Several of the parents who attended the 1987 NFB convention and Parents Seminar were able to come because of scholarships from their state or local chapters of the NFB (check the Hear Ye! Hear Ye! section for more information about possible financial assistance to the 1988 convention.) The following letter is from one of those parents to Peggy Pinder, the president of the NFB of Iowa. It is her personal reaction to the convention, and a description of what she gained from it. You will notice that much of what she came away with was not on the "agenda." But that's the way it is alt a National Federation of the Blind Convention.
July 28,1987
"...Also enclosed you'll find a copy of a letter from Jackie Loomis. This is the mother of the eleven-month-old girl for whom the family bought a cane. Jackie told me that Becky can start looking around her like her sister did at the same age, only with the cane instead of eyes. Jackie also told me that they plan to keep the first cane like the first shoes..."
Peggy Pinder
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July 28,1987
Dear Peggy,
We want to thank you for sending us to the National convention in Phoenix.
We learned so much and met so many wonderful people.
I want to mention just a few of those things we learned.
We learned that there were talking books available for preshcool age children. Since returning home, Dewey Cummings made arrangements and Rebecca's talking book machines arrived within a few days. She is now receiving nursery rhymes, bedtime stories, etc. and loves it.
Also we became aware of the Hadley School for the Blind and the courses they offer parents of blind children, free of charge. We have enrolled and are anxious to learn all we can about blindness.
The parent seminar was really great. I especially enjoyed the programs on 'Teaching Our Children Good Attitudes About Blindness" and "Love, Dating, Marriage: Blind Children Grow Up To Be Parents, Too. "
We met a wonderful guy, Richard Crawford, from Iowa. He said he could teach us Braille by sight in an hour. Well we didn't really believe him but thought it was worth a try. And by the end of an hour we were decoding Braille messages.
A few days later Dr. Schroeder gave Denny [their sighted son] some pointers on writing in Braille and helped him pick out a slate and stylus. Now Denny and Rich Crawford are writing to each other~in Braille.
Our 14 year old Jennifer [a sighted daughter] went to the sibling seminar. She learned about cane travel and made new friends.
I could go on. We have so many new resources and have made so many new friends.
But most of all we learned about the NFB firsthand and what a wonderful organization it is.
Again we thank you so very much for this opportunity.
Sincerely,
Jackie Loomis and family Creston, IA