                       THE BRAILLE MONITOR



                    Kenneth Jernigan, Editor
                Barbara Pierce, Associate Editor


     Published in inkprint, Braille, on talking-book disc, 
                        and cassette by 


              THE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND 
                     MARC MAURER, PRESIDENT 
 


                         National Office
                       1800 Johnson Street
                   Baltimore, Maryland 21230 

                             * * * *



           Letters to the President, address changes,
        subscription requests, orders for NFB literature,
       articles for the Monitor, and letters to the Editor
             should be sent to the National Office. 

                             * * * *
 


Monitor subscriptions cost the Federation about twenty-five 
dollars per year. Members are invited, and non-members are
requested, to cover the subscription cost. Donations should be
made payable to National Federation of the Blind and sent to: 
 

                National Federation of the Blind
                       1800 Johnson Street
                   Baltimore, Maryland 21230 

                             * * * *

THE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND IS NOT AN ORGANIZATION
SPEAKING FOR THE BLIND--IT IS THE BLIND SPEAKING FOR THEMSELVES



ISSN 0006-8829THE BRAILLE MONITOR
A PUBLICATION OF THE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND

                            CONTENTS

                                                   NOVEMBER, 1992

PROBLEMS OF PLACEMENT AND RESPONSIBILITY: MAINSTREAMING REVISITED
by Fred Schroeder

WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE? A CRITICAL LOOK AT THE FUTURE OF
SCHOOLS FOR THE BLIND
by Phil Hatlen, Ed.D.

IS YOUR CHILD AGE-APPROPRIATE?
by Ruby Ryles

HERE'S LOOKING AT YOU, KIDS: BLIND TEACHER SHOWS STUDENTS A NEW
WAY TO SEE THE WORLD

NEW HOPE FOR BLIND CHILDREN IN ARIZONA
by Ruth Swenson

LISAMARIA: FOCUSING ON OTHERS

THE FEDERAL REHABILITATION ACT: NOW AND IN THE FUTURE
by Nell Carney

ARTIC TECHNOLOGIES HEARS FROM THE ORGANIZED BLIND

VICTORY IN THE OWEN CASE
by Charlie Brown

MAJOR SURGERY, AN EDUCATIONAL IF FRIGHTENING EXPERIENCE
by Eric Clegg

TRANSFORMATION AND POSITIVE PREJUDICE
by Christopher J. Kuczynski

RECIPES

MONITOR MINIATURES

     Copyright National Federation of the Blind, Inc., 1992[LEAD PHOTO: Members of the North America/Caribbean Region of the
World Blind Union seated around tables in conference room at the
National Center for the Blind. CAPTION: The North
America/Caribbean Region of the World Blind Union met at the
National Center for the Blind in Baltimore September 17-18, 1992.
Representing Canada were the Canadian National Institute for the
Blind and the Canadian Council of the Blind; representing the
Caribbean was the Caribbean Council for the Blind; and
representing the United States were the American Council of the
Blind, the Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the
Blind and Visually Impaired, the American Foundation for the
Blind, the National Federation of the Blind, and the National
Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped. The
Blinded Veterans Association also holds a seat on the U.S.
delegation, but its representative (Dr. Ronald Miller) was unable
to be present.
     The principal business of the two-day meeting was the
preparation for the World Blind Union General Assembly in Cairo,
Egypt, November 2-6, 1992, and the election of officers and board
members for the coming four years. Kenneth Jernigan (National
Federation of the Blind) was elected regional president and,
thereby, one of the officers of the World Blind Union. Gary
Magarrell (Canadian National Institute for the Blind) was elected
regional vice president and, thereby, a member of the World Blind
Union Executive Committee. Susan Spungin (American Foundation for
the Blind) and Anthony Avril (Caribbean Council for the Blind)
were elected to membership on the World Blind Union Executive
Committee. The delegates (pictured here) met in the main
conference room on the fourth floor at the National Center for
the Blind.]


[PHOTO: Fred Schroeder speaks at podium microphone, reading
Braille. CAPTION: Fred Schroeder, Director of the New Mexico
Commission for the Blind.]

            PROBLEMS OF PLACEMENT AND RESPONSIBILITY:
                     MAINSTREAMING REVISITED
                        By Fred Schroeder

     From the Associate Editor: On Friday afternoon, July 3, Fred
Schroeder, Director of the New Mexico Commission for the Blind
and a member of the Board of Directors of the National Federation
of the Blind, delivered an address to the 1992 NFB convention.
Because of his many years of teaching and administrative
experience in the education of blind children, Mr. Schroeder is
an expert in this field, so his remarks on the question of
appropriate educational setting for these youngsters were taken
seriously and should be carefully considered by everyone with an
interest in this important subject. The issue is complex, and the
correct placement for each child depends on the individual mix of
needs and opportunities. Here is what Fred Schroeder had to say: 

