Running a household.
1. It makes sense that you're having a hard time with this. It is hard to learn print.
As your hypothetical classroom teacher, I don't actually read this print stuff. Your aide took a two-week training course, and we have a reference chart here, but I really don't know how print works. It just looks like a bunch of squiggles on the paper. It uses a round symbol for both a zero and the letter o, and I'm not sure how to tell you which one is which. There is also special shorthand stuff, like spelling with as w/, and I don't know how to teach you all that.
Reading a book with writing on both sides of the page is hard for me. It doesn't matter that it's normal for you; I say it's hard, because for me, it is.
You have a special print teacher, and you'll see her for an hour or two per week. Surely that's all the extra help you'll need.
2. I'm not aware of any techniques for reading print at a usable speed.
As far as I know, print readers only read one letter at a time. I don't know any adults who read printed books. I saw someone do it once on TV, and it looked like magic. I've heard that people who read print well are either geniuses or flukes.
3. I'm sorry, but your book is loaded with typos.
The books we're giving you were transcribed by unqualified volunteers, so there are at least two typos or misprints or misspelled words for every thirty words. Just remember you're lucky to have print books at all.
Every other kid in your class gets information from illustrations, but we're going to skip those for you. They're cute, but probably they're not important.
4. Technology, schmechnology!
First of all, nobody like you uses computers or knows how to type at your age. You have plenty of time to learn that stuff later. Your job someday probably won't require a computer. If it does, someone can give you a quick training course. For now, we're going to print your books using a dot-matrix printer. The school bought it in 1989 for our last print reader, and they don't want to buy anything new.
We're going to get you a special display screen, though. It hooks up to an iPad. It displays three words per screen. To get to the next screen, you just press this little button over here. Cool, right?
5. Reading is overrated.
Nobody these days needs to read print or write with a pencil anyway. You can just listen to audiobooks. It's a lot less work than reading, and you can dictate anything you want to write. Technology is amazing these days for people like you.
6. Nobody else reads the way you read.
In your school, no one besides you reads print. The teachers don't read it. Your friends don't read it. There is no print displayed around the halls, on the classroom walls, or in the lunchroom. Everybody reads, but nobody reads English print. Nobody here can read what you write, and nobody can write to you. Well, one of your friends learned to write to you. He thinks print is a cool secret code.
There's a sign in print by the bathroom. You say it actually says "Aathroox?"
We keep reminding you to be grateful for your printed books. The other students have thousands of books in whatever they read, and no one tells them to be grateful. But you should be grateful for the twelve books that you have. Don't forget, people went to a lot of trouble to get them for you.
You didn't do very well on the reading test last week. Your special print teacher says it was written like this: %Bgoat %Bpig %Bhorse %Bduck. I don't read print, so I don't know how it looks to you. I just grade your test the best I can.
7. You will get your books late. Always.
The school ordered the wrong reading book from the supplier, so your book is the first-grade version, not the second-grade version. It's double-spaced and uses easy vocabulary, but that's okay for you. Your life is challenging enough already, just learning to read print. You have to learn all those curves and squiggles. The capital letters are different shapes, and there are different fonts, too. You have to learn five different shapes just for the letter A. That's hard! You don't need challenging vocabulary, too.
You're falling behind your class? Don't worry. You have a lot on your plate.
Your math book is still at the translator's shop. They say it will be here in seven months. Everyone else is going to use a math book during the next seven months, but I'll just read your math out loud to you.
Don't worry about learning to read numbers! When you get your math book, you can read the numbers all you want! Be grateful you're getting a math book in print.
8. Of course you're behind.
Kids like you, print readers of average intelligence, are always behind.
Always.
In fact, you'll likely graduate from high school with about a fourth-grade reading level. It can't be helped. It's okay, though, because kids like you don't usually want to have a career. People who read print usually get jobs sorting stuff at places like Goodwill. They pay you about $2 an hour, but you won't notice that because of the math thing.
9. Print is just so cool!!
Print looks cool! I see it here and there, like on elevators, and it's just so neat. It's all swoopy and round, and I like to look at it. People like you must be really special to read it. I can't believe you can just walk up to a sign with words printed on it and boom! read what it says.
Kids who read print are so beautiful and special. They open their printed books and just go for it. Unbelievable!
10. I love the way you write print, too.
I've watched you write print. You make these marks on paper, and you actually know what they say. That special tool you use, what's it called? A pencil? It's so neat! It writes print, just like that!
I've seen you type on a special keyboard. It makes print, too, but it disturbs the class with the clicking noise, so I wish you wouldn't use it. You can use it someday when you're grown up, but not in class, okay? Just tell one of the adults what you want to write, and we'll do it for you. We'll even spell it right for you. You can practice spelling words on your special spelling tests in your special writing room on Fridays.
Dear Reader, what do you think? Do you think a kid is going to learn to read in that atmosphere, with those expectations and that sort of encouragement? With that amount of support and practice?
Any TVI or homeschool mom who has tried to even things out for a Braille reader knows exactly what I'm talking about.
What do print-reading kids typically experience in school? Let's take a look.
1. Your teacher knows English.
If you are an English speaker, your teacher knows the language in which you're reading and writing. She or he may even know Spanish or Chinese or Dutch. She can use all the tools you are expected to use. If she can't, she is not deemed qualified to teach.
2. Your teacher has books.
Books in print arrive in the classroom on time before the school year begins. In nearly every school in the country, there are books for every kid in the class. The books don't come late. The teacher reads them and shows you how to read them. You have your own copy of each book you need. The teacher sends books home with you for practice. If your parents know English, they can read with you.
If there is a quote you want to read at the school assembly, you don't have to write it out for yourself first because nobody else knows how.
Your mom can read the story you wrote.
There might be one typo in your whole book. Maybe. And everyone complains about that one.
3. Everyone around you reads.
Your parents read. Your teacher reads. Your lunch lady reads. Your big sister reads. They read the same way you read.
You are expected to learn to read.
You're told that it's normal to learn to read.
4. You get help when you need it.
If you're having trouble reading, adults act as if this is a problem. You are expected to take extra classes, to practice, and to get help until you can read well.
If you can't read, you are called illiterate. You are not given audiobooks. You are taught to read (one hopes). If you don't know how to write, you are expected to practice and learn to write correctly.
To get a good job that pays a decent wage, you have to be able to read well, write well, and use computers. None of that is considered weird.
5. You learn current technology.
Your school has computers, and you learn to use them. You are taught to type, and you are taught to read on a screen that displays thousands of words at a time. You learn to scan for information, because your class moves quickly.
6. You don't get a pass.
You are expected to keep up with the class. You don't get a free pass not to keep up. You don't get to be lazy just because you're a print reader. After all, reading print is normal. Everyone knows it's completely doable, so why should you get to slough off?
You have all the materials you need and all the tools you need. You can't make excuses, because you have the book you need for the assignment and the pencil or the keyboard you need for your work. The teacher loaded and set up the software your class uses, and he knows how to use it.
7. You know you'll use print all your life.
You fully expect that you will grow up, get a job, pay bills, and become a contributing member of society. You know you will read and write print as you do all of these things.
8. You read math.
If your teachers did not teach you to read and write the language of printed math in school, your parents would throw a holy, hell-raising, fire-breathing, sue-the-school-for-a-zillion-dollars tantrum. And the community would support them. The school would be put up for review by the state.
If the teachers did not write math code, they would be fired. Period, the end.
And no one would be surprised.
9. Nobody gushes over your reading ability.
Nobody tells you they saw some print on a box of Band-Aids and how cool that is. Nobody tells you that you literally deserve a medal for learning how to read.
Because everybody reads!
You don't give yourself pats on the back for using a computer at the age of seventeen.
Everyone uses a computer at age seventeen!
Technology is normal for you.
