THE BRAILLE MONITOR
PUBLICATION OF THE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND

                            CONTENTS

                                                JULY-AUGUST, 1991

BRAILLE BATTLE HITS PAGE 1 OF THE NEW YORK TIMES

POINT-COUNTERPOINT: AFB AND NFB DEBATE BRAILLE

NOT ALL BLIND CHILDREN NEED BRAILLE: HERE'S WHY
by Susan J. Spungin

WHO SHOULD LEARN BRAILLE AND WHY?
by Marc Maurer

BRAILLE WITH A DIFFERENT TWIST

OVERCOMING ROADBLOCKS TO LITERACY FOR BLIND CHILDREN
by William M. Raeder

BRAILLE TECHNOLOGY IN THE YEAR 2000
by William M. Raeder

BRAILLE AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE

BRAILLE ISSUE AIRED IN THE BALTIMORE SUN

TEXAS BRAILLE BILL BECOMES A MODEL LAW

A UNIFORM BRAILLE CODE
by T. V. Cranmer and Abraham Nemeth

DODGING THE TRUTH ABOUT BRAILLE

APH FIGURES SHOW BRAILLE STILL DECLINING

BRAILLE: A BIRTHDAY LOOK AT ITS PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE
by Jim Burns

PHYLLIS CAMPANA LEAVES NATIONAL BRAILLE PRESS
by Barbara Pierce

BLINDNESS IN JAPAN: SOME PERSONAL EXPERIENCES
by John and Mary Rowley

THE SALLY JESSY RAPHAL SHOW: SPREADING THE WORD ABOUT BLINDNESS

DO YOU WANNA GO TO THE STORE, TED?
by Ted Young

THE NFB OF PENNSYLVANIA FIGHTS TO SAVE A STATE EMPLOYEE
by Ted Young

CD-ROMS AND THE BLIND
by Norman Coombs, Ph.D.

SHOULD THE IDAHO COMMISSION FOR THE BLIND CHANGE ITS NAME
by Ramona Walhof

MEET A FELLOW FEDERATIONIST: FRANCES ALLEN
by Deborah Kent Stein

SUPREMACY
by Lois Wencil

HOME DAY CARE: ACHIEVING THE COMPETITIVE EDGE
by Carla McQuillan

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A MEETING MAKES
by Marc Maurer

INFLATE YOUR FUND-RAISING

RECIPES

MONITOR MINIATURES



                         Copyright National Federation of the Blind, Inc.,
1991LEAD PHOTOS AND CAPTIONS


     From the Editors: Material appropriate for inclusion in the
Monitor crosses our desks in a steady stream, but sometimes that
stream becomes a torrent. We had planned to devote the entire
July issue to the subject of Braille, but so much else of
interest seems to be happening that we have decided to produce a
July/August edition in order to catch up and then begin afresh
following the annual convention. So the theme of this issue is
the struggle for the survival of Braille. Many critical events
are taking place right now, and there are still many
misconceptions about Braille. If we do not succeed in re-
establishing the right of blind children and adults to achieve
full literacy, our battles for equality, for employment, and even
for quality rehabilitation will be virtually impossible to win. 

     PHOTO: Small child on couch with Braille magazine in her
lap. CAPTION: Tiny hands investigate the magic of Braille. Lacy
Lebouef of Louisiana was introduced early to Braille. 

     PHOTO: Adult hands guide child's hands across a Braille
page. CAPTION: Young hands are taught the mysteries of Braille.
At the 1988 convention Evelyn Riggans of Oregon took time to
teach Cherrane Verduin of Illinois some of the fine points of
Braille reading. 

     PHOTO: James Omvig and Charles Brown sit at head table
during meeting of NFB Resolutions Committee. CAPTION: Capable
hands guide a committee's deliberations using Braille. James
Omvig, for many years the chairman of the NFB Resolutions
Committee, depends on Braille to keep meetings running smoothly.

     PHOTO: Homer Page sits at his desk in his office. CAPTION:
Experienced hands read documents in Braille. Homer Page,
university professor and Boulder County, Colorado, Commissioner,
uses Braille daily in his job.[PHOTO/CAPTION: Portrait of Kenneth Silberman.]

         BRAILLE BATTLE HITS PAGE 1 OF THE NEW YORK TIMES

     From the Associate Editor: After church on Sundays when I
was a child, we always stopped at the drug store to buy the New
York Times. My parents read it off and on all week long, but
during the remainder of the drive home on Sunday, my mother, and
later my brother, would read snippets from the front page to the
whole family. We all knew that the really important issues and
the most pressing crises facing the nation were to be found
there. 
     When living abroad as an adult, I have felt in some ways the
same dependence on the Times. I can remember walking along the
streets of London and Paris and pausing at the newspaper kiosks
with my husband and children to read the headlines in the New
York Times. They were a tie with home, a reassuring reminder of
what people in the States were thinking about and considering to
be important that day. I know I am not alone in this sentimental
and emotional attachment to the Times. People across this country
and around the world take seriously the ideas that make their way
into print in this world-class newspaper. 
     On Sunday, May 12, 1991, a story by Karen DeWitt appeared on
the front page of the New York Times. It was accompanied by a
picture of hands using a Braille slate and stylus; the story was
about the struggle being waged by blind people to win the right
to have Braille instruction available to school-age children who
need it. The story was continued later in the first section of
the paper, and on the second page there was a large picture of
Ken Silberman, an active member of the Federation in Maryland. 
     Of course, not everything about the story was accurate. The
National Federation of the Blind has never contended that every
visually impaired youngster should be taught Braille, only that
those who want or whose parents want them to learn it should have
access to Braille instruction and that its teachers should be
competent to read and write it. Moreover, we certainly do not
hold technology in disdain. The fact that we do not consider it
the be-all and end-all for blind people does not mean that we
have no appreciation of speech and large-print access to
computers or that the revolution in Braille production is the
only technology that we appreciate or will use. 
     But even with such inaccuracies in the story, the fact
remains  that the reading public is today more aware of the
current debate over Braille than ever before. And people have
been clearly told that blind adults believe we need Braille if we
are to compete effectively. "He who has ears to hear, let him
hear." The New York Times heard and put the story on page 1. Here
it is: 

                  HOW BEST TO TEACH THE BLIND:
                  A GROWING BATTLE OVER BRAILLE
                         by Karen DeWitt

     Kenneth Silberman was in graduate school when he realized he
had to learn to read and write.
     Mr. Silberman, who is blind, discovered that the tape
recorders and computers he had always used to get through school
were of little help in the advanced studies required to earn a
master's degree.
     He ended up teaching himself Braille and received the
degree, in aerospace engineering, from Cornell University. But he
is still bitter that as a child with only limited vision he was
not taught Braille and thus found himself illiterate in his mid-
twenties.
     Mr. Silberman's predicament is not unusual. Braille, once
taught to all the visually handicapped, has been partly
supplanted in the last forty years by such technological aids as
tape recorders, voice-activated computers, and machines that
translate print into voice. As a result, illiteracy is on the
rise among the nation's thirteen million people with visual
handicaps. The most recent figures available, from the American
Printing House for the Blind, show that in 1989 only twelve
percent of visually handicapped students read Braille, down from
nearly fifty percent in 1965.

                    How Militant An Approach?

     The illiteracy rate is at the center of a battle over
whether the best approach is technology and some Braille or a
wholesale return to Braille. The conflict pits advocacy groups
dominated by those without visual handicaps against more militant
groups dominated by the blind.
     Those without visual handicaps want to teach Braille
selectively. They say the other aids have a valid place and that
the pool of visually handicapped people includes those with other
disabilities, like mental retardation or tactile insensitivity,
that would preclude them from learning Braille.
     But the groups dominated by the blind argue that Braille
should be mandatory for any visually handicapped person who is
able to learn it.
     Both sides agree on the stakes: whether more people with
visual handicaps will become independent, productive members of
society, or whether they will remain largely on the fringe.
Seventy percent of the visually impaired who are of employment
age are either unemployed or underemployed, according to Susan
Spungin, associate executive director of the American Foundation
for the Blind.

                      How the Groups Differ

     Dr. Spungin's group is run generally by people without
visual handicaps. By contrast, the more militant National
Federation of the Blind is dominated by those with visual
handicaps. Still another group, the American Council of the
Blind, is similar in philosophy to Dr. Spungin's group and is run
both by handicapped and non-handicapped people.
     The struggle between those who would require Braille to be
taught and those who argue that it should be taught only when
necessary has gathered force since the passage last year of the
Americans with Disabilities Act. The law prohibits discrimination
against people with physical and mental impairments. It would,
for example, require restaurants to assist blind customers either
by providing Braille menus or having a waiter read selections.
     The tension over the teaching of Braille grows out of
changes in education. Historically, all people with vision
handicaps have been taught Braille in separate schools for the
blind. But in the 1950's and 1960's, there was a shift toward
integrating these students into public schools.

                     The Degree of Handicaps

     Mr. Silberman, a thirty-year-old administrator at the
Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, is among
those who entered school in that period, just as technology like
tape recorders, computers, and machines that translate print into
voice were becoming cheap enough for classroom use. The
technology was considered a boon to those with visual handicaps,
particularly people with low vision, like Mr. Silberman. The
feeling among some was that Braille was obsolete.
     A person classified as visually impaired is one who has only
limited sight and requires specialized care from an eye doctor. A
legally blind person is one whose peripheral vision is reduced to
twenty percent or who can see only the top E on the optical
examination chart with the better corrected eye.
     For Mr. Silberman and groups like the National Federation of
the Blind, Braille is the solution not only to illiteracy but to
dependency.
     "There are a lot of blind people who can't take advantage of
better employment opportunity simply because they can't use
written words with facility," said Marc Maurer, president of the
Federation. "It isn't that we're opposed to technology.
Technology has enhanced Braille, has made it cheaper, made it
more accessible and opened up more jobs for those who are blind."

                     Resistance From Parents

     But Dr. Richard Welsh of the Greater Pittsburgh Guild for
the Blind disagreed. "Braille is a good medium for some students,
but it's not the answer for every student," said Dr. Welsh, a
former superintendent of a school for the blind in Maryland who
opposed a bill two years ago that would have required the
teaching of Braille.
     The Federation, whose headquarters are in Baltimore, is
demanding that Braille be taught to every legally blind person
and is pushing for passage of Braille bills in state
legislatures. Laws requiring that legally blind students be
taught Braille are now in force in five states. Similar
legislation is being considered in several other states.
     Dick Edlund, a Democratic State Representative, sponsored
the Braille law that Kansas recently passed. "There was some
resistance from teachers, but the major resistance to mandating
that kids learn Braille was from the parents," said Mr. Edlund,
who is legally blind. "A lot of parents don't want to have a
blind kid. A lot of them have in their head that if the kid just
tried harder, he'd be able to see."
     Adapted in the early 19th century by a blind Frenchman,
Louis Braille, from a code invented by another Frenchman, Charles
Barbier, Braille is a system of six raised dots in sixty-three
combinations which represent letters and words that can be read
by touching.

                      Aprons Over the Dots

     Opponents of mandatory Braille argue that it is
inappropriate for some visually impaired people. They recall a
period earlier in the century when students at schools for the
blind who had some vision were forced to wear aprons to cover the
Braille on their desks because they could see the dots.
     "If you can read white dots on white paper with your eyes,
then it is probably not appropriate to learn Braille," said Dr.
Spungin of the American Foundation for the Blind.
     But Mr. Silberman says even partly sighted people should
learn Braille.
     By the time he was studying astronomy at the University of
Pennsylvania, Mr. Silberman said, "I was doing a lot of stuff
with taped material, but have you ever tried to look for a
specific piece of information on a cassette?"  He said he tried
to memorize everything, but "the work was getting steadily more
sophisticated, and I really struggled. I began to doubt whether I
should continue."
     He won a scholarship from the National Federation of the
Blind in 1985 and met other blind professionals who helped
restore his self-confidence. As a result, he tackled the study of
Braille. Mr. Silberman said that has made the difference between
living on Social Secuirty and food stamps and having a good job.
     Dr. Spungin said the American Foundation for the Blind and
the American Council of the Blind favor the use of braille but
object to legislation requiring it for all visually impaired
people.
                     Labels for Disabilities
     She said a 1975 Federal law requires that special education
students, including those with reduced vision, be given
individual education plans, and that such plans can include
Braille if parents and teachers think it necessary.
     Like some other experts, she explains part of the increase
in blind illiteracy by noting that medical advances have made it
possible for more children today to survive with multiple
disabilities, including impaired vision. But she said that many
children are labeled visually impaired when they actually have
multiple handicaps and will never be able to learn Braille.
     Noreen Rysticken, a Baltimore speech and language
pathologist and the mother of a multiply-impaired daughter,
opposed the Maryland Braille bill.
     "My daughter, Diane, has some functional vision, but she's
also very delayed because of hearing impairments and cystic
fibrosis," said Ms. Rysticken. "To force teachers to teach her
Braille, would cause emotional problems. Braille is a reading
system. She'll never read very much."

                       POINT-COUNTERPOINT:
                   AFB AND NFB DEBATE BRAILLE

     From the Associate Editor: In the days following the May 12,
1991, publication of the New York Times story about the current
Braille battle, (see the preceding article) the subject was
discussed widely across the country. Intrigued by the debate, the
Scripps Howard News Service contacted both the National
Federation of the Blind and the American Foundation for the Blind
(AFB) to request representatives to participate in the Scripps
Howard weekly feature, "Point-Counterpoint," in which an issue is
discussed by two people with contrasting views. Dr. Susan
Spungin, Associate Executive Director for Program Services for
the AFB, was invited to prepare a six-hundred-word presentation
of the Foundation's position, and President Maurer was asked to
provide the Federation's view. It is significant that the Scripps
Howard News Service decided to pursue the discussion about
Braille begun in the Denver Post on February 12 (See the May,
1991, issue of the Braille Monitor) and continued by the New York
Times on May 12. But it is even more noteworthy that the AFB and
the NFB have now become the organizations the nation turns to to
articulate the two sides of blindness questions. Braille is very
far from a dying issue, and the National Federation of the Blind
is increasingly recognized as its pre-eminent defender. Here is
the cover letter sent to President Maurer by Pamela Reeves, News
Editor of the Scripps Howard News Service followed by the
statements by Dr. Spungin and President Maurer: 

                                                 Washington, D.C.
                                                     May 20, 1991

Dear Mr. Maurer:
     Thanks for the article you contributed to the Scripps Howard
News Wire. It moved on May 19th for use Monday or any time
thereafter. The "Point-Counterpoint," a weekly feature on the
SHNS wire, goes to 360 newspapers nationwide and generally is
widely used. Enclosed is a copy of the piece you wrote and also
the opposition piece by Susan J. Spungin, who is associate
executive director of the American Foundation for the Blind.

                                                       Sincerely,
                                       Pamela Reeves, News Editor


[PHOTO: Susan Spungin standing at microphone. CAPTION: Susan
Spungin, Associate Executive Director of the American Foundation
for the Blind.]

         NOT ALL BLIND CHILDREN NEED BRAILLE: HERE'S WHY
                       by Susan J. Spungin

     It was not that long ago when teachers forced all left-
handed children to write with their right hand. In many respects,
this educational practice, now outdated, is not so different in
spirit from the proposal to mandate instruction in Braille for
all legally blind children.
     In both cases, an educational policy, applied universally,
does not account for the fact that the needs and abilities of
children vary.
     Indeed, the American Foundation for the Blind supports
Braille as an educational option. Braille is a critical venue for
literacy for millions of blind and visually impaired children and
adults and is the focus of our agency-wide campaign for literacy.
     We cannot underscore enough its importance, especially at a
time when there is a dire shortage of qualified teachers
available to teach Braille. But we are concerned about making
this option mandatory for all legally blind children. Here are
some reasons why.
     First, there is the nature of legal blindness itself.
Despite its literal connotation, legal blindness does not mean
total loss of vision; the term includes conditions ranging from
moderately severe vision loss to total blindness.
     Nearly eighty-five percent of legally blind persons have
some useful residual vision. The specific nature of their
impairment determines what they can do.
     Many legally blind persons, for example, can read print and
travel without the use of a long cane or guide dog; others may
need to use travel aids but can still read large print. In fact,
legal blindness is more an economic definition used by
governmental and rehabilitation agencies to define conditions
that make individuals eligible for the benefits and services that
these agencies provide for visually impaired persons.
     Many legally blind children can read print, either in a
large print or magnified with the help of optical reading
devices. Can you imagine my amazement then when I saw for the
first time a legally blind child reading, by sight and not touch,
the white Braille dots on the white paper?
     Unless there is reason to believe that this child will lose
more vision--and there are certainly conditions that do not
deteriorate--I can think of no reason why this child should not
be reading print.
     As it is, legally blind children, especially those
mainstreamed into regular classrooms, are expected to keep up
with all the regular classroom lessons and activities, as well as
learn additional skills they need to function with limited
vision.
     For example, how to use low vision reading devices and/or
specially adapted computerized devices, social and listening
skills, how to use recorded materials, how to travel
independently, and how to make the best functional use of the
vision they have.
     Since 1975 there has been federal legislation, the Education
of All Handicapped Children Act, which requires that all disabled
children have an individualized education plan, a blueprint for
learning.
     For this blueprint to be most effective, educational
decisions and plans should be made in concert with a team of
professionals and parents.
     Conversely, the decision about whether a legally blind child
learns to read Braille, large print, or both, would be best
served by this team approach, and not by a mandate that is based
on an economic definition of legal blindness rather than what
best serves each individual child's specific needs.
     The American Foundation for the Blind believes that legally
blind children should benefit from the full range of educational
options best suited to their needs. If those needs dictate that
Braille is the most viable option for achieving literacy, we
support it.
     But we must be flexible and do what is best for each
individual child. We do not support the wholesale assignment of
one group to a particular educational practice. That is why we
cannot fully endorse proposals to mandate Braille instruction for
all legally blind children.
     (Susan J. Spungin is associate executive director of the
American Foundation for the Blind.)


[PHOTO/CAPTION: President Maurer works at his desk at the
headquarters of the National Federation of the Blind.]

                WHO SHOULD LEARN BRAILLE AND WHY?
                    By Marc Maurer, President
                National Federation of the Blind

     Braille is the raised dot system used by the blind for
reading and writing. Recent publicity about Braille has brought
both information and confusion to the public. 
     As a blind person myself and as president of the nation's
largest organization primarily composed of blind persons (the
50,000-member National Federation of the Blind), I think I know
something about the needs of blind persons. A controversy now
exists as to who should learn Braille and under what
circumstances, but certain things are generally agreed upon.
Blind children (and also adults) should make full use of
computers, tape recorders, and any other available technology.
Visually impaired children should be encouraged to make the best
use of any eyesight they have, including learning to read print. 
     But a legally blind child (one with less than ten percent of
normal eyesight) cannot function efficiently using print alone.
Sighted children have computers and recorders, but they still
learn to read print. They use both eyes and ears to get
information. Likewise, if a blind or severely visually impaired
child is to compete, not only ears but also fingers should be
used. Technology enhances but does not substitute for the printed
word. 
     Then why the controversy?  Many of today's teachers of blind
children take a single college course on how to teach Braille but
cannot read or write it. Because of their lack of knowledge, they
tend to think Braille is slow and inefficient. Being
uncomfortable with what they don't know, they say that Braille is
not needed and opt for expensive technology.
     There is also the fact that blindness still carries with it
a stigma, and many (including some parents and teachers) want
blind children to pretend to have sight they don't possess so as
not to be considered blind--the same thing blacks did fifty years
ago when some tried to lighten their skins and straighten their
hair to try to cross the color line. It didn't work and wasn't
healthy for the blacks. The same is true for the blind. The
National Federation of the Blind believes it is respectable to be
blind, and we don't try to hide it. 
     Thousands of blind people read Braille at four hundred words
per minute. There's no substitute for Braille in taking notes,
reading a speech, looking up words in a dictionary, studying a
complicated text, or just having the fun of reading for yourself.
     Talk of forcing blind children to learn Braille shows the
prejudice. Nobody talks of forcing sighted children to learn
print. It is taken for granted as a right, a necessary part of
education; so it should be with Braille and blind children. 
     The National Federation of the Blind is asking state
legislatures to pass Braille bills, which would require teachers
of the blind and visually handicapped to be competent in reading
and writing Braille and require that instruction in Braille be
available to every visually handicapped child if parents want it.
     The National Federation of the Blind believes that no child
is hurt by learning Braille, print, or any other skill. The
federal act often cited as the excuse for not making Braille
universally available to the blind is misquoted. The requirement
that each child's individual needs be met was never meant as a
cop-out for teachers and an excuse for illiteracy. Just as with
the sighted, we the blind need every skill we can get to compete
in today's world. With proper training we can hold our own with
the best.







                 BRAILLE WITH A DIFFERENT TWIST

     From the Editor: Some professionals in the blindness field
tell us that only those who absolutely must should learn Braille,
that learning Braille may cause feelings of inferiority, that it
is normal to read print (and thus presumably abnormal to read
Braille), and that a child has only a certain amount of learning
capacity when it comes to reading so that if he or she learns
Braille and print, neither skill can be learned more than half
well. The kindest thing one can say about such professionalism is
that it is esoteric. Imagine, then, how these experts will feel
if they learn about the happenings in Marissa, Illinois.  Here in
part is a letter from Volunteer Braille Services in Marissa to
President Maurer:

Dear Mr. Maurer:
     A lot of exciting things have been happening at VBS the last
few months, and I want to summarize them for you as briefly as
possible.
     On Monday, March 20, 1991, the Marissa School Board voted
unanimously to introduce an elective credit course in Braille
transcribing to high school students. This will be a two-year
course. The first class will be limited to a maximum of ten 10th
and 11th grade students. The class will be team taught by John
Hemphill, who will have the necessary Braille skills. John is in
the process of preparing his trial manuscript so that he will
also have this necessary credential.
     The goal for the first year will be to enable the students
to sight read Grade 2 American Braille and to be able to write it
on both the slate and stylus and the Perkins Brailler, with an
introduction to computer Braille translation. The basic text will
be the Instruction Manual for Braille Transcribing used by NLS.
     The goal for the second year will be to cover the fine
points of transcribing and to train the students in the use of
the Duxbury Braille translation program. A class project for the
second-year students will be to actually transcribe a literary
textbook for a Braille-reading high school student in Illinois.
     Since it is the policy of NLS not to issue certificates to
persons who do not have high school diplomas, we will have the
second-year students prepare a full 35-page manuscript and have
it proofread by an NLS certified proofreader. To get a passing
grade for the second year, the student will be required to attain
a grade of 80 or more using NLS grading criteria. Students will
be encouraged to prepare a second manuscript which they will
submit to NLS along with their high school diploma.
     Other highlights of the course will be field trips to the
Illinois School for the Visually Impaired with reciprocal trips
to Marissa High School by ISVI students, and Braille pen pals.
The 86th Session of the Illinois General Assembly amended the
Illinois School Code to permit a course or proficiency in
American Sign Language to be equivalent to a course or
proficiency in a foreign language. VBS, in cooperation with a
coalition of the handicapped, plans to introduce legislation in
the next Assembly to further amend the School Code to permit a
course or proficiency in English Braille to be equivalent to a
course or proficiency in a foreign language, so that a high
school student may elect to take Braille rather than Spanish,
French, Latin etc. We realize there will have to be qualified
teachers to teach these Braille courses, and VBS intends to be
active in recruiting and training these teachers. We feel this
amendment to the School Code will be another step in the long
march toward increasing Braille production and improving Braille
literacy.


[PHOTO: Portrait of William Raeder. CAPTION: William Raeder,
Executive Director of the National Braille Press.]

      OVERCOMING ROADBLOCKS TO LITERACY FOR BLIND CHILDREN
                      by William M. Raeder

     From the Associate Editor: William Raeder is the Executive
Director of the National Braille Press, headquartered in Boston.
He has attended and addressed several NFB conventions and is a
clear and articulate proponent of Braille. As the chief operating
officer of one of the nation's foremost Braille publishing
houses, his views on the future of Braille are informed and
eminently worth serious consideration. When the Editor of the
Braille Monitor invited Mr. Raeder to contribute some thoughts
about the current and future prospects for Braille, he offered
two short articles, both of which we found interesting and
valuable. Here they are: 

     For people with total or profound loss of sight, Braille is
the only medium for literacy. Tape recordings for blind people as
a substitute for Braille are hardly any better than they are for
sighted people as a substitute for print. This is especially true
for materials that need to be referenced.
     Generally, throughout our country blind children face the
following conditions which are not conducive to learning Braille
and becoming literate:
     1. Blind children have little or no preschool exposure to
reading Braille. Sighted children entering school have already
had several years' experience reading cereal boxes, road signs,
television ads, labels, and magazine and book titles.
     2. Blind first-graders are often sidetracked in the schools
from a course of Braille and literacy. Sighted children entering
school are immediately put on a track to develop proficiency in
reading and writing print. That this regimen is taken for granted
and institutionalized is a motivating and disciplining factor,
keeping the children on track. Blind children, on the other hand,
are often sidetracked from literacy, on the damaging assumption
that they don't need Braille and with the further patronizing
attitude that tape recordings are easier for them. "Children who
need Braille in Maryland and in every other state are not getting
it and will not get it, I am afraid, unless their parents and the
members of the National Federation of the Blind fight for their
right to literacy and a decent education." (Barbara Cheadle,
President, Parents of Blind Children  Division, National
Federation of the Blind).
     3. Teachers often have low proficiency in Braille. Sighted
children have teachers for whom reading and writing print is an
integral and totally comfortable part of their daily lives. Blind
children, more often than not, have teachers with little
proficiency and comfort in Braille. Although we favor integrated
education, placing blind children in the mainstream, we fully
recognize that before this practice was popular, the residential
schools for the blind were well equipped to teach Braille,
whereas all too often the mainstream schools are not.
     4. Reading materials in Braille are scarce. Sighted students
have voluminous print materials with which to work. New editions
of textbooks are published frequently, and numerous extraneous
books, pamphlets, and periodicals are available in print. Blind
students have few materials in Braille. Textbooks are often out-
of-date editions or are not available until partway through the
school year.
     5. There is an institutionalized prejudice against blindness
and Braille. Braille for the blind student is sometimes shunned
by the teacher, administrator, or even the parent or student
because it further identifies the student as being blind; and, in
all too many minds, albeit oftentimes subconsciously, there is a
stigma attached to blindness and a damaging attitude of unduly
diminished expectations of blind students.
     All too many blind children leave school and enter adulthood
with a triple handicap. In addition to the physical or sensory
handicap of blindness, many have been working in an environment
of diminished expectations for their performance and are either
illiterate or have unnecessarily limited literacy skills. Blind
people proficient in reading and writing Braille have a better
chance of obtaining good employment than blind people without
these skills.
     National Braille Press has a five-point program to combat
these conditions and promote literacy in the very early life of
blind children:
     1. Our Children's Braille Book Club promotes literacy for
blind children where it begins with sighted children--right in
the home with bedtime story books. Regular children's picture
story books, donated by the publishers, are remanufactured to
combine print and Braille cleverly page for page, so that a
sighted parent and blind child can read together from the same
book. (In some cases the parent is blind and the child is
sighted.) We publish one new title each month. At year's end, a
thirteenth title, The Winnie the Pooh Calendar, provides children
with practical information in a delightful form. The books are
sold for the same price as the print editions. The annual cost to
National Braille Press for this program, over and above the
donated print books and the sales proceeds, is more than $23,000.
     2. Just Enough to Know Better, our Braille primer, provides
sighted parents with the opportunity to learn enough Braille to
work with their blind children to help them identify letters and
words. It is a delightful workbook, easy and fun to use, but it
is very serious about the importance of literacy for blind
children. Like sighted children, then, blind children attain
reading readiness if not actual reading ability right in the home
with their parents.
     The text material selected for the reading exercises for the
sighted parent is designed to provide encouragement and inspire
enthusiasm that the blind child can and will have normal
intellectual development. The book provides sighted parents with
enough knowledge about Braille to know better than to accept the
notion that their blind child is not in a position to learn
reading and writing or to accept the notion of a stigma attached
to Braille, if these damaging prejudices are encountered. If it
is necessary, parents will be fortified to start what is often a
long, arduous task of advocating that their blind children's
education should include Braille literacy.
     3. Learning by doing is important to blind children. Sighted
children learn much by simply observing adults carrying out
tasks. Some of our children's books promote learning activity.
Last year Your First Garden Book, contributed by Little Brown &
Co., featured two packets of seeds contributed by Johnny's
Selected Seeds in Albion, Maine, to encourage blind children to
start their first gardening experience. This year we are
producing a children's cookbook. These books stimulate interest
and begin to identify Braille and reading as a source of
important information for functioning well in life's activities.
     4. Books for intermediate-age readers, eight to thirteen,
are being added to our list this year. Many of the children with
whom we started over the last several years have grown into this
age group and desperately need appropriate-level materials to
keep their reading interests and skills alive.
     5. As children advance into adolescence and adulthood, it is
important to continue the promotion of Braille literacy as a
useful tool. To accomplish this and at the same time to enhance
the independence of blind people, we publish practical
information in Braille. Our computer-literacy program provides
Braille materials for beginners, computer users, and professional
computer programmers. Our employment program provides a
comprehensive employment book, Take Charge: A Strategic Guide for
Blind Job Seekers; a self-assessment workbook, Planning Careers
with Confidence; and a resource book. In addition, we have
Syndicated Columnists Weekly, dealing with women's issues; and a
variety of general-information pamphlets, such as the United
States Constitution and Understanding AIDS.