     In 1940 when the National Federation of the Blind was
founded, a mechanism was created by which blind people could at
last guide their own destinies. The achievement of the past fifty
years has not been the product of good fortune or happenstance,
but rather the just and inevitable outcome of concerted action.
     As our organization has grown, we have increasingly come to
recognize that it is our shared philosophy about blindness that
enables us to keep our energies focused and our goals clearly in
view. During Dr. Jernigan's tenure as President of our
organization, he articulated our philosophy in clearly defined
principles. He taught us that, given proper training and
opportunity, blind people can compete on terms of real equality
with their sighted peers. The truth of this statement is
recognized by all of us and forms a cornerstone upon which policy
and political action are built.
     Our shared philosophy makes us strong, coordinating
individual effort in collective action. We believe that, given
training and opportunity, blind people can compete on terms of
equality. It naturally follows that, for blind children to be
successfully integrated into society, they too need training and
opportunity. Early residential schools for the blind started with
an assumption that, if blind children mastered fundamental
literacy skills through Braille, they were capable of becoming
well educated. Many schools for the blind practiced mainstreaming
long before the term became fashionable. I remember Lawrence
"Muzzy" Marcelino, a long-time leader in our organization,
telling me that in the 1920's and 1930's high school students at
the California School for the Blind would attend public school
classes armed with a slate and stylus and a portable typewriter.
These students were expected to compete and had the training to
make that expectation a reality. 
     After World War II, with the advent of the RLF generation,
schools for the blind found themselves overcrowded, and hence the
practice of integrating blind children into regular school
programs became more and more widespread. Yet a curious thing
began to happen. Blind students educated away from the
residential school experienced difficulty receiving training,
particularly in Braille reading and writing, and therefore found
themselves educated under a substandard, watered-down curriculum.
Gone were the expectations that came with real literacy. Instead,
blind children encountered a conception of blindness which
expected, and even rewarded, inferior performance.
     In the late 1970's, with the implementation of Public Law
94-142, the integration of disabled children was popularized
under the concept of mainstreaming. This movement was premised on
the belief that blind and other disabled children should be
educated in the least restrictive environment, alongside non-
disabled children in regular classes. The missing element from
the mainstreaming movement was an examination of expectations for
blind children. When I attended graduate school, we were told
that blind children educated in isolation had numerous social
problems, making them ill-equipped to function in a sighted
world. The clear focus of mainstreaming was social integration,
with substandard academic performance tacitly accepted.
     Today there is a resurgence in the mainstreaming movement
with an even more radical view of integration. Modern-day
mainstreaming, which goes by the name of inclusion or the regular
education initiative, asserts that all disabled children should
be educated in regular classes, eliminating pull-out programs
altogether. Proponents of inclusion argue that differences in
people are found throughout society and therefore artificial
distinctions which label and categorize are unnecessary and
undesirable in our educational system. They believe that regular
classroom teachers should be able to educate all children,
regardless of their needs for specialized training. However, as
with the mainstreaming movement, the modern-day inclusion
movement fails to address academic achievement as an essential
element of public education.
     On its face the concept of inclusion appears both common-
sense and morally correct. The practice of labeling children--and
with it the implied stigma of dysfunctionality--seems contrary to
the spirit of American democracy. I am concerned, however, about
the impact of inclusion on the education of blind children.
     For the blind child successful mainstreaming is dependent on
the child's ability to compete with his or her sighted peers.
Braille reading and writing constitute an alternative to print
reading and writing. Similarly, use of the abacus allows the
blind child to perform mathematical computations quickly and
efficiently. The typewriter and, more recently, the computer,
while not special devices for the blind, are vital tools by which
the blind child can communicate with the sighted. For the blind
child to function competitively, it is also necessary that he or
she be able to get around with the same degree of independence as
his or her sighted peers. Thus competence in the use of the white
cane for independent travel is essential. These techniques,
representing a separate and distinct set of skills, are not
inferior, but simply alternative. 
     Under the concept of inclusion, integrating blind children
from kindergarten on may deny them the opportunity fully to
master the skills needed to keep up with their classmates. Blind
children are subject to the same social conditioning about
blindness as the public at large. Myths and misconceptions about
blindness are rampant. The blind child exposed to prevailing
attitudes about blindness will inevitably internalize at least
some of these attitudes and question his or her own competence.
The child may come to feel that because of blindness he or she is
automatically inferior to his or her classmates and unable to
perform comparable work.
     Conversely the well-trained blind child possessing the
alternative techniques needed for full participation will find
that he or she can function on an equal footing with his or her
sighted peers. The application of alternative techniques serves
to strengthen the blind child's confidence in his or her ability
to function competitively. In this way the blind child can begin
to tear down his or her own misconceptions about blindness and
become convinced that he or she will be able to be a fully
participating, contributing member of society.
     Under today's special education system, the alternatives for
blind children are very few. Parents are faced with the real
problem of getting the existing service-delivery systems to
respond to their children's needs for training in Braille, cane
travel, and the other skills of blindness. It is not likely that
this situation will be improved by a push for a widespread
desegregation of blind children. Rather than achieving meaningful
integration, blind children would be faced with having to compete
without having the opportunity to acquire the skills necessary to
be successful. The end result would be diminished educational
opportunities for blind children while making them erroneously
believe that they are unable to compete because of blindness.
     A distinction should be made between segregation for
segregation's sake and specialized services for the purpose of
providing the training necessary for meaningful integration. A
young woman I know attended our state's residential school for
the blind for her elementary school training. The academic and
social skills she acquired enabled her to return to a public
school setting for the balance of her education. Without this
early mastery of fundamental literacy skills through Braille
reading and writing, along with the other skills she acquired, it
is doubtful that she would have had either the confidence or the
ability to achieve true integration. Rather than isolating her
from society, her experience at the school for the blind gave her
the ability to function successfully in society. Today this woman
works as a personnel specialist for the Los Alamos National Labs
and is married and raising two young children. She is living a
normal life, in large part because of the opportunities she
received through specialized training.
     The process of integration should not be confused with
desegregation. Placing blind children with sighted children may
desegregate them, yet integration is an active process which
blind children can only initiate if they have the confidence and
tools to make it happen. Inclusion is, of course, the most
desirable outcome, but, as with integration, it cannot be
accomplished merely through a process of desegregation. To my way
of thinking, inclusion for blind children must, by necessity,
start with a substantial period of specialized training. This
training may take place in a regular class, a resource room or
itinerant program, or a residential school for the blind.
     The question, therefore, is not whether the regular class is
preferable to the resource room or school for the blind, but
rather which setting offers the best prospect for blind children
to acquire training and confidence. If we believe that blind
children can compete on terms of real equality, then our
expectations for them will be driven by this belief. Children
must be challenged to achieve and challenged to compete, and by
so doing, they will experience inclusion in the true meaning of
the word. Blind children and their parents need the encouragement
of adult role models who can help them expand their conception of
blindness and their belief in the ability of blind people. Blind
children and their parents need the National Federation of the
Blind and the philosophy that comes with it. We as blind people
comprise a minority, and as such we are subject to public
misunderstanding. Yet we have learned that through the National
Federation of the Blind we have a vehicle for collective action
directed by a shared philosophy about blindness which gives us
determination, strength, and the prospect of real equality.