10. You get all the information in class if you bother to pay attention.
A print reader of typical ability and average intelligence can get all the information presented in the classroom. All the stuff on the overhead. All the stuff in every book. All the stuff on the wall. All the lunch menus. All the recess schedules. All the toy names.
And for all that, nobody thinks to be grateful.
1. Reading Braille is normal for blind kids.
For blind and low-vision kids, Braille is the normal way to read. The tools they use are normal. Reading is normal.
Having Braille on the elevator is normal.
2. Reading Braille is not hard.
Reading Braille by touch is not hard.
READING BRAILLE BY TOUCH IS NOT HARD.
Reading Braille is NOT HARD.
NOT HARD.
Many Braille readers are slow because of all the things listed above that happened when they were learning it.
BRAILLE IS NOT HARD.
3. You can read Braille fast.
Good Braille readers can match print readers for speed.
(Not many do ... see above.)
A good Braille reader can read ten thousand pages in a couple of weeks. (Not many do ... see above.)
4. Braille is not becoming obsolete.
There are Braille displays for computers. There are Braille embossers. There are Braille transcribers looking for work. There are more Braille books than ever before. There are computers that transcribe books more accurately than ever before.
There are blind people who need to be able to read.
There are people who need to read pill bottles. And bills. And recipes. And blog posts. And books. And textbooks. And math books. And elevator signs. And hallway signs. And foreign languages. And CD covers. And they need to see how names are spelled.
There are deaf-blind people who use Braille to communicate everything!
Since the early 1800s when Louis Braille brought the idea of a quick, dot-based tactile method of reading and writing to his school in France, there have been naysayers. In the beginning people said that Braille wouldn't work. A separate code that sighted people couldn't read would never be widely used.
Blind people used Braille anyway, because for the first time, they could write for themselves. Braille gave them voices. They could read what they wrote.
When Braille came to America, it had naysayers. People said it was too expensive to produce. They said there would never be enough books.
Blind people used Braille anyway. They made their own books. They hired people to learn Braille and transcribe it. They raised funds.
As Braille enters the modern century, it has its naysayers. They say it's becoming obsolete because of technology. They say it's clunky and outdated.
Blind people keep using it anyway. We use Braille with technology. We use it to learn to spell, and we use it to jot notes. We delight in the thrill of opening a real, paper book and feeling the magical constellations under our fingers as words and stories come to life.
5. Then what is the problem?
See if you can figure it out.
I can hear what you're thinking: "But Braille is different from print."
Obviously Braille and print aren't the same, but they're not as different as they seem to non-Braille readers. I read both. I read Braille by touch. I read print (sometimes, under the right conditions).
"But I'm a blind person, and I don't read Braille well. I hardly read it at all."
Why not? Is it lack of desire, lack of support, lack of encouragement? (I'm not talking about people with multiple disabilities, cognitive impairments, or nerve damage in their fingers.) If it's lack of desire, I accept that. You may prefer to use audio, magnification, or other reading methods. But if you dig deep into your reasons, and it's due only to shame or lack of good instruction, I feel that those reasons should not exist. We shouldn't be ashamed to read! We should not be left unsupported when the rest of our peers have a way to read that fits their needs and frees them for a life full of options.
"But I teach Braille, and what you describe is impossible."
Is it?
See if you can do something about it.
Please.
Because if blind and low-vision kids got the support their average sighted counterparts get in learning to read, they would not face a 70 percent unemployment rate. There might still be workplace discrimination, but I'd be willing to bet there would be more employed blind folks than there are today!
I wanted to write "That would be amazing," but I realized that isn't quite accurate. Amazing implies something above and beyond the norm. It implies something unexpected. It implies something to be marveled at. Reading isn't something to be marveled at; it's something that should be expected, that should be normal. It's basic, like adequate clothing or nutrition. It's the foundation of every other form of education.
So, instead of "amazing," I write: "It would finally be what kids deserve. It would be just. It wouldn't level the playing field, but it would be a start."
An Interview with Ryan Strunk
From the Editor: What is it like to travel overseas as a blind person? In this article, Ryan Strunk talks with Liz Wisecarver of the Institute on Blindness at Louisiana Tech University about his recent trip to India and France. Ryan currently works as an accessibility analyst for Target in Minneapolis, where he helps to ensure that the online and mobile platforms are accessible and efficient for blind screen reader users. In this interview he refers to a classic article by Dr. Kenneth Jernigan entitled "Don't Throw the Nickel," which appears elsewhere in this issue.
This interview was first published on the blog of the Institute on Blindness at Louisiana Tech University: <www.pdribdd.com>. The Institute offers master's degrees for those interested in teaching blind children and adults the skills of Braille, cane travel, and independent living. If you would like a rewarding career through which you can help students change their lives forever, call the Institute at (318) 257-4554.
Liz Wisecarver: Why did you go to Bangladore, India?
Ryan Strunk: Target wanted us to put some projects and processes in place for our new web experience. I went partly to work with people who were building that experience, and partly to work with the accessibility team over there to make sure they had a good idea of the new things we are putting in place to streamline accessibility. I was there about two weeks, and then I decided to play tourist in France for a few days.
LW: What travel experiences did you have while you were in India? Were you able to travel through the city much?
RS: We traveled out in the city a little. I found there to be a certain amount of tourism that you can be a part of and places visitors like to go, but most trips are escorted by locals. From the moment you land in Bangladore as a Target employee--and I imagine many Western companies are this way--you are assigned a driver. When you get out of customs, that driver is waiting on the other end with a sign. The driver becomes your guide to India. Even if you want to, say, go on an excursion on the weekend or go shopping for an evening, your driver takes you as a personal guide for however long you are there. We spent most of our time with our driver, but on a couple of brief occasions we went out with other people or alone.
One of the things that made it interesting to me as a blind person is that the traffic in India is crazy. Traffic laws are only suggestions. When you are traveling and want to cross the street, whether you're blind or sighted, you have three options.
1. Cross when you think you can, and hope you make it to the other side safely. It really is like playing Frogger.
2. Cross with a big group of people, and hope you create enough of an obstacle that drivers will stop for you.
3. Wait for a traffic jam, and run through it to the other side of the street.
One day a sighted coworker and I went on our own to walk through a park, and she was not comfortable crossing the street. She waited for more people to come along so we could run across together.
The first time I crossed, I was shocked. We live in a culture that respects red lights and traffic rules. As a blind person in America, I can find the street corner and listen for traffic. When the parallel traffic goes, I go. If the light hasn't changed, the people on the sidewalk aren't going anywhere. In India, as soon as they pass an idling car on the street, people take off. You can feel the wind on your back! They don't start up slowly; they accelerate intensely! I kept thinking, "This is terrifying for a blind person!"
Even though it's a crazy thing to do as a blind person, I found it is just as crazy for a sighted person to cross streets there. It's definitely a piece of culture that doesn't exist here.
Cows are everywhere. We went to do some shopping, and there were cows. They're a big part of the culture in India. People take a cow to the market first thing in the morning, or take one in the evening to sell the milk. The rest of the time, cows wander around on the side of the road. I often wondered what would happen if a blind person was walking along. Would he hear the cows? What would happen if you tapped a cow with a cane?
As my friend and I were shopping, our driver pointed out a fighting goat chained up right outside a storefront. Again I wondered what would happen if a blind person walked up to it. What would a fighting goat do if you walked up to it with a long white cane? I'm glad I didn't have to find out myself!
LW: How did people in India, locals or your team, react to you as a blind person? Did you experience culture shock?
RS: There are blind people out and about in India, and there is even a National Federation of the Blind of India. But we also heard stories about the Mother Teresa Orphanage, which takes in babies with obvious disabilities who have been abandoned on the streets. There is a stigma attached to disabilities in some circles, much more than there is here.
In India there is a different expectation about blindness. We have the Americans with Disabilities Act, but India does not have anything similar. There aren't a lot of positive examples of blindness that the public sees in India. When they see you, they may make assumptions about you that are worse than the assumptions made in the United States.