               BRAILLE TECHNOLOGY IN THE YEAR 2000
                      by William M. Raeder

     Long-range forecasting of Braille technology is, if we may
borrow from Prince Philip, like short-range forecasting of New
England weather; we may fairly say that we will have it, probably
in abundance, but in just what forms it will come is more
difficult to predict. The task of good forecasting is a tough
one, dependent on careful observation of current conditions and
rigorous analysis and projection of the many forces molding the
future. Such forces molding the future of Braille technology, for
example, include the focus of current research, the projection of
current trends, the impact of other technologies, the pressures
from Braille readers, and the market for Braille. Also of concern
are the fortunes of national and world economies, politics of
government spending for research and social welfare, private
funding, and demography. Even cultural values, like the value of
universal literacy and social prejudice for or against equal
opportunity for blind and deaf-blind people, have their impact.
     This paper is not scientific forecasting based on rigorous
analysis of these forces by a professional researcher; it is,
rather, the projections, speculations, and prejudices of a
Braille-printing-house manager who's had a small role to play in
the advance of Braille technology. It focuses on personal
computer-based Braille transcription systems--their advantages
and shortcomings, the need for further development, the
challenges to that development, and their importance in the
advancement of independent functioning for blind and deaf-blind
people. The paper goes on to describe the changing role of
Braille printing houses as the processing of information
continues to proliferate and as Braille readers are increasingly
able to obtain and process needed information independently. It
closes by invoking the attention and assistance of teachers,
large-scale communicators, and those influencing change in
Braille codes to further the advance of literacy and effective
independent functioning by blind people through Braille in an age
of information exchange.
     The most important projection we can make is the continuing
development of microprocessor-based personal Braille
transcription systems for home or office use. Even now, for less
than $5,000 one can buy a complete system, either in the form of
a dedicated computer, such as the VersaBraille II, with a Braille
keyboard and dynamic Braille display (also called paperless
Braille), or in the form of a general-use computer with modem and
Braille printer. Either system includes software for
communications, text editing and printing, file management, and
Braille translation and formatting. Texts for Braille
transcription are brought to such systems by telephone line and
modem from central databanks, through direct cabling from local
databanks, and by using transportable media, such as disks, from
various sources. For additional money reading machines with
varying degrees of print-reading capability are available for
attachment to the system, to provide additional sources of text
for Braille transcription.
     Three shortcomings of these personal Braille systems limit
their use and give clues for developments by century's end: cost,
technical complexity, and lack of accessible information. Blind
people sophisticated in the use of these systems might disagree,
saying that they are inexpensive and simple and provide access to
an enormous amount of information. This is certainly true for
some blind people compared to what was available before the
advent of desktop computers. Indeed, it is very exciting to see a
significant number of blind people gaining direct access to large
amounts of information through the proficient use of their
personal Braille computer systems. An additional significant
number of blind people are gaining similar access through voice-
response systems, which may stand alone or be integrated with
Braille systems.
     Over the next decade improvements in quality and
functionality and reductions in cost and technical complexity of
reading machines, voice synthesizers, and Braille transcription
systems will increase their use. The resulting partial
independence from Braille printing houses and volunteer Braille
agencies for access to information represents a milestone in the
social history of blind people. Nevertheless, for these personal
Braille systems and voice-response systems to come into general
use by blind people, they must become significantly less
expensive and less technically complex to use. Furthermore, for
blind people to become essentially independent of Braille
printing houses and the volunteer transcription services, an even
greater abundance of information must be available in machine-
readable form.
     Features needed in these personal Braille systems by the
year 2000 and beyond are:
     1) Reliable, durable, and inexpensive, yet larger dynamic
Braille displays;
     2) Full-page dynamic Braille display, and/or full-page
simulation, by simple and effective software-controlled movement
of the page image under a single line display;
     3) Dynamic display for high-resolution presentation of
tactile drawings;
     4) Reduction in price for basic systems to that of a good
home stereo system;
     5) Alternative controls by voice and/or feet, to free the
hands for Braille reading;
     6) Radio transmission of timely information to be received
and stored in digital form for reading at will;
     7) Use of laser WORM technology for the dissemination of
voluminous reference and periodic materials. ("WORM" stands for
Write Once Read Many. Information on a laser-written WORM disk is
substantially more densely packed than on a magnetic disk;
however, although such a disk can be read virtually an unlimited
number of times, it cannot be readily erased and rewritten as can
a magnetic disk.)
     Principal technical challenges are:
     1) The reduction in price of a dynamic Braille display;
     2) The further simplification of efficient control systems
for the user;
     3) Overcoming features designed to improve systems for
sighted users. (Windows, icons, mouse controls, and bit mapping
can hamper use by blind people.)
     Throughout the world, where personal and/or national wealth
limit the purchase of personal Braille transcription systems,
agency-based microprocessor systems will be established, as we
have already seen in North America and elsewhere. These Brailling
centers will transcribe and emboss their own materials and
receive texts on disks from other organizations and individuals
for embossing only. There will be an international traffic in
Braille transcriptions on disks for local embossing and
distribution. In areas of the world with low economic and
technical development, there are three challenges to be met in
the establishment of these centers: training, funding, and
equipment maintenance.
     What will be the changing role of Braille printing houses as
personal Braille transcription systems become more generally used
and as machine-readable information continues to proliferate? We
will see the following changes:
     1) The amount of paper Braille produced by Braille printing
houses will continue to grow, by the year 2000, but will then
represent only about half the Braille distributed in countries
with high use of personal Braille systems.
     2) The amount of Braille transcribed by Braille printing
houses and distributed in paperless form on cassettes and disks
will grow from a small amount in the last few years to about one-
half of the Braille distributed in these high-use countries in
the year 2000.
     3) For the next half decade or more, there will be heavy
reliance on scanners for reading texts into computers. In
addition, continuing refinements in software for Braille
translation and formatting will improve production efficiency.
     4) The continuing and growing pressure to produce more
Braille for less cost will force the further development of
automated transcription of high-quality Braille. Text files
prepared for print publishing will be automatically transcribed
into Braille with little or no human intervention. If human
intervention is required to identify text components for highly
refined and complex formatting, it will be computer-assisted, for
high labor efficiency. This further development will be achieved
in three ways:
     (a) There will be further development of software systems
for interpreting the encoded format information in text files
prepared for print publication and automatically converting these
files for Braille transcription.
     (b) Modifications will be made in the Braille code, to
eliminate Braille contraction ambiguities requiring human
intelligence for proper interpretation.
     (c) Varying quality standards of Braille will be specified,
dependent on the level of format refinement required. Changes in
Braille code and Braille formatting standards should be made with
the knowledge and consent of Braille readers, if not under their
leadership.
     5) In addition to the increasing proliferation of
information and literature generally available in machine-
readable form, we will see increasing standardization of
computer-based text formatting and coding systems. This will
enable Braille printing houses to develop highly refined software
packages for interpreting and translating these format codes for
Braille transcription and synthesized-voice transcription. In the
first two decades of the twenty-first century we will see Braille
printing houses making this software available to users for their
personal Braille systems so that individuals can receive machine-
readable texts from the general publishing industry and fully
transcribe them into very high quality, well-formatted Braille.
The key improvement here over what we now can do is in the
automated refined formatting of the Braille.
     6) As Braille readers become more independent of Braille
printing houses for their general literary material, Braille
printing houses will have an increasing responsibility to provide
materials in more complex or specialized codes, such as music,
mathematics, foreign languages for which there is still no
Braille translation software, and materials containing scientific
or computer notation. Development of computer software for
translation of texts requiring these specialized Braille codes
will be pursued.
     Implicit in the above is an expansion of Braille
productions, stimulated by an increase in market demand and a
decrease of perhaps as much as twenty percent in both cost and
delivery time. Far from being relieved of the need to learn and
use Braille, blind people increasingly will find Braille an
effective and important tool to help them attain positions of
higher responsibility and productivity in our complex
information-driven society. Technology alone, however, will not
bring this about. Three additional steps must also be taken. They
are: 
     1) Improvement in the Braille code, to make it simpler to
learn, simpler to use, simpler to transcribe, and more highly
standardized;
     2) Increased emphasis on the teaching of Braille, and clear
definition as to who would be better off learning Braille and who
would be better off using residual eyesight to read print;
     3) Increased willingness on the part of large-scale
communicators to make their materials readily available in a form
accessible for blind people.
     With this combination of factors we will see, by the year
2000, notable improvements in equality and literacy for blind
people and a significant reduction in the difficulties blind
people face simply because they cannot read print.



                 BRAILLE AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE

     From the Associate Editor: In recent years, and even months,
the amount and variety of Braille available for purchase have
been expanding dramatically. As Braille readers we are not
conditioned to think of ourselves as able to build personal
libraries with our favorite literary works, much less books of
passing interest. But the revolution in Braille production
technology is changing that, and we can begin to accustom
ourselves to the luxury of being able to buy books like everybody
else and savor favorite passages or refer to important
information when we find it necessary or convenient. The editors
of the Braille Monitor asked the major Braille publishing houses
around the country and the National Library Service for the Blind
and Physically Handicapped to provide the Braille Monitor with
information concerning available Braille materials about which
our readers should know. Here is the information we were
provided: 

            The American Printing House for the Blind

     With the material provided by the American Printing House
for the Blind came a cover note from the Executive Director, Dr.
Tuck Tinsley. Here are his comments and the material he provided:
     Recently we at APH have noticed what seems to be a most
encouraging trend. When exhibiting to the general public, we are
finding heightened interest in both the reading and writing of
Braille. Not only are people taking the time to work through the
writing of their names under the guidance of our exhibit staff,
they also ask numerous questions regarding how Braille is
produced, its bulk, what sort of material is published, and how
the personal computer can be used to create special interest
materials desired by people who are blind.
     Two or three snowflakes do not necessarily mean a blizzard
is on its way. Neither do we mean to imply that the whole country
is turned on to Braille. However, these preliminary indications
are extremely encouraging to those of us who realize the
importance of Braille in enabling people who are blind to be
informed citizens. 

                                                   --Tuck Tinsley

     The text of Public Law 101-336, the Americans with
Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, is currently available from the
American Printing House for the Blind (APH) in four formats:
Braille, large type, cassette tape, and flexible disc. APH will
make copies of the ADA available to print-handicapped
individuals, courtesy of the American Printing House for the
Blind. The first copy is free of charge.  Additional copies may
be purchased at the prices listed in this article. The catalog
number is also included. Braille: Catalog number 5-60000-00,
$19.80; Flexible Disc:  Catalog number F-60000-00, $0.65;
Cassette: Catalog number C-60000-00, $0.75; Large Type: Catalog
number J-60000-00, $7.20. Customers interested in obtaining the
ADA may do so by writing to American Printing House for the Blind
Order Department. This document is also available through the
regular National Library Service for the Blind and Physically
Handicapped (NLS) distribution network. 
     APH announces the creation of the Century Series, a special
selection of books offered for purchase. This series is designed
to enable Braille readers to obtain Braille books at the same
cost as the original print editions. It is hoped that the Century
Series will help Braille readers develop libraries of their own.
APH will produce fifty Braille copies of each of one hundred
titles over the next several years. These titles will not
conflict with those produced by the NLS or by any of the other
major producers of Braille books. Reading and interest levels of
these books will range from kindergarten to adult. The Century
Series books will be available as long as the supply lasts. Here
is the list of titles in the first group of offerings: 

     - It Was on Fire When I Lay Down on It, by Robert Fulghum, a
book of humorous philosophical essays by the author of All I
Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten, 1 vol., Catalog
No. 2-39570-00, $17.95
     - Mouse Tales, by Beatrix Potter, four short stories for
children, 1 vol., Catalog No. 2-84300-00, $9.00
     - My Favorite Goodnight Stories, by Linda Yeatman, a
collection of twenty-five retold bedtime stories for children, 1
vol., Catalog No. 2-85000-00, $10.00
     - Tekwar, by William Shatner, a science fiction novel for
young adults and up, 2 vols., Catalog No. 2-40100-00, $18.00
     - The City of Gold and Lead, by John Christopher, science
fiction for young adults, 1 vol., Catalog No. 2-23250-00, $4.00

     For more information on specific titles, please call or
write APH's Consumer Information Services at the APH address.
Please specify whether you would like to receive the information
in print or in Braille. 
     APH also produces a number of cookbooks for purchase. A
special order form including information about forty-two of these
is available upon request.
     Anyone who reads Grade 2 Braille and is a U.S. citizen or
resides in the U.S. can receive a free subscription to the
Braille Reader's Digest; the cost to others is $49.00 a year. The
ink-print edition is transcribed in full, except for advertising,
into standard English Braille, Grade 2.  This service is made
possible by contributions from the general public to the Fund for
Braille and Recorded Editions--Reader's Digest. To purchase a
Braille subscription to the Reader's Digest, write to the
Magazine Circulation Department, American Printing House for the
Blind. 
     APH also offers Read Again: A Braille Program for
Adventitiously Blinded Print Readers. Read Again is designed to
aid students in making the transition from print to Braille by
leading them through several levels of instruction. The program
begins by helping students develop skills in tactual
discrimination. It then goes on to teach Grade 1 and Grade 2
Braille. 
     Read Again provides the following materials:  1. Teaching
and practice worksheets, reading selections and activities,
tests, and review worksheets. 2. Cassette tape instructions for
use before students can read Grade 1 Braille. 3. A Read Again
Teacher's Edition in print or in Braille. There are nine levels
in Read Again. Most include tests to measure student progress and
selections for reading practice. 
     Since many sections of Read Again can be ordered separately,
teachers are encouraged to pick and choose parts of the program.
For further information about the content of each level and for
details about ordering, contact APH, P.O. Box 6085, Louisville,
KY 40206-0085; Phone and Fax: (502) 895-2405.  

                Associated Services for the Blind

     An official from the Braille production department of the
Associated Services for the Blind (ASB) in Philadelphia told the
Braille Monitor in mid-May that the organization would very much
like to provide information about its Braille services and
materials for publication in this article. Despite a number of
reminder telephone messages, no information had arrived by press-
time. We believe that a  catalog is available from ASB, but we
have no information about its content or prices. 

                    Braille Institute Press 

     The Braille Institute Press has a catalog of books and
materials available upon request. Its charges are 20 cents a page
for existing Braille, and 75 cents for binding. The price for
transcribing new material is negotiable. The Braille Institute
can provide literary, math, and computer Braille; and all work is
professionally proofread. New and classic children's books in
Braille and Sesame Street books in Twin-vision format are
available for purchase. Information and catalogs can be obtained
by calling or writing Carol Jimenez or Emy de Jesus, 741 N.
Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, California 90029; (213) 663-1111,
extension 231.

                      The Clovernook Center

     The Clovernook Center produces a unique Braille computer
magazine, TACTIC, which is a forty-eight-page quarterly about
microcomputers and adaptive technology for the blind. A consumer-
oriented magazine, TACTIC offers articles in a practical rather
than highly technical style on existing Braille voice systems.
The magazine reviews the literature on newly developed hardware
and software as these occur and provides a forum for blind
consumers to share problems and solutions. Occasionally, articles
are reprinted from popular mainstream publications, but most
material comes from designers and users of computer equipment
themselves.
     Subscriptions are available in Braille format for $10 per
year and in large print for $16 per year, payable by check or
money order in U.S. dollars to The Clovernook Center, Attention:
TACTIC, 7000 Hamilton Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio 45231. Information
about surface and airmail charges to foreign countries is
available upon request. You may contact Anita Paddock,
Circulation Supervisor.

                     National Braille Press

     The National Braille Press produces a number of titles in
Braille for purchase. The Children's Braille Book Club enables
parents or schools to receive a Braille book each month for the
enjoyment of their Braille-reading youngsters. The books come
automatically if one prepays an annual fee of $100, or one can
decide whether or not to order each month's selection when the
flyer announcing it arrives. 
     Just Enough to Know Better ($12.50) is a print and Braille
book intended to enable parents to teach themselves enough
Braille to assist and encourage their young children. It includes
practice passages that provide positive, lively information about
blindness, and the instructional material is clear and
uncomplicated. 
     Perhaps the best-known of the NBP offerings is Take Charge:
A Strategic Guide for Blind Job Seekers ($19.95). Co-authored by
Rami Rabby, who is an active member of the National Federation of
the Blind and an experienced consultant on employment of the
disabled, and Diane Croft, marketing manager at National Braille
Press, Take Charge is a self-help guide based on the real-life
experiences of blind people, as they searched for and found
employment in their fields of interest. It proposes strategies
for dealing with a resistant job market--including verbatim
interviews with employers who speak frankly about their concerns
about hiring a blind job applicant.
     The most exciting new book offered by NBP this year may well
be The Computer Braille Code Made Easy ($7.50). This little book
is written in Grade 2 Braille with many examples to illustrate
the computer Braille concepts being explained. It also includes a
chart of computer code symbols. 
     NBP circulates a quarterly catalog of new books including
short descriptions. An easy-to-use order form comprises the last
pages of the mailing. Recent publications include the following: 

Area Code Handbook (free)
Bobbsey Twins: The Secret at Sleepaway Camp by Laura Lee Hope
     ($4.95)
Business Cards (first 100) ($60.00)
Christmas Carols ($5.00)
The Computer Braille Code Made Easy by Dixon & Gray ($ 7.50)
Computer Braille Code Reference Card (free)
C Programming by Kernighan & Ritchie ($24.95)
Creating Careers with Confidence by Edward Colozzi ($10.00)
Emily Post on Etiquette by Emily Post ($12.00)
50 Simple Things You Can Do to Save the Earth ($4.95)
The Elements of Style by Strunk & White ($9.00)
The Harvard Student Bartending Guide ($32.00)
Knitting Patterns from Our Special ($7.50)
Our Special magazine, edited by Jeanne Neale (free)
Our Special Crochet Book ($10.00)
Our Special 1990 Cookbook ($8.00)
The Publish-It-Yourself Handbook, edited by B. Henderson ($30.00)
Reference Cards:
     WordPerfect ($5.00)
     Lotus 1-2-3 ($5.00)
     Microsoft Word ($5.00)
     DOS Power User's Guide ($7.00)
     ProComm ($3.00)
     QWERTY ($5.00)
     dBase ($5.00)
     Set of 7 ($20.00)
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 ($5.00)
Syndicated Columnists Weekly ($18.50)
Dr. Spock on Parenting, essays by Benjamin Spock, M.D ($23.00)
U.S. Constitution (free)

     Individual titles or catalogs may be ordered from the
National Braille Press, Inc, 88 St. Stephen Street, Boston,
Massachusetts 02115, (617) 266-6160.

                    National Library Service

     The National Library Service for the Blind and Physically
Handicapped has prepared several circulars compiling information
about sources of Braille materials for purchase. Contact your
Regional Library to order any of the following publications: 

     Sources of Braille Reading Materials, 86-2--this is a
compilation of Braille producers of every size and many locations
across the country.  Names, addresses, and phone numbers are
listed. 
     Bibles, Other Scriptures, Liturgies, and Hymnals in Special
Media, 88-1--Braille editions of many of these religious texts
are listed as well as those in other media. Producer names,
addresses, and phone numbers are included. Some materials are
available on loan only, some are free, and prices are listed for
others. 
     Reference Books in Special Media, 82-4, and Reference Books
in Special Media: Addendum, 87-2--These two publications list an
astonishing variety of reference books that are available for
purchase or, in some cases, on loan. The reference categories are
Business Management; Dictionaries and Thesauri; Encyclopedias;
English Language--Grammar, Style, and Usage; English Literature;
Foreign Language; Geography and Maps; History; Law and Politics;
Mathematics; Medicine; Music and Fine Arts; Personal and Self-
Help; Psychology and Psychiatry; Radio and Television; Religion
and Philosophy; Science, Pure and Applied; Social Sciences; and
Tests. 

                National Federation of the Blind

     The Materials Center of the National Federation of the Blind
has prepared a literature order form, which includes all of the
reprints, brochures, and books available in Braille from the NFB.
Many of these are free; the books, however, are not. In addition
the Parents of Blind Children Division can provide a Braille
Story Books Resource List upon request. As its name suggests,
this print document lists contact information for producers of
Braille books and stories for children. 
     Requests for either of these lists should be sent to the
National Federation of the Blind, 1800 Johnson Street, Baltimore,
Maryland  21230. Direct requests to either the Materials Center
for the literature order form or to Barbara Cheadle for the
Resource List. 

                            TBS, Inc.

     In response to a request for information about the range of
materials produced in Braille by TBS, Inc. of Stuart, Florida, we
were sent a partial list of book titles (including the number of
volumes and pages and the prices) that are currently in the TBS
library. 
     There are more books under the following headings in its
Braille Book Catalog: Non-Fiction: Business, Computer, Cookbooks,
Children, Medicine, Religion, Sports, and General Interest;
Fiction : Detective/Mystery, Romance, History, Science, Short
Stories/Children, and General interest.
     To receive a catalog in print or Braille, please write to
Triformation Braille Services, Inc., 3142 S.E. Jay Street,
Stuart, Florida 34997. The sale of the Braille books listed in
this catalog has been made possible through a contract with the
National Library Service for the Blind and Physically
Handicapped. 
     Here are several sample titles together with their
descriptions: IBM Personal System/2; A Business Perspective by
Jim Hoskins, BR 7836, 3 volumes; 701 pages; $84.12. The author,
who is an IBM staff engineer, covers the world of the IBM
personal computer from the microchip and system board components,
to the software that can be used with them. He describes
peripheral attachments, the operating systems that control
actions, and why different features are needed. 1987.
     Weight Watchers Quick and Easy Menu Cookbook, BR 7481, 6
volumes; 1241 pages; $148.91. More than 250 Weight Watchers
recipes that can be prepared in less than one hour. Arranged by
the months of the year to take full advantage of the in-season
vegetables and fruits, each recipe is keyed to a daily menu.
Bestseller. 1987.
     504 Absolutely Essential Words by Murray Bromberg and
others, BR 7900, 3 volumes, 521 pages, $62.52. A self-help book
containing forty-two lessons designed to help readers strengthen
and expand their knowledge of words, which are then used
repeatedly throughout the remainder of the book. 1988.
     Who Put the Butter in Butterfly? by David Feldman, BR 8200;
2 volumes; 257 pages; $30.84. Did you ever wonder why a police
officer is called a "cop" or why a mess is called a "pretty
kettle of fish" or why gibberish is called "gobbledygook"? Here
are the answers to those questions and other fascinating facts
about word derivations. 1989.
     My First Summer in the Sierra by John Muir, BR 8149, 2
volumes; 315 pages; $37.80. John Muir was born in Scotland in
1838 but in 1849 emigrated with his family to Wisconsin. When an
industrial accident almost blinded him, Muir began what would
become his love affair with the land. In this account, written in
form, Muir tells of his trip to the Sierra Nevada Mountains,
where the seed was planted for his lifelong campaign to create a
system of national parks. 1988.
     Your Good Health: How to Stay Well, and What to do When
You're Not, BR 7451, 5 volumes; 1216 pages; $145.92. Edited by
William I. Bennett, M.D. and others. Editors of the Harvard
Medical School letter, all doctors, offer this guidebook to a
sensible, healthy lifestyle. Includes tips for preventing
illness, information regarding diagnosis and treatment, hints on
dealing with your doctor, and material on new medical
discoveries; also sorts out other health facts. 1987.
     And the Laugh Shall be First: A Treasury of Religious Humor
Compiled by William H. Willimon, BR 7655, 2 volumes; 292 pages;
$35.04. A collection of humor and satire with Christian themes.
Includes selections by Mark Twain, H.L. Mencken, Lewis Grizzard,
and Sinclair Lewis. 1986. 
     Polar Star by Martin Cruz Smith, BR 7898, 3 volumes; 636
pages; $76.32. After being considered politically unreliable,
Arkady Renko is now working as a second-class seaman aboard the
Soviet factory ship, Polar Star. But when the body of a Russian
girl--who worked on board ship--is discovered, Renko becomes
involved in the investigation that uncovers drug trafficking and
espionage. Some strong language. Sequel to Gorky Park. (BR 4831)
Bestseller. 1989.
     Swallowdale by Arthur Ransome, BR 8088, 3 volumes; 671
pages; $80.52. Captain John, Mate Susan, Able Seaman Titty, and
Ship's Boy Roger spend a second summer camping on Wild Cat
Island. Follows the adventures of the Walker children and their
friends through a shipwreck, a camp on the mainland, a secret
valley and cave, and a trek through the mountains. Sequel to
Swallows and Amazons (RC22220) (BR 5113). For grades 4-7 and
older readers. 1981.