[PHOTO: Portrait. CAPTION: Phil Hatlen, Superintendant of the
Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired.]

                    WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?
     A CRITICAL LOOK AT THE FUTURE OF SCHOOLS FOR THE BLIND
                      by Phil Hatlen, Ed.D.

     From the Editor: Dr. Hatlen was professor of special
education at San Francisco State from 1966 to 1990. He now serves
as superintendent of the Texas School for the Blind and Visually
Impaired.

     Most professionals in education of the visually impaired
have an opinion about schools for the blind, and many have
written articles and/or given presentations. I am not an
exception. Unfortunately, it doesn't appear that efforts to guide
schools for the blind in new and creative directions have been
successful. Instead, too often the role of these schools has been
dictated by trends set by forces outside schools for the blind.
Are schools for the blind determining their own destiny? In most
cases, I think not.
     During the l950's and l960's, there was a tremendous growth
in the number of blind and visually impaired students attending
day schools as members of regular classes of sighted children. My
experience during that era was that most schools for the blind
strongly disagreed with this trend, and some even fought it. In
retrospect it's easy to say that the trend was inevitable and
that if schools for the blind had supported, or even led, the
movement, they might have been in a different role today. For
every blind and visually impaired child, there is an appropriate
educational program at a certain time in her/his life. Needs of
each child will change, and the best system is the one which can
alter or change educational settings to meet individual needs. We
have all known this for a long time, so why did we get to the
point where local day school programs and schools for the blind
became so polarized? Why did many schools for the blind become
almost exclusively schools for the multi-handicapped blind?
Surely this happening did not address the individual and unique
needs of every blind and visually impaired child!
     Have schools for the blind been primarily in a reactive mode
with regard to their role in whom they serve? I'll share two
thoughts on this topic. First, most schools for the blind have
more expertise in education of blind and visually impaired
children, and more resources, than any school district could
possibly have. Therefore, we (the residential schools) should be
in a position to assist and guide local districts with respect to
quality educational services for blind and visually impaired
children. Very often we are not viewed as "helpers" by local
school districts. Efforts to help become interpreted as efforts
to recruit. The message we must make very clear to these local
districts is that we firmly believe that students whose
educational needs can best be met in a neighborhood school should
stay at home and go to that school. This brings up the second
thought.
     How is it determined whether a child can have her/his
educational needs best met in the local district or at the school
for the blind? Most often, the best sources of information for
that decision are the experts at the school for the blind. When
these experts (the professionals at the residential schools)
recommend the school for the blind as a child's most appropriate
placement at this time, how do we avoid appearing as
self-serving? A sense of mutual trust must be developed and
nurtured between schools for the blind and local school
districts. Schools for the blind must never actively recruit or
appear to be promoting enrollment unless it is evident that a
child would be best served in that setting. Local school
districts must acknowledge the expertise and resources of schools
for the blind and realize that the intensive and unique
educational needs of blind and visually impaired children
sometimes require placement in a residential school. And for that
child at that particular time, the school for the blind becomes
the "least restrictive environment."