One day I left my hotel and went to a bakery in the mall by myself. I got what I was looking for, and I went back. When I got to the top of the escalators, I forgot how far I was supposed to go. I stepped into a store to ask for directions.
The storekeeper didn't speak much English, but he understood that I was looking for the hotel. Instead of telling me which way to go, he proceeded to latch onto my arm with both hands and propel me down the hallway. As soon as I heard the music outside the hotel, I told him that I was okay.
"No!" he insisted. "I help. I help." I was channeling my inner "Don't Throw the Nickel." This is a great speech, if you have time to read it. The crux of the story is this: carefully choose those times to prove you're capable of doing something independently as a blind person.
Finally we got to the hotel. A guy from the hotel came out and grabbed my other arm with both hands, marching me into the lobby. The first guy finally let go as the second guy dragged me along.
There were a lot of stories like that. A blind co-worker said that someone tried to feed him. My wife, who is also blind, once had no fewer than three people escort her to the table--one to steer her by the shoulders, one to carry her plate, and one to clear the path. You experience crazy situations where people are overly helpful here in the US, but I saw more of it in India than I ever do here.
By the end of a week and a half, at the hotel, a lot of people got it. Thankfully, fewer people insisted on dragging me around if I said, "No, thank you." Everyone was very kind; they weren't trying to be weird. They were just too helpful.
LW: Did you interact with any blind people from India while you were there?
RS: We had two people who were blind on the accessibility team in India. One talked to me a bit about his experience there. Both guys had some remaining vision, and they did not carry canes. I asked one of them about this, and he said that part of it was that he didn't always feel safe carrying a cane. He sometimes used one in his home neighborhood and at work. He said he didn't like to use a cane in new places, because he felt it made him a target. The income gap is a problem in India, and he believed that, as a blind guy out in the community, someone might try to take advantage of him.
I asked my traveling companion about this. She said that her family, who live south of Bangladore, saw blind people frequently. It may have been just this one guy who had this attitude about the cane, but that's the explanation he gave me.
LW: What did you notice about the accessibility there? Do you think India is beginning to make things more accessible?
RS: I don't really know. There is no Braille on hotel rooms, meeting rooms, elevators, or restrooms. That's one of the things we take for granted here. I don't know if it's because there is so little education in Braille, or if it's due to a lack of knowledge about accessibility. That said, India has fourteen different languages, so if you were to write a restroom sign, would you write it in Kannea, Hindi, or English? Language could be one of the challenges.
LW: How was France different from India and the United States?
RS: We had a layover in Paris. Since I'd never had the opportunity to go to France before, we decided to stay there for a few days. That was a night and day experience from India! In France they take disability very, very seriously. The escalators and stairs have truncated domes [tactile indicators] at the top and bottom, even in the older hotel where I stayed. All the things you didn't see in India were present in France to excess. We went to the Louvre one day, and there was a whole display of statues that could be touched, with Braille plaques on each one.
But the accessibility extended on past that. At museums there was always a special express line for disability access. We got in the general admission line with everyone else, and a guard tried to wave us through the priority entrance. We said, "No, we are okay," and another guard came over. We said again, "We are okay," and a third guard came. I thought of "Don't Throw the Nickel" again.
They told us, "We are letting you and your group in for free."
I asked to donate the price of the tickets, and they said, "Oh no, we can't take money from your kind."
Between the two countries, you go from no accommodations to excessive accommodations. It is kind of creepy to see what it is like when they take care of you. The help was always very well meant, but the two countries were sort of at opposite ends of the spectrum. People were either unaware about blindness so they tried to take care of you, or they were super aware and took care of you to an even higher degree.
I love the middle ground that exists here the United States. Here most people will leave you alone if you explain that you don't need help.
LW: Do you think you will do more traveling?
RS: I will eventually, but at this point I'm in no hurry. It's not cheap for the company to send us to India, so they don't fly us out there on a regular basis. For the time being there is no reason for me to go again, but I would like to someday. I would be very interested to look up the NFB of India.
by Andrea Jenkins
Reprinted from Braille Monitor, December 2015
From the Editor: Like many young people, Andrea Jenkins longed to travel overseas, to meet new people and experience the excitement of discovering unknown places. In this article she explains how she gained the skills and confidence to make her dream a reality.
As a little girl growing up in the small rural town of Cairo, Georgia, I was full of dreams. "One day!" I would think to myself. "One day I will travel the world, experience new cultures, and even speak a different language."
As I grew into adolescence, my hunger for culture and languages only increased. Throughout my childhood I frequently checked out language lessons on audio tape from the local library and absorbed them like a sponge.
By the time I graduated from high school in May 2007, I had taken every Spanish class my school could offer, and I had also learned a smattering of French. While it was obvious that I possessed the brains to attend college, I knew that without proper training in blindness skills I would flunk even the easiest college exam. Perhaps I would be unable to achieve my dream of traveling abroad.
From an early age I was taught a double standard of sorts. On one hand, my mom was always telling me how proud she was of me. I think she always believed I would go places and make something of myself. However, the messages I received from society at the time were not so optimistic. Throughout my childhood I was plagued with the fear that, as a blind person, I was not on the same playing field as my sighted peers. In my little southern town, it seemed that to many people blindness was an enigma.
From July 2007 to March 2008, I attended the Louisiana Center for the Blind in Ruston, Louisiana. I obtained the instruction necessary to live a normal, happy, and productive life as a blind person. After completing my training, I attended Valdosta State University in Valdosta, Georgia. I graduated cum laude with a BA in Spanish Language and Culture in December 2012. According to my family and friends, I had done something amazing by finishing college and learning a language other than English. But for my part, I was not completely satisfied.
For you see, there was still a fire down inside of me that had never died. My dream of going abroad and staying a while had not come to pass. So in February 2013 I applied to the Ministry of Education of Spain to serve for an academic year as an English language assistant (auxiliar de conversación) in the Spanish primary school system. In June 2013 I was utterly speechless when I received the response to my application. I had been chosen to serve as a language assistant in the village of Guadalupe, Extremadura, Spain!
Upon my arrival in Guadalupe at the end of September 2013, I underwent some moderate culture shock, as well as three initial weeks of jetlag. However, after being in Spain for a little over a month, I began to grow accustomed to the Spanish way of life. Throughout the eight months I spent abroad, I was able to impart some helpful insight to the people around me. For example, I demonstrated some cane techniques to the children at my school and shared some nonvisual cooking ideas with a couple of my Spanish friends. Above all, I simply lived life as a normal, productive individual abroad.
Toward the end of my stay, I traveled to London for five days and to France for two. These excursions only served to increase my confidence as a blind person. I felt that every time I hopped a train, walked to a café, or shopped the local markets for groceries or souvenirs, I was being a successful and productive individual. I feel it is absolutely imperative to face the world, not to run from it. I chose to challenge myself, no matter how uncomfortable or scary that experience might be for me. It is safe to say that, when I returned from my eight months abroad, I was elated to find I felt more confident at that point than ever before in my life. It seemed that the world had truly opened up for me in ways I had never known.
While I most certainly have struggles in life, I consider it a great blessing to have traveled abroad and fulfilled my dream of living in Europe, at least for a time. I give credit to the Lord, my friends, and the instructors at the Louisiana Center for the Blind, who pushed me to be my very best and to achieve excellence. Without this support, I never would have attempted to chase my dreams.
Currently, I am serving as an AmeriCorps VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) program with Florida Campus Compact in Tallahassee, Florida. I work with my colleagues to build capacity for college access programming. As someone who has attended college and obtained a Spanish degree, I want students to understand the value of education and be inspired to fulfill their dreams, no matter the obstacles they might encounter. I believe anyone, regardless of circumstances, can achieve success.