[PHOTO: David Andrews sitting at computer keyboard. CAPTION:
David Andrews.]

            BRAILLE ISSUE AIRED IN THE BALTIMORE SUN

     From the Associate Editor: The front-page story about
Braille in the New York Times was carried in varying forms in a
number of major newspapers around the country, including the
Baltimore Sun. And the ripples are still spreading. On May 26,
1991, the Sun published a letter to the editor in response to the
May 12 article to which David Andrews, Director of the National
Braille and Technology Center for the Blind at our National
Center, wrote a strong rebuttal published on June 17. Here is the
May 26 letter written by David Poehlman and Mary Brady: 

                It Is Not Technology Vs. Braille 

                                              Baltimore, Maryland
                                                     May 26, 1991

Editor:
     Regarding the May 12 article "How Best to teach the Blind
...," it seems to us that the central issue in the battle over
Braille is not being addressed. Technology is making literacy for
a great number of persons with visual impairments more possible,
not less!  Literacy is better served by providing the full range
of possible alternatives, given individual differences.
     As the article parenthetically reported, technology clearly
has enhanced Braille, making it cheaper and more available, and
has opened up more jobs for those who are blind. Imagine the
problems involved in waiting weeks or months to read the daily
paper, your college textbooks, or even the New York Times Sunday
edition. 
     Given machine-readable versions (computer disk formats) for
all the above media, blind users can now access them immediately,
using whatever output mechanism they favor: speech, Braille or
large print. Thus, the issue is not one of technology vs.
Braille, but of technology vs. no technology.
     Fortunately, there is a great deal of good news for blind
and visually impaired individuals in this regard, which your
article, unfortunately did not report.
     With the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act,
another piece of legislation will be opening doors and jobs to
persons with disabilities. The express purpose of this law is to
provide access to assistive technologies, such as Braille
printers, telecommunication devices for persons with deafness
(TDD's) and communication aids for persons with vocal
impairments.
     Working in conjunction with teachers, vocational
specialists, and consumer groups, this law provides for
information and demonstration centers in every state. There is
such a center in Maryland, in fact, located within the Governor's
Office for Handicapped Individuals.
     Real progress is being made in providing helpful
technologies to people with all types of disabilities. The battle
over Braille needs to be settled by research and create
educational programming.
     The bottom line is, of course, the bottom line. The federal 
dollars to perform such research, design such programs, and
implement such methods need to be appropriated and directed to
such efforts if persons with blindness are to be assisted, with
or without Braille.

                                                    Mary E. Brady
                                                   David Poehlman
                      ____________________

     There you have the Brady/Poehlman letter, and here is David
Andrews's reply: 

                                              Baltimore, Maryland
                                                     May 28, 1991

Dear Editor:
     I am writing in response to a letter published on Sunday,
May 26, 1991, titled "It Is Not Technology vs. Braille" from Mary
E. Brady and David Poehlman. This letter was written in response
to a May 12, 1991, reprint of a New York Times article concerning
the teaching of Braille to blind persons. 
     As the article points out, many blind children, particularly
those with low vision, are not taught Braille. They are forced to
use large print materials and/or electronic enlarging devices.
These methods do work for some, but not for most. Their reading
rates are too slow to be truly competitive, and eye fatigue and
headaches are common. Further, many persons with low vision lose
it as adults. This is exactly what happened to me two and a half
years ago when I totally lost what little vision I had. I could
read with an enlarging TV system, albeit very slowly. Thankfully,
though, I also had good Braille skills so that I was able to
continue my career without missing a day of work.
     Miss Brady and Mr. Poehlman say that the issue is not
technology versus Braille, but technology versus no technology. I
disagree!   The issue is Braille versus no Braille.
     The New York Times article discusses a blind gentleman,
incidentally living in Maryland, who had to learn Braille as an
adult so that he could continue his education. While this may be
hard for you to believe, many blind persons who should be taught
Braille simply aren't. Braille is to blind and visually impaired
persons what print is to the sighted. You would howl if your
local school officials said that they weren't going to teach your
children to read print, that they could use tape recorders,
computers, etc. However, this is exactly what is happening to our
blind children. Recently, when the National Federation of the
Blind introduced a bill requiring the teaching of Braille to
blind and visually impaired children if the parents wanted it,
the Superintendent of the Maryland School for the Blind actually
testified against the bill. The issue here is teachers and school
administrators, professionals, who think they know best for the
blind versus the blind ourselves, who really do know what is best
for us.
     Brady and Poehlman say that more research is needed. I say
that this is hogwash!  Blind and visually impaired persons simply
need to know how to read and write. We do this by using Braille.
Computers and tape recorders are important supplements and
powerful tools in themselves, but they are no substitute for
reading. Reading is how you learn to spell and punctuate, and how
most of us study things in detail. This is true for the blind as
well as for the sighted, and no research is necessary to tell me
this.
     Brady and Poehlman point out how wonderful technology is and
how it will make more Braille available. I agree, but unless
blind people can read Braille, all the technology in the world
won't do us any good. They also talk about the Americans with
Disabilities Act (ADA). The ADA will increase people's awareness
of the needs of the disabled and increase access for many, but it
is not a panacea. The main barrier to the complete acceptance of
the blind by society is attitudinal, not physical. That is, our
unemployment rate is approximately seventy percent because of
what people believe we can't do, not because there aren't enough
talking computers. You can't legislate the change of people's
attitudes.
     I personally own three computers and five speech
synthesizers and wouldn't give them up for the world. In
addition, I am Director of the National Federation of the Blind's
National Braille and Technology Center for the Blind, the world's
largest demonstration and evaluation center for technology used
by the blind. This Center incidentally is located right in
Baltimore and was not mentioned in the May 26 letter to the
editor. This Center contains over half a million dollars worth of
equipment, much of it Braille-related. I am responsible for
knowing how to operate all of this technology, and the only
reason I am able to do so is because I can take notes in Braille,
which I can then read and study. 
     One of our Braille devices is an $80,000 high-speed Braille
printer that will print 1200 pages of Braille per hour.
Ironically, I keep a $4.00 slate on top of this machine for
taking phone messages. A slate is an inexpensive device used for
writing Braille by hand.
     Technology has its place in the lives of blind persons. Yes,
it is opening up more jobs, but blind persons still need good
basic competency, such as Braille and cane travel skills, to take
advantage of it. Further, technology in and of itself will not
get blind persons jobs. We must educate the public about our
abilities and capabilities. This is where the National Federation
of the Blind comes in. You can contact us at 1800 Johnson Street,
Baltimore, Maryland 21230 or by calling (301) 659-9314.

                                                       Sincerely,
                                          David Andrews, Director
             National Braille and Technology Center for the Blind



             TEXAS BRAILLE BILL BECOMES A MODEL LAW

     From the Associate Editor: On April 12, 1991, Governor Joan
Finney of Kansas signed the National Federation of the Blind's
model Braille Bill into law. Rejoicing over this glad occasion
had hardly quieted before word arrived at the National Center for
the Blind that the Texas Legislature had just passed an even more
impressive piece of legislation. The Texas bill not only secures
the right of every functionally blind child to be taught Braille
and mandates that all special education teachers of the blind be
certified by the state as capable of teaching the code, but it
requires that all publishers doing text-book business with the
state provide the Department of Education with computer-readable
versions of all text materials sold to Texas so that they can be
prepared in Braille for blind students. This is an exciting and
sensible extension of the Kansas law and leads the way for other
states inclined to act responsibly to protect the rights of their
blind children. Texas Governor Anne Richards is scheduled to sign
this legislation into law at a public ceremony in the near
future. Here is the pertinent portion of the Texas Braille Bill: 

                       House Bill No. 2277

     An Act relating to Braille instruction for blind or visually
handicapped students.
     Be it enacted by the legislature of the State of Texas:
     Section 1.  Section 11.052, Education Code, is amended by
adding Subsections (f) and (g) to read as follows:
     (f)  In the development of the individualized education
program for functionally blind students there is a presumption
that proficiency in Braille reading and writing is essential for
the student's satisfactory educational progress.  Each
functionally blind student is entitled to Braille reading and
writing instruction that is sufficient to enable the student to
communicate with the same level of proficiency as other students
of comparable ability who are at the same grade level. Braille
instruction may be used in combination with other special
education services appropriate to the student's educational
needs. The assessment of each functionally blind student for the
purpose of developing the student's individualized education
program must include documentation of the student's strengths and
weaknesses in Braille skills. Each person assisting in the
development of a functionally blind student's individualized
education program shall receive information describing the
benefits of Braille instruction. Each functionally blind
student's individualized education program shall: 
     (1) specify the appropriate learning medium based on the
assessment report; and
     (2) ensure that instruction in Braille will be provided by a
teacher certified to teach students with visual handicaps.
     (g) For purposes of this section, the Central Education
Agency shall determine the criteria for a student to be
classified as functionally blind.
     Section 2. Section 13.032, Education Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (j) to read as follows:
     (j) As a condition of certification to teach students with
visual handicaps, the State Board of Education by rule shall
require satisfactory performance on an examination prescribed by
the board that is designed to assess competency in Braille
reading and writing skills according to standards adopted by the
board.
     Section 3. Section 12.03, Education Code is amended by
adding Subsection (e) to read as follows:
     (e) The Central Education Agency shall require a publisher
of a textbook adopted by the State Board of Education to furnish
the agency with computer diskettes for literary subjects in the
American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII) from
which Braille versions of the textbook can be produced. The
publisher will furnish the agency with computer diskettes in
ASCII for non-literary subjects, e.g., natural sciences, computer
science, mathematics, and music, when Braille specialty code
translation software is available.



[PHOTO: Tim Cranmer and Abraham Nemeth sitting at table in Harbor
Room. CAPTION: Tim Cranmer (left) and Abraham Nemeth at a meeting
of the NFB Research and Development Committee at the National
Center for the Blind.]

                     A UNIFORM BRAILLE CODE
               by T. V. Cranmer and Abraham Nemeth

     From the Editor: As Monitor readers know, Dr. Abraham Nemeth
is the preeminent blind mathematician throughout the world; and
Dr. T. V. Cranmer, the Chairman of the Research and Development
Committee of the National Federation of the Blind, is
internationally known for his innovative work in technology for
the blind. Recently the Braille Authority of North America asked
Drs. Cranmer and Nemeth to give them their opinions on the
desirability of a uniform Braille code. The result was the
following article, which has been distributed to the BANA board
members and deserves wider circulation.
     When I first saw the title of this article, I was afraid it
might be the usual plea that we make wholesale changes in Braille
and go to a so-called better system. However, Tim Cranmer set me
straight on the matter. He said that his concern was just the
opposite. He said that both he and Dr. Nemeth now felt that it
had been a mistake to create new codes for mathematics,
computers, and textbooks--that these should simply have been
extensions of Grade 2 Braille with no changes made to existing
usable symbols.
     He gave as an example the dollar sign. In Grade 2 Braille
the dollar sign was formerly a "d" before a number sign. Later it
was changed to a "d" in the lower part of the cell before the
number sign. (Perhaps I had better explain for the benefit of
non-Braille readers--or, in a reversal of terminology, the
blindless. The Braille cell is composed of two rows of three
vertical dots--dots 1, 2, and 3 on the left going from top to
bottom and dots 4, 5, and 6 on the right. The "d" is dots 1-4-5,
and a "d" in the lower part of the cell would obviously be dots
2-5-6.) In the Nemeth Code the dollar sign is dot 4 followed by
an "s." In the computer code the dollar sign is dot 1-2-4-6 (or
an "ed" sign). Now, if all this isn't confusing, it should be.
     When I asked Tim Cranmer if the textbook code used still
another symbol for the dollar sign, he said no, but he then
ruined it by a statement to this effect: "The textbook code uses
the symbol required by the host code in which the book is to be
written--be it literary, Nemeth, or computer." He gave me other
examples, but I shall refrain from mentioning them. The dollar
sign is, perhaps, more than sufficient to make the point.
     I reminded Tim that he had been the chairman of the computer
code committee. To which he replied that he had simply made a
mistake and had now lived to regret it. He added, however, that
he would never have seen the light (or, as the saying goes, felt
the dot) without that experience.
     I next asked him if he intended to commit the heresy of
saying that Dr. Nemeth regretted promulgating the code that bears
his name and was prepared publicly to recant. To which he replied
(and this is an exact quote): "Dr. Nemeth does, indeed, agree
that it was a mistake to create a separate code for mathematics
and that it would have been preferable to create new symbols that
would have extended the approved Braille code in use at the time
had that been an option. He is currently not ashamed of his work
and deserves the accolades which we and others now bestow upon
him, but this does not alter the fact that both he and I agree
that there should be only one Braille code."
     This is what Tim Cranmer said, and I want you to remember
that you read it in the Monitor. Be it truth or hearsay, it is
certainly newsworthy. In short, I take it that both Dr. Cranmer
and Dr. Nemeth feel that the dollar sign in Braille should never
have been changed. This is something quite different from the
esoteric notions which keep cropping up about making wholesale
changes in Grade 2 Braille. An extension is not necessarily a
change from what already exists. Chalk one up for philosophy.
     Let me say in concluding this editor's note that the Monitor
is neither advocating nor opposing what the authors of this
article have written. They are thoroughly competent to speak for
themselves, so here is what they said to the board of the Braille
Authority of North America.

Date:     January 15, 1991
To:       The members of the BANA Board
From:     Dr. T. V. Cranmer and Dr. Abraham Nemeth
Subject:  A Uniform Braille Code

     We begin by sincerely thanking you for inviting our comments
and for giving us the opportunity of making our views known
concerning the vital issue of a uniform Braille code. For a long
time we have individually thought about, and have jointly
discussed, the points we present in this paper.  They are not,
therefore, the expression of hastily formed opinions and
conclusions, but represent our best and most critical thinking on
this subject.  We are writing this paper jointly because we are
in substantial agreement on the issues we present and on the
procedure required for addressing them.

                           The Problem

     For a long time now, the blindness community has been
experiencing a steady erosion in Braille usage, both among
children and adults.  This trend shows no sign of abatement, so
that there is now a clear and present danger that Braille will
become a secondary means of written communication among the
blind, or that it will become obsolete altogether.  The reasons
for this erosion are numerous and complex, but we believe that a
significant contributing factor to this unfortunate state of
affairs is the complexity and disarray into which the Braille
system has now evolved.
     We have in mind the proliferation of Braille codes that has
occurred in recent times.  Without counting the Braille Music
Code, which has a valid claim to an independent existence, there
are now four basic Braille codes authorized by BANA for use as
standards in the production of Braille reading matter.  These
are: 1) the literary code, 2) the Braille Code for Textbook
Formats and Techniques, 3) the Nemeth Braille Code for
Mathematics and Science Notation, and 4) the Computer Braille
Code.
     The literary code is the oldest.  It is a general-purpose
code, which includes Grade 2 as its main component.  There are,
in fact, two literary codes--the one sanctioned by BANA for use
in North America, and the other sanctioned by BAUK for use in the
United Kingdom.  After nearly sixty years of discussions,
negotiations, papers, and conferences, there has been no
substantial progress toward the achievement of a common literary
code, nor is such a code likely to be realized in the foreseeable
future.  Getting our own house in order may improve our
contributions to future discussions of this matter.  In any case,
poor prospects abroad should not delay addressing problems on
this continent.
     The four basic codes were developed independently of one
another, with the result that there are numerous conflicts among
them with regard to symbols and rules.  The dollar sign, for
example, has one representation in the literary code, another in
the Nemeth Code, and still another in the Computer Braille Code.
The same is true for the percent sign, the square brackets, and
others.
     From time to time, the basic codes are extended in scope by
the inclusion of additional modules.  Some of these modules have
already been adopted as part of the basic code, and some are
still under development.  Thus, a module on ancient numeration
systems and another on chemistry notation extend the Nemeth Code,
and a module on flowcharts extends the Computer Braille Code. Not
associated with any basic code is a module on guidelines for
mathematical diagrams.  There may be other modules, either
contemplated or under way, of which we are not aware.  In any
case, all the BANA technical committees are busily at work, each
making its own contribution to the continued fragmentation of the
Braille system.  The present practice of requiring technical
committees to review each other's work has not prevented the
growth of ambiguities and contradictions among codes presently
authorized.
     For each of the basic codes, there is an official code book
in which the symbols and rules of that code are set forth.  For
some of these codes, there are associated lesson books designed
to help a student of that code to acquire proficiency and
experience in its use.  After a year or more of regular study and
application, and after an additional period devoted to the
preparation of a Braille manuscript, which must meet high
standards in demonstrating the skill, the student, if he or she
is successful, receives a certificate from the Library of
Congress attesting to the student's mastery of that code.  If the
manuscript is rejected, the student must submit another
manuscript.
     Large volunteer organizations like the National Braille
Association and California Transcribers and Educators of the
Visually Handicapped conduct regularly scheduled workshops in all
the basic codes and their extensions at national and regional
conferences.  "Skills" columns are a regular feature in the
official publications of these organizations.  In these columns,
problem situations are proposed and resolved by experts in each
of the basic codes.
     How much training is required to be able to transcribe a
fifth-grade book in arithmetic for an 11-year-old child?  Since
modern arithmetic books at this level always include a "computer
corner" or a "calculator corner," all four basic codes will be
needed. How likely is it that a teacher-in-training, with only
limited time available to learn Braille, will know enough of all
these codes to teach them to this 11-year-old?  And how likely is
it that this 11-year-old will be able to read and understand the
material before him or her in all these basic codes?  In less
time than it would take to acquire skill and proficiency in all
these codes and their extensions, and to prepare the required
manuscripts for certification, a student might instead enroll in
a major medical school, earn an M.D. degree, and still have time
to complete a residency in neurosurgery.
     We have previously cited the complexity and disarray of the
Braille system as it has now evolved as a significant factor in
the erosion of Braille usage, and we feel that this is a fair
description of that situation.  If our claim is valid, it is no
wonder that professionals in the field of the education of the
blind are resisting the teaching of Braille; that they are down-
playing its usefulness in favor of such alternatives as tape
recorders, computers, and closed-circuit magnifiers (when this is
applicable); and that some are already pronouncing the Braille
system to be obsolete in the light of the "new technology."
     In stark contrast, there are no special codes in print
related to subject matter, no authorities for setting standards,
no disagreement about the written form of the English language,
no intrinsic conflicts, no special-purpose modules, no lesson
books, no manuscripts, no certification, no workshops, and no
"skills" columns.  None of these is needed because print is a
coherent, uniform system of writing in which any given symbol has
an assigned and unvarying identity regardless of the subject
matter or of the surrounding text in which it is found.  New
symbols, as they arise, are added to the existing ones without
causing any conflict, and the reader of print learns as few or as
many of these symbols as needed to carry out his or her normal
activities without needing to learn all the possible symbols.  We
need to devise a Braille system possessing these features.  Such
a system would qualify as the uniform Braille code, the
development of which we are proposing.

                     Historical Perspective

     In order to understand how the present problem with the
Braille system arose, we must examine the role that Braille has
played in the lives of the blind from the time it was first
introduced to the present.
     From the mid-nineteenth century, when Braille or its
equivalent was first introduced, until the mid-twentieth century,
the life cycle of a blind person followed pretty much a standard
pattern. In childhood and adolescence, he or she attended a
residential school for the blind with other blind students and
with many teachers who were also blind.  Employment, when it was
available, was mostly in a sheltered workshop or comparable
workplace. A few who were more motivated went on to college. Even
they, however, found employment, when it was available, in the
sheltered workshops.  A few became entrepreneurs in home-based
businesses or in newsstand-type operations.  Some joined the
staff of an agency for the blind, where they were provided with
relatively unlimited secretarial and transportation services.
When employment was not available, the blind subsisted on Social
Security, disability, or other state and federal benefits.  Some
resorted to begging.  Most of the blind lived at home with their
parents or spouses.  Many were sufficiently independent to live
alone and manage their own affairs.  The rest took up residence
in various types of institutional or custodial facilities.  Their
social life was centered in their families.  It sometimes
extended to seeking the companionship of other blind friends. For
the most part, then, blind people were isolated from the
mainstream of society both economically and socially.
     Although the Braille system was invented by a Frenchman
named Louis Braille, who naturally modeled it to conform to his
native French language, it was subsequently modified in North
America to meet the spelling and punctuation requirements of the
English language.  Any system of writing is a window on the
cultural level and orientation of those who use that system, and
this is no less true of Braille, which is also a writing system.
Braille acquired its characteristic features through the
cooperative efforts of key educators at the residential schools
for the blind.  In mute eloquence, the resulting literary code
proclaims what the needs of the blind (as perceived by these
educators) are and what level of achievement may be expected of
them. Since gainful employment in the mainstream of society was
thought to be an unrealistic expectation for the vast majority of
the blind, the principal use of Braille, as perceived by these
educators, was to cater to their religious and recreational
needs.  The present literary code, which is but little changed
from its original form, testifies convincingly to the success
achieved in adapting Braille to that use.
     Short-form words like "rejoicing" and "conceiving" attest to
the importance that was attached to religious literature for the
blind when the literary code was first formulated.
     At the recreational level, precise conformity to the printed
text is not an overriding requirement, as long as the Braille
reader can grasp the underlying thought.  Thus, when specified by
the rules of Braille, it is required to suppress the indication
of italic type, to alter punctuation, to transpose abbreviations
of coinage and measure, to replace Roman with Arabic numbers, to
replace symbols with words, to replace standard abbreviations
with non-standard ones, and (where context is the determining
factor) to replace reading with guessing.
     All of these deviations from print practice combined to
create a kind of subculture within the Braille-reading community
to which only the blind were privy.  Since they lived in relative
social and economic isolation, no great harm resulted from these
deviations which were accepted as "normal."  Unfortunately, these
deviations persist and are sanctioned to the present time.
Meanwhile, the blind have, largely through their own efforts,
extricated themselves to a large extent from the sorry plight
which we have described.  Today, an enlightened public policy
mandates the mainstreaming of the blind into all areas of
society--school, workplace, recreational and leisure facilities,
and all the rest.  Most blind youth attend their local schools,
where they are integrated with their sighted peers.
     Large numbers of blind adults are employed in almost every
conceivable occupation.  They are lawyers and judges; they hold
elective public office; they are secretaries and teachers,
scientists and engineers; they run farms and train horses; and
they engage in entrepreneurial activities of every kind.  At
every turn they learn, work, and play together with their sighted
colleagues.  Documents that pass between them are translated from
print to Braille and vice versa with the ease and speed that only
a modern computer can provide.  The infrastructure of our society
mandates a universal standard by which the proper use of written
English is gauged, and the blind as well as the sighted must be
held to that standard.  The deviations from print practice which
were harmless in the subculture we described earlier are today no
longer acceptable. When a blind person uses them, a sighted
person is likely to judge that blind person as incompetent or
uneducated.  This is certainly not the image a blind person wants
to project when he or she is trying to compete in the workplace
with a claim of equal productivity.
     Recreation continues to be an important motivation for
reading among the blind, as it also is among the sighted.  But,
like the sighted, blind people read for a variety of other
reasons.  Among them are self-improvement and keeping current
with news, sports, medical, and scientific advances, and late
developments in their fields of work.  In so doing, they
encounter a wide variety of general-interest books and mass-
circulation periodicals. Authors of such books and periodicals do
not hesitate to use mathematical or scientific notation as
required, and they expect their readers to have no more of a
problem dealing with such notation than with the surrounding
English text. Knowledge of such notation is as much a part of our
cultural infrastructure as the ability to read words and
sentences.  A person who cannot cope with such notation needs
remedial help to overcome this area of illiteracy. The blind are
but a cross-section of the general population.  They have a right
to access the same information as the sighted, and if this
information needs to be conveyed through the use of mathematical
or scientific notation, they should be expected to deal with it
in the same way as the sighted.  It is time to modernize the
Braille system.

                  Toward a Uniform Braille Code

     In this section, we offer some ideas that we feel should be
considered in bringing about a uniform Braille code that will
meet the needs of the blind in modern society.  This paper is not
the proper forum for making technical recommendations regarding
the form that such a uniform Braille code should assume.  We
therefore confine ourselves to the issues that need to be
considered in bringing such a code into being.
     With regard to jurisdiction, we feel that BANA is the only
properly constituted body to oversee such a project.  The BANA
Board consists of representatives from just about every important
organization in the Braille-reading community, and these
organizations have, over a long period of time, recognized and
respected BANA's authority.
     A uniform Braille code will require that changes be made to
the existing basic codes, and that these changed codes be merged
into a single uniform code.  It is important not to be
intimidated by the prospect of such changes.  Changes are not
made for the sake of change but for the sake of improvement.  In
the twentieth century, BANA and/or its progenitors have made
several fundamental changes to the Braille system, all of them
more noticeable and far-reaching than any that we envision as a
result of switching to a uniform Braille code. Examples of past
such changes include a switch from New York Point to American
Braille, from American Braille to English Braille, from Grade 1-
1/2 to Grade 2, from the Taylor Code to the Nemeth Code, and from
one music code to another.  None of these changes caused any
serious disruption in the teaching or use of Braille.  The
benefits of a uniform Braille code would far outweigh any
temporary inconvenience that might be caused by the shift.  Nor
should change be resisted solely on the grounds of preference
established by long years of habit.
     The range of human knowledge is far too broad for any single
code to handle effectively all aspects of such knowledge.  We
would not, for example, expect a uniform Braille code to be
capable of dealing with arcane foreign languages or systems of
writing which bear no relationship to the Roman alphabet.
Nevertheless, there still remains a broad central body of
knowledge which embraces most of what might be called Western
culture, and it is to this body of knowledge that we envision the
applicability of a uniform Braille code.  Such a code must be
capable of dealing with a wide range of subject matter and at all
levels of complexity.
     Before attending to the details of a uniform Braille code,
it is necessary to formulate a set of clearly-stated and
implementable objectives to be used as guidelines and tests on
the basis of which to accept or reject a proposed code construct.
Deviation from an established objective then becomes a more
serious matter than the mere reassignment of a Braille symbol.
The following are some of the objectives we feel should guide the
development of a uniform Braille code.  These objectives may be
expanded and other objectives added, as the technicalities of the
code begin to emerge:
     1) The code must be capable of accurately representing the
printed text so that there is a one-to-one correspondence between
the text in one medium and the text in the other. It is important
that readers in both media comprehend the text in the same way,
so that there may exist a broad, "hi-fi," two-way channel of
communication between a blind person and his teachers, his
classmates, his family, his friends, and his associates at work.
     2) The code must provide a Braille format in which the
reader can quickly and easily locate the information he or she
needs.  Since Braille cannot imitate print format with its rich
variety of features, the code must use the limited format
mechanisms in Braille in a systematic manner and to maximum
effect.
     3) The symbols and rules of the code must be used uniformly
from one subject matter to another, and at every level of
complexity. This will make it possible for the Braille user to
learn as much of the code as he or she needs for present
activities, and then to learn more of the code without unlearning
what he or she already knows as new knowledge is added.
     4) The code must be as independent of context as possible. 
To achieve this, symbols must be constructed without regard to
their meaning.
     5) The code must provide for a means of distinguishing
between information contained in the source text and information
supplied by the transcriber.
     6) The code must provide a highly mnemonic system of
symbols. The code would be difficult to learn, and text would
become difficult to read if this objective were not met.
     7) The code must be extendible in a systematic manner.  As
new symbols are introduced into the code, they must not conflict
with those already in the code, and they must be used according
to the rules which already exist and which apply in comparable
situations.
     8) The code must be formulated so that text is amenable to
computer translation either from Braille to print or from print
to Braille.
     9) The code should interface well with Grade 2, so that
someone who is reading straight literature (words and sentences)
will hardly know that he is reading in a changed code.