One School's Mission

     In Texas, the state school for the blind (TSBVI) made a
decision several years ago that its responsibility is to assist
in the education of all blind and visually impaired children
throughout the state. In order to fulfill this mission, a number
of different service delivery systems have to be available:
     1. A school for the blind must continue to offer full
educational services for students who need a school year
placement. These students may be either day or residential
students. This population is determined by the local district and
the parents, as well as by the evaluation conducted by the school
for the blind. Information from these sources may lead to the
determination that a school year placement will best meet the
student's identified needs. Placement at the school for the blind
may be for any number of years, depending on a yearly evaluation
of the student's needs and the local school district's resources.
     2. A school for the blind should offer short-term placement
for specific needs. Examples of this role include:
     a. Students who need intensive instruction in a particular
subject, such as Braille, orientation and mobility, independent
living skills, or career education.
     b. Students who have recently lost vision and need
immediate, intensive compensatory skills instruction.
     c. Students who need a comprehensive assessment in order to
determine needs.
     3. Summer school may be a service offered by the residential
school to blind and visually impaired students who attend local
day school programs during the school year. Often these students
need instruction in specific areas, and the goal of a summer
session offered by a school for the blind should be to assist the
student toward more successful education in the local district.
     4. An array of outreach services is the most rapidly growing
program in many schools for the blind. The outreach program at
TSBVI provides support services to local school districts,
administrators, teachers, and parents in order to ensure the best
possible educational program for all blind and visually impaired
students who attend local day schools in the state. Through
outreach, TSBVI fulfills its responsibility to all children in
the state. It is our philosophic position that the child is best
served if our outreach program provides assistance to the local
district which results in an educational program equal to, or
better than, that offered by TSBVI. In the future TSBVI intends
to extend its efforts to ensure the highest quality education for
all blind and visually impaired pupils in the state. We know that
the four areas of service already described come close to meeting
our goal. However, there may be other ways in which we can become
even better in working with local schools to assure quality
education. Among some of the potential ways to expand our
services are:
     a. Expand summer school to two sessions. Applicants were
turned away last summer, indicating an enthusiastic support for
our summer program.
     b. Develop "Satellite Programs" in areas of Texas that have
difficulty in providing the resources and personnel necessary for
quality education. For example, we might provide funding and
teachers to a rural area of the state where blind and visually
impaired children have been receiving little, if any, service.
     c. Offer four-week "single-subject" sessions throughout the
school year, so that local districts might send students to
short-term intensive workshops in a manner that would minimize
interruption of education in the local schools. One month might
be "Braille Reading and Writing"; another could be "Orientation
and Mobility"; and still another could address the independent
living needs of students. Local districts would assess those
areas which their teachers do not have time for or are not
trained to teach and send students for these short-term,
single-subject workshops at TSBVI.
     As we consider the roles of TSBVI, two dimensions of our
school need to be stressed. First, we must provide quality
programs for all blind and visually impaired pupils. This mission
means that we must have appropriate educational services for
students with a very broad range of needs. We will provide a
quality, appropriate education for deaf/blind pupils. We will
provide a quality, appropriate education for pupils who are
multi-handicapped visually impaired. We will provide a quality,
appropriate education for children who are in need of a
developmental program. We will provide a quality, appropriate
education for those students who are college-bound. We will
provide a quality, appropriate education for those students who
need a functional, vocational curriculum. We must be ever alert
to our mission of meeting the individual needs of students. We
must never "shoe-horn" children, making them fit what we offer.
Instead, we must always develop our programs around the
individual needs of children.
     The second dimension is one which I have stressed for many
years. A comprehensive, balanced curriculum for blind and
visually impaired students must address the following areas:

a. academic needs
b. orientation and mobility needs
c. social skills
d. independent living skills
e. career education

     We know that there are two sets of potential educational
needs for blind and visually impaired children. One set is
parallel to the needs of sighted children: an academic curriculum
appropriate to the capabilities of each individual child. The
other set consists of needs not shared with sighted children.
These are often referred to as disability-specific needs, unique
to children with vision loss. Both sets are equally important if
we are to offer the best learning environment possible for the
students we serve. TSBVI has recognized its responsibility to
provide a balanced curriculum, and we are addressing all five
areas of potential need.
     However, we can improve in our efforts. The recent
introduction of the independent living skills curriculum to
dormitory personnel is an example of ways we can get better.
However, I seriously question the availability of a balanced
curriculum for many blind and visually impaired children being
educated in local school districts in Texas. Providing this
comprehensive curriculum requires a commitment of teacher time
and resources which many local districts simply do not have. Our
outreach program and some of our short-term programs, including
summer school, offer excellent avenues for addressing the
disability-specific needs of children in local districts. Perhaps
there are additional ways in which we can help in meeting this
challenge.