If you feel you can't succeed or you don't have the confidence to live life as a blind person, trust me! I've been there, and I can tell you from personal experience, the sky is the limit if you believe. This being said, I pray you will take my experience as a call to action. Whether you are blind or sighted, it is never too late to chase your dreams. I won the battle over fear the moment I boarded the plane to Europe. The moment you step out and take control of your life, seek the training, and do your best, you become a winner.
by Selwyn Lloyd
From the Editor: Although many innovators have developed electronic games that are accessible to blind players, the vast possibilities have barely been explored. In this article Selwyn Lloyd, a British game developer and entrepreneur, describes a new concept in gaming that makes use of auditory mapping.
When our oldest daughter, Daisy, was a year old, she was diagnosed with retinoblastoma, a form of childhood cancer that attacks the eyes. By the time she was four, she had lost all of her vision. Daisy's blindness led me and my wife, Marie, into a world we had never experienced before. Marie left her career as a chemist and retrained to become a teacher of the blind and visually impaired (TBVI). Over time I shifted my focus from business systems software to the development of accessible games for the blind.
When I graduated from art school in 1989, I had the idea that I wanted to start a company designing custom T-shirts. I spent the 1990s working as a software entrepreneur, and in 2013 I earned an MBA from Oxford University. As I thought about my options, I realized that I was interested in more than making money. I wanted to start a business that would have a real purpose, making a positive difference in people's lives.
Daisy has been active on a local goalball team, and I enjoy attending her matches. Goalball is a competitive sport played by blind people and sighted people who wear sleepshades. The players use sound to locate the ball, which has a bell inside. Goalball helped me understand how effectively sound can be used to locate people and objects.
In 2013 I wrote a children's book, a fantasy about a cat named Poppy's Cat. The more I worked on the book, the more it reminded me of a videogame. I had seen Daisy's frustration when she couldn't play visually oriented videogames with her brother and sisters, and I decided to create a game that blind people would be able to play.
I determined that my game would use technology to produce a 3D audio effect. To use 3D audio, a player wears a headset that conveys sound in the virtual environment much as we hear it in real life. Sound comes not only from right and left, but from above, below, behind, and in front of the listener.
At Christmas I presented Daisy and her younger siblings with a surprise gift, my prototype of a 3D audio game. All of the children were very excited! I was thrilled to discover that the audio effect worked well for Daisy. However, the game I had designed lacked a visual element that would appeal to sighted players. Eventually Daisy confided that she wanted to be able to play with her sighted siblings and friends.
I realized that technology could be used to break through the isolation that blind and visually impaired young people often experience. I made up my mind to develop a game for both blind and sighted players, a game that people of all ages could enjoy together, socially in the same space and online in a virtual world.
To carry the project forward, I needed startup money and a strong team of developers and businesspeople. My wife and a group of friends from Oxford, including Barbara Verardo and Anarika Didigova, eagerly pitched in with their ideas and expertise. We applied for and won a startup accelerator grant from the Sirius Foundation. We also launched a successful Kickstarter campaign, raising all of the money we requested.
In our effort to create a truly inclusive, fully accessible game, we encountered one hurdle after another. For example, one blind player pointed out that it was hard for him “to know when to shoot.” We fine-tuned the audio cues so that a blind player would be able to take accurate aim. In a scenario involving many characters and objects, audible cues can be hard to follow. We developed clear signature sounds for each character and object in the scene. We now use a blend of human voices, natural sounds, and computer-generated sound effects.
The company we founded is called Audazzle. We are working hard now to find commercial ways to sustain the further research and development of inclusive Audazzle games. Audazzle must grow to become a strong social business or "social enterprise."
Our early stage commercial options include membership of an online games world and paid downloads, details via our online shop. We have been truly humbled and encouraged that so many people are already buying the early prototype JumpInSaucers at the App Store and on Google Play, especially when it is also available for free. We'd like to thank all of our early customers (paying or not) and encourage new ones. Their purchases send a message that we are not alone, and that a world of people like us want inclusive games and want Audazzle to succeed.
One day soon Audazzle will succeed in developing a game platform that all gamers love playing on, first because it's fun, yet most of all because now they get to play games with people whom they didn't know or know how to include before.
JumpInSaucers is built around the story of nine clans and nine planets called "The Mists of Audazzle." Each clan has its own story. Every player takes on an individual character that is generated by the game. Players use their imaginations to develop their characters and advance the story line. Online players can find others who share their level of skill. We plan to develop RPG (role-playing game) elements to “Mists of Audazzle” and are very keen to fund a project called "Clan Babble."
We are busy at work on new games with exciting new possibilities. Beta testers are always welcome.
To learn more about our games, visit our website at <www.audazzle.com>. We'll look forward to hearing from you.
by Christina Kuckie-Roberts
From the Editor: At the end of January each year, Federationists from all over the country arrive in the nation's capital to take part in the annual Washington Seminar. They visit the offices of legislators, seeking their support on issues of concern to the blind community. At the 2015 convention of the NFB of Illinois, Christina Kuckie-Roberts spoke about her experiences attending Washington Seminar for the first time as part of the Parent Leadership Program (PLP) sponsored by the National Organization of Parents of Blind Children (NOPBC).
Good evening. My name is Christina Kuckie-Roberts. I have four children. My oldest, Christopher, has been blind since birth. He also has autistic tendencies and related behavioral issues.
I've been involved with the NFB ever since Christopher was asked to speak at the [Illinois] state convention about his experience in the BELL Program three years ago. My weekend at convention opened my eyes to the vast possibilities that are out there through technology and other resources. Most of all, I realized how much I didn't know.
Last fall I received a phone call from our state president, Denise Avant, asking if I would be willing to participate in Washington Seminar. My first thoughts were, Attend a convention and learn more things? Awesome! Sleep in a bed all by myself, with no children and no dogs? Double bonus! I had no idea what I was in for!
A few emails went back and forth, and the Illinois team had a kickoff call. It was at that point that I began to panic. I felt completely unprepared. Previously I hadn't concerned myself with getting to know my representative in Congress. I hadn't thought there were issues that concerned me on the table. Boy, was I mistaken! I learned on the call that we were going to request our representatives to vote on legislation that would affect our blind community. I thought, What? There is legislation out there that affects my child? Time to start studying!
I followed the links that the NFB provided, but still I felt a little lost. I Googled each item and was happy to find some firsthand accounts of how the issues affected individuals. Okay, I was ready to prepare my speeches!
However, the harder I tried to write, the more I found that I still had questions. At the airport awaiting my flight, I still worried that I was going to make some disastrous mistake at my first Congressional meeting.
When I arrived in Washington, DC, I met my roommate, Jennifer Duffell-Hoffman. Jennifer is from South Carolina and has two sons with progressive vision loss. She is a veteran of Washington Seminar. In our first hours getting to know each other, I told her how completely unprepared I felt. She tried to put me at ease, and she held my hand as we started off to our parents' seminar.
Arranged through the Parent Leadership Program (PLP), the parents' seminar was educational and inspiring. I was able to meet and ask questions of NFB members to prepare myself better for my upcoming meetings with the legislators. More importantly, I met parents who were pioneers for equality in their states. For example, I met two women who fought their state because of the lack of services provided for blind children. They actually had to leave the parents' seminar early, as their legislation was being voted on at the state level. When they began their work, these two women did not yet have an NFB parents' group in their state. They are now the founding members of their state's parents' chapter. That is just one story of the inspiring people I met. All of the parents I met were inspiring for what they are doing within their states, often with very little local support.
As some of you know, I am blessed with the services Christopher has received from the Naperville [Illinois] school district since he was seven years old. We receive unlimited support from the team that works with him. His team includes everyone, quite literally, from the janitor to the principal, the retired husband of a teacher, and the band director. I often feel guilty because my son is blessed with unlimited support from his school district and its staff, while so many other children have so little. My son uses an iPad, an iPod, a refreshable Braille display, and more, yet another NFB of Illinois mom had to fight to have a Braille sign installed on the door of her child's school bathroom.