                         Recommendations

     By far the most important of our recommendations is that
BANA be convinced of the seriousness of the situation with regard
to the use and availability of Braille, and that it take
immediate action to remedy that situation, giving it higher
priority than any of its other ongoing activities.  Some recent
statistics put the use of Braille among those who need to use it
at twelve percent.  Each year the statistics in this regard
become gloomier. If this trend is permitted to continue, BANA
will, at some not too distant time in the future, find itself
presiding over a largely moot and philosophical domain.
     As a practical matter, we recommend that BANA appoint a
technical committee to bring into being a uniform Braille code of
the kind that we have been describing throughout this paper.  The
members of this committee should, above all, be knowledgeable in
all the current Braille codes.  Whether they are teachers,
administrators, volunteer Braillists, or representatives of any
other group is largely irrelevant.  More important is that they
be committed to the successful outcome of their task and that
they be thoroughly convinced of the need to succeed.  For reasons
of efficiency, this should be a small working committee wherein
each member makes a positive contribution.  Can it be done?  The
surest way of being convinced that something can be done is to do
it.



                 DODGING THE TRUTH ABOUT BRAILLE

     From the Associate Editor: In March of 1990 the Council of
Executives of American Residential Schools for the Visually
Handicapped (CEARSVH) approved passage of a position paper on
literacy for blind students. The document was circulated and then 
reprinted in the fall of 1990 by Re:View, a publication connected
with the Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the
Blind and Visually Impaired (AER). As one might expect from an
organization of educators in the blindness field, the CEARSVH
attempted in this document to have its cake and eat it too. The
authors wanted to say all the currently fashionable things about
the importance of increasing literacy among blind students,
without at the same time offending those in the field who are
beavering away at vision stimulation research and low vision
services. The  predictable result is a mishmash of platitudes
that ducks the real issues underlying the decline in literacy
among blind students. 
     The simple truth is that if a person cannot use print
rapidly and for a sustained period, Braille is the only efficient
alternative. Audio tape can be used for some things, but in
fundamental ways it is no substitute in some kinds of reading and
virtually all kinds of writing. 
     In addition to reading and personal writing, a literate
blind person who cannot use print quickly and easily must be able
to type in order to communicate with those who do not read
Braille. Although it is convenient, in fact increasingly
necessary, for everyone in our society (blind and sighted alike) 
to master the computer, its use should not be dragged into any
discussion of basic literacy. The computer can be a powerful tool
for those who have already mastered basic skills, but for the
beginner, personal instruction, work sheets, and practice are
essential and can rarely be provided by a computer program.  
     The CEARSVH paper takes a bold stand against requiring all
visually impaired students as a class to learn Braille. It
discusses high-mindedly the right of every student to be assessed
individually and taught appropriately. The only trouble is that
no one advocates the reflex imposition of Braille on blind
students, only relief from the resolute demand that print be used
at all cost. Current efforts led by the National Federation of
the Blind to legislate increased Braille access for elementary
and secondary students do seek to insure that every student who
needs Braille has the opportunity to get it. Our actual intention
is to protect the individual's right to learn Braille and to
guarantee that the special education teachers who work with blind
children be certified by the National Library Service as
competent in the Braille code. We believe that if teachers can
read and write Braille well, they will not seek to avoid teaching
it by convincing themselves and their students that Braille is
obsolete or unnecessary for the student in question. 
     Like computers, most social systems have default settings.
All other things being equal, the assumption is that things will
be done in some specified way. There was a time when professional
educators began with the presumption that blind children should
be taught Braille. Extenuating circumstances might alter that
judgment (a substantial amount of stable vision or significant
mental retardation, for example), but by and large blind
youngsters began by learning Braille. The proliferation of
technology and the decline of proficiency in Braille among
teachers of the blind have resulted in an absurd shift in
attitude and a reversal in the default setting for literacy. The
presumption now is that blind students will learn print. If there
are extenuating circumstances (no vision at all or parents who
demand Braille, for example), the student may be lucky enough to
receive the necessary Braille and typing instruction--though by
no means is this assured. Only in a society in which this topsy-
turvy state of affairs is the standard could a position paper
endorsing the concept of literacy for the blind by an
organization of school administrators be thought necessary, and
only in such a Through the Looking-glass world would it include
the absurdities that fill this one. 
     The Editor of Re:View, the publication that reprinted the
CEARSVH paper, invited Barbara Cheadle (Editor of Future
Reflections, the National Federation of the Blind's magazine for
parents and educators of blind children, and President of the
Parents of Blind Children Division) to write a response to the
CEARSVH position paper for publication in the Summer, 1991,
edition of Re:View. Here are both the original paper and Mrs.
Cheadle's rebuttal: 
     
                     Literacy for Blind and
              Visually Impaired School-Age Students

    A Position Paper of the Council of Executives of American
        Residential Schools for the Visually Handicapped

     Blind and visually impaired school-age students need to
develop their maximum potential in reading, writing, and
computing to fulfill their current and future opportunities and
responsibilities. The Council of Executives of American
Residential Schools for the Visually Handicapped (CEARSVH)
defines literacy as mastery and application of reading, writing,
and computing skills to allow an individual to function
efficiently now and in the future.
     Considerable discussion and controversy currently exist over
issues concerning literacy. This debate parallels the call in
regular education for re-emphasis on basic skills to counter the
decline in student achievement scores during the past decade. In
addition, consumers and professionals who work with visually
impaired students are concerned about diminishing levels of
achievement in literacy skill, Braille usage, and instruction in
the use of abacus, slate and stylus, specialized Braille code,
and other skills. The membership of CEARSVH determined that in
light of the current discussion and controversy over modes of
reading, writing, and computing it would be beneficial to develop
a position paper that strongly re-emphasized the importance of
functional literacy skills for the students for whom the CEARSVH
membership has educational responsibility. The issues in the
current debate over literacy for blind and visually impaired
students and the positions adopted by the Council on those issues
are discussed below.

1. Stronger Emphasis on Instruction in Literacy Skills
The Issue

     Literacy among blind and visually impaired students may have
been de-emphasized inadvertently because of competing curricular
offerings, required courses, special education instruction, and
related service provisions identified in the student's Individual
Education Plan (IEP).

CEARSVH Position

     The Council encourages a strong emphasis on the mastery of
literacy skills. It fully supports providing all curricular
courses and related services identified on the student's IEP but
strongly opposes accommodating those needs at the expense of time
scheduled for reading, writing, and computing skills. To make
sufficient time for literacy skill training during a student's
schooling, the Council recommends that students (a) be encouraged
or allowed to delay graduation and to spend additional years in
school, (b) enroll in summer school programs in residential or
public schools, and/or (c) enroll in residential school programs
on a short-term basis if the needed service at the recommended
frequency and intensity is not available in the public school
program.
     The Council recommends that guidelines and standards for
frequency and intensity be established, implemented, and
monitored to ensure that all educational placements have
appropriate service provisions and that no student is under-
served. (The details of this recommendation need further study
and development.)

2. Individualized Selection of the Mode of Reading, Writing, and
Computing
The Issue

     Braille usage, in some cases, has been significantly de-
emphasized, and some students have been restricted
inappropriately to print or auditory modes. Although these modes
may be more available and accessible, they may not be
functionally more efficient for current or future reading,
writing, or computing needs. 

CEARSVH Position

     The Council recommends that an IEP multidisciplinary team
determine which mode is the most appropriate and efficient to
meet the individual student's needs for reading, writing, and
computing. This decision should be based on ongoing,
comprehensive assessments that determine the individual student's
present functioning levels, current and future needs, learning
style, and other variables such as visual prognosis, reading
rates, and comprehension. 
     The Council rejects any wholesale generalization that one
mode is superior to another but recognizes that one mode may be
better than another for a particular child's individual needs.
For example, although the use of the print mode may be a very
valid goal, given the wide availability of this medium, that fact
should not overrule consideration of functional efficiency if, in
the estimation of the student's IEP multidisciplinary team, the
use of print is less efficient than another option.
     The Council encourages flexibility in the development of
IEP's. IEP's for students may include instruction in dual
literacy modes, such as Braille and print, if their assessments
conclude they need and can benefit from both.
     The Council further supports and encourages informing
parents and students of all potentially relevant, appropriate,
and efficient options for developing literacy.

3. Legislation Mandating One Mode
The Issue

     Legislation requiring all blind and visually impaired
students to receive Braille instruction would undermine, usurp,
or supplant state and federal laws that mandate determination of
special education provisions by an IEP multidisciplinary team
based on comprehensive assessment and program planning specific
to an individual student's needs. Moreover, such class-action
legislation, which presupposes that all blind and visually
impaired students function on the same level and have the same
needs, would restrict many visually impaired students who
appropriately need and could effectively use print or other
modes.

CEARSVH Position

     The Council strongly believes that the selection of modes of
reading, writing, and computing should be made by an IEP team on
the basis of an ongoing, comprehensive assessment and
determination of the student's present functioning levels,
learning styles, visual prognosis, current and future needs, and
other variables. The Council is strongly opposed to any
legislation that would require each and every blind and visually
impaired student, on a wholesale, class-action basis, to use and
receive instruction in one mode irrespective of, or in disregard
of, his or her individual needs.

4. Technical Assistance
The Issue

     Today teachers of the visually handicapped teach students
with a broader range of needs than in the past; programs with a
single teacher of the visually handicapped may not be able to
meet the diverse and broad range of student needs.

CEARSVH Position

     The Council encourages its members to assist university
teacher training programs by providing pre-service practica,
extended internships, and continuing education opportunities in
which prospective teachers can have meaningful, realistic, and
comprehensive opportunities to become proficient in teaching
various literacy skills. Prospective teachers should be made
aware of, and encouraged to take advantage of, outreach programs,
staff development, or technical assistance services offered
through many residential schools if they are planning to be
employed in itinerant or other single teacher programs where
supervisors may not be knowledgeable in specialized adapted
literacy modes and/or professional colleagues may not be
available for consultation and assistance.

5. Continuing Education Opportunities for Experienced Staff
The Issue

     Inservice programs may not be available to teachers who have
lost proficiency in the Braille code or other literacy skills
because they have not recently had students needing this
training.

CEARSVH Position

     The Council supports and encourages providing refresher
inservice training opportunities to teachers who have not
retained skill proficiency. In those cases where experienced
staff have not been exposed to new literacy skill modes, for
example, computer technology, the membership further encourages
providing continuing education opportunities.

6. Emphasis on Literary Skill Teaching Methodology
The Issue

     Although pre-service training programs require prospective
teachers to master the Braille code and other literacy skills,
the programs do not offer intensive comprehensive, and in-depth
course work and experiences in the methodology of teaching
students to develop reading, writing, and computing skills.

CEARSVH Position

     The Council encourages university teacher training programs
to focus more comprehensively on course work and experiences in
teaching methodology to ensure that prospective teachers develop
competencies to teach literacy skills in all modes.

7. Accessibility of Adapted Educational Materials
The Issue

     Blind and visually impaired students experience significant
delays in receiving Braille materials. The absence of appropriate
materials means that students who use Braille (a) cannot work
independently, (b) are forced to use less appropriate alternative
modes, and (c) do not keep pace with their peers or reach their
levels of achievement.

CEARSVH Position

     The Council strongly recommends legislative mandates and/or
incentives to publishers to provide Braille materials at the same
time print versions are made available to nonhandicapped school-
age students. With current advancements in computer technology,
the simultaneous publication of print and Braille materials
should be a reasonable goal. The Council asserts that it is
discriminatory not to provide Braille materials at the same time
nonhandicapped students are provided with print materials. The
Council agrees to cooperate and lend technical assistance to
government agencies and publishers to provide access to
information to which blind and visually impaired people are
entitled.

     NOTE: This paper was drafted in October 1988, revised the
following year, and adopted by the Council in February, 1990.

                      ____________________

     There you have the CEARSVH position paper. Here is the
letter that Barbara Cheadle wrote to the Editor of Re:View in
response:

                                              Baltimore, Maryland
                                                    July 11, 1991

Ms. Helen Strang
Managing Editor, RE:view
Washington, D.C.

Dear Ms. Strang:
     Thank you for the invitation to make comments on the
position paper of the Council of Executives of American
Residential Schools for the Visually Handicapped as printed in
the Fall, 1990, issue of RE:view. Here are my comments.
As far as the consumer is concerned, the CEARSVH position paper
says nothing new, different, or profound. It alternates between
trying to deny and then trying to distort the issue of Braille
literacy. The paper goes to great length to make it appear that
Braille is only a minor part of the literacy issue when, in fact,
it IS the literacy issue. 
     If one didn't know better, one would assume after reading
this paper that there are all these equally good reading modes (a
term frequently used, but never defined) just floating around out
there ready to be used by blind folks "...The Council rejects any
wholesale generalization that one mode is superior to another..."
and "The Council further supports and encourages informing
parents and students of all potentially relevant, appropriate,
and efficient options for developing literacy."  This is
nonsense!  There are only three ways to read: visually,
auditorily, and tactually. As a reading and writing system,
Braille is the only true equivalent to print. No one would
seriously suggest that print be replaced with audio tapes,
television, or talking gadgets. And no matter how you dress it up
with educational jargon, tapes, talking computers, and even live
readers--useful as they may be--are no substitute for Braille. 
Contrary to the implications of the position paper, the literacy
issue among blind children has nothing to do with being taught to
use a magnifier, a cassette machine, or a talking computer. 
("...In those cases where experienced staff have not been exposed
to new literacy skill modes, for example, computer
technology....")  Blind children have been inundated with every
large print, complex magnifying device, talking computer and
gadget as fast as the engineers can think them up and produce
them. Mostly blind and visually impaired youth today are
illiterate because they have inadequate or nonexistent Braille
skills. 
     Nor does Braille literacy have anything to do with the IEP
process. None of the legislation passed or now under
consideration in state legislatures in any way "undermines,
usurps, or supplants" the IEP process. In fact such an accusation
would be like saying that we couldn't pass a law that persons
charged with a crime are innocent until proven guilty because
this would undermine our criminal justice system. After all, the
court is supposed to determine who is guilty or innocent. 
     Of course the procedures followed in court determine
innocence or guilt, and of course the IEP process determines the
course and content of the child's special education program.
However, neither can proceed without basic assumptions. In the
case of the court, we have to decide if we will assume guilt or
innocence. All the procedures that follow will hinge on that one
assumption. If you doubt it, go back and read your medieval
history. 
     In the case of the education of blind children, we must
decide what assumptions we will make about literacy and Braille.
Will Braille be the standard of literacy for the blind, or will
print continue to be the assumed standard?  No matter how much
CEARSVH and others in the field of education try to deny it or
distort it, the current assumption--print as the standard--
doesn't work. 
     That's why we are facing a crisis today. We have children
who can only read print slowly, with great strain or difficulty,
and/or only with complex electronic dependent magnifying devices;
children who can't spell and who don't know the basic rules of
grammar because they can only read recorded books; youth who get
out of school and can't compete equally in college because they
don't have the skills they need to take independent, efficient
notes with a slate; youth who can't function independently
because they have no efficient method of self-communication--they
can't even write out a simple grocery list which they can read
unless they have something with a battery or an electric plug
nearby. This is what the crisis is all about, and this is why
there will continue to be attempts through the state legislatures
to establish the right of blind children to acquire basic
literacy skills which  means Braille.
     The irony of the CEARSVH position paper is that, while on
one hand it clearly wants to keep the status quo intact, and
alternately denies and distorts the issue to do so, it, on the
other hand, would obviously like to take advantage of the crisis
in order to beef up sagging residential school enrollment and
prestige. 
     There has been and continues to be a need that has not been
met (with some exceptions) by the residential schools. Some go so
far as to say that the schools are a dead letter office, a place
merely to warehouse children others cannot, or will not attempt
to, educate. This has been true in many instances, but it doesn't
have to be true. 
     There has been such a lack of perception and willingness to
cooperate with parents on the part of the schools, it is little
wonder that the schools and the consumers are so often at
loggerheads with each other. But, again, it doesn't have to be
this way. 
     The real tragedy is that everything the CEARSVH states that
residential schools could do to help turn this crisis around
would be constructive IF they were willing to deal with the real
issue. And the issue in many ways does go beyond the question of
Braille literacy. It has to do with the belief--or lack of it--
that a good education is both possible and desirable for the
blind, that the blind can compete on a basis of equality. 

     These are my comments. Thank you again for the invitation to
respond, and I look forward to seeing the issue in which these
comments are slated to appear. This is one of the most vital
issues concerning the education of blind children today, and I'm
pleased that your publication is willing to give it the space it
deserves. 

                                                       Sincerely,
                                (Mrs.) Barbara Cheadle, President
                               Parents of Blind Children Division
                                 National Federation of the Blind



[PHOTO: Tuck Tinsley standing at microphone. CAPTION: Tuck
Tinsley, Executive Director of the American Printing House for
the Blind.]

            APH FIGURES SHOW BRAILLE STILL DECLINING
                        by Barbara Pierce

     A couple of years ago, one of the teachers in my county's
education program for blind and visually impaired children
(significantly entitled the Sight-Saving Class) told me with
evident pride that no youngster in the history of the program had
ever needed Braille. A little probing on my part revealed that
during the eleven years of the class's existence, the staff had
consistently driven away the totally blind children and had
refused to tackle Braille with those youngsters whose parents had
the audacity to raise the question of introducing it. There are
new teachers in that program now, but alas the attitude does not
seem to have changed. 
     The saddest thing about this anecdote is that it is not
unusual. It demonstrates with stark clarity why we must find a
way to require that the special education teachers of blind
children in this country be competent to read and write Braille.
The teachers in my county's program today don't know Braille or
believe in it, so even if they were compelled to teach a child to
read using the code, they would make a mess of it. 
     It is no surprise, therefore, that the newest statistics
released by the American Printing House for the Blind indicate
that the percentage of blind children reading Braille in the
nation's educational system has fallen yet again, this time from
12 percent to 10.1. The nonreaders now outnumber the print
readers by a bit, 29.4 percent to 29.2. Presumably this indicates
that almost thirty percent of all students in the study are
multiply-handicapped blind children who are not candidates for
learning to read using any medium. But it is that other almost
thirty percent that breaks my heart. Some of them are of course
youngsters whose vision is stable and competent to read print
comfortably and efficiently for many years. But all too many of
them need Braille now to compete with their sighted friends, and
many more will be lamenting in a few years that when they were
young, they were not taught the Braille they need as adults for
jobs or college. Here is the text of the American Printing House
for the Blind's press release reporting its findings: 

     The American Printing House for the Blind (APH) has recently
released a new study on students registered under the Federal
Quota Program. Each year legally blind students are registered
with APH for purposes of the federal Act to Promote the Education
of the Blind of 1879. This yearly census is used to determine the
number of eligible students enrolled in various schools and
agencies in order to allocate federal funds intended for the
procurement of special books and educational materials produced
by APH.
     Periodically, in-depth studies of these data are conducted
to discern trends and characteristics of this relatively small,
yet diverse population. The new report, Distribution of Quota
Registrants in 1990 by Grade Placement, Visual Acuity, Reading
Medium, School or Agency Type, and Age: A Replication of Wright's
1988 Study, consists of a study which examines the data compiled
from the 1990 Federal Quota Registration. Additional attention is
given to comparing the information reported in this study to the
1987 Registration data prepared by Wright (1988).
Highlights of the report include the following:
     - Most students (85.3%) were registered by State Departments
of Education.
     - The remaining 14.7% were enrolled in either residential
schools for the blind, rehabilitation agencies, or
multihandicapped facilities.
     - Nearly one-fifth of the students occupied early childhood
grade placements; 30.9% were enrolled in grades 1-12; 14.8% were
adult trainees; 30.0% were other registrants; and the remaining
registrants were classified as either academic nongraded,
postgraduate, or vocational students.
     - An almost equal proportion of students were either visual
readers (29.2%) or non-readers (29.4%); 10.1% read Braille; 11.2%
used auditory material; and 20.1% were classified as prereaders.
     - Percentages of legally blind students in three visual
acuity groupings were: 43.8% had vision between 8/200 and 20/200;
7.7% had vision between "counts fingers" and 7/200; and 48.4% had
vision no greater than hand movements or form and object
perception.
     - Of students reported as reading with vision of 8/200 and
above, 86.8% read visually, 9.0% auditorily, and 4.2% Braille.
     The report is available free of charge from the American
Printing House for the Blind. Please contact us at the following
address: American Printing House for the Blind, Inc., Department
of Educational and Technical Research, P.O. Box 6085, Louisville,
Kentucky 40206-0085, phone and fax, (502) 895-2405.





                    BRAILLE: A BIRTHDAY LOOK
                AT ITS PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE
                          by Jim Burns

     From the Associate Editor: In the March, 1975, issue of the
Braille Monitor we first published this article by Jim Burns, who
was at the time a librarian at the Iowa Commission for the Blind.
In an issue largely devoted to the subject of Braille, it seemed
appropriate to reprint this valuable little summary of its
history. The discussion of technology is, of course, sixteen
eventful years out of date, but Mr. Burns's assessment of the
value of Braille is still right on the mark. Here it is: 

     For all practical purposes, the year 1975 marks the one
hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the birth of the Braille
system of embossed writing. Its life, though relatively short,
has been a stormy one. Just as most inventions do not come in a
single flash of intuition, Braille had a rather painful gestation
period. This was followed by an unfortunately neglected
childhood. Then came an adolescence fraught with strife before
contending factions finally allowed Braille to ripen into the
mature, universally accepted system used today.
     In the early 1800s, when Louis Braille became a student at
the Royal Institution for Young Blind in Paris, there were in
existence over twenty different systems of embossed type.1 At
this school the studious young Braille could choose from among a
collection of only fourteen books printed in a system of large
italic Roman letters in relief. This had been invented by
Valentin Hauy, the founder of the school, and not surprisingly
was the accepted mode of reading there. However, as was the case
with most of the other existing methods of printing for the
blind, Hauy's was a slow, cumbersome way to read. Each character
had to be tediously scanned to be recognized and then each had to
be slowly built onto those coming before and after to form words.
In addition, it did not provide a means of writing for the blind.
     In 1821 Charles Barbier, an artillery captain in the French
army, visited the school. Two years earlier he had invented a
system of writing by dots based on phonetic principles. Called
"night writing," it had originally been meant for use by soldiers
on the field of battle at night. Barbier had then improved it,
renamed it Sonography, and taken it to Dr. Guillie, head of
Braille's school. Guillie had expressed concern about the
complexity of the invention (words were not spelled out but were
written phonetically; the great many dots often required for a
single word made deciphering a lengthy process). Thus it was not
until the undaunted Barbier's second visit to the school that the
system was introduced to the students.
     Louis Braille eagerly learned Sonography but soon became
aware of several flaws in it. No attention was paid to
conventional spelling because of the phonetic emphasis; there was
no provision for punctuation, accents, numbers, mathematical
symbols, or music notation; and the complexity of the
combinations made reading difficult. At first Braille sought
mildly to modify the system, but after a meeting with an
obstreperous Barbier, the 15-year-old schoolboy decided to
concentrate on devising a completely new method of dot writing.
     Braille worked intensively on his invention. By 1825 he had,
among other things, cut Barbier's 12-dot cell in half, and his
system was more or less complete.2 In 1827 Braille applied his
brainchild to music notation. Finally, in 1829 he published his
Method of Writing Words, Music, and Plain Songs by Means of Dots,
for Use by the Blind and Arranged for Them. He followed this in
1834 and 1837 with yet improved versions of his method.
     The Braille system was eagerly seized upon by blind students
in Paris. However, it had to combat resistance from the old guard
of sighted teachers, who criticized the use of an alphabet whose
configurations were so different from those of print. After all,
the sighted teachers could not easily read it. Braille was also
criticized on the ground that the use of such a different mode of
reading "set blind people apart" from others. The fact that near
illiteracy due to the failings of the preferred systems of
embossing tended to set blind people apart from others was
overlooked. Thus Braille was for years largely ignored by
teachers of the blind, and it was not until 1854--three years
after Braille's death--that his own alma mater officially
accepted his system. Likewise, it was not officially recognized
anywhere in the United States until the Missouri School for the
Blind adopted it in 1860, and Braille was not extensively used in
Great Britain until after 1868.
     In the United States, Braille had not only to weather
competition from embossed letter systems such as Moon Type and
Boston Line Type, but it also underwent a long period of
internecine warfare. A few used the French arrangement. Others
used Joel W. Smith's American Braille, a modified form of the
original system in which the most frequently occurring letters
were given the fewest dots. Yet others preferred New York Point,
a more radical change by William Bell Wait making the cell
horizontal instead of vertical, two dots high and from one to
four dots wide depending on the width of the letter represented.
All of these had their advantages and disadvantages. The economy
of dots in American Braille made writing by hand easier. New York
Point saved more space and made reading speedier, but had such a
cumbersome method of forming capitals, apostrophes, and hyphens
that these punctuation marks were rarely used. The French version
was bulkier but offered uniformity with Great Britain and most of
Europe. Therefore, while New York Point was officially recognized
by the American Association of Instructors of the Blind in 1871,
all three forms were used.
     This conflict--the War of the Dots--resulted in the need to
produce such widely used books as the Bible and popular textbooks
in three forms. It also made it difficult for blind persons
brought up on different systems to communicate. This situation
lasted until 1918 when a revised version of the original French
system was adopted. However, the agreed-upon form--Revised Grade
1 1/2 Braille--still differed from the more heavily contracted
Grade 2 system used in the United Kingdom. More committees were
formed, more meetings were held, more speeches were made, until a
speaker at one of the ensuing national conventions was moved to
suggest: "If anyone invents a new system of printing for the
blind, shoot him on the spot."3 At last, in 1932, with no new
systems devised and no known fatalities, an agreement between the
United Kingdom and the United States established Standard English
Braille, Grade 2 (a compromise heavily favoring the British
version) as the contracted form for everyday use in English-
speaking countries.
     In the meantime Frank Hall had invented the Braillewriter to
speed up the hand copying of Braille (1892); and in the same
decade, he had invented the Stereograph used to emboss the zinc
plates for the production of press Braille. By 1932 further
improvements had been made in both of Hall's inventions. Braille
was finally free to mature and develop to its true potential.
     Now, one-hundred-fifty years after Louis Braille devised the
system that was used by only a few Parisian students, it is used
by approximately 45,000 Americans alone, and perhaps twice that
number are able to read it but do not do so regularly.4 Several
printing houses in the United States and abroad produce Braille
on Braille presses. At least 8,000 certified volunteer
transcribers in the United States are at work invaluably
supplementing the relatively few titles that can be produced
annually on the Braille presses.5 In addition, work continues at
the Royal National Institute for the Blind in Great Britain and
elsewhere on solid-dot Braille, a method of printing Braille in
which heat-sealed plastic dots are deposited on the surface of
thin paper, resulting in uncrushable dots that are reduced in
bulk by forty-five percent. Continuing exploration is also being
made into computer-produced Braille and other new means of mass
production. Teachers of Braille continue to experiment with new
teaching methods, and many hope that further perfection will be
made in the code itself.
     What then of the future of Braille? There are some who say
that the number of Braille readers is declining and will continue
to do so because of continuing advances enabling the blind to
read ordinary print (the Optacon, Stereotoner, CCTV systems, and
so on) and because of steady improvements in recorded media. One
must pause though when confronted with the astronomical costs
often involved in purchasing this print-reading technology (some
of these devices start in the hundreds of dollars and range into
the thousands), when one considers the hardware involved in using
all of these electronic devices, and when one considers a
potential reading rate that is usually considerably less than
that of a good Braille reader. Likewise, Braille is superior in
many ways to recorded media. Certain subject areas such as
mathematics, some of the sciences, and foreign languages in which
more than pronunciation is stressed, practically dictate the use
of Braille. Only with difficulty can a person skim or skip from
place to place while using recorded media, and a person's reading
rate is limited by the speed of oral speech.
     It is desirable and right that the use of Braille continue
for another reason that is less tangible than the foregoing but
of equal or even greater importance. If a blind person does not
read or write Braille, he will remain that much less independent.
If he cannot read Braille, he will remain dependent on sighted
readers or recordings. If he can neither read nor write Braille,
he cannot label cans, boxes, cartons, and the like in his
kitchen, bathroom, or shop. He cannot take down simple notes,
addresses, or telephone numbers. Stated simply, Braille increases
independence--a value that far transcends its worth just as a
reading/writing tool.
     So Braille should and will remain with us. It is an integral
tool--as are recorded media and as the new technological
innovations can become--in the increasingly successful struggle
of the blind to surge forward and take their proper place in the
mainstream of society. The fruits of the labor of a blind
Parisian teenager one-hundred-fifty years ago must certainly be
considered a landmark discovery helping to facilitate this march
to independence.