Meeting the Individual's Needs

     The time is long overdue for educators to share with one
another their positions on the following issues and to resolve
some of the misunderstandings and challenges which have the
potential to interfere with the best educational services to
blind and visually impaired pupils.
     We have two major obstacles to providing the best education
for blind and visually impaired children. The first is that some
of us have not yet acknowledged the fact that many children can
and do receive a quality education, appropriate to their needs,
in local school programs. Our second obstacle is that many local
school administrators and parents have come to the erroneous
conclusion that schools for the blind do not constitute an
acceptable placement within an array of service delivery systems,
and that the school for the blind is never the "least restrictive
environment."
     Overcoming these obstacles requires that we all accept the
fact that there is a full array of educational placements which
are needed in order truly to meet the individual educational
needs of blind and visually impaired children. This way of
thinking means that we (the residential schools, who
understandably have a sizable investment in schools for the
blind) must accept and support the concept that many visually
handicapped children can actually be provided their best
educational program in local school districts. I know many
proponents of schools for the blind who have a difficult time
with this concept. Even though good research is lacking, there is
a preponderance of evidence that blind and visually impaired
children can successfully finish school without ever setting foot
on the campus of a school for the blind.
     Any residual feelings among advocates for schools for the
blind that all blind and visually impaired students would receive
a better education at a school for the blind need to be
acknowledged, examined, and laid to rest. The belief among others
that these feelings run deep causes problems in communication
between schools for the blind and local school administrators.
     Thus, we must "own" a portion of the communication and
understanding problems that exist between local districts and us.
What should we do?
     Recently, a rumor was shared with one of the TSBVI staff. It
was said that the reason TSBVI and I so strongly supported the
"Braille Bill," introduced and so strongly supported by the Texas
Chapter of the National Federation of the Blind, was to ensure a
growing supply of students on our campus. I suppose the rationale
for the rumor is that local school districts, particularly rural
ones, will not be able to meet the mandates of this legislation,
and the only option for children will be to attend TSBVI. My
first reaction to hearing this rumor was disbelief and outrage.
"If only they knew me and understood my philosophic positions,
they couldn't believe this of me," I thought. Then, it hit me
hard that "they" don't know me. They have no reason to trust me;
they don't know my commitment to "most appropriate placement" for
every child; and we are up against a long history of
"competition" between local schools and schools for the blind. As
I stated earlier, this competition is far less in Texas than in
most other states, a credit to leaders at TSBVI, who made it a
high priority to maintain excellent working relationships with
local schools. Still, the rumor emerged...and this is an example
of our second obstacle.
     We have carefully and thoroughly defined the mission of the
Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired. We believe that
there is a "most appropriate placement" for every individual
visually impaired child at a particular time in her/his life. We
believe that an array of placement options is needed to meet
individual needs. We believe that placement in a local school
with appropriate specialized services from a qualified teacher of
the visually impaired will meet the current needs of many
visually impaired children. We believe that for many students the
best current placement is TSBVI. Now, how do we disseminate that
philosophy and a knowledge of that mission to administrators,
teachers, and parents?
     There are three phases of this task which we might consider.
First, we need to get a "What is TSBVI" message spread throughout
the state. Outreach is doing a great deal of this, and I suggest
that it make the information about both on- and off-campus
services of TSBVI a primary goal. At the end of the current
school year outreach will have made such presentations to nearly
all regional programs in the state, as well as some large school
districts. We probably need to develop a schedule for these
efforts, and we need to make certain that these presentations are
offered to every appropriate audience every two years. The thrust
of the message should be our support for the best individual
placement of children.
     Local districts and regional programs need to be strongly
urged to fulfill the legislature's mandate, which requires every
parent to be informed of the services of TSBVI during a child's
IEP meeting. Rumors suggest that this mandate is not generally
followed. We need to take some initiative to ensure that this
information is shared with parents in the most effective manner.
Assertive action by TSBVI is needed, and I intend to assume
responsibility for timely and appropriate dissemination to
parents of information about our school.
     Phase two of our efforts to develop even better
relationships with local school districts and with regional
programs is our commitment to providing assistance to
administrators, teachers, and parents at the local level so that
educational programs can best meet the needs of students. This
service is delivered by our outreach department. Outreach staff
are highly skilled professionals who can assist local school
districts in providing quality education for blind and visually
impaired students. Outreach has as its highest priority the
effort to make the local school program work for the child.
     History between schools for the blind and local school
districts requires that we make the mission of our outreach
department clear. It must never be perceived as a "recruitment"
arm of the school. It must remain scrupulously neutral in issues
regarding placement. Its responsibility is to assist the local
district in determining the needs of a particular child and to