The more parents I meet at seminars or on our Facebook groups, the more I feel that we have no idea what services our children need, much less how to obtain them. Compound our lack of knowledge with a school district that is underfunded, or worse still, with a caseworker or teacher of the visually impaired who is undereducated! The NFB has brought us together to help each other along this journey.
Before I attended Washington Seminar, I thought the most I could do was to tell other parents exactly what services my son receives and urge them to push their school districts to provide their children with the same. At Washington Seminar I had a voice to speak for our children's futures. At my first few meetings on Capitol Hill, I did my best to give a short personal description of my family and why I was there. Then I would lay out the facts as I had memorized them. As the days passed, my team members and I altered our conversations with the legislators to include things we learned from each other. I was definitely feeling comfortable with the issues.
The meetings were becoming a bit routine--until my final one.
We were talking with a particularly condescending congressman regarding HR188, the TIME act, which would ensure that workers with disabilities are paid the minimum wage. Teammate Annette Grove took the lead during this meeting, and the congressman clearly didn't agree with us. At one point, in order to defend his position, he used an example, speaking disparagingly of a group of "disabled" people who dismantle hard drives. For me, his comments became a personal attack on my child.
"I'm sorry, but I work for a leading investment firm," I told him. "We pay our IT employees full salary to dismantle hard drives. Are you telling me that, even though my child has the ability to dismantle the hard drives, he doesn't deserve to be paid the same salary because he is disabled?" At that point, he stuttered over his words.
I walked out of that room furious! In that moment, I understood what this was all about.
That is what I learned from the Washington Seminar itself. Now let me tell you what I learned from the people I had the opportunity to be with through that week. As most parents know, we do our best to teach our children how to function. As a parent of sighted children, there is a lot I take for granted. Without being formally taught, children learn to pour a cup of water, to press the buttons in an elevator, or to find the pool at a hotel. Spending the week in a hotel full of Federationists taught me how to be a better parent to Christopher. My new friends from the Illinois affiliate were quick to let me know when I was being too helpful. I was able to discuss openly with them how to know when to help and when to be patient. I learned that it was okay to let Christopher bump into someone; it happens.
At dinner, I learned to ask for the waiter to read the menu aloud if a Braille menu is unavailable. I learned to listen for the dings of the elevator to indicate whether it is going up or down. While riding the elevator, I learned that Christopher can tell which floor he is on by counting the dings. If he loses count, there is usually a floor plaque with a Braille number to read when the door opens.
I learned that Federationists from every state are a great educational resource for me and for Christopher. They are willing to help me guide Christopher as he learns how to navigate the world. They are our friends.
Thank you.
by Kim Cunningham
From the Editor: Kim Cunningham currently serves in dual roles as president of Texas Parents of Blind Children (TPBC) and president of the National Organization of Parents of Blind Children (NOPBC). In June 2015 she volunteered with the Braille Enrichment for Literacy and Learning (BELL) program in Houston. Here is her account of this exciting experience.
The National Federation of the Blind of Texas held the first of three BELL programs in Houston June 8-12, 2015. I have volunteered as the parent coordinator for Houston BELL since its beginning in 2010, working with Louis Maher, NFB-Houston chapter coordinator. This year our program enrolled fifteen students from Houston and surrounding areas.
The students entered this year's program at widely varied levels. Some were learning Braille for the first time, while others were experienced Braille readers working to increase their speed and efficiency. Some students received Braille instruction at school, but others were being denied services. As members of the NFB, we recognize the need for all blind children to have opportunities to learn Braille and other nonvisual techniques.
Emily Gibbs served as our lead teacher. Our team also included teachers Kayleigh Joiner, Mika Baugh, Daniel Martinez, and Kathy Mansfield, along with many enthusiastic volunteers. The team created rich learning experiences for the students throughout the week. Each day involved lessons in reading and writing Braille, work with technology, and practice using nonvisual skills. Docents from a program called Mad Science attended daily, teaching meaningful science lessons using sound, taste, and smell. All of the lessons were designed to accommodate blind students. Without even having to be asked, the Mad Science folks Brailled items the students needed to use in order to give them a richer understanding.
A nearby fire station hosted the children for our field trip. One of the firefighters let the students examine his full gear. The students learned about the equipment a firefighter uses, and they even sprayed water from the heavy fire hose.
Among the students in our 2015 BELL program were two deaf-blind children who attended with their interveners. The intervener used hand-under-hand sign language to communicate. Neither of these students had been exposed to Braille prior to the BELL program. The BELL teachers worked primarily with the interveners, who then interpreted the lessons to the students. Both interveners eagerly soaked up as much information as they could. They were learning the Braille code along with their students. Both deaf-blind students learned to scribble on the Perkins Braillewriter during the week.
One of the interveners was deaf, and the BELL teachers had to do some quick problem solving! They decided to use the computer screen reader JAWS to communicate the lessons. Where there is a will, there is a way! Recently I heard from the mother of one of the deaf-blind students, who announced that her daughter is now beginning to write Braille.
Two of our students had cerebral palsy in addition to their blindness, and both of them used walkers. One of the students had received her first long white cane during the BELL program two years ago. She has now become adept at using her cane daily. Our other student with cerebral palsy, who was new to us this year, received his first cane during the program. By the end of the first day, he was tap, tap, tapping!
Both of our students who use walkers were able to travel independently from one work station to another within the classroom. Lead teacher Emily Gibbs showed them how to place the loop of the cane over the handle of the walker. If the student lost hold of the cane, it could easily be retrieved. The students began by grasping the handle of the walker and the cane at the same time. They rested the grip of the cane on their fingers, allowing them to move the cane from side to side. Because the long white cane is lightweight, this method doesn't require much hand strength, and the students used it easily.
Our Houston BELL program demonstrated our belief that all children should be given opportunities to learn and grow. I am proud to be part of a team that thinks outside the box and isn't afraid to take on challenges. With love, hope, and determination, we find ways to work together.
by Donna W. Hill
Reviewed by Jacqueline Williams
From the Editor: Jacqueline Williams has taught in New York, in Uganda, and on the San Carlos Indian Reservation in Arizona. After she earned a master's degree in special education from Northern Arizona University, she served as a special education teacher and administrator in Mesa, Arizona. Now retired, she writes poetry and serves as dance coordinator in the Mesa public schools.
The Heart of Applebutter Hill
by Donna W. Hill
Smashwords Press, 2013, 346 pages
ISBN: 9781483948225
Available in print and as a Kindle ebook, and from Bookshare and Learning Ally.
The Heart of Applebutter Hill is a story of suspense and a passage through adolescent growth. Coping with vision loss and bullying are combined with adventure and fantasy, demonstrating Donna Hill's vivid imagination. This novel will inspire teachers and readers who want to be part of the solution to bullying and other actions that harm the disadvantaged.
The book traces the difficulties of Abigail, a fourteen-year-old blind girl; her sighted companion, Baggy; and her guide dog through a challenging high school experience. Abigail uses her talents as a songwriter, a teacher of kindergarten students, a searcher for answers to a mystery, and a good friend to those who are ready to accept her.
Abigail and her best friend, Baggy, are refugees from the Isle of Adiaphora. With Abigail's guide dog, Curly Connor (a.k.a. the Fluffer-Noodle), Abigail and Baggy confront new and exciting puzzles. They travel on the Cloud Scooper over familiar places and amazing landscapes, mooring at castles, mystic forests, and fields of talking flowers.
Donna Hill's depiction of blindness is beautiful and true. She conveys the reality that gradual vision loss is a fluid, ever-changing condition, running a gauntlet that few can imagine until it happens to them:
She was also living on the fringes of two worlds. She wasn't totally blind, and there was no way of knowing if or when she ever would be. Nevertheless, she couldn't see normally. Her sight had become a wild animal--beautiful and dangerous. It was an unpredictable, ever-changing display of shadows and blurry glimpses, tunnels and glaring light. The only things she could say for sure were that she couldn't see at night and that her peripheral vision was . . . well, gone.