                            Footnotes

1 Donald Bell, "Reading by Touch," The Braille Monitor, June,
1972, p. 295.
2 Ibid.
3 Robert B. Irwin, "The War of the Dots," from As I Saw It, by
Robert B. Irwin (New York: American Foundation for the Blind,
1955), p. 47.
4 Louis Harvey Goldish, Braille In the United States: Its
Production, Distribution, and Use (New York: American Foundation
for the Blind, 1967), p. 10.
5 Telephone conversation with Maxine Dorf, Division for the Blind
and Physically Handicapped, Library of Congress, Washington,
D.C., January 24, 1975.



          PHYLLIS CAMPANA LEAVES NATIONAL BRAILLE PRESS
                        by Barbara Pierce

     Phyllis Campana, who has been Director of Operations at the
National Braille Press since 1987, has left the Boston Braille
publishing house. On July 22, 1991, she will assume her duties as
Braille Division Manager at the American Printing House for the
Blind in Louisville, Kentucky. 
     In a telephone interview she explained that her overall
responsibilities will be generally the same in her new job, but
APH is so much larger an operation that her day-to-day activities
will undoubtedly differ significantly. When asked if she was
being brought in to take a hard look at some of APH's long-
standing traditions and habits with an eye to stirring things up
a bit, she firmly denied the suggestion, mentioning that she had
specifically been told "not to hurt anyone." 
     Mrs. Campana was very discreet in responding to questions
about her relations with National Braille Press and what led to
her job change. In effect she said that she thought that some of
her colleagues would miss her but that this was a mutually
beneficial move for all parties. She is looking forward to the
challenge of a new organization and a new city. 
     Mrs. Campana has lived in Boston for thirty years, and her
husband, who is staying in Boston for a number of months to sell
their home, has lived there all of his life. But they are both
looking forward to Louisville and the American Printing House for
the Blind.



[PHOTO: John Rowley standing at microphone. CAPTION: John
Rowley.]

                       BLINDNESS IN JAPAN:
                   SOME PERSONAL OBSERVATIONS
                     by John and Mary Rowley

     From the Associate Editor: John Rowley is a scientist and
engineer who described to the 1989 convention of the National
Federation of the Blind his return to work at the Los Alamos
National Laboratories after losing his sight and receiving
training at the Louisiana Center for the Blind. He is lively and
tough-minded, and he brings curiosity and a trained mind to his
observations. Recently he and his wife Mary traveled to Japan, a
country which they have visited before. This time, however, in
addition to touring places of scientific interest, John wished to
examine the situation of blind people in Japan. After the
Rowleys' return they wrote a detailed report of their trip. Here
are excerpts:

     For purposes of this tale it is important to understand one
aspect of life in Japan, namely travel and the transportation
system. The four major islands of Japan extend from north to
south roughly the same distance as from Maine to Florida;
however, the land area is about the same as California's. Yet
only about fifteen percent of this is level enough for use by
people, and the population is about 120 million. The major modes
of transport are walking, bicycle, bus, subways, trains,
airplanes, ferries, and finally automobiles. The public
transportation system is very convenient and relatively
inexpensive. It is ideally suited to and completely accessible
for blind people. This is a very positive element in any decision
we may make to live and work in Japan. While there we try to
travel much as the Japanese do; in fact, in order to help us
understand life in Japan we often take long walks. These usually
amounted to between six and ten kilometers per day, and John wore
out two cane tips a week during this last visit.
     In their own view, the Japanese have made two main efforts
in the major urban areas to aid blind people. One is the
installation of sounders or beepers at major intersections with
traffic signals. When the light turns green, the beepers play a
little tune, for example the call of the coo-coo bird in some
places, "Coming Through the Rye" in others. They have also
installed Braille sections in sidewalks and stairs in highly
traveled areas, especially transportation centers like train
stations. These strips of tile measure about six inches wide and
are generally of two types: stretching the width of crosswalks at
street intersections and across the tops and bottoms of stairways
are tiles with raised bumps that can easily be felt with the
feet; and, down the middle of the sidewalks parallel to the
direction of travel, are imbedded tiles with a few parallel
raised ridges. John found these aids rather confusing, and he
tended to ignore them since his mobility training and trusty
white cane made such aids unnecessary. We did see blind people
using them and carrying short white canes. From our observations,
guide dogs are also used, but the sighted-guide technique seemed
most prevalent.
     We never had any difficulty with the Japanese people or with
limited access during our travels in Japan although Mary reports
that there was some intense staring, and often people would make
a move to help John, but a brief "dozo" (please) seemed to be all
that was needed to assure them that he could manage quite well,
"domo arigato" (thank you). There was some amazement about the
long white cane, and Mary reports that, especially when John was
walking alone, people would stare and turn to watch. The staring
would probably be considered impolite especially since we were
obviously foreigners, gaigin (outsiders), and therefore
considered to be guests in their country. So the blind gaigin
with the long white cane must have been the topic of some
discussion in the many cities, towns, villages, farm lanes, and
mountain hiking paths. Another arena where there was considerable
curiosity was in the baths at the hot spring spas and at the
Japanese inns and hotels where we stayed. In fact, we had planned
our trip to include as many of these Japanese-style
establishments as possible. John, as a matter of course, would
take his long white cane into the bath area since these are
usually sexually segregated facilities. (Public mixed bathing is
rather rare in Japan, sad to say. Apparently the puritanical
attitudes have come with the westernization/modernization of
Japan.) In this all-male environment, there was more open
questioning and even an occasional request to demonstrate the use
of the cane, apparently much to the astonishment of most of the
patrons.
     The only times a Japanese person forcefully grabbed John in
order to help or protect him were as we walked into or around
construction sites. In Japan these situations are considered
especially dangerous, probably due to the very crowded conditions
and the strong sense of duty to protect the public. Policemen or
other safety personnel are usually stationed to control the
traffic and construction in areas of possible danger. In such
situations the sense of duty and responsibility of these safety
guards compelled them to take John's arm and escort him around
and beyond the construction site.
     Before leaving for Japan, John called the Louisiana Center
for the Blind; and Joanne Wilson, the Executive Director,
indicated that a Mr. Arai, from the administrative section of the
Tokyo City Rehabilitation Services, had visited the Center in
Ruston and that an inquiry to him might make a visit to a
rehabilitation training center possible. She suggested that John
should call Harold Snider at the National Council on
Disabilities, who knew Mr. Arai and the situation for blind
people in Japan. John had met Harold at the 1989 NFB Annual
Convention in Denver, and the conclusion they came to during
their phone conversation was that such a visit would be
interesting and valuable if it could be arranged. Also Harold
reminded John of meeting Mrs. Virginia Okamura at the 1989
Convention. Subsequent correspondence and telephone calls
resulted in an invitation to visit the Tokyo Municipal Center for
the Rehabilitation of the Blind. Virginia had described the adult
training and education systems in Japan at the Denver Convention.
She also had indicated that the rate of blindness in Japan is
similar to that in the United States but that there have been
only a few hundred blind college graduates in Japan during the
past decade or so. She said that the major vocational opportunity
for blind persons was in physiotherapy and massage and that this
profession was the traditional one for blind people in Japan.
Tradition plays a very important role in most aspects of Japanese
life.
     Therefore, during our final days in Japan we had the
opportunity to visit a modern national university in the science
city Tsukuba, population 150,000 and about eighty kilometers
north of Tokyo. My colleagues in Tsukuba arranged a visit with an
associate professor of special education in the College of
Education. His college trained teachers of the handicapped. The
Tsukuba University was known to accept blind and other disabled
people, but as they explained to us, no special provisions or
help for blind students was provided at the university, and only
seven or eight blind students had enrolled. The very difficult
and much-feared nationally-administered final high school
examination and the individual college entrance exams were
thought to be the major impediments for blind college-bound
students. We were told that only fourteen blind high school
students had applied to take the national test in 1990. The
professor was very interested in John's background, the history
of his blindness, and his work experience (he was quite
astonished that John had continued to work as a scientist after
becoming blind), the training that John had received, and
especially the tools he used in continuing his work. He was very
interested in learning more about the aids and supporting PC
equipment, such as the Braille'n'Speak, that were available in
the United States, since he used U.S. rehabilitation literature
and ideas as teaching materials for his education of teachers of
the blind. There was much interest in the long white cane, so
John provided a brief demonstration. John believes that there is
a junior college providing special programs for the blind in
Tsukuba, but time did not permit investigating this institution.
     The contact with the Rehabilitation Center in Tokyo was very
informative, and we spent a half day there. The facility is
located in a modern and busy section of Tokyo, Shinjoku, and is
very new, having been constructed since the passage of the
Japanese disabilities act in 1981. The building is quite large
and very well-equipped and can accommodate thirty-four students
(clients). There is a rehabilitation staff of nine, eight men and
one woman. Three of the staff are very fluent in English because
they have had training in the United States. One of the staff is
blind. Their course stresses communications and orientation and
mobility.
     The facility is very modern and large and occupies a three-
story building specially designed and built for the purpose of
rehabilitation of the blind. We were given a detailed tour by Mr.
Yamaguchi, who had been an active journalist before becoming
blind and who taught all courses but cane travel. There are a
large library, a well-equipped Braille room, and a tape equipment
and typing room with a recording and dubbing section. The area
for training in the use of talking personal computers was very
impressive (their systems can do word processing in both Japanese
and English, as well as producing Braille). The equipment was
available to the students both at class times and after hours. A
model apartment with a very large and well-equipped kitchen was
provided for training in housekeeping and cooking. A gym the size
of a volleyball court was used for physical education. A group of
students was enjoying a game of catch across the gym in two teams
when we visited that part of the facility. There are a large
shower and hot bath, a laundry, a service kitchen, and a
cafeteria. 
     We were informed that the students were given counseling on
living as a blind person and that the primary training effort was
to help the students who wished such training to prepare for the
entrance examinations for physiotherapy. We gather that this is a
widely practiced and well-paid profession in Japan and is an
especially favored one for the blind. 
     We had little interaction with the students, who were
occupying the dormitory on the third floor and the various
classroom and recreation areas of the Center, as we toured the
building. The language barrier made such interactions difficult,
and the students seemed more or less uninterested--perhaps just
ignoring the gaigin visitors. The staff, however, was very
interested in John's long white cane and the new ideas and
potential it presented. They were very concerned about trying to
use it in an active and crowded city like Tokyo. However, we
attempted to convince them that John had had no problems. They
seem to prefer a folding or short cane. They did mention a
preference for a cane length that would give two paces worth of
information, but no cane or demonstration was presented. John was
asked to give a demonstration of the long cane and a short
discourse on the training methods. There was some astonishment at
the mention of blind instructors and routes widely spread in a
busy city. The idea of a blind cane travel instructor was not
acceptable either; that was clear.      
     We were told that there were eleven such centers scattered
around Japan and that more were planned. In common with the
university professor whom John interviewed at Tsukuba, the
instructors at the Tokyo Center said that the Japanese who are
working in instructor education and rehabilitation training look
to the United States and other countries for information,
innovations, and leadership in the introduction of improvements
and change.
     The evening in Tokyo was capped off with a delightful dinner
with Virginia Okamura and her blind friend, who is attempting to
pass the Japanese equivalent of the bar exams. Virginia's friend,
Mr. Chuji Sashida is currently an instructor in a private school
for blind adults and has a research grant to study the techniques
used by the working blind to support their work. He seems most
interested in personal computer systems used by blind
professionals. He would like invitations to visit blind working
people who have support systems in place. We will write back to
offer such a visit here in Los Alamos. His barrier for the bar
examination is apparently that they require him to hand write a
thesis as a part of the exam (in Japanese, of course), and he
finds this too difficult although he indicated that he can
compose very fluently on a PC with a voice synthesizer. There's
considerable frustration since they will not allow him to use the
equipment and insist on hand-written material. We went to dinner
with Virginia, Sashida-san, Yamaguchi-san, and Mita-san, the
woman instructor at the Center. It was a very lovely affair at a
Chinese-style Japanese restaurant, and good fellowship and
conversation all around. We do hope that we might have an
opportunity to visit with these folks again soon.
     Our overall impression was that the Japanese people have
only recently started to face the issues of the disabled among
the population, especially those who are blind. It seemed to us
that there was a considerable compassion toward and an innate
concern for the disabled but that their reactions were very
protective and perhaps a bit paternalistic. Also we had the
feeling that Japanese culture and society like to keep everyone
close to what is considered normal or traditional, and
imperfections in things and people alike are viewed with disfavor
and treated with some distaste and some rejection. New
institutions and traditions are slow to develop but seem to be
very strong once established. Japan's new legislation concerning
the disabled seems to have set the stage for the needed changes.




[PHOTO/CAPTION: Charles Cheadle and his mother Barbara seated in
the Harbor Room at the National Center for the Blind.]

                  THE SALLY JESSY RAPHAL SHOW:
               SPREADING THE WORD ABOUT BLINDNESS

     From the Associate Editor: What is the most effective way
you can think of to focus the American public's attention on the
subject of adult-onset blindness and spread the word about the
positive work of the National Federation of the Blind? One
strategy would be to find a widely-known television actor who is
going blind; then interest a popular talk show hostess in
interviewing him, two other adults who are losing their sight,
and a representative from the National Federation of the Blind. 
     That is exactly what occurred on the morning of Thursday,
April 18, 1991. The famous daytime talk show hostess, Sally Jessy
Raphal, devoted her entire program that day to the subject of
adult-onset blindness. Dana Elcar, co-star of the ABC program
MacGyver has had glaucoma for a number of years, but recently he
has lost enough vision to be considered legally blind. The
producers of the MacGyver program have decided to write blindness
into the script. Mr. Elcar is developing remarkably healthy
attitudes about his condition, and the public is, of course,
extremely interested in what is happening to his character on the
television program. 
     In addition to Dana Elcar and two women who had lost their
sight as adults, Sally Jessy Raphal invited Barbara Cheadle,
President of the Parents of Blind Children Division, and her son
Charles, thirteen, to be guests as well. Federationists have been
working for years to persuade the show's producers to interview
members of the NFB, and finally their hard work has paid off. 
     Most of the program was devoted to Dana Elcar and the blind
women, who are all still experiencing difficulties and some
problems with adjustment, but the Cheadles managed to get some
constructive information across. They also presented both Ms.
Raphal and Mr. Elcar with copies of our book, Walking Alone and
Marching Together. 
     Was the effort useful? It is too soon to know whether or not
Mr. Elcar and the other blind guests learned enough to allow us
to help them, but in the weeks since the program was aired, the
telephones at the National Center for the Blind have been ringing
incessantly. Callers, most of them blind or close to blind
people, wanted to know more about the Federation. Where was the
nearest chapter? How could they join? Where could they learn more
about blindness? There is no doubt about it; people pay attention
to what talk show hosts say and do. And when they interview
positive, confident blind people who tell the world that the
National Federation of the Blind is the key to a healthy
adjustment to blindness, people listen. The result is lots more
work for Federationists across the country, but it is the very
most satisfying work there is--helping blind people begin
believing in themselves again. Here is the section of the Sally
Jessy Raphal program in which she interviewed Barbara and
Charles Cheadle: 

     Ms. Raphal: Tell me about yourself, Barbara.
     Mrs. Cheadle: The most important thing I can tell you about
me and about Charles and about everybody here and about everybody
out there who is watching and is losing vision is these words,
the  National Federation of the Blind. Because when Dana and
Marilyn and Chad were talking about their experiences of going
blind, it is clear that you go through all these emotions. As a
parent of a child who is going to lose vision and will have less
vision as an adult, I have gone through this too. 
     It is so important that you get good information and that
you get role models quickly. When you call the National
Federation of the Blind and ask us to send a representative, it
is really a wonderful opportunity to share a positive approach to
blindness. In other words, what do you do once you get through
the stages--where do you turn?     
     The National Federation of the Blind gave Charles and me
good role models. We know hundreds of blind people who are doing
all kinds of things. They taught us what techniques we needed.
You see our son carries a cane. He is learning Braille, and he
wants to do some interesting things with his life, and we know
they're possible because we know blind people out there doing
them.
     Ms. Raphal: Charles was adopted, obviously.
     Mrs. Cheadle: Yes.
     Ms. Raphal: At what age?
     Mrs. Cheadle: He was two years old. We knew that he had some
vision loss, but we didn't know how much. He has glaucoma, so we
were fearful that it would be something that would require
surgery or treatment. We didn't know until we got him. But after
we got him, we went through all the phases: for example,  since
he has partial vision, figuring out how much vision he has, what
it can do, what it can't do. And boy did it help knowing blind
adults to talk to who could tell us what to expect.
     Ms. Raphal: Charles, do the kids tease you at all?
     Charles: Yes they do.
     Ms. Raphal: In what way?
     Charles: They tease me about being blind or they tease me
about being different, and sometimes it hurts a lot.
     Ms. Raphal: In what way do they tease you?
     Charles: They'll call me "blind boy" or they'll stick
fingers in my face and say how many am I holding up? Things like
that.
     Mrs. Cheadle: Do you remember what I did once with that?
This is a trick I learned from my blind friends and from a blind
mother who was a worker with me in the National Federation of the
Blind. She said, "Well you have to teach your children humor." So
when he was telling me about this kind of incident once, he
said,"Well they are going to stick their hands up in front and
say `how many fingers do I have?'" I said, "Well tell them
thirteen! What planet?" [Laughter] That's important--a sense of
humor and a sense of perspective. 
     Ms. Raphal: How do you handle that, Charles?
     Charles: Well, sometimes I will ignore it and walk away, or
sometimes I will turn the question around on the other person.
     Ms. Raphal: It always hurts, doesn't it?
     Charles: Yes.
     Ms. Raphal: Don't you think it hurts a little less if you
can kind of give them back a little something that they are
giving you? 
     Charles: Yes
     Ms. Raphal: If you want, afterwards I'll teach you some
mean things. Talk show hosts always know this, Charles.
[Laughter] Charles, what are you going to be when you grow up? 
     Charles: Well, I would like to be a chef when I grow up.
     Ms. Raphal: A chef?
     Charles: Yes.
     Ms. Raphal: Do you know how to cook anything now?
     Charles: Yes I do, and having alternative techniques to do
things in the kitchen helps me cook more efficiently with my
vision loss.
     Ms. Raphal: Such as? What do they show you? I have a
brother who is a chef. 
     Charles: For measuring liquids, I can use containers that
are measured off at the top so that I don't have to worry about
reading measurements and increments. For measuring powders, I can
put it in a teaspoon and level it off with a knife to get it more
accurate. 
     Ms. Raphal: I would assume that your sight has nothing to
do with your sense of taste, does it Charles? [Laughter]
     Charles: Oh no!
     Ms. Raphal: Very important for a chef.
     Mrs. Cheadle: When he talks about being a chef, this goes
back to role models because he has worked with a blind woman who
is a caterer in Baltimore, where we are from. We talked about
modeling--our national convention of the National Federation of
the Blind will be participating in a fashion show with Macy's in
New Orleans. We'll be using all blind models.
     Ms. Raphal: What have you got there, Charles?
     Charles: I have a book called Walking Alone and Marching
Together. It's about the fifty-year progress of the National
Federation of the Blind.
     Mrs. Cheadle: And we would like to make a presentation. We
have it on tape here, and we would like to give this to Dana.
     Mr. Elcar: Thank you. 
     Mrs. Cheadle: And one in print for Sally. [Applause] 
     Ms. Raphal: Charles, do you know how much this weighs? I'm
going to have to take it to aerobics class. We'll take a break.
[applause and music]
     Announcer: National Federation of the Blind, call (301) 659-
9314. 
                      ____________________
     And what has happened to Dana Elcar since his talk show
appearance on April 18? Pete, his character on the MacGyver
program, has been rolled off to last-ditch surgery in an effort
to save his remaining sight for a while longer. Pete's efforts to
submit his job resignation have been thwarted by his friend
MacGyver, and Pete has done some pretty realistic wrestling with
the implications of blindness, coming in the end to the
conclusion that life does not stop because of blindness and it is
appropriate to let friends help one in time of trouble. 
     Mr. Elcar has visited the National Center for the Blind and
has spent several hours talking with President Maurer. Mr. Maurer
invited the actor to barbecue steaks with him in the courtyard of
the National Center for the Blind. At first, Mr. Elkar demurred,
saying that he didn't think he could do such a thing. But
President Maurer can be both gently compelling and very
reassuring when the occasion arises. So it wasn't long before Mr.
Elcar had discovered that protective gloves would enable him to
grill steaks safely and comfortably like any other back-yard
chef. More to the point, he has now seen blind people going about
their daily business and working efficiently in the sighted
world. We must help Dana Elcar to gain both the encouragement and
the assurance that will enable him to make a full and healthy
adjustment to his blindness. The truth is that, for better or
worse, his notoriety as a popular and widely-recognized actor
will insure that many members of the general public will come to
believe whatever he does about blindness and the capacities of
blind people.











                 ******************************

     If you or a friend would like to remember the National
Federation of the Blind in your will, you can do so by employing
the following language:
     "I give, devise, and bequeath unto National Federation of
the Blind, 1800 Johnson Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21230, a
District of Columbia nonprofit corporation, the sum of $_____ (or
"_____ percent of my net estate" or "The following stocks and
bonds: _____") to be used for its worthy purposes on behalf of
blind persons."

                 ******************************



[PHOTO/CAPTION: Portrait of Ted Young.]

               DO YOU WANNA GO TO THE STORE, TED?
                          by Ted Young

     From the Associate Editor: Only rarely in life is one's fate
determined by a single irreversible act. Most of the time we look
back and notice that a series of small acts and decisions have
shaped our outlook on life and our skills for meeting its
challenges. This is a comforting thought since it means that
evolving patterns of dependency or timidity can be reversed if
one has a little perseverance and grit. Parents, of course, play
a key role in shaping their children's attitudes toward
themselves and the world around them; and it is worth a little
parental reflection to consider in what ways they may
unintentionally be clipping their children's wings, particularly
those of their blind children. 
     Ted Young is the president of the NFB of Pennsylvania. In
the Spring, 1991, edition of The Blind Activist, the publication
of the National Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania, he wrote
about such a small but important episode in his own life. All
parents of blind children should take heart from the courage
shown by Ted's mother. Here is the story:

     The other day I had occasion to wonder why it is that some
blind persons are more willing to be independent than others.
Yes, I know that this is true of sighted people as well, but that
truism was not the point of my contemplation. Anyway, the 
question carried me back in thought to my first real assertion of
independence. I don't know its relevance for anyone else, but
perhaps it would prove helpful to a parent confronted with a
similar situation.
     My parents were not particularly over protective. My father
figured out that I could tell if a fish was biting by holding the
line and taught me how to fish. My mother talks about how hard it
was to follow the advice of the first expert in blindness she
ever talked to by letting me wander about the house, bumping into
things on my own. But, hard or not, she sat back and let me do
it. The problem was that my parents were no more prepared than
others to deal with a blind child, and there wasn't a lot of
professional help or advice available in central Pennsylvania. As
a result, although they knew what I could do when I was being
watched or was on familiar territory, they had their fears about
letting me be outside the house by myself.
     How well I remember that familiar, friendly house of my
childhood. Despite the leaking roof and the landlord's
complaining because the rent was overdue, despite the many times
my mother had little to put on the table for a meal, it was
security and home. My world was my often-grouchy father, my
always-caring and loving mother, and my three sometimes-okay
sisters. I vividly remember being pulled from that security at
the age of four to be dropped into the unfamiliar environs of the
Overbrook School for the Blind, where I would spend nine months a
year until high school graduation.
     As time went by I learned to wander, play, and enjoy things
independently  on the grounds of Overbrook. Here there was no
question. I was out on the sidewalks and grounds playing,
running, or walking independently with my friends. I was, in
short, experiencing my own capacities.
     Now we come to that sultry summer day the recollection of
which started these ruminations. I can't remember whether I was
seven or eight, but I know that I had been to Charlie's, the
nearby grocery store, many times with my sisters. What a great
place it was--filled with the pleasant smells of meats,
vegetables, coffee and run by a friendly owner who gave candy to
the kids. To get there one needed only to walk down the front
steps of my house, make a left turn, walk a half block to the
corner, turn left again, and walk another half block. That's
right: no alleys or streets to cross, no big deal, unless you
happen to be the caring mother who doesn't know what best to do
for her blind child.
     I'm not sure when it occurred to me that, although my
sisters were sent to the store all the time, my mother never
asked me to go. I do know that on the day in question none of my
sisters could be found, and my mother was complaining that she
would have to drop what she was doing and go to the store
herself. I told her not to worry; I would go for her. That offer
was immediately and firmly declined. Although I cannot remember
the argument that followed, I do remember telling my mother that
I could do it, and I remember her stating that I wasn't going to
try. I ended the argument by telling her that I was going to the
store, and she could find me there. She replied that I'd better
not. I guess she didn't believe me because she eventually went
upstairs, at which point I sneaked out the door and was on my
own. Down the street and around the corner to Charlie's I went
feeling guilty but good. The problem was that once I got to
Charlie's, I had no money to spend, and I needed to wait there
since I wanted my mother to come and see that I could make it on
my own. I did the only thing I could think of at the time which
was to sit on the front step of the store and play with a leaf.
     I won't go into the beating I got for disobedience or the
day or two that followed in which I practiced nonverbal
resistance. I was furious to realize that my demonstrated
abilities were being ignored and discounted and was determined
not to give in. The only protest I could think to make was
silence. Although I never discussed it with her, I believe that
my mother was torn between the need to punish disobedience and
her recognition of my need to be treated like any other child.
That was the situation two days later when my mother helped with
a major step in my development by phrasing the simple question,
"Do you wanna go to the store, Ted?"