develop recommendations as to how these needs can best be met.
What will happen when our outreach department determines that a
child can best be served as an on-campus student at TSBVI and the
local district or the parents disagree? This is a serious
problem, which has not yet been resolved.
     Phase three of our effort to develop mutually supportive
relationships with local school districts will be achieved when
representatives of local schools, parents, and TSBVI are able to
sit down together and assist one another in determining a most
appropriate placement for an individual child. Some of my
colleagues will say that we have already reached that stage. We
do work cooperatively with local schools when they refer a child
to us. We also work with the district in determining the
appropriate time for the student to return to her/his local
school. But I am suggesting that we go beyond this level of
cooperation.
     In my "best of all worlds," every one of the more than 4,000
blind and visually impaired students in Texas would have
available a full array of placement options, and each child would
be educated in her/his current "most appropriate placement."
TSBVI staff would become major participants in determining every
child's placement. Our school would be viewed as the "hub" of
knowledge and expertise in education for blind and visually
impaired children. We would have an open invitation from every
local school district to assist them in placement decisions as
well as assessment and instructional plans. Local schools would
feel completely comfortable having TSBVI staff come into their
schools; visit with administrators, teachers, and parents; and
assist them in all aspects of educational programming. There
would be no suspicion that TSBVI was interested in recruiting for
its on-campus school, because there would exist total trust in
the knowledge that the primary goal of TSBVI was to participate
in making the best educational decisions for each individual
child.
     TSBVI is already well on its way to this status in the
state, largely due to the effective work begun many years ago at
the School. However, we still have a long way to go. I'd like to
suggest the first two steps in this endeavor.
     First, I suggest the following referral process for a school
for the blind. Currently, it is my observation that this is what
happens: A local district, together with the parents of a child,
makes a decision to refer. This referral is based on the
district's assessed needs of the child and its capability of
meeting those needs. Admissions staff from the school for the
blind compiles a thorough file about the student. A referral
meeting is held, involving all appropriate staff. All information
regarding the child is reviewed, and a decision is made to (a)
admit the child for a six-week evaluation; (b) deny admission,
based on eligibility criteria; or (c) gather more information
before making a decision. It should be added that at TSBVI most
students admitted for evaluation are accepted as regular
students.
     This is a good system. It is a careful and thorough process
and results in TSBVI's serving an appropriate on-campus
population.
     However, in my "best of all worlds" status, a step would be
added, based on our being the "hub" of expertise and our ability
to share that expertise throughout the state. When TSBVI receives
a referral, representatives from our school would travel to the
local district of that child. Our representatives would meet with
school officials, teachers, and parents. They would observe the
local placement for the child. They would discuss possible
revisions in the local placement that might make it a better
situation for the child. They would discuss the assets and
liabilities of placement options and assist the local district
and the parents in attaining a full understanding of what
placement at TSBVI would have to offer the child. Information
gathered at the local level by our representatives would be added
to that already obtained, and then an on-campus referral
committee would meet. This additional process will work when the
local district knows that we come to it only to ensure the best
placement for the child, and that our first goal is to assist in
attempting to modify the district's placement so that it might
work for the child.
     A second step should be expanded services on the part of
schools for the blind with regard to follow-up on students
transitioned back to their local schools. This decision should
not be made solely on the student's achieving goals identified at
the time of admission to the school for the blind. It should also
be based on the local district's ability to meet the current
needs of the student. This would require the school for the blind
staff to visit the local district in order to assist
administrators and parents in determining how the local school
can prepare for the return of the student. The goal in this
process would be to assure a smooth transition for the student
and to ensure that local resources necessary for the student are
in place. It should be assumed that occasionally in this effort
the local district, the parents, and TSBVI will decide that the
best current placement for the student continues to be TSBVI.
What we should not assume is that the local district is prepared
for the return of a student simply because the student has met
all of the original goals which required placement at TSBVI.
     Some of you will say I've been too harsh a critic, that many
of my goals are already in place. Others will say that I'm not a
strong enough supporter of schools for the blind, that we should
not work so hard to maintain children in local districts. I
suppose some might also say that I'm too much the idealist, that
we need to accept our role and be as good as we can at it.
     But I have a vision. The Texas School for the Blind and
Visually Impaired is already well on its way to being the best
school for the blind in the country. I want it to achieve that
position, and I want TSBVI to be the school for the blind to
which all others aspire. I think that, in order to achieve this
position, we need to consider the suggestions in this article.
Some of you will have additional suggestions. Others will want to
eliminate or revise some of mine. If we continue to work together
with a constant commitment to improvement, innovation, and
creativity, we will accomplish our highest goals for blind and
visually impaired children in Texas.