The Heart of Applebutter Hill includes terrific examples of excellent teaching through poetry and other writing. In the chapter entitled "Writer's Round Table," the stern teacher gives out a list of forbidden four-letter words. Writers know these words as pitfalls, and the author does not miss many opportunities to teach the craft of writing:
When he reached Abigail, Thornhammer pressed a stiff card into her hand. She fumbled with it and, after getting the Braille right-side up, read, “Professor Thornhammer's Banned Four-Letter Words.” Her heart raced in anticipation of the words he might have included, but the list was a simple one: like, sure, very, fine, and just.
This scene involves Abigail and fellow classmate Tommy, who uses accessible books due to a physical disability. The scene takes place in the Adaptive Education Resource Room at the Plumkettle Learning Center and gives futuristic ideas of ways children may be able to program technology.
The resource room was a large classroom that had been “modified.” Doors on the north wall led to Miss Kiffle's office and a private study. Long tables with computers, closed circuit TV's, Braillers, and embossers lined the other walls. A U-shaped cluster of sofas occupied the center of the room. On the table to the right of the doorway sat an electronic globe; every Plumkettle classroom had one, and they doubled as the school's intercom.
As he opened his mouth to ask yet another question, a series of chimes rang out from the globe. Thinking it was the announcement to head to the auditorium, everyone turned toward it. The classroom lights dimmed, and those who could see witnessed the continents being sucked--with appropriate sound effects--into the oceans.
“Florida and Italy are flopping around like fish,” said Tommy, giggling his way through an explanation of the visuals for Abby's benefit. . . .
Miss Kiffle, with her face scrunched up to restrict her laughter, bustled over to the globe and punched in the code to reset it.
I highly recommend this book to middle-school students, teachers, media center directors, and teachers in special reading programs. The book cries out for a list of characters and a glossary of terms and place names. Designing such a glossary could be a great semester project.
Donna Hill has spent much of her life working with blind people, especially young people, trying to help them live fulfilling lives. This book is her effort, through fiction, to convey the heart of the matter and to create expectations that are as high for the blind as they are for the general population. She is saving proceeds from the sale of print and electronic versions of The Heart of Applebutter Hill to create a hard copy Braille version.
by Carla McQuillan
Reprinted from Braille Monitor, December 2015
From the Editor: Carla McQuillan serves as president of the National Federation of the Blind of Oregon, and she is the owner and executive director of Main Street Montessori Association. Most recently she has accepted an appointment as chairperson of the Distinguished Educator of Blind Students Award Committee. The committee currently seeks nominations for the 2016 award.
The National Federation of the Blind will recognize an outstanding teacher of blind students at our 2016 annual convention, June 30 through July 5, in Orlando, Florida. The winner of this award will receive the following:
The education of blind children is one of the National Federation of the Blind's highest priorities. We are committed to offering and supporting programs that enhance educational opportunities for this group. Please help us recognize dedicated and innovative teachers who provide quality education and meaningful experiences and opportunities for their blind students.
Q: Who is eligible for this award?
A: Anyone who is currently a teacher, counselor, or the administrator of programs for blind students.
Q: Does an applicant have to be a member of the National Federation of the Blind?
A: No, but attendance at the national convention in Orlando is required.
Q: Can I nominate someone else for this award?
A: Yes. Applicants can be nominated by colleagues, parents, supervisors, or friends who have firsthand knowledge of the individual's work with blind students.
Q: How can I apply?
A: You can fill out the application at the end of this article or find it on our website at <www.nfb.org>.
Q: What is the deadline to submit an application or make a nomination?
A: All applications must be received no later than May 1, 2016.
Please complete the application and attach the required documents specified in the application. If you have questions, contact Carla McQuillan at (541) 653-9153.
2016 Application Deadline: May 1, 2016
Name: ________________________________________________________
Home address: _________________________________________________
City, State, Zip: _________________________________________________
Phone: (H) __________________________ (W) _______________________
Email: ________________________________________________________
School: _______________________________________________________
Address: ______________________________________________________
City, State, Zip: _________________________________________________
Use a separate sheet of paper to answer the following:
Email is strongly encouraged for transmitting nominations; letters of support and other relevant materials should be included as attachments. Applications sent by mail and postmarked by the deadline will also be accepted. Send all material by May 1, 2016, to:
[email protected]
or by mail to:
Carla McQuillan, Chairperson
Teacher Award Committee
5005 Main St.
Springfield, OR 97478
SUMMER PROGRAMS
Each of the training centers sponsored by the National Federation of the Blind—BLIND, Inc. (Blindness: Learning in New Dimensions), the Colorado Center for the Blind, and the Louisiana Center for the Blind--hold summer programs for blind children and youth. Blind Industries and Services of Maryland (BISM) also operates summer youth programs based on the NFB model. Children and teens who attend these programs enhance their Braille, technology, and mobility skills; learn to shop, cook, and clean; and have fun swimming, camping, and visiting malls and water parks, all under the supervision of blind counselors who "walk the walk." Teens learn skills they will need for college and career. Students in some programs gain experience with paid employment, working part-time in local businesses and agencies. In most cases applications are reviewed on a first come, first served basis, so get your child's application in as soon as possible!
Here is some basic information about these exciting summer opportunities.
BLIND Inc.
<www.blindinc.org>
100 E. 22nd St.
Minneapolis, MN 55404
Contact: Charlene Guggisberg, (800) 597-9558
[email protected]
Buddy Program
Open to children ages 9-13
Dates: June 12-24, 2016
Summer Transition Programs (three two-week programs over the course of the summer)
Living on Your Own: July 18-22, 2016
Success in Postsecondary Education, July 25-29, 2016
The World of Work: August 1-5, 2016
Colorado Center for the Blind
<www.coloradocenterfortheblind.org>
2233 W. Shepperd Ave.
Littleton, CO 80120
Contact: Brent Batron, (303) 778-1130
[email protected]
Initiation to Independence
Ages: 12-14
Dates: July 11-29, 2016
Earn and Learn
Ages: Completed ninth grade
June 3-July 29, 2016
Summer for Success College Prep Program
Ages: Completed junior year of high school with focus on college
June 3-July 29, 2016
Application deadline for all programs: Applications must be received by April 15, 2016.
Louisiana Center for the Blind
<www.louisianacenter.org>
101 S. Trenton St.
Ruston, LA 71270
Contact: Eric Guillory, (800) 234-4166
Buddy Program
Open to students entering grades 4-9 in the fall of 2016
Dates: July 17-August 6, 2016
STEP Program: Summer Training and Employment Project
Open to students entering grades 10-12 in the fall of 2016
Dates: June 12-August 6, 2016
Blind Industries and Services of Maryland (BISM)
<www.bism.org/youth>
3345 Washington Blvd.
Baltimore, MD 21227
Contact: Melissa Lomax, (410) 737-2642
[email protected]
Independence 101
Ages: Middle school
Dates: July 16-August 6, 2016
Work to Independence
Ages: High school students
Dates: June 18-August 6, 2016
SCHOLARSHIPS
2016 National Federation of the Blind Scholarship Program
<www.nfb.org/scholarships>
Application Deadline: March 31, 2016
To recognize achievement by blind scholars, the National Federation of the Blind annually offers blind postsecondary students in the United States and Puerto Rico the opportunity to win one of thirty merit-based, national-level scholarships worth from $3,000 to $12,000. All scholarships awarded are based on academic excellence, community service, and leadership. In order to be eligible, applicants must be legally blind in both eyes; reside in the United States, the District of Columbia, or Puerto Rico; be pursuing or planning to pursue a full-time, postsecondary course of study in a degree program at a US institution in the fall semester of the 2016 scholastic year; and must participate in the entire NFB national convention and in all of its scholarship activities. In addition to a scholarship, each winner will receive assistance to attend the 2016 NFB convention, which takes place June 30 to July 5 in Orlando, Florida, providing an excellent opportunity for high-level networking with active blind persons in many different professions.