     THE NFB OF PENNSYLVANIA FIGHTS TO SAVE A STATE EMPLOYEE
                          by Ted Young

     From the Associate Editor: Ted Young is the energetic
president of the National Federation of the Blind of
Pennsylvania. In the Spring, 1991, edition of the organization's
newsletter, The Blind Activist, he reported on the most recent
battle the Pennsylvania affiliate has been engaged in on behalf
of Kathleen Spear. (See the May, 1991, issue of the Braille
Monitor for the account of the tussle with American Airlines on
behalf of Mrs. Spear.) Here is the story of what happened last
February:

     If one believes that blind persons deserve equal rights,
shouldn't one also believe that, in a layoff, blind persons ought
to take their lumps along with everybody else? That is the
question that passed through my mind when the phone rang in
February, 1991, and Kathleen Spear reported that she was
scheduled to be laid off together with other state employees at
the end of the month. Kathleen is deaf-blind and works in the
Central Office of Pennsylvania Blindness and Visual Services
(BVS), where she coordinates deaf-blind programs throughout the
Commonwealth. The program of BVS for this population, which needs
services a lot more than some other clients, leaves much to be
desired. Although there is a deaf-blind coordinator in each
district office, the person holding this position is appointed
and carries out numerous other duties that prevent him or her
from spending much time on this fairly recently added assignment.
     Once again it was necessary to explore what one means when
one talks about equality. Certainly the Department of Public
Welfare and its stepchild, the BVS, have not hired many blind
persons in the past few years. Indeed, it refuses to consider
blind or disabled persons in its affirmative action plans, which
every office manager is required to draft. Given this
discrimination and inequality in the hiring and promotion of
blind persons, to include a blind person in layoffs would be to
compound the problem, and NFB of Pennsylvania was not going to
sit idly by and see this occur. Further, our inquiry revealed
that not only was the intention to lay off Kathleen, but the
position was slated for elimination, leaving virtually no program
for the deaf-blind in the state. It is to be noted that the
position in question was originally created through a contract
with the Helen Keller National Center and that the Commonwealth
had no problem taking federal money at that time. Sure, they had
fulfilled the requirements of the contract to continue the
service for three years, but now in a crunch the employee and her
constituents were to be neglected.
     As president of the Pennsylvania affiliate, I called the
Deputy Secretary for Social Programs, who simply stated that she
needed to make tough decisions and that this was just another one
that needed to be made. I advised her that we were not willing to
let this happen without a fight, and fight we did.
     We went to State Representative Ivan Itkin, who understood
the problem and started the political pressure that brought
success in this case. In a lengthy letter to Norm Witman, the
director of Blindness and Visual Services, he captured our
concern for this employee and the entire deaf-blind community.
     We are pleased to report that the order to lay off Kathleen
Spear has been reversed and that she is still employed by BVS.



                      CD-ROMS AND THE BLIND
                     by Norman Coombs, Ph.D.

     From the Editor: Norman Coombs is a professor at the
Rochester Institute of Technology. When he sent the following
article for publication, he said:

Dear Mr. Jernigan:
     As a regular reader of the Braille Monitor, I am pleased to
see your interest in the use of computers by blind professionals.
I must admit that using a computer has changed my life and
drastically increased my professional output. One of the aspects
of the information age which is presently capturing my personal
interest is the CD-ROM and the growing amount of information on
it. 
     I have written up a short article, sharing some of my own
experiences and hopes with respect to increasing data being
available to blind computer users from this source. If the
article seems relevant, please feel free to use it in one of your
upcoming issues.

     Here is Dr. Coombs's article:

     What is a CD-ROM, and what does it mean for blind students
and professionals? In the computer world, jargon seems to be
increasing almost daily. One of the hottest terms these days is
CD-ROM. It is a device for storing information. The CD-ROM looks
almost exactly like the compact disc you buy to play music these
days. Like the music discs, the CD-ROM has digitized information
stored on it. Whether music or pictures or text, information is
turned into patterns of numbers and stored optically on the disc.
Unlike normal computer discs, your computer cannot write to this
disc, but it can read from it. What the term CD-ROM stands for is
compact disc, read only memory. So your computer can read from it
but not write to it.
     Many publishers and other producers of information are now
putting materials on CD-ROMs and selling them. One CD-ROM could
contain several reference works. Yes, if a blind computer user
has a CD-ROM player, he or she can begin to accumulate a
reference shelf. Instead of this shelf taking ten or twenty times
the space of a print collection, it is unimaginably compressed.
So, while a blind user will not need a warehouse to store his own
reference collection, he may still need a lot of money to
purchase it. But most seeing professionals don't accumulate a
large reference collection. They consult such works at their
neighboring library. Libraries are now starting to switch from
print reference books to having them available from a computer
and CD-ROM player. A few libraries that are forward-looking may
equip their computers with adaptive devices for handicapped
users. If this occurs, it will happen slowly and probably only in
places with generous library budgets and with a significant
handicapped population. So, it would seem that this will be no
more accessible than the print reference material.
     Is it reasonable to think of taking your own speech
synthesizer with you to the library? Perhaps. I have done this
myself on three or four occasions and expect to do it even more
in the future. This requires first that you have a friendly and
understanding librarian who knows and trusts you and will work
with you. Second, it requires that your synthesizer be an
external one. I have yet to see the librarian who will let you
take the computer apart and insert your own card. You will need
to load your speech software and connect your synthesizer. Take a
headset so you don't disturb the other patrons. You should also
take a spare floppy disk, because you will be able to copy the
information you need from the CD-ROM to your disk for later use.
     Can you do this with any speech software and any external
synthesizer? Both your computer and the library computer will
need to be compatible. In most cases we are talking about IBM and
IBM compatibles. If you have software like the IBM Screen reader
(which requires connecting a special keypad), that may be
possible but is also more complicated. The more you want to mess
with the library computer, the less the librarian will be happy!
So, software that uses the normal keyboard is better. The first
time I did this I took a DEC-Talk synthesizer. It is as big as
many computers. Not only is it cumbersome to transport, but it
requires table space once you reach the library. Smaller, more
portable, synthesizers are much less trouble. I am now using the
Verbette Mark II, which is four inches long, two inches wide, and
one inch thick and weighs only eight pounds. The Verbette can
operate from either an AC adapter or a 9-volt battery. It was
created by Clayton Hutchinson of Computer Conversations, Inc.,
located at 6297 Worthington Road, S.W., Alexandria, Ohio 43001.
It is easily plugged into a computer's parallel port. The ability
to take the synthesizer to another computer and readily access it
is extremely convenient. I waited a couple years once I heard it
was being designed, and I am glad that I did not get something
lacking this versatility instead.
     As for buying a CD-ROM player, I am also slow to make a
move. Frankly, I am going to wait for the world of CD-ROM
technology to stabilize before I invest in one for myself.
Meantime, I plan to carry my handy synthesizer to the library
more frequently. I also find it easy to take on vacation and
borrow friends' computers instead of having to bring my own.
Simple, portable adaptive devices can make libraries and many
other facilities more useful and accessible.



[PHOTO/CAPTION: Portrait of Ramona Walhof.]

            SHOULD THE IDAHO COMMISSION FOR THE BLIND
                         CHANGE ITS NAME
                        by Ramona Walhof

     (The following article appeared in the Summer, 1991, issue
of Gem State Milestones, the publication of the National
Federation of the Blind of Idaho. Its author, Ramona Walhof, is
not only president of the NFB of Idaho and a member of the
National Board but also one of our most productive members. Here
is what she has to say.)

     Several months ago Commission director Ed McHugh came to the
Western Chapter of the NFBI and said there had been discussion
among optometrists, ophthalmologists, and Commission staff
regarding a change of name for the agency. He said that some
doctors and staff members were concerned that elderly individuals
losing vision may not be getting help for which they are eligible
because they do not regard themselves as blind. Therefore, they
do not believe they can or should receive help from the
Commission for the Blind. The name change being considered was
the Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired.
     Our local NFB chapter discussed this matter for some time,
and no one present came out strongly in favor of the name change.
Some were very much opposed to it, while others were only a
little opposed.
     Because of this discussion and subsequent talk at the
Commission, the matter was brought to the NFBI state convention
for consideration, and the following resolution was adopted:

                        Resolution 91-01

     Whereas, there has been discussion by staff members at the
Commission for the Blind and others about changing the name of
the agency; and
     Whereas, using the word "blind" when appropriate is part of
the process of improving the status of blind people in society
and the attitudes toward blind people--a primary goal of both the
National Federation of the Blind of Idaho and the Idaho
Commission for the Blind;
     Now, Therefore, Be It Resolved that the National Federation
of the Blind of Idaho in convention assembled April 14, 1991,
calls upon the board and staff of the Commission for the Blind to
cease all debate on plans to change the name of the agency in any
way.
                      ____________________
     Still, the question remains as to why some people at the
commission think changing its name might be important and why
blind people should care.
     All of this caused me to do some thinking. I have talked
with hundreds, if not thousands, of blind persons of all ages in
Idaho. Never once has a single one indicated unwillingness to
take services from the Commission for the Blind, the library for
the blind, the school for the blind, the National Federation of
the Blind, or Resources for the Blind because of the name.
Certainly a large number of people who are losing eyesight wish
they were not. They do not know whether or not they are blind,
and they do not want to admit that they are blind. Many of them
believe that being blind would mean giving up independence and
relying on others for help more than they want to. All of this is
expected, understandable, and reasonable. 
     Some doctors are not sure when to refer a patient to the
Commission for the Blind. Doctors perform essential services,
testing and treating eyes. They understand eye conditions, and
patients appreciate the care they receive. Doctors are not less
competent or good because they are not experts on the techniques
and tools used by the blind or the capabilities of the blind. A
family doctor refers patients to specialists of many kinds. When
an optometrist or ophthalmologist is treating an individual with
substantial visual loss, it is reasonable for the doctor to refer
that individual to a program or organization that understands a
lifestyle that does not require vision for reading, driving,
writing, and similar activities. Of course, the doctor must
continue to treat the eyes. That is essential. It is not the same
as changing techniques. Nobody is going to be unhappy with the
doctor for making such a referral. It is the right thing to do.
     Both doctors and patients need to understand that it is
respectable to be blind. Society in general regards us as blind
if we do not read print comfortably and do not drive because of
lack of eyesight. Some weep about it; some run away from it; some
pretend it isn't so; and occasionally some try to laugh about it.
When we are honest, we know that there is a stigma attached to
blindness whether we call ourselves blind, sight impaired, low
vision, visually impaired, severely visually impaired, hard of
seeing, visually challenged, or something else. 
     The Commission for the Blind has valuable services for
people with ten percent or less of normal sight or a prognosis
leading to that much deterioration within the next two years.
There is a vast difference between 20-20 and legal blindness.
Nevertheless, many legally blind persons have sight that is
useful and effective for some purposes.
     The status of blind persons in society has changed
substantially over the past fifty years, but we still have a long
way to go. Whether we like it or not, using terminology that
cushions the word "blind" reinforces attitudes that limit
opportunities for the blind. This is true even if some blind
people say that is what they want. And this is why many blind
people prefer the word "blind" over other terminology while many
others do not like it at all.
     When we reach the day that there is no longer any
misunderstanding about blindness or blind people, then nobody
will care what terminology is used. If we encourage newly blinded
individuals and the public at large to be uncomfortable using the
word "blind," they will inevitably be uncomfortable with blind
people. Adjusting to blindness is not fun, but it is easier and
quicker if we face it. A good public information program will do
far more to help people take advantage of services from the Idaho
Commission for the Blind than changing the name of the agency.
     Some will remember that in 1983 Lieutenant Governor David
Leroy and the director of the Commission for the Blind (I was
that director) made a public service announcement which attracted
a great many referrals. Public service announcements are only one
part of getting the word around. The Commission's new annual
report is well done and should be distributed widely. Talk shows,
public speaking, and good relations with other agencies are other
public education approaches. Explanation of blindness--what it is
and what it isn't--is essential.
     The National Federation of the Blind of Idaho contacts
hundreds of blind people for the first time each year. We provide
to all of them information about services to the blind in this
state. We refer some of them to the commission. What I am really
saying here is that finding blind people is easy. It just takes a
concerted, organized effort. Once you find the people, getting
them to take advantage of services which they need and for which
they qualify is also easy. All it takes is explanation and
encouragement.
     Most ophthalmologists and optometrists in this state would
be willing (perhaps even eager) to distribute brochures from the
Commission for the Blind. This is something the Commission should
pursue vigorously. And, of course, the National Federation of the
Blind of Idaho must not forget to heed its own advice. We will
redouble our effort to distribute literature and spread the word.
The only thing about our job that is difficult is that it
requires a lot of day-to-day hard work.


           MEET A FELLOW FEDERATIONIST: FRANCES ALLEN
                      By Deborah Kent Stein

     From the Associate Editor: The Braille Examiner, the
publication of the National Federation of the Blind of Illinois,
carries a periodic feature called "Meet a Fellow Federationist,"
contributed by the respected writer and novelist, Deborah Kent
Stein. These profiles of Illinois affiliate members crackle with
the vitality and vigor that only a skilled writer can capture on
paper. The February/March, 1990, Edition of the Braille Examiner
included a sketch of Frances Allen, a member of the Chicago
chapter whom Steve Benson, President of the NFB of Illinois,
describes as a "rock-solid Federationist who is only kept from
more active participation in chapter activities by ill health."
Reading this portrait in words reminds one again of what makes
this organization great. Across this nation are blind people: men
and women, African-American, Asian-American, Hispanic, Native
American, white, and every other conceivable ethnicity or race
who live out our philosophy of hope and determination each day of
their lives. People like Frances Allen are the bedrock of the
Federation. Meet her now: 

     For Federationists, 1990 marks not only the start of a new
decade, but the fiftieth anniversary of the organized blind
movement in the United States. Reflecting back on her long life,
Frances Allen (a charter member of the Chicago Chapter of the NFB
of Illinois) shares a treasure-house of memories, which reveal
how far blind people have come since the early part of this
century.
     Frances Allen was born in Missouri, where her father worked
as a logger. When she was a year old, the family moved to
Cleveland, Ohio. At two-and-a-half, Frances lost her sight after
a bout of measles. When she was in second grade, her family moved
once more, this time to Chicago, where she enrolled in a public-
school class for blind students. At first the pupils learned only
Grade One Braille. Later on, Grade One and a Half Braille was
adopted in the United States, and Frances began to learn
contractions. "There were six or seven versions around of how
blind people should read," she explains. "There were New York
Point, Moon Type, Boston Line Type, and several more methods
before I started school. Then in about 1924 they had a worldwide
conference, and Braille was selected as the universal system."
     Frances learned to write first with a board slate and stylus
and later with a Hall Braille writer. The class had only one
Braille writer, so the children had to take turns. "You rolled in
the paper, but sometimes it went crooked, and there was nothing
you could do about it," she says. "The keys would stick, and
there was this loud bell at the end of the line." For arithmetic
they used the cubarithm, a large, heavy board with square holes
in which cubes with Braille numbers could be inserted.
     At John Marshall High School, where she was one of the few
black students, Frances was enrolled in a resource room, taking
most of her classes with the sighted students. After graduation
she took business courses at Wendell Phillips High and in 1940
entered a business college program. When she tried to find a job,
however, she met a numbing series of rejections. Few blind people
were employed in the early 1940s, and rehabilitation agencies
worked almost exclusively with men, most of them blinded
veterans. Eventually Frances went to work at an agency called
Blind Industries on Roosevelt Road. Blind Industries received War
Department contracts, and she made sheets for the armed services,
being paid $3 per dozen.
     In 1946 Frances applied for a job in the workshop at the
Chicago Lighthouse. During her interview the director told her,
"We find that people with as much education as you have don't
make good workers." To insure that she would be hired, she tore
up her original application and rewrote it, leaving out the fact
that she had gone to business college.
     "At the Lighthouse they did teach me how to use my hands,"
Frances comments wryly. "They didn't teach me to use my mind, but
they did teach me to use my hands." Workers were actually
discouraged from pursuing any further education, and when Frances
began to study proofreading at night, she kept it a secret. When
in 1954 she announced that she was leaving to take a proofreading
job, the director was not only astonished but furious.
     From 1954 until 1969 Frances proofread Braille textbooks at
the Guild for the Blind (at that time the Catholic Guild). She
also did some proofreading for the Library of Congress. In 1969
she determined to become a medical transcriber and returned to
the Lighthouse to take the transcribing course they had begun to
offer. After completing the program, she obtained a job at South
Chicago Hospital in southeast Chicago near the Indiana line. Poor
health forced her into early retirement in 1976.
     In 1950 a friend took Frances to hear a speech by Dr.
Jacobus tenBroek. Hearing him made her question many of the
things she had been told about blindness all her life. Over the
following years she became a dedicated fighter for better
conditions for all blind people. Frances regrets that too few
black people have become involved with the NFB of Illinois. "I
know there are a lot of blacks who respect and admire the
Federation," she contends, "but I'd like to see them become more
active."
     Frances's activism extends to issues which affect older
Americans. She belongs to the Gray Panthers and is a member of
the board of directors of the Illinois Council of Senior
Citizens. She is also involved in the Illinois Public Action
Committee.
     Every year at the senior citizens' apartment building where
she lives, Frances Allen gives a talk to the residents about
coping with blindness. "A lot of them are afraid of me," she
says, "because they're so scared of losing their eyesight. I try
to explain to them how it really is." In these talks, as in so
many of her other activities, she draws on her own long
experience as she fights to bring about change.



                            SUPREMACY
                         by Lois Wencil

     From the Associate Editor: Both dog guide and cane users
would probably agree that life is more lively and complex with a
dog. Canes don't look intelligent, cute, or patient. No one is
tempted to pat them or talk to them inappropriately, and while
one's children may occasionally experiment with the cane, a toy
lawn mower or baton can usually be substituted with great
success. In short, there isn't much competition for the
affections of or the control over a white cane.  Moreover, 
despite the attractions of devotion and sentient companionship,
dog guide users must go outdoors in unpleasant weather and work
constantly to maintain in the dog's mind and that of every human
being in contact with the team that the blind person is in
command and controls every situation. Sometimes this is easier to
accomplish than others. Clearly, however, committed dog guide
users find these annoyances a small price to pay for the
satisfaction of working with a responsive animal. 
     In the December, 1990, edition of "Harness-Up," the
publication of the National Association of Dog Guide Users, Lois
Wencil of Millburn, New Jersey, wrote an amusing piece about this
ongoing struggle. Everyone who has ever battled a toddler for
supremacy in any arena will sympathize with Mrs. Wencil, who has
written many other articles, two books, and a computer tutorial.
She has been a rehab teacher, holds an M.A. in special education,
and is the parent of two children. Here is the article: 

     From the time our son arrived home from the hospital,
friends would ask me if I wasn't afraid that my dog guide was
jealous or might hurt the baby. As he grew, it was, however,
Steve who terrorized her and stretched her endless patience. When
he crawled, who better to chase? How still she remained as he
pulled himself up by her fur. She seemed to know that if she
moved he would fall. Fawn did learn to jump that spring; on
several occasions she gracefully cleared the gate that confined
Steve to our first floor. His attempts to cut his teeth on her
resulted only in mouthfuls of hair. Although we tried our best to
rescue her and barricade her from him, she felt compelled to be
near me; I needed to be close to him. She, therefore, learned to
tolerate this invader into what had once been her domain.
First a front pack, then a backpack, and finally a stroller
pulled behind kept him safe and her out of his reach when we were
outdoors. Sitting prettily at my side, she watched carefully all
who stopped to admire our carry-about. My pats and praise were
what she wanted.
     As he became too heavy and prideful to be conveyed, she
slowed her pace to accommodate his stride. Pausing at the down
curb, I would scoop him up and carry him across the street. Our
purchases were carried in a camping backpack now; my purse was
left at home; I wore only clothes with plenty of pocket space for
tissues, lollipops, and money.
     All went smoothly until we began discussing crossing
streets; red light means..., green light means...,etc. We learned
to be quiet at corners so Mommy could hear the traffic; he
learned stop, look, and listen before you cross the street. He
took great pride and joy in knowing when we could safely cross.
Then Steve began to command in his deepest, strongest voice,
"Forward, Fawn!"
     What a quandary; learn but don't practice! If she should
respond, should I correct her? Yes! We discussed and rediscussed
this point of order, but he was so very proud of his new
knowledge. "I'll tell the dog, Mom! My job." In this case,
however, there could be no opportunity to let him try. 
     So we struggled on. He now was growing heavier; at four he
would not be treated like a baby. A second traveler would be on
board in about five more months. The pregnancy made carrying him
both imprudent and dangerous.
     In total frustration he began to demand, "Leave dog home;
I'll wear the harness!" This was out of the question. "Don't use
a cane like Daddy; I'll take you. I'm your big helper." I quickly
put a stop to his even trying on the harness because Fawn did
resent it. The result was a tug of war between them. The struggle
for supremacy raged on!
     On a windy spring day we all began a trip for a light load
of groceries. "Go, Mommy! We can cross." 
     With trees swishing, it was difficult for me to hear.
"Please be quiet so we can listen."
     "No! Go! Forward, bad girl."
     Dropping my harness, I patted my friend. "Good girl!" Then
turning to him, "Do not tell the dog what to do. I give the
command and she moves when it is safe."
     This was too much for the budding child-traffic guard to
bear. Enraged, he sank to the sidewalk and began to screech.
Enough was enough for poor Fawn too. She lowered herself to the
pavement and, uncharacteristically, began to whine. What a sight
to behold! First I got one up into position and then turned to
the other. In the meantime, the first had gone down once again. A
car stopped so its owner could offer assistance. However, when I
offered both my charges to him as a gift, he beat a hasty
retreat. Spanking time had arrived. We drank water instead of
juice that afternoon. A week of playing only in the yard
convinced Steve that Mommy alone gave the dog commands. For some
time after that episode, he remained at home with Dad or a
neighbor while the dog and I went shopping.
     Supremacy had been determined. When my daughter eventually
took her place as a toddler walking beside me, she also learned
to cross streets with less talk and more action. Yet today we all
still travel safely.