[PHOTO: Portrait. CAPTION: Ruby Ryles.]

                 IS YOUR CHILD AGE-APPROPRIATE?
                          by Ruby Ryles

     From the Associate Editor: Among the families of blind
children, those who work with blind people, and many blind people
themselves there is a polite conspiracy of silence about the
actual abilities of blind people. As the views and philosophy of
the National Federation of the Blind have found more and more
wide-spread acceptance or at least lip service, people in the
blindness field have learned to mouth the politically correct
phrases: "My blind twelve-year-old gets himself ready for school
independently"; "We expect our blind clients to pull their weight
in the work place"; "I can travel anywhere I want to go." All of
these are perfectly rational and appropriate statements. The
trouble is that most of the people who make them or ones like
them every day don't mean or believe them.
     Many blind people seem to think that pretending they are
independent is the nearest they will ever get to true
independence. After all, they think, deep down, everybody knows
that blind parents use their sighted children as intelligent and
literate guide dogs. Family and friends had better be prepared to
drop everything to act as chauffeur to the blind person, and no
one really expects a blind employee to carry his or her full
share of the load. Above all, and most devastating, no one
actually expects blind children to keep up academically and
socially with their sighted peers. It would be, of course, a
shocking breach of good manners to say these things out loud, but
many people (perhaps most) believe them.
     We who are members of the National Federation of the Blind,
however, do truly believe that blind people have the capacity to
live fully normal, contributing lives. In the beginning we may
only hope that this is the case, but in this organization we can
look around us and see blind people who are living proof that
this is indeed so. The blind children who are being raised by the
members of our Parents of Blind Children Division are perhaps the
most dramatic living proof of the power of the philosophy we
espouse. 
     Ruby Ryles is a leader in the Parents of Blind Children
Division and the mother of a blind son. She is also a
distinguished expert in the education of blind children. She is
currently enrolled full-time in a doctoral program at the
University of Washington and is working part-time in the program
for visually impaired students that she established in the
Bellingham, Washington, School District. She was also this year's
recipient of the National Federation of the Blind Distinguished
Educator of Blind Children Award. She addressed the Parents of
Blind Children Seminar on Sunday, June 30, 1992, in Charlotte,
North Carolina. Her remarks went straight to the heart of the
confusion about appropriate expectations for blind children. Her
expertise is unimpeachable, her words are clear, and her message
is compelling. Here is what she had to say:

     I live in the Seattle, Washington, area; and I am a
professional in the education of blind children. I've been the
Arkansas State Vision Consultant, coordinating and developing
state-wide programs for blind and visually impaired children. My
staff and I worked out of the Arkansas School for the Blind in
conjunction with the State Department of Education of Arkansas. I
spent a number of years as an itinerant teacher for the blind in
Anchorage, Alaska.
     Recently I developed and currently supervise a program for
blind and visually impaired children in the Bellingham,
Washington, School District. I also do private contracting with
various school districts in Northwest Washington to assist in
meeting the needs of their visually impaired student populations.
I have a bachelor's, a master's, a year and a half of post-
master's study; and I am currently a full-time Ph.D. student at
the University of Washington in the area of special education,
doing educational research on the blind. Are you impressed? Could
I intimidate you at an IEP meeting? I certainly must qualify as a
major-league expert regarding your blind child; don't you agree?
As the kids would say, "Not!" Or, more correctly stated, "wrong!"
Well, if a hot-dog professional, who has read a ton of textbooks
and taken and taught innumerable classes, isn't the authority on
your blind child's abilities and potentials, just who is? You
are, my friends. You may not know or use the jargon of the
professionals, but you truly do have the expertise regarding your
child. Some of you parents do not quite believe me, do you? 
     Well, let me run over your areas of expertise, using the
special education terminology of the day. When your blind baby
began saying, "Bye bye," did you teach her to say, "Bye bye,
Dada"? If so, then you assessed her proximal zone of linguistic
development, scaffolded, and became her first communication
development specialist. Did you hold on to your year-old baby's
fingers and walk and walk and walk barefoot across the living
room rug to encourage him to walk alone? Then you probably
blatantly defied the Doman-Delecato theory and became your
child's initial peripatologist. Did you wrestle with your child
on the bed, stack blocks, roll balls, play on the slides and
swings, and guide your child as he or she put on socks and zipped
a coat or loosened a lid on a jar? Then you're as accomplished in
small and gross motoric guidance and ADL skills as any
occupational or physical therapist I've worked with.
     Do you remember the time you used a stern, disapproving
voice and sat your child in a chair for ten minutes to settle him
down or sent him to his room because he sassed his grandmother or
tore the arm off his sister's Barbie doll or pitched a fit at
Safeway? Did you know that you were assessing his current level
of behavioral, social, and emotional functioning and applying
behavior modification techniques to ensure the appropriate
attitudinal adjustment of a non-compliant, temporarily
behaviorally-disordered child? I don't know about you, my
friends, but my own service delivery model of behavior
modification when my blind son Dan was little was expedient,
efficient, and measurable, especially when it was administered to
the seat of his pants. Parents are cognition and behavior
specialists long before any psychologist ever puts our blind
child's name on paper work or assigns him a score on any test.
You are the expert. 
     You don't use the jargon, and my apologies for the pompous
introduction. My point is not to be silly, but to stress the fact
that education, specifically special education, is glued together
with jargon. I really think that special education would come
apart at the seams if we didn't use jargon, especially if
professionals had to say in real language who they are and what
they do. Don't be too impressed or intimidated by titles and
degrees or jargon in special education because there is no one
and no test ever devised that knows your child as well as you do.
Believe in your child's abilities. If you don't, there is no one
who will. Any professional who makes you feel less knowledgeable
about your child is poorly trained, insecure, arrogant, or all of
the above. 
     We've established the point now that you're an expert in
your child's behavioral, emotional, physical, and social
development. Well, how about academics? You heard Fred Schroeder
speak about this earlier today. Are you just going to have to
trust that the special education department in your school
district will do the right thing? No. Listen up because after the
next few minutes you as a parent will be able to assess your
child's academic progress and design a program that will take him
through his public school years. Pay close attention now, because
this information draws the line between a real expert on blind
children and someone with only degrees and titles and pompous
introductions to recommend him or her. There are only two words.
Write them down on a scratch pad or a piece of scrap paper, but I
want you to carry them in your heart for the rest of your son's
or daughter's childhood--"age appropriate." That's it, and it's a
hundred percent, guaranteed, fool-proof, sure-fire, can't-be-
denied secret. The majority of professionals in our field don't
know it or practice it or, sadly enough, believe it. But you now
know the secret of success for your blind child; and I want you
to feel it and live it. 
     Let's talk about these two empowering words. Very simply,
"age-appropriate" just means that your child is doing the things
at the same age as he or she would have done them as a sighted
child. For instance, what is a six- or seven-month-old child
doing? Sitting up. That's one thing. Okay, there is no reason at
all that a blind child shouldn't be sitting up at six months. At
twelve months, what's the age-appropriate thing a child should be
doing? One thing is walking. There is no reason not to expect it,
even though we are told quite often by mobility instructors that
blind kids don't walk until twenty-four months. In my own
experience that's just not so--I do have a number of years of
experience with blind kids and have raised a blind son. He walked
at twelve months. A number of times I have had people point to
research that blind kids don't walk until twenty-four months.
Well then, how do we explain all the kids that do walk earlier? 
     At two and a half years old, sighted babies are into
everything. Our blind infants ought to be into everything too. If
they are not, you need to teach them. Teach them to get into the
cabinets and what fun it is to find the pots and pans and to bang
them together and make noise that will drive you crazy: all of
the things that we say, "No, no, no" about to a two-and-a-half-
year-old. If somebody tells you that your two-and-a-half-year-old
is such a good baby, you better get scared, because your baby is
not age-appropriate. If he is not age-appropriate at two and a
half, then when is he going to be? When is he going to find the
pots and pans and get into them? When he is twelve? That is not
age-appropriate. 
     Behavior--I often find that I can tell as much about kids by
their misbehavior as I can by their behavior. I think it was a
real good lesson to me as a mom to watch my own son's misbehavior
at age-appropriate levels. I had a student one time who was a
third-grader and I suppose is now a tenth-grader. Kids in Alaska
keep their boots in the closet, and they put on tennis shoes when
they come to school. At the end of the day you change back into
your snow boots. He was looking around for his snow boots, and
somebody stepped on his hand. That was not pleasant, and he
turned around and bit the kid. When I came in the next day, there
was a big hullabaloo about this. I said, "Randy, you are in big-
time trouble with the school for biting. If you are going to get
in trouble for misbehaving, I would prefer to see you do it like
an eight-year-old rather than a three-year-old. The next time
somebody steps on your hand in the closet and you get angry about
it, haul off and slug him; don't bite him." That's age-
appropriate for an eight-year-old. My point is that, if Randy was
going to get into trouble, how much more appropriate to do it as
an eight-year-old.
     I have a sadder comment to make on the lack of age-
appropriate behavior. I had a student one time--she was probably
in the eleventh grade. Somebody in class had called her a name
that was none too pleasant, and she responded as an eight-year-
old; she hit the girl. Now when I got to this high school, the
counselor said that the teachers had already handled the
situation. After I sifted through all that was happening, I found
out that nobody had done much of anything about it. I asked,
"Wait, why has no one done anything about this misbehavior? What
would you do to a sighted eleventh-grader who hit somebody in the
mouth?" 
     "We would expel her." 
     She was never expelled; she was never even disciplined. Two
years later, as she was transitioning into a job with the
Anchorage Power and Light Company, she slammed a door on her
supervisor's hand, not by accident but out of anger, acting more
like an eight-year-old than an eighteen-year-old. Obviously,
Anchorage Power and Light was not real interested in retaining
her services.
     Age-appropriate behavior--it's very important. If the child
is not age-appropriate at eight years old, when is he going to be
an eight-year-old? When he is eighteen? 
     Language--One thing that needs to be understood is that
blindness is in no way a cognitive handicap; it's just not. There
is no earthly reason why our kids should not be on level
developmentally. The only thing that holds them back in all these
areas, whether it is language, behavior, academics, or anything
else, is our own expectations--our own as parents and as
professionals. 
     I ran across some interesting research recently.
Unfortunately it was done outside the United States. Much of our
research is rather negative. Fortunately, if you go to other
countries to look for research, there are much better data on
blind kids. One of the articles I looked at was talking about
language and blind kids. The sample they studied indicated that
blind kids' language acquisition and development were right on
target with that of sighted kids, whereas the research in the
United States says no such thing. I thought that was rather
interesting. 
     In my own experience I find that blind kids whose parents
work with them show no difference in language acquisition from
sighted kids. Echolalia is a term often used by professionals to
describe blind infants. It's parroting. If you say to your child,
"Jennifer, do you want a cookie?" and Jennifer says, "Jennifer,
do you want a cookie?" but she means, "I want a cookie," there is
nothing abnormal about that. All normally developing kids
(sighted or blind) go through an echolalic period. You don't need
a speech or language therapist; all you do is model to the child
the answer that you want her to give you. Quickly Jennifer will
pick it up. Instead of saying, "Jennifer, do you want a cookie?"
when she wants a cookie, she will say "Yes" or "Yes, please" or
whatever it is in your family--not hard.
     Dressing--At twelve years old one of my students was not
washing or combing his own