ACLS Medical Training
<https://www.aclsmedicaltraining.com/financial-aid-opportunities-for-disabled-individuals>
This website lists multiple scholarships, awards, and grants available to students with disabilities that can make it easier to afford higher education. Awards are listed according to specific disability, including chronic health conditions, hearing impairment, visual impairment, intellectual disability, learning disability, mental illness, and physical disability. There is also a general disability category.
SCIENCE
NFB EQ (National Federation of the Blind Engineering Quotient)
<www.blindscience.org/nfbEQ>
Contact: Natalie Shaheen, (410) 659-9314, Extension 2418
[email protected]
Dates: Program 1, June 19-25, 2016; Program 2: July 31-August 6, 2016
Location: National Federation of the Blind Jernigan Institute, Baltimore, MD
Deadline for Applications: April 25, 2016
During the summer of 2016 the National Federation of the Blind will facilitate two week-long advanced engineering design programs for blind students in grades 9-12. Students will collaborate to solve problems that exist in developing countries. Teams will create proposals with accompanying models, which will be pitched to various stakeholders. Life-size prototypes of designs will be tested in authentic settings. Students will have the opportunity to meet and collaborate with engineers from across the country, some of whom are blind.
AWARDS
2016 Dr. Jacob Bolotin Awards
<https://nfb.org/application-information>
Contact: James Gashel, (720) 878-4248
[email protected]
Application Deadline: April 15, 2016
The National Federation of the Blind is pleased to announce that applications are now being accepted for the 2016 Dr. Jacob Bolotin Awards program. The awards will be presented at the convention of the National Federation of the Blind in Orlando, Florida, during the first week of July. These awards recognize individuals and organizations working in the field of blindness that have demonstrated exemplary leadership and extraordinary accomplishments toward achieving the full integration of the blind into society on a basis of equality. Named for a pioneering blind physician who practiced early in the twentieth century, the Dr. Jacob Bolotin Awards are made possible through the generosity of his late nephew and niece. Their bequest, the Alfred and Rosalind Perlman Trust, allows the National Federation of the Blind to provide direct financial support to people and organizations that are improving the lives of the blind throughout the United States.
CONTEST
2016 Writing Contest for Youth
Deadline for Submissions: April 1, 2016
The NFB Writers Division will award cash prizes to young writers in the categories of fiction and poetry, as well as a new category of work related to Federation history. The youth contest is divided into three groups, determined by grade level: elementary, middle, and high school. Entries in the Federation history category may be written in any genre, and all grade levels compete equally. In each contest there may be first, second, and third place winners, as well as an honorable mention. First-place winners will receive $30, second-place winners $20, and third-place winners $10. Entries must be written by the entrant in hand-embossed contracted Braille (EBAE or UEB), produced with a Brailler or slate and stylus. An identical copy of the submission and cover letter must be submitted electronically in Word or RTF formats. The cover letter must include the entrant's name, address, phone, email, school, and grade, and the title of the entry. Direct submissions to:
Eva Marie Sanchez
202 E. Louisiana, Apt. 2
Ruston, LA 71270
[email protected]
PRIZES
2015 AppleVis Award
<www.applevis.com/blog/advocacy-applevis-ios-apps-mac-apps-news/applevis-community-names-apps-and-developer-were-its>
The KNFB Reader, an app that gives the blind access to printed material, was chosen by the AppleVis community as the winner of the Best Assistive iOS App of the Year for the second consecutive year. AppleVis Golden Apple Awards are awarded by community votes to developers in recognition of excellence in iOS apps. AppleVis reports that KNFB Reader won the vote for 2015 in a "landslide." This award follows the 2014 AppleVis Golden Apple win for Best Assistive App and the induction of KNFB Reader into the AppleVis iOS Hall of Fame. The KNFB Reader is a fast, accurate, and efficient text recognition mobile app that delivers near instantaneous results. To learn more about the KNFB Reader, visit <www.nfb.org/knfbreader>.
2015 Onkyo Braille Essay Contest
The National Federation of the Blind is proud to announce the winners of the Onkyo Braille Essay Contest, which it administers on behalf of the North American/Caribbean Region of the World Blind Union. The essay contest, sponsored by Onkyo Corporation, a Japanese consumer electronics manufacturer, and the Braille Mainichi, part of the Mainichi Newspaper Company in Japan, was created to promote Braille literacy and to encourage the sharing of social and cultural information among blind and visually impaired persons. The essays were required to be written in Braille and to pertain either to how the individual gains knowledge or independence through Braille or to an individual concept about world peace from the viewpoint of persons with disabilities. There were two groups of competitors: a junior category for persons up to age twenty-five and a senior category for persons age twenty-six and older. Each winner receives a substantial cash prize, a plaque, and other gifts from the Onkyo Corporation. The seven winners from the North American/Caribbean Region were as follows: Otsuki Prize: Danielle Burton, KY; Excellent Work Award, Senior: Tara Briggs, UT; Excellent Work Award, Junior: Kayla Weathers, GA; Fine Work Award, Senior: Tracy Spittle, SC and Sharon Eiland, WA; Fine Work Award, Junior: Abby Burton, MO and Daniel Dintzner, MA.
2016 Schneider Family Book Awards
<www.ala.org/yma>
In January 2016 the American Library Association (ALA) announced the winners of the 2016 Schneider Family Book Awards, which honor an author or illustrator for the artistic expression of the disability experience for child or adolescent audiences. The award was announced during the ALA's midwinter meeting in Boston. Each winner will receive $5,000 and a framed plaque. The 2016 award for a book for young children went to Emmanuel's Dream: The True Story of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboa by Laurie Ann Thompson and illustrated by Sean Qualls (Schwartz and Wade/Random House). Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt (Nancy Paulsen Books/Penguin) and The War that Saved My Life by Kimberley Brubaker Bradley (Dial Books for Young Readers) won awards in the middle-grade category. The teen award went to The Unlikely Hero of Room 13B by Teresa Toten (Delacorte Press).
CONFERENCES
Jacobus tenBroek Disability Law Symposium
"Diversity in the Disability Rights Movement: Working Together to Achieve the Right to Live in the World"
<https://nfb.org/law-symposium>
Location: NFB Jernigan Institute, Baltimore, MD
Dates: March 31-April 1, 2016
Registration is now open for the 2016 Jacobus tenBroek Disability Law Symposium. Join leading disability rights advocates from throughout the United States to examine the status of diversity in the disability rights movement and explore ways to increase diversity so that all may achieve Dr. tenBroek's vision of equality of opportunity.
No Barriers Summit
<www.nobarriersusa.org>
224 Canyon Ave., Suite 207
Fort Collins, CO 80521
(877) 627-1425
Location: Copper Mountain, CO
Dates: June 23-26, 2016
The No Barriers Summit is a four-day event that will inspire you with speakers and showcase cutting-edge innovations. Choose from more than fifty adaptive activities that will help you and your family break through barriers and connect with the No Barriers community.
EYE Retreat 2016 (Envisioning Youth Empowerment Retreat)
<www.eyeretreat.org>
Location: Raleigh, NC
Dates: July 23-July 30, 2016
Application available at: <http://www.eyeretreat.org/apply-now/summer-retreat-applications>
The EYE Retreat is a week-long camp for blind and visually impaired youth who want to learn about college and careers. Activities focus on self-advocacy, assistive technology, job shadowing, college campus exploration, and more.
World Blind Union (WBU) and International Council for Education of People with Visual Impairment (ICEVI)
<www.wbu-icevi2016.org>
Location: Rosen Centre Hotel, Orlando, FL
Dates: August 18-25, 2016
Registration is now open for the WBU/ICEVI Joint Assembly. The assembly will give the WBU, ICEVI, and all of their members the opportunity to share important information, knowledge, and best practices while promoting even greater collaboration among blind individuals, organizations of the blind, service providers, and other stakeholders at the global level.