          HOME DAY CARE: ACHIEVING THE COMPETITIVE EDGE
                       by Carla McQuillan 

     From the Associate Editor: Carla McQuillan is an active
member of the National Federation of the Blind of Oregon. She
first learned about the Federation while she and her family were
living in Illinois. Last September she returned to Illinois to
attend the state convention, where she delivered a version of the
following article as a speech. Catherine Randall, Editor of the
Braille Examiner, the publication of the NFB of Illinois, asked
Mrs. McQuillan to submit her remarks for publication, including
those she had been forced to omit from her speech because of time
constraints. The article first appeared in the September/
November, 1990, edition of the Braille Examiner. Here it is:

     I am a Montessori teacher by profession, having received my
training and certification in California some ten years ago. Over
the course of the years, I have held positions ranging from
teacher's assistant to assistant administrator. When my husband
chose to attend the University of Illinois for his doctoral
program, I knew that I had to acquire a teaching position in the
area or welcome the prospect of starvation (anyone who has ever
tried to raise a family on a graduate student's salary knows that
feeling). Since there was only one Montessori school in the
Champaign area, I did not have a large field to choose from.  To
insure my employment at that school, I prepared a portfolio of my
work, the likes of which the board of directors had never seen. I
included photographs, written explanations of my original
materials and projects, an audio cassette of one of my group
lessons and storytelling sessions, and an actual sample of one of
my materials. Maria Montessori emphasized that, in order to be
effective as an educator, one must involve as many of the
student's senses as possible. I toyed with the prospect of
including a scratch and sniff sticker of one of my cooking
projects but decided that four out of five senses would have to
do. In essence, I gave the board members no choice in the matter;
they had to hire me, and they did.
     My family needed medical benefits, and the school didn't
offer them, so I helped draft a proposal for the board, which
didn't sit well with the administrator. She thought I was a
troublemaker, which I was, but we got our benefits the following
year. There were a few other things on which she and I didn't
agree. For example, I went straight to the board on contract
issues because I didn't think the details of my teaching contract
were her business, since she was not my employer. I was granted
several requests by the board of directors, and as a result my
working relationship with the administrator became more advisory
with each victory. But I think it was her comment on one
particular day that made me realize I could no longer work under
these conditions. She saw me in the hall as I was making my way
towards the bathroom and exclaimed, as if in terror, "What are
you doing out?" Once I had recovered from my initial surprise at
having been asked such a custodial question, I quietly explained
my quest. I finished out the school year and did not renew my
contract.
     What does all of this have to do with blindness? It actually
has very little to do with it because at that time in my life I
was not blind. I was visually impaired, and I was trying my
darnedest to hide the fact that I had any vision problem at all.
     Following the demise of my teaching career, I decided to go
back to school. In 1988 I applied for and received an NFB of
Illinois scholarship, and as Steve Benson so accurately phrased
it, I am not the same person who came to this organization two
years ago. I completed a bachelor's degree program in liberal
arts with an emphasis in teaching through the use of
storytelling. With no suitable Montessori schools in the area, I
decided to start a child care program at home, and I grossed
around $20,000 my first year.
     I had been running a very successful program for two years,
when we moved to the State of Oregon. Our family is all out west,
and we thought it would be a good place for me to start a school
of my own. In the meantime I would begin at home as I had done in
Illinois and plan to locate and open a facility in the fall of
1991.
     Let me provide you with a job description for a woman in the
Eugene/Springfield, Oregon,  area who runs a home day care
business. Please forgive my use of sexist language during this
section. I am not generally one to do that, but I don't believe
that there is a man alive who would work under such conditions.
     Starting salary for this position is nothing. After money is
spent for advertising, the going rate is about $5 an hour. That
includes the following amenities: no paid vacation days, sick
days, holidays, or personal days; no medical benefits; work of at
least fifty hours a week with no overtime; and, when one child is
sick, income reduction even though you are working the same
number of hours. Now, being the enterprising individual that I
am, I said, "That sounds like the job for me!"
     I attended a meeting for day care providers in the area. It
was there that I learned why they were so badly underpaid. The
way I saw it, these women fit into one of three categories: 1)
the grandma type whose children are all grown, but she just
enjoys having kids around; 2) the woman who is either under-
educated, under-estimated, or unmotivated to get a job outside of
the home; and finally, my personal favorite, 3) the woman who
figures that her own kids are going to be underfoot anyway, so
she might as well get paid to step on other people's kids as
well.
     At this point in the meeting--as I tried desperately to find
some advantageous angle to this sad story--I realized that
perhaps babysitters, meaning teenagers, must be charging even
less than these providers were asking. Surely an adult caregiver,
providing a consistent, comfortable, safe and (presumably)
educational environment day in and day out, should expect to be
paid at a higher rate than a teenager who plops down in front of
the TV, holding a telephone receiver in one hand and madly
stuffing expensive snacks down his or her throat with the other.
But I was wrong. The teenagers in this area will not work for
less than $2 per hour.
     I had gone to college for five years, graduated with high
distinction, completed my Montessori teaching certification, and
spent eight years in the classroom so that I could start my own
business working at poverty level? Not on your life! I knew that
I had to take charge and capture the competitive edge.
     Allow me at this time to introduce you to yet a fourth
category of day care provider, the professional. This is the
individual (note the lack of gender reference) who takes his or
her job seriously. When my first child arrives in the morning, I
look like a professional. My hair is done, my makeup is on, and
if I wear pants, my husband asks if I am dressing down for the
day. I have a separate classroom set up for the children with
shelves around the perimeter upon which are neatly displayed all
of the materials and activities for the children's use. The only
TV screen in the room is attached to a computer. I have written a
summary of my policies and procedures, my rates, my philosophy on
discipline, and a brief background statement summarizing my
experience and qualifications as a teacher. The time that I am
paid to be with the children is spent with them. I do not clean
house or do laundry or, as one of the providers put it at the
meeting I attended, "vacuum over a child who does not move out of
my way." Of course, I have structured my rate scale to reflect
this attitude; I am receiving 75 to 100 percent more per hour
than most of the other providers in town, and people are happy to
pay it.
     I once counseled a blind woman who was young and bright and
very bitter. She said that she was tired of having to prove
herself to her employers. She didn't want to give all of her
energy to show that her blindness didn't affect her work. I was
puzzled. I can't imagine giving less than all of my energy.
Teaching is my profession. I derive a great deal of pride from
the work that I do. Parents usually have concerns about employing
a blind day care provider, but when they walk into a room that is
neatly prepared and organized for the children, they are not
going to question how I am able to do it. They are more likely to
ask, "Why isn't everyone else meeting your standards?"
     There is a tremendous shortage of home day care
professionals in virtually every city nationwide. More and more,
parents are demanding quality care for their children, rather
than the type of care displayed by women in category three. And
if the professional caregiver is smart, taking charge of the
competitive edge, the income potential is respectable, and there
are some excellent tax advantages. What's more, if enough blind
people can change the public's perceptions of the job, then
perhaps the salaries will change as well. Wouldn't it be glorious
if blind people all over the U.S. took charge of the competitive
edge--beginning to change what it means to be a home day care
provider?



                WHAT A DIFFERENCE A MEETING MAKES
                         by Marc Maurer

     Federationists come together in local, state, and national
meetings to share our dreams, discuss the problems and
frustrations we face, pledge our support for one another,
establish goals for the months and years ahead, and plan
strategies for accomplishing our objectives. Sometimes the
battles we face are long--very long. Sometimes we encounter a
dusty old argument that we have met so often that it has the
attractiveness of a bowl of slimy, lumpy, unsalted oatmeal,
prepared two weeks before and served at every meal since. It
wasn't particularly exciting the first time around, and it has
been losing attraction with each reappearance. Are the blind so
incompetent as to be barred from jury duty?  Is air safety
jeopardized by having a blind passenger seated in an exit row? 
Should state agencies for the blind hold a monopoly over all
service delivery programs for blind people? These queries are not
new, and the answers to them are painfully obvious. Of course
blind people should be expected to serve as jurors. There is no
particular risk in having a blind person seated in an exit row.
And state rehabilitation programs for the blind must not be
permitted to dictate their clients' futures by restricting
service. Nevertheless, the questions are continually repeated,
and the organized blind must be prepared to meet the challenge
generated by such ignorance.
     March 8 to 10, 1991, in Tulsa the National Federation of the
Blind of Oklahoma met in convention assembled. There were
undoubtedly those who questioned the value of such a meeting.
After all, the logic goes, "What could be accomplished in one
more meeting?" The agency for the blind in Oklahoma is frequently
regarded as among the least receptive to the views of the blind.
What good could possibly come from one more meeting, one more
exchange of views, one more confrontation?  I am sure that some
Federation members were tempted to stay home. However,
Federationists know that even though our battles are sometimes
long and often arduous, we always win because we never quit. A
report of the 1991 convention of the National Federation of the
Blind of Oklahoma appeared in the March 10, 1991, edition of the 
Tulsa World. It is enthusiastic, upbeat, and positive. Federation
philosophy radiates from the lines of print. It is not only a
report, but also a solid piece of public education. And it is one
thing more--a record of the victory of the National Federation of
the Blind of Oklahoma in bringing the state agency director to
recognize that blind clients should have free choice in selecting
rehabilitation programs. Here is the way staff writer Melanie
Busch told it in the Tulsa World:

           Blind Seek Changes In Attitudes, Education

     Changes will have to be made before people can erase the
image of a blind person being someone on a corner with a tin cup,
the affiliate president of the National Federation of the Blind
said Saturday.
     The president, Eva Chaney, spoke at the organization's state
convention in Tulsa. About 50 people attended the convention,
which ends Sunday.
     The biggest problem for the blind today is the attitude of
the public, employers, and agencies, said Charlotte Bellmyer,
outgoing state president.
     "We can hold any job, participate in the community, and have
a family just like anyone else can,"  Bellmyer said. "I'm not
saying every blind person could be a doctor, but not all sighted
people can be doctors either."
     Many blind people are microbiologists, lawyers, and
psychologists; and the opportunities are limitless, she said. 
     "Many people still have the image of a blind person standing
on a corner with a tin can," Chaney said. "That was 50 years ago.
We don't need that anymore. I'm proud to be blind. I have what
they call blind pride."
     But before those opportunities are realized, changes need to
occur in the education of blind children, Chaney said. 
     Braille, now only taught to students who are totally blind,
needs to be taught to those who are legally blind, she said. 
     "We want to mainstream our children so they can grow up with
all the facets of life and all the fun," Chaney said. "If you
leave Braille out of a child's life, then you're leaving the
pages of that child's life blank."
     Chaney said blind children should be taught in regular
schools instead of being sent to schools for the blind. 
     The Federation is also striving to get the Oklahoma
Department of Human Services to allow people freedom of choice in
what training center to attend. The blind rely on the centers to
teach such skills as using a cane, reading Braille, and getting
along in society. The average training takes six to nine months.
     Only two centers are funded by the Department of Human
Services, and they often are inadequate, Chaney said. 
     "I don't want to be taught how to live independently behind
closed doors," Bellmyer said. "Why should we not have as much
choice of what type of training center to go to and where?"
     Norman Dalke, director of visual services at DHS, pledged
his support of the freedom of choice proposal.
     The proposal must be approved by the Legislature before it
can take effect.
     "It's not going to start tomorrow, but if we don't start
working on it today, then it will never start," Chaney said.
     The National Federation of the Blind has about 50,000
members nationwide and about 100 statewide.
     The Tulsa chapter meets at 11 a.m. on the second Saturday of
every month at Po Folks Restaurant, 5111 S. Peoria Avenue.



[PHOTO/CAPTION: Greg Hanson demonstrates his martial arts prowess
while his wife Susan and Wayne Cooley, also of Iowa, hold the
board.]

                    INFLATE YOUR FUND-RAISING

     From the Editor: Greg Hanson is one of the leaders of the
National Federation of the Blind of Iowa. He and his wife Sue
operate a company called G & S Enterprises, which specializes in
unique talking balloons that can be used for fund raising by
state affiliates and local chapters. Since all state affiliates
and local chapters are constantly in need of new fund-raising
ideas, the following material should be of interest, plus the
fact that the NFB receives a donation from Greg and Sue Hanson
for every item sold. Here is some of the material they sent to
President Maurer:

                                                  Iowa City, Iowa
                                                     June 1, 1991

Dear Mr. Maurer:
     Please accept the enclosed check in the amount of $62.50 as
a contribution for the General Fund of the National Federation of
the Blind.
     G & S Enterprises (owned by Greg and Sue Hanson) will donate
twenty five cents for each complete balloon with a talking ribbon
purchased from us. The Iowa state affiliate purchased 250
complete balloons to be used as a fund raiser.
     The enclosed letter that was sent to Bob Ray in Iowa will
explain the details. Greg and I will work with any state
affiliate or local chapter to assist them with fund raising. As
soon as we receive a paid order, the National Federation of the
Blind in Baltimore will receive a check from us.
     If there are any questions, please feel free to call us at
(319) 354-6314.

                                          Yours in Federationism,
                                              Greg and Sue Hanson

                      ____________________

                                                  Iowa City, Iowa
                                                    July 27, 1990

Mr. Bob Ray
National Federation of the Blind of Iowa
Des Moines, Iowa

Dear Bob:
     Thank you for your interest in "Balloons That Talk." Here is
the information that you requested:
     All balloons are 18-inch mylar and come in various colors,
styles, and shapes, complete with balloon cups and sticks. The
talking ribbons have a variety of sayings, including:

Personal
Hello Sweetheart
I Love You
Please Kiss Me
You're The Greatest
You Turn Me On
We Love You
Let's Get Together
Howdy Partner
Wish You Were Here
Have A Good Day
I Miss You
I Only Have Eyes For You
I'm Sorry
Aloha

Religious
God Loves You
Jesus Loves You
Come To Sunday School

All-Occasion
Happy Birthday
Happy Birthday Baby
Congratulations
Get Well Soon
Happy Anniversary

Risque
Your Place Or Mine
Kiss Me You Fool
Let's Make Love
I'm A Jackass
Laughing
I Got The Fever
You Turn Me On

Spanish
I Love You
Happy Birthday
Merry Christmas

Holidays
Happy Mother's Day
Be My Valentine
Merry Christmas
Ho-Ho-Ho
Happy New Year
Happy Easter
Kiss Me I'm Irish
I Love America
Trick Or Treat

Business
Thank You
Thanks For Your Business
We Service What We Sell
It's Guaranteed
We Try Harder
Business Is Good
Vote Republican
Vote Democratic

     Customized sayings with up to eight syllables can be made
with a minimum order of 1,000 talking ribbons with that saying.
Custom balloons can also be made with a minimum order of 1,000.

         Special Prices for NFB Affiliates and Chapters

     Complete balloon and talking ribbon with cup and stick:
$2.75 each. For each complete balloon ordered from G & S
Enterprises, a donation of $.25 will be sent to the General Fund
of the National Federation of the Blind in Baltimore, Maryland.
Extra talking ribbons can be ordered separately for $1.50 each
with a minimum of 100. Our special Mylar balloons can be ordered
separately for $1.25 each with a minimum of 100. G & S
Enterprises will pay shipping and freight for all orders sent to
NFB affiliates and chapters. There is a minimum order of 100.

                      Ordering Information

     Order sheets will be sent to you by writing to: G & S
Enterprises, Post Office Box 624, Iowa City, Iowa 52240. Allow
three weeks for delivery. Customized balloons and ribbons need
ninety days advanced notice. All shipments shipped UPS prepaid.

     Thank you for your interest in our "Balloons That Talk." We
are looking forward to serving you.

                                                       Sincerely,
                                              Greg and Sue Hanson

        Some Designs of 18-Inch Mylar Balloons Available

"Hugs  Are..." (with Care Bears design)
Unicorn on a blue background
"Get Well" (with bears on yellow background)
"Cheer Up" (with bears)
"I Love You" (silver with red heart and white lettering--heart
     shaped)
"I Love You" (red with white words--heart shaped)
"Happy Birthday" (fat letters and small balloons design)
"Happy Birthday" (triangle letters, white, yellow, blue)
"Happy Anniversary" (silver and gold with champagne glass)
"Happy Anniversary" (white with red hearts)
"Congratulations" (balloons and streamers)
All-Occasion balloons are also available (call for more
     information)




                            RECIPES 

     From the Associate Editor: My mother was trained as a home
economist, and she has always enjoyed cooking and has been very
good at it. She has also always been a wise and loving parent,
who was not about to let her blind daughter worm out of doing her
fair share of chores. These ran the gamut of household tasks, but
helping in the kitchen was a frequent part of my duties. It never
occurred to either of us that blind children might be barred from
such activities. I was twelve before anyone ever showed me a cake
mix; all the cakes in our house, including mine, were made from
scratch. In apple pie baking, my job was peeling and slicing the
fruit. Early in my life I read a story that described the
superstition that, if a young girl removed the peel from an apple
in one continuous strip and threw the peel over her shoulder, it
would form the initial of the man she was going to marry. Much to
my disgust, my mother made me go outside to throw my apple peels.
     Looking back I realize how much parents and blind children
miss when they assume that such shared endeavor is beyond their
grasp. Happily there are lots of blind children today, whose
parents are members of the NFB Parents of Blind Children
Division, who know the satisfaction I felt in working beside a
parent in the kitchen and preparing food for an appreciative
family. Here are several favorite recipes from the households of
some of the younger cooks in our Federation family: 


                         1, 2, 3 COOKIES
                          by Jeff Balek

     Jeff Balek is the son of Tom and Linda Balek and lives in
Berryton, Kansas. Tom is the Secretary of the Parents of Blind
Children Division of the National Federation of the Blind. Jeff
is entering the fourth grade and is becoming a very good cook. 

Ingredients:
1 package (6 oz.) butterscotch chips
2 tablespoons peanut butter
3 cups corn flakes

     Method: Melt chips and peanut butter over low heat while
stirring. When smooth, remove from heat and add the corn flakes.
Mix. Drop cookies by teaspoonfuls onto a cookie sheet that is
covered with waxed paper. Chill cookies until firm. Then put
cookies in canister or covered dish and keep them in the
refrigerator to snack on. Makes two dozen small cookies.

                       COCONUT CRUNCH BARS
                     by Sunny Shain Emerson

     Sunny Emerson is an active member of the Parents of Blind
Children Division. She lives in Michigan with her husband Charles
and their son Adam.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup soft butter
1-1/2 cups brown sugar, firmly packed
1 1/4 cups sifted flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
1/2 cup chopped nuts
3-1/2 ounces flaked coconut

     Method: Cream butter and 1/2 cup of the brown sugar. Mix in
1 cup of the flour. Pat into greased 13 by 9 by 2 inch pan. Bake
12 minutes at 375 degrees. Mix remaining 1 cup brown sugar, 1/4
cup flour, and other ingredients. Spread mixture on top of crust.
Bake 18 to 20 minutes. Cut in bars while still warm.

                    BAKED SANDWICH CASSEROLE
                      by Dianne M. Millner

     This recipe was submitted by Dianne Millner of Oakland,
California. Diane's children, Ashley (3 1/2 years old, blind due
to retinopathy of prematurity) and Tori (2 years old) love to
help prepare this recipe. Mom  lets them stir the liquid
ingredients and arrange them in the baking dish. They love this
recipe for either dinner or lunch. 

Ingredients:
1/3 cup each mayonnaise and chopped celery
3 cups chopped cooked ham, turkey, or chicken
1 can (2 1/4 oz.) sliced ripe olives, drained
1/4 pound mushrooms, sliced
12 slices firm white bread
1 10 1/2-ounce can condensed cream of chicken soup
2 eggs
1 cup milk

     Method: In a large bowl combine mayonnaise, celery, chopped
meat, olives, and mushrooms; stir gently to mix. Arrange 6 slices
of bread in the bottom of a lightly greased 9 by 13-inch baking
dish. Spread each slice evenly with the meat mixture, then top
with remaining bread slices; press down slightly.
     In a small bowl beat the soup, eggs, and milk together until
smooth. Pour evenly over sandwiches; cover and chill at least 2
hours or overnight. Bake uncovered in a 350 degree oven for about
55 minutes or until tops are golden brown. Let stand 10 minutes
before serving. Makes 6 sandwiches. 

                    TORTELLINI IN WHITE SAUCE
                       by Carol Castellano

     Carol Castellano and her husband Bill Cucco are active with
both Parents of Blind Children and the National Federation of the
Blind of New Jersey. Carol reports that their children Serena and
John rank tortellini as a food favorite. For a description of
Serena and John's cooking prowess, see "Cooking Madness" in the
Fall, 1989, issue of Future Reflections, the quarterly magazine
of the Parents Division. 
 
Ingredients:
1 pound tortellini
3 cloves sliced garlic (more or less to taste) 
1/3 to 1/2 cup olive oil
2 pats butter
1 pound ricotta cheese (more or less to taste)
dried basil

     Method: Cook tortellini according to package instructions.
While tortellini is cooking, saute garlic in oil and butter in
small saucepan over medium heat until golden. Remove garlic, if
desired. Turn off heat. Stir in ricotta and let melt. Sprinkle
liberally with basil. Reheat sauce, if necessary. After
tortellini is cooked and drained, pour on sauce, and serve.
Serves 3 large or 4 moderate appetites.



                   * * MONITOR MINIATURES * *

**Great Diversity:
     From the Editor: As you might imagine, we receive a great
variety of requests for this or that to be included in the
Monitor Miniatures column. One of the more interesting items came
from Lawrence Curtin of Biscayne, Florida. Please understand that
in printing this announcement we make no claim concerning its
merits or lack thereof. We simply give it to you as we got it.
Caveat emptor. Here is what Mr. Curtin says:

     I have established a phone line to give people information
on ways to enter top national contests that are being sponsored
by major corporations. An individual simply fills out his or her
name and address on a standardized piece of paper (or post card)
and mails it off in a business envelope. This enters the person
in the contest. What I am providing to the visually impaired is a
way of getting entry instructions on the top contests in the
country for a nominal cost. Here is my proposed announcement:
     WINNING NUMBER 1-900-737-5825. Win Cash, Cars, Boats,
Houses, Fantastic dream vacations. Call Lawrence Curtin's Great
American Contest Line right now, and get updated information on
ways to enter various contests. Great Contests, Inc. Prizes and
cash amounts vary with the different contests. 95 cents per
minute.

**Orthodox Christian Lectures on Tape:
     We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
Encouragement and instruction in the (Eastern) Orthodox Christian
faith. Lectures and homilies by Father Thomas Hopko and others.
Payment is on a donation basis. Address: Dana Walter's Orthodox
Christian Study Tapes, Post Office Box 25112, Overland Park,
Kansas 66225-0112.

**Award:
     Christine Hall is a past president and long-time leader of
the National Federation of the Blind of Hawaii. She was recently
honored by the Lions Club of Honolulu as the 1991 Blind Person of
the Year.

**In Memoriam Rita Chernow:
     From the Editor: I recently received a call from Ellen
diNardo (formerly Ellen Robertson), one of the long-time leaders
of the National Federation of the Blind of New York, telling me
of the death of Rita Chernow on May 8, 1991. Through the years
Rita had been a close friend, so I felt a sense of real personal
loss in her passing.
     I first met Rita almost twenty years ago. We worked closely
together in planning the NFB convention in New York in 1973, and
later on other projects as well. In the seventies Rita was
chapter president in New York City, and she was also state
president for a brief time.
     Rita was a combination of warmth, generosity, and spice and
pepper. If she liked it, she told you so--but if she didn't like
it, she told you that, too. She was a complex person, but one who
was simple and straightforward in her principles. Many will miss
her. I will be one of them. She made contributions to our
movement, and I personally have had a fuller life because of
knowing her.

**Save-A-Tree Update:
     Connie Hindman of VOICES for Blind, Inc. in Bethel, Maine,
has asked us to print the following urgent announcement: 
     Stop is the magic word! New recycling laws and conservation
strategies to help save our planet are definitely changing our
habits--yours and ours at VOICES for Blind in Bethel, Maine.
Because of new municipal land use zoning ordinances, enforcement,
and possible $2,500 fines per day per violation, VOICES has had
to make hard decisions about our Save-A-Tree recycling project.
It will be ongoing, but relocated and revised. Therefore, until
further notice, please cease and desist sending us your surplus
educational materials as follows.
     We can no longer accept Braille books and magazines, large
print books and magazines, plastic discs, and large tactile
learning tools, like framed maps. We will continue to accept all
electronics, cassette and open reel tapes, Braille writing
equipment, Braille watches and clocks, white canes, used eye-
glasses and magnifiers.
     The ecological and educational significance of Save-a-Tree
is impressive; however, it is more labor-intensive and expensive
to operate than expected. SAT will be ongoing and even bigger
than before. We are trying to establish a new site near a paper
manufacturer and labor force to process significant quantities of
your surplus Braille education materials in a timely manner.
Start-up costs of our expanded program are computed at 1.5
million dollars. Our tentative plans will provide new training
and employment opportunities in the waste management industry for
unemployed, low-income people. We will also resume sending Gifts
of Knowledge to Third World Countries.
     When all is online, we will again be soliciting your surplus
Braille and large print materials for project development. In the
meantime, we urgently request you to hold your materials for us.
Please review this urgent announcement carefully and think about
developing other habits to recycle, re-use, and reduce.
     We welcome your comments addressed to Connie Hindman,
Director of VOICES for Blind, Inc., P.O. Box 837, Bethel, Maine
04217, USA.

[PHOTO/CAPTION: Dr. Jernigan and President Maurer congratulate
scholarship winner Jeanine Lineback at the Federation's 1990
annual banquet.

**Students Organize:
     We recently received the following letter:

     During the NFB of Texas convention on March 15-17, 1991, the
Texas Association of Blind Students (TABS) was formed and
officially chartered as a chapter of the NFB of Texas on
Saturday, March 16. At convention's end we had thirteen new
members. Officers were elected on the evening of March 15 as
follows: President, Jeanine Lineback; Vice President, Sam
Jackson; Secretary, Buddy Brannan; and Treasurer, Mary Ward. TABS
will begin having local meetings in Denton, Austin, and Lubbock.
We also have some projects in the works for later in the year. We
feel that TABS will grow far past its thirteen members, and it
will become an integral part of the NFB, the state affiliate, and
the National Association of Blind Students.

                                                 Sincerely yours,
                              Clyde A. (Buddy) Brannan, Secretary
                              Texas Association of Blind Students

**Cards Available:
     We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
     Braille embossed cards available for all occasions--
Birthday, Graduation, Best Wishes, Thank You, Well Wishes, and
Friendship. Each full color five- by seven-inch card is Braille
embossed on the front as well as inside with a greeting or
scripture verse. Truly lovely for visually impaired, blind, and
sighted persons. Cost: $1.50 per card. Catalogue available.
Please write or call: Prophecy Designs, Inc., Post Office Box 84,
Round Pond, Maine 04564; (207) 529-5318.

[PHOTO/CAPTION: Baltimore Mayor Kurt Schmoke marches with
President Maurer in the Preakness Parade.]

**Getting the Jump on the Preakness Celebration: 
     The Baltimore chapter of the National Federation of the
Blind of Maryland participates each May in the festivities
surrounding the Preakness, the second jewel in American horse
racing's triple crown. For two years chapter members have marched
in the Preakness parade, and this year a delegation of about
fifty, including the Mayor of Baltimore and several City
Councilmen marched under the National Federation of the Blind
banner. Beginning last year the chapter entered a frog named Mr.
Braille in the Preakness frog-jumping competition. This year the
chapter decided to get as much publicity for the NFB and blind
people as possible out of Maryland's annual Preakness madness.
Here is the press release that was circulated before Preakness
Week began:
            Mr. Braille Hopes for Preakness Comeback   
                  Public Invited to Frog Frolic

     Preakness Week--hope springs eternal.  The Greater Baltimore
Chapter of the National Federation of the Blind of Maryland (NFB)
will be entering their favorite frog in the Annual Preakness Frog
Hop. A tongue-in-cheek reception for the green athlete, Mr.
Braille, will be held at 1 p.m., on Tuesday, May 14 at their
national headquarters. Frog fans of all ages are invited to
attend the first annual Frog Frolic. Come on down to The National
Center for the Blind, a 10-minute walk from the Inner Harbor. 
The Center faces Riverside Park, two blocks east of Light Street,
at 1800 Johnson Street in South Baltimore. 
     The NFB named their frog, Mr. Braille, after the reading and
writing system used by blind persons. (Braille literacy is a
major goal of this self-help group.) The two-year-old pedigreed
frog made a so-so showing last year, coming in fifth his first
time out of the gate. But his trainers, Miss Doris Johnson, board
member of the Greater Baltimore Chapter of the National
Federation of the Blind, and Mrs. Lily Walden, long-time member,
say Mr. Braille is gearing up for his best season ever. According 
to Miss Johnson, "Mr. Braille and I train by the book. I drop it,
he jumps. He'll leave those other less literary frogs green with
envy."  
     Mrs. Walden added, "After all, he has nowhere to go but up."
     Mr. Braille, athlete and literary mascot of the chapter,
will be on hand to welcome his guests. Whether new to Braille or
old hands, visitors will have a chance to receive free Braille
name tags, observe Braille demonstrations, and enter Braille
reading and writing contests. Come play poker with Braille cards,
Scrabble with a Braille-marked set, or some other of Mr.
Braille's favorite games. A frog hopping contest will be held for
the younger set, and green punch and refreshments will be served. 
     The National Federation of the Blind is a peer-support
network of blind persons and sighted friends working together to
improve opportunities for the blind. Call the NFB at 301-659-9314
if you would like to receive their free packet on blindness.
     On Tuesday, May 14, 135 first-graders from Baltimore
elementary schools descended on the National Center for
refreshments, an introduction to Braille, and some first-hand
experience learning what blind people can do. Mr Braille and his
jumping understudy, Mr. Braille, Jr., were present in buckets but
a little shy of all the publicity.  
     In addition, the chapter presented Braille Readers Are
Leaders awards to seven contest participants. Chapter officers
also presented the newly-established award for the city's Bus
Driver of the Year. All in all, the day was busy and
constructive, and everyone had fun.  

**Missed and Remembered:
     From President Maurer: Helen Dennemann became a part of the
National Federation of the Blind in 1947. I met her first in the
early 1970s. Helen was treasurer of our Indiana affiliate. Helen
remains today one of the stalwarts of the movement. Recently
Helen Dennemann called me to say that Russell Getz died. Russell
was one of the people who brought the Indiana affiliate into the
Federation. He served as president for several years, and he held
a number of positions of leadership in the state organization.
Once (perhaps twenty years ago) Russell told me about the time of
the civil war in the Federation. There were those in Indiana who
wanted our affiliate to leave the Federation and join the ACB.
Russell Getz, John Jansen, Helen Dennemann, and a few others kept
the Federation spirit alive. In 1970, when I moved to Indiana to
go to school at the University of Notre Dame, I found that I
needed the Federation very badly. I was glad that Russell and the
others had helped to make of the Federation a place where I could
find assistance and support. I was sorry to hear of the death of
Russell Getz. From the beginning of the Federation in Indiana to
January 2, 1991, he remained a supporting part of the Federation.

[PHOTO/CAPTION: Rita Lynch presents Missouri State Senator Harold
Caskey with a plaque while Myrtle Autenrieth, Brian Wekamp, Betty
Walker, and Kevin Roberts (left to right), members of the
Jefferson City Chapter, look on.]

**Senator Honored:
     Rita Lynch, president of the Jefferson City Chapter of the
National Federation of the Blind of Missouri, writes to tell us
of an award given to Missouri State Senator Howard Caskey at the
recent convention of the NFB of Missouri. In accepting the award,
Senator Caskey said: "Although I try to help all people of the
state, it is gratifying to receive recognition from a group as
worthwhile as the National Federation of the Blind of Missouri."
Senator Casky was honored for successfully sponsoring a Braille
bill in the Missouri legislature. He has been a long-time friend
of the blind and works closely with the Federation.

**Wanted, Braille Teachers: 
     An interesting notice appeared in the May issue of Horizons
Magazine. It is encouraging to discover the American Foundation
for the Blind investing its time and resources in such a positive
effort. Here is the notice: 
     If you have skills, resources, and successful techniques to
share for teaching and/or learning to read and write various
Braille codes, the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) would
like to hear from you for a national mentor project aimed at
enhancing the literacy of persons who are blind by providing new
opportunities for learning and teaching Braille.
     If you are a teacher currently working or retired with
expertise in teaching blind persons to read and write using one
or several Braille codes, and/or if you are an expert Braille
reader and writer with expertise and experience to share, write
or call the AFB Western Regional Center at 111 Pine Street, Suite
725, San Francisco, California 94111, (415) 392-4845.

[PHOTO: Michael Gosse standing in National Center for the Blind
conference room. CAPTION: Michael Gosse.]

**Congratulations:
     Michael Gosse is the president of the National Federation of
the Blind of Connecticut and a 1985 winner in the National
Federation of the Blind scholarship program. He is currently
writing his doctoral dissertation in electrical engineering. This
spring at Lehigh University, where he teaches in conjunction with
his graduate fellowship, the students voted to present Michael
with the Arthur E. Humphrey Award for the teaching assistant of
the year. He has received a $500 prize, and his name will be
added to a plaque on display at Lehigh. 
     In September of 1990 the Institute of Electrical and
Electronic Engineers Journal on Microwave Transactions and
Techniques, the most prestigious international periodical in the
field, published a paper titled "Monolithic Integrated Blanking
Up-Converter," co-authored by Michael and a colleague. The two
were not originally given credit for writing it; so, using his
Federation tenacity, Michael went to work to establish the true
authorship. In December, 1990, the publication printed an
acknowledgement of authorship, and the editor characterized the
episode as "an example of bald plagiarism." Congratulations to
Michael Gosse, even if most of us wouldn't understand what he is
talking about.

**Computers for Sale:
     We have been asked to print the following: PC Place, home of
high-quality, low-cost computers, wants to help you get into the
modern world of computer technology. Our staff of experts is up-
to-date with the most recent breakthroughs in the computer world.
More important, we are experts on adaptive equipment for the
blind and visually impaired. PC Place has everything you need to
get an entire computer system up and running with the ease of
dialing a telephone. We sell an entire line of synthesizers,
screen-access software, Braille and print printers, the
Arkenstone Reading System, Braille 'n Speak, and other adaptive
equipment. Ask for our products catalog. Why buy your system one
piece at a time from different sources and try to integrate the
system yourself? Let our team of experts do all the work for you.
PC Place specializes in making computer systems user-friendly and
easy to work with, as well as providing optimal efficiency
between applications software and your chosen screen review and
synthesizer package.
     Do you enjoy games? Be sure to ask for one of our public
domain games catalogs. We also sell a Yahtzee game especially
designed to work well with speech and sound effects for easier,
more enjoyable play. Games to be on the market soon are
Trivioker, a combination trivia and poker game, and Quoteit, a
wheel-of-fortune and hangman-type game.
Contact PC  Place, 4536 Edison Avenue, Sacramento, California
95821; (916) 481-1777; fax number, (916) 482-2250.

**RFB Breaks Records:
     The Winter, 1991, edition of RFB News, the newsletter of
Recordings for the Blind, included a brief article which
demonstrates the importance of sending semester book requests to
the staff as early as possible. Anyone who will need recorded
books early next fall should notify RFB immediately. The staff at
RFB does a remarkable job, but they can't work miracles. Here are
the statistics they reported last year: 
     RFB experienced a period of record-breaking growth during 
the first six months of fiscal year 1991, which began in July 
1990, compared to the first six months of the previous fiscal 
year: Book circulation was up 17 percent, with 87,527 books
mailed compared to 75,042 for the same period a year ago; new
registrations were 35 percent greater, 6,919 up from 5,109;
recording studio production was up 6.5 percent, 33,934 recorded
hours compared to 31,752; and forty-six percent more telephone 
calls for book orders were answered--38,630 calls, up from
26,471.
     "While the numbers are impressive, they are meaningful only 
in that they reflect better service to individual people," said
Ritchie L. Geisel, RFB's president. "What motivates all of us at
headquarters and in the recording units is our borrowers, the
people who depend upon our recorded books and library services."
     According to John Kelly, RFB's director of Library and
Borrower Services, during RFB's peak month, September, 94 
percent more calls were answered than in the previous year; 65
percent more orders were taken over the telephone; and 47 percent
more applications were entered. "We were able to meet the
extraordinary demands because we increased our toll-free lines
from three to six," said Kelly. "And we pooled staff from other
departments in addition to the Borrower Services representatives,
to assist in answering the phones." In the month of September a
record 21,015 books were mailed to RFB  borrowers, and on one day
in September a new record was reached for orders processed in one
day, 1,288. John Churchill, RFB's Director of Operations, said
that the increase in book circulation was made possible by RFB
staffers' working overtime to duplicate and ship recorded books.
"We've been working near peak efficiency, and everyone has been
pulling together," said Churchill. "It's been a team effort."

**A What For the Blind?:
     Seville Allen, Editor of The NFB Vigilant, the publication
of the National Federation of the Blind of Virginia, came upon
the following piece of information and tucked it into the June,
1991, edition: 
     Just when we think we have heard of the most ridiculous
special product for the blind, someone's imagination goes wild
and comes up with a new gimmick. In case you didn't already know
it, if you are blind, you may need a special birthday cake. Yes,
somewhere in California there is a company that will make a
birthday cake especially to suit the needs of the blind. Here are
its special features: the cake is covered with marzipan. (The
batter itself, I presume, is ordinary.) The marzipan is then
covered with thick chocolate and cooled so that the chocolate is
very hard. All this is done so that the blind person can feel the
decorations on his or her cake.
     I read about this special birthday cake for the blind in a
column in a disability-issue newspaper. Someone wrote into the
paper explaining that she wanted to have a surprise birthday
party for her blind friend and needed to know if there was a
bakery from which she could order a cake designed specifically
for blind people. The resourceful columnist came up with this
answer. I do not know whether it was intended to be a serious
answer or not. However, I do wonder the following: Do blind
people handle birthday cakes so roughly that the cake needs armor
for protection? Suppose the blind person is allergic to
chocolate? What are the blind person and his or her guests to do
if they hate marzipan? Is the cake's frosting-armor hard enough
to withstand the ministrations of the U.S. Postal Service all the
way from the West Coast to Arlington, Virginia, with its
decorations intact? And what about the candles? Have the cake
designer/engineers, or perhaps chemists, come up with a candle
flame cool enough to touch? 

**Serving the World:
     Cheryl Cameron of Illinois, who was a 1989 National
Federation of the Blind scholarship winner, has recently been
accepted by the Peace Corps to work for two years in the
Dominican Republic. Good luck to Cheryl, and congratulations to
the Peace Corps for its good sense.

**Mail Order Business:
     Deborah Strother from Ruston, Louisiana, has asked us to
print the following:
     At the beginning of 1991 I started a Christian mail order
business from my home. I will be offering a wide selection of
merchandise for both adults and children. If you would like to be
put on the mailing list, just drop me a line, and I will be happy
to add your name and will appreciate your business. Send your
name and address to Lifelight, P.O. Box 1685, Ruston, LA 71273-
1685. If you would prefer to call or have a question, you may
call (813) 255-6918.

[PHOTO/CAPTION: Prairie State Chapter officers (left to right):
Ruth Anne Schaefer, Earl Salems, Allen Schaefer, Jay O'Brien,
Evelyn Scanavino, Elaine  Salems, and John Salvatore.}

**Elected:
     Allen Schaefer, president of the Prairie State Chapter of
the National Federation of the Blind of Illinois, reports that on
April 20, 1991, the following members were elected to lead the
chapter: Allen Schaefer, President; John Salvatore, Vice
President; Evelyn Scanavino, Secretary; Ruth Anne Schaefer,
Treasurer; and Jay O'Brien and Earl and Elaine Salems, board
members.

**Home-Baked Dreams:
     Janiece Betker is a blind Federationist from Minnesota who
has written several excellent books of particular help to blind
people. She has now completed another one. This is what she has
to say about it:
     More and more blind people throughout the country, tired of
the endless job search, the interviews that go nowhere, and the
underemployment or unemployment that has plagued them, are
turning to the idea of starting up businesses of their own.
Thirty-three of these talented and enterprising individuals have
consented to be interviewed for this book in the hope that they
will encourage others to take the plunge. Their business ventures
are as diverse as they themselves are--ranging from window-
cleaning to day care providing, book-writing to horse-training.
Their experiences vary considerably, yet each individual has
important suggestions for those who would follow into this
uncertain world of entrepreneurship. Most suggest resources--
books, magazines, workshops, and sources of capital. All but one
have agreed to be contacted by anyone who has questions. Names
and addresses, along with phone numbers for most, have been
included at the end of each interview.
     You'll discover interesting facts about these interviewees. 
Twenty-six of the thirty-three read Braille and use it in their
businesses. Most are not doing what they were specially trained
to do, but what they are talented at. Several people said that
they were content to receive little or no profit for a time if
that was what it took to get the business running. An amazing
number of these businesses were totally capitalized by their
owners, not by agencies for the blind or other organizations.
     I found compiling and writing this book fascinating. Each
interview I conducted gave me new information. If you too would
like to meet some of these talented folks, send today for your
copy of Home-Baked Dreams.
     The cassette edition consists of two four-track cassettes,
housed in an attractive album for bookshelf storage. The print is
standard type, in paperback form. The cost for each is $22,
postpaid. Please remember to specify whether you wish cassette or
print. Foreign orders, please add $5 if you prefer shipment by
air. Payment must be in U.S. currency only.
     Agency purchase orders accepted, net thirty days. Price
reduction for multiple orders. Call for quote.
     Please send orders and make checks payable to Janiece
Betker, 1886 29th Ave., N.W., New Brighton, Minnesota 55112;
Phone (612) 631-2909. Please leave a message on the answering
machine if I am not available to take your call.

[PHOTO/CAPTION: Portrait of Ed Bryant.]

**Receiving the Golden Rule:
     Patricia Morrow, editor of the Blind Missourian, the
newsletter of the NFB of Missouri, informs us that Ed Bryant
(editor of the Voice of the Diabetic, the quarterly publication
of the Diabetics Division of the National Federation of the
Blind) was chosen as Missouri's volunteer of the year. At a
luncheon on May 1, he was presented with the J.C. Penney Golden
Rule Award, which includes a trophy, a plaque, a commendatory
letter from President George Bush, and a $1,000 gift for the
National Federation of the Blind. Tom Stevens, one of Ed's
colleagues in the Columbia Chapter of the NFB and chairman of the
Associates Committee, worked hard to prepare Ed's nomination.
Congratulations to Ed and many thanks for all his contributions. 

**Braille Bill Becomes Law in Kansas:
     Tom Balek, Secretary of the  Parents of Blind Children
Division and an active member of the NFB of Kansas in  Topeka,
reports the good news that follows. It is taken from a longer
press release that explained to the uninformed the gravity of the
Braille literacy crisis and the significance of this legislation.
Here is what he says: 
     On April 12, 1991, Kansas governor Joan Finney signed into
law House Bill 2208, a Braille literacy bill. This bill,
sponsored by Representative Dick Edlund, will require school
districts to make instruction in Braille available to any
visually impaired student who desires it.
     The bill had passed both the House and the Senate
unanimously. In addition to Representative Edlund, who is blind
and former president of the Kansas affiliate of the National
Federation of the Blind, a number of proponents testified before
the education subcommittees of both bodies. They included Larry
Waymire, vice president of the Capitol Chapter of the NFB in
Topeka; Susie Stanzel, president of the NFB of Kansas; Ralph
Bartlett, superintendent of the state School for the Visually
Impaired; and our son Jeff Balek, a blind third-grade student
from Berryton Elementary School.

**Keeping Cassette Playback Machines Healthy:
     From the Associate Editor: Some people seem to know
instinctively about the proper care and feeding of rechargeable
batteries of the sort that power the National Library Service's
cassette playback machines; others, like me, demand and expect
faithful service from these beasts without any understanding of
what makes them happy. Here are several reminders that took some
time to gather and that, if you don't already know, may assist
you to treat your machine with more respect: It is not necessary
to plug your cassette playback machine into a wall outlet until
it is completely drained of power. The volume will drop
noticeably when the battery is exhausted. Then you should connect
the power cord to your house current for twelve to sixteen hours
in order to charge the battery fully. You can play the machine
during the recharging time--it really can do two things at once.
You will not do your player harm by leaving it plugged in for a
few hours more than the necessary recharging time, but you should
not leave it charging for days. Remember that it is not good for
the battery to be used for several hours and then plugged in
again for recharging before actually necessary. Batteries are
smart little critters, and they remember the point at which they
have been recharged before. If you make a practice of recharging
early, the battery will become incapable of using all of its
power, and you will have shortened its life. Who would wish to be
guilty of such a crime?

**New Job:
     Steve Benson, member of the Board of Directors of the
National Federation of the Blind and President of the NFB of
Illinois, reports that as of June 3, 1991, he assumed his new
duties as Staff Assistant for Public Information at the Chicago
Public Library. His responsibilities include writing, staff
training, and special projects for the Library Commissioner. In
October the Chicago Public Library will move to its brand new
facility, where Steve expects some of the most innovative public
library programming in the country will take place. 

**In Memoriam:
     Karl Smith, President of the National Federation of the
Blind of Utah, informs us of the death on April 29, 1991, of
Richard Cooley of Newton, Utah. Richard died after being
bedridden for some length of time due to diabetic complications.
Richard at one time was president of our Logan, Utah, chapter and
served for a time on the board of our Utah affiliate.

**Eye Care Project:
     We have been asked to print the following reminder: A
national toll-free helpline provides information about medical
eye care to elderly Americans. More than 164,000 needy elderly
people have been referred to volunteer ophthalmologists in their
communities since the inception of the National Eye Care Project
five years ago. Nationwide, more than a quarter-million people
have called the Helpline for assistance. The toll-free Helpline
of the National Eye Care Project (1-800-222-3938) is an
information and referral service, providing brochures on many
common eye diseases of the elderly and, for eligible callers, a
referral service to a local volunteer ophthalmologist.
(Ophthalmologists are the physicians who specialize in all types
of eye care: medical, surgical, and optical.)
     For this program the physician has agreed to provide a
comprehensive medical eye examination and care for any condition
diagnosed, at no out-of-pocket expense to the patient.
     To qualify for a referral, the patient must be a U.S.
citizen or legal resident, sixty-five or older, who does not have
access to an ophthalmologist he or she has seen in the past. This
is not an eyeglasses program, and prescription drugs and hospital
care are not covered.
     
**Elected:
     We recently received the following communication: At its
meeting of Saturday, April 13, 1991, the NFB of Illinois, Chicago
Chapter, elected the following Federationists to its board of
directors for the next one-year term: President, Steve Hastalis;
First Vice President, Rita Szantay; Second Vice President, Peter
Grunwald; Secretary, Laurie Porter; Treasurer, Bob Simonson; and
Board Members: Tony Burda, Brian Johnson, Deborah Stein, and Ken
Staley.

**Computer Folks:
     Richard and Donna Ring, Federationists from New Jersey, have
asked us to carry the following announcement:
     "We are about to launch a new computer magazine. We call it
Computer Folks. We do not wish to compete with capable
organizations which advertise their own computer products, nor
are we another professional voice. We want to try a new approach.
This is your magazine. We have nothing to sell but your ideas.
     "We plan to offer from six to twelve issues per year on a
sixty-minute cassette. We may expand to ninety-minute cassettes
as your letters, articles, and demonstration tapes come pouring
in.
     "We welcome taped articles and Braille letters with any
information or helpful hints for the blind computer user. Tell us
your best, your worst, or your funniest experiences with a
company or product. Feel free to demonstrate computer, speech
synthesizer, screen reader, applications software, bulletin
board, shareware, or game. Of course, we shall also feature
articles and comments of our own, which we hope will provide help
and maybe even a laugh.
     "The price for one year's subscription is $20. Please send
$2 or a blank sixty-minute cassette for a sample copy. We prefer
Braille or taped correspondence since we are blind computer
people just like you. However, we will accept typed letters or
ASCII text files on an MS-DOS compatible diskette. Mail checks or
money orders to: Richard and Donna Ring, 269 Terhune Avenue,
Passaic, New Jersey 07055-3326; phone: (201) 471-4211.

**Domesticating Lions:
     In every state Lions Clubs and other civic organizations are
always looking for worthwhile projects to support. Often they
come to Federation chapters looking for ideas, eager to help.
Here is one that is all too often overlooked: a cane bank of
children-size canes that can be borrowed and returned in exchange
for a larger one when the child has outgrown the first. Parents
are grateful, and civic organizations are usually delighted to
help. All we need to do is to coordinate the project and order
and mail the canes. The National Federation of the Blind of Iowa
has conducted a cane bank in partnership with Lions Clubs for
years. Here is a thank-you letter written by NFB of Iowa
President Peggy Pinder to long-time Federationist and active Lion
Elwyn Hemken. It tells the whole story. All of us should be
making use of this resource as Iowa is. Here is the letter: 

Dear Lion Elwyn:
     I am writing to thank you and the members of your Lions Club
for so generously supporting the White Cane Bank of the National
Federation of the Blind of Iowa. With your help we are able to
provide white canes to Iowa's school-age children.
     We all know that, as a child grows, he or she grows out of
clothing, shoes, coats, and athletic apparel. But this growing
also takes a blind child beyond his or her first white cane,
since canes must be proportional to the height of the user in
order to gather information safely and efficiently. Recognizing
that the relentless growth of their children might lead parents
to try to skimp on buying new canes when needed, we established
our White Cane Bank, which you and your club have so willingly
supported. Through our joint efforts, blind kids in Iowa can have
canes of the proper length (and can always have new canes when
old ones break under normal use).
     I'll just tell one quick story to show how helpful the White
Cane Bank can be. We offered a cane from the bank to a little
three-year-old girl just starting to learn to use the cane to
move about. Her dad watched carefully at the same time, learning
the techniques so he could help his daughter learn. But he turned
down the cane from the bank. He wanted to buy the first one
himself, he said, so he could keep Rebecca's first cane just as
he was planning to keep her first shoes. After that, he would be
grateful for the help of the cane bank.
     This story demonstrates how important the white cane is to a
blind person. With the generosity of your Lions Club, we are able
to continue our service of exchanging canes for kids as they
grow, insuring that they have the information (through use of a
properly long cane) to move about safely like their sighted
peers. On behalf of all the blind kids of Iowa, thank you.

                                                       Sincerely,
                                                     Peggy Pinder

**Job Vacancy:
     We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
     PROFESSIONAL POSITION VACANCY--Executive Director,
Mississippi Industries for the Blind, a self-supported blind
workshop. Professional selected will possess related
administrative, technical, financial, and business experience.
Visually impaired individuals are encouraged to apply. Send
resume to: Chairman, State Board of Human Services, 421 West
Pascagoula Street, Jackson, Mississippi 39203. MIB is an Equal
Opportunity Employer.

**In Memoriam:
     From the Editor: I recently received the following letter
from Norma Crosby of Texas:

Dear Dr. Jernigan:
     I am sorry to report to you that on Friday, May 3, 1991, Mr.
Tom Moody passed away. During the last years of his life, Mr.
Moody suffered a number of health problems, and he was unable to
be an active member in our local chapter. However, he remained a
dues-paying member and loyal Federationist until the end of his
life. I won't attempt to tell you of his work within the
Federation. I know that you knew him for many years, and I am
certain that you have forgotten more about him than I know. I do
know, however, that the work of the Federation was always
important to him, and I believe that he would be pleased to know
that he was remembered by the Federation at the time of his
passing.

                                                     Norma Crosby

     I did, indeed, know Tom Moody. During the late fifties and
early sixties when the Federation was locked in civil war, Tom
Moody fought with unwavering courage to keep the organization
from being torn apart. Some said that he was too harsh in his
treatment of those who were creating the chaos, but this did not
deter him. When principle was involved, he refused to equivocate.
The Federation owes a debt of gratitude to Tom Moody. In time of
crisis he stood forth to be counted and did all that he could.
May as much be said of us all at the end of our lives.

[PHOTO/CAPTION: Portrait of Olive Wells.]

**Triple and Growing:
     Olive Wells, president of the Allegheny County Chapter of
the National Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania, writes as
follows:
     In May, 1990, the Allegheny County Chapter of the National
Federation of the Blind was formed. The first year has witnessed
many positive events for our chapter, which calls Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania, home. Membership has more than tripled from sixteen
at its formation, to a current total of fifty-three active,
enthusiastic members. A fact that is even more exciting is that
the vast majority of our members are first-time Federationists!
     Among our most important accomplishments was our success in
resolving two cases involving loss of benefits. A blind widow
whose blind pension and medical benefits were terminated,
contacted the NFB of Pennsylvania. Members of our chapter
assisted with her appeal, obtaining counsel and accompanying her
to hearings. Benefits were reinstated within three months.
     Another woman, whose husband resides in a nursing home, was
very upset when she came to our meeting. Her food stamps were
discontinued without explanation. After a call from our human
relations chairman, the food stamps were reinstated, and she
received the stamps from the previous two-month period as well.
     We were successful in having November 16 declared National
Federation of the Blind Day by mayor Sophie Masloff of
Pittsburgh. The proclamation recognizes the work done by the NFB
on the occasion of its 50th anniversary.
     Pittsburgh city councilwoman Michelle Madoff spoke to us in
January, and we were also proud to welcome volunteers from the
League of Women Voters, who registered members.
     Other activities include a catered luncheon, a chartered bus
to the state convention, a fund raiser, and a celebration of the
50th anniversary of the NFB. We are especially pleased to report
that at the one-year birthday celebration of the Allegheny County
Chapter on May 18, 1991, we held our JOB seminar for blind job
seekers, the first of its kind in western Pennsylvania. 
     I am extremely proud of our new chapter and of our hard-
working members. As part of the National Federation of the Blind,
we will work together to preserve and protect the dignity of all
blind people. Our officers are as follows: President, Olive
Wells; Vice President, Mark Senk; Secretary, Margaret Schmitt;
and Treasurer, Jane Ames. Our board members are: James Jackson,
Sylvia Bose, Iva Blanton, John Blanton, Frances Vitula, and Joyce
Norris. Our public relations chairperson is Ellie Goldfon.

**Large Type News Magazine Debuts:
     We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
     NEW YORK, N.Y.--A new weekly large type newsmagazine,
exclusive in nature, has debuted on the counters of more than
1525 newsstands in New York, and additional cities with similar
constituent demographics will see test-marketing at the counters
of news vendors later this year.
     Each issue of The World At Large, forty pages of news and
features weekly, contains approximately 25,000 words, as well as
a large type crossword puzzle identical with the top-rated Los
Angeles Times Sunday Crossword, but redesigned across two full
pages.
     Offering a full package not unlike that of any other major
national weekly newsmagazines, subject material covered includes
World News, National News, Washington Tidbits, Interviews,
Politics, Environment, Design, Education, Health, Medicine,
Behavior, Art, Books, Music, Film, Entertainment, People, Sports,
and then some....
     Material published in large type within The World At Large
is done so simultaneously with U.S. News and World Report, Time
magazine, and others, from which it is drawn under license
agreement.
     Similarly, The World At Large sells for the cover price of
$2.50 at newsstands. Large type readers and servicing
institutions across the United States are also served, via mail,
at an annual subscription rate of $65 ($1.25 per issue) and a
semi-annual rate of $37 (26 issues).
     Subscription requests should be sent with payment of $65 per
year or $37 per half year to: The World At Large, Post Office Box
190330, Brooklyn, New York 11219. Copies can be expected to begin
arriving within four to six weeks after receipt of order. For
more information please call (718) 972-4000.

**Legacy:
     Larry Arnold is an active member of the National Federation
of the Blind of Missouri. His father died in February, and out of
his grief and self-examination came this short article which
appeared in the April, 1991, edition of the Blind Missourian, the
publication of the NFB of Missouri. Its message is worth
pondering. Here it is: 
     After my father's funeral, a word keeps haunting me. The
pastor talked about the legacy my father had left and the lives
he had touched. "Legacy"--I keep finding this word reappearing in
my thoughts. "Legacy," as defined by Webster, is "anything handed
down from the past, as by an ancestor or predecessor." I have
started asking myself, what legacy will I leave? This question
comes back in several ways. Especially with the Federation and
the blind rights movement, I ask myself what I have done to help
my blind brothers and sisters. What have I done to help the next
generation of the blind? What have I done to help the Federation
achieve security, opportunity, and equality for the blind?
     Take some time from your daily routine and ask yourself
these same questions. Then assess what your legacy will be. As a
member of the National Federation of the Blind, are you only a
joiner, and do you contribute only minimally to the goals and
philosophy of the NFB? As a non-member, do you participate only
by benefitting from the achievements of the NFB brought about by
the struggle and sacrifice of others? Do you call on the NFB only
when you need help?
     You alone can answer these questions. You alone can make the
decision. What will you pass on to the next generation? What will
your legacy be?