INFORMATION EXCHANGE
From Our Family to Yours
<nopbc.org>
(712) 770-4010, Access Code 869131
The NOPBC and the NFB are pleased to announce a new information call series for parents of children who are blind or have low vision. Each conference call will feature invited guests who will speak on topics of importance to parents and will be moderated by the NOPBC. Callers will have the opportunity to ask questions of the experts and to discuss the topic in detail. Specific dates will be posted as soon as they are scheduled. Information will be posted on the NOPBC website and Facebook page, and on Twitter and the Blindkid listserv. Recordings of each call will be made available. The March 2016 call will preview the NFB national convention, the April call will cover education programs at the Jernigan Institute, and the May call will examine low-vision issues.
SURVEY
Health and Physical Activity of Individuals with Visual Impairment Survey
<https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/HAPAOIWVI>
Contact: Dr. Suneeta Kercood, [email protected]
Dr. Suneeta Kercood of Butler University, in collaboration with Dr. Edward Bell of the Professional Development and Research Institute on Blindness at Louisiana Tech University, is conducting a research project on the health and physical activity of individuals with visual impairments. The purpose of this research is to help medical and education professionals understand how best to address the health needs of people with visual impairments and to provide positive examples to others with visual challenges. Some survey participants may be selected to do a twenty-minute telephone interview with Dr. Kercood and will have the opportunity to enter a raffle for a $25 gift card.
COURSES
New Courses on Braille
Hadley Institute for the Blind and Visually Impaired
<www.hadley.edu>
(800) 323-4238
The Hadley Institute for the Blind and Visually Impaired is pleased to announce two new free courses on Braille.
"UEB Literacy 3: Uncontracted Braille" (Course EBR-923) is designed for students who are blind. The course will help students increase their ability to read and write Braille letter by letter (often called grade 1 Braille). The course covers the Braille alphabet, numbers, punctuation, and some special signs. Directions for using the Braillewriter and the slate and stylus are included. Prerequisites are "Braille Literacy 1: Tactile Readiness" and "Braille Literacy 2: Learning the Braille Alphabet."
"UEB Contracted Braille" (Course CBR-213) will enable students to use contracted Unified English Braille (UEB) to assist blind family members or clients. Prerequisite: completion of Hadley's "Introduction to Braille" within six months in contracted Braille with a grade of B or higher or demonstration of adequate competency. This course is designed for sighted students.
MUSIC
Simply Music
<www.simplymusic.com>
Simply Music is a pioneer in the field of playing-based music education, founded upon the idea that music can play a new role in bringing creativity and social expression to the world. Simply Music Piano has students of all ages playing contemporary, classical, accompaniment, and blues piano from their first lessons. Simply Music Gateway is an online streaming piano program for children with special needs, including autism and sensory processing disorder.
BOOKS ON BLINDNESS AND DISABILITY
Inclusive Education in the Early Years: Right from the Start
edited by Kathy Cologon
Oxford University Press, 2015, 569 pages
ISBN: 978-0195-5241-23
This book explores issues related to inclusive early childhood education as a concept and in practice. Topics include discrimination, language and labeling, family perspectives, education transitions, and behavior support.
Caring Activism: A 21st Century Concept of Care
by Peter Limbrick
Interconnections, 2016, 98 pages
ISBN: 0-957-6601-11
This book is a proposal for direct action teamwork in which citizens join together to support vulnerable children, teenagers, adults, and elderly people in any part of the world. It is about releasing our power as individuals in communities to help each other as a complement to and enhancement of professional services.
Telethons: Spectacle, Disability, and the Business of Charity
by Paul K. Longmore
Oxford University Press, 2016, 364 pages
ISBN: 0-1902-6207-9
TV telethons to raise money for disability-related charities were a fixture of the second half of the twentieth century. Drawing upon more than two decades of research, Longmore explores the complexity behind the spectacle. The book shows how telethons perpetuated a misleading image of people with disabilities as helpless, passive, apolitical members of society. Telethons offers insights into big business, popular culture, Cold War values, and activism. The book shows how the telethon phenomenon helped launch the disability rights movement.
MEMOIRS AND FICTION
Making Friends with Other Trees and Flowers: A Story of Low Vision and High Expectations
by Janne E. Irvine
Wheatmark, 2011, 310 pages
ISBN: 1-6049-4653-9
In this memoir, Janne E. Irvine describes growing up with low vision. She explains how her parents provided her with an environment that enabled her to thrive. She reveals how her vivid imagination helped her find opportunities for fulfillment.
The Bright Side of Darkness
by J. E. Pinto
CreateSpace, 2015, 400 pages
ISBN: 1-5123-4494-X
This novel by a blind author tells the story of seventeen-year-old Rick Myers, who has lost his parents in a car wreck. His family now consists of "the Crew," four teenage buddies who live in a rundown apartment building. Life begins to change when he meets Daisy, an intelligent, independent, self-assured blind girl. But when the dark side of Daisy's past catches up with her, tragedy scatters the Crew and severely tests Rick's resolve to build a promising future.
Cardboard Dreams
by Tara Yanakkayara
Lulu Publishing, 2015, 182 pages
After Siyara and her husband, Vijay, take in their orphaned nephew, their marriage shudders under the weight of too many secrets. At last a confession leads Siyara to a shocking truth that changes everything. This novel by a blind author is a story about love, loss, and betrayal.
COLORING BOOKS
I Am a Crayon
Ambron Products
2924 S. Ingalls Way
Denver, CO 80227
Contact: Estelle Schukert, (303) 789-7538
[email protected]
I Am a Crayon is a tactile coloring book for young blind and visually impaired children. Each page contains a simple raised-line picture focusing upon a particular color. Ambron Productions has also created a 2016 calendar with tactile illustrations of automobiles.
TACTILE MAPS
Princeton Braillists
<princetonbraillists.org>
76 Leabrook Lane
Princeton, NJ 08540
Contact: Nancy and James Amick: (609) 924-5207
[email protected]
The Princeton Braillists produce books of tactile maps for Braille readers. The maps, both political and physical, represent individual states, countries, and regions of the world. They are detailed and labeled in Braille only; some experience with tactile drawings is recommended. Maps of Texas, an atlas of the Lone Star State, is the group's most recent offering. Other atlases include Maps of Alaska, Maps of Canada and the United States, Atlas of North and South America, Atlas of the Middle East, Atlas of East Asia, Atlas of Western Africa, and many more.
EDUCATIONAL SOFTWARE
Crick Software
<www.cricksoft.com>
191 Post Road West
Westport, CT 06880
Contact: (866) 332-7425
[email protected]
Crick Software creates high-quality reading and writing software to help children improve literacy skills, achieving success across the curriculum. Universal design is fundamental to the company's work, and software is developed for learners of all abilities, including struggling writers, students with dyslexia, children learning English as a second language, and children with disabilities.
TOYS
Quercetti Store
<www.quercettistore.com>
Contact: [email protected]
Quercetti is an Italian company that designs and produces toys that foster imagination and problem solving. Quercetti produces shape sorters, magnetic puzzles, pegboards for creating mosaics, and much more.
TANDEM CYCLING
[email protected]
With spring on its way, now is a good time to think about the upcoming cycling season. There is an email list specifically focused on empowering the blind in the arena of bicycling. The community is dedicated to helping you reach the next level in your fitness goals. Even if you do not own a tandem, fellow listers may be able to help you uncover local opportunities.
GAMES
Blindfold Games
<www.blindfoldgames.com>
Over the past two years, Blindfold Games has created twenty-five electronic games for blind and visually impaired people. The games incorporate sound effects and physical movement. All games are available free from the iTunes Store and have been tested by dozens of blind gamers. Games include Blindfold Juggle, Blindfold Color Crush, Blindfold Rummy, and Blindfold Vee Ball.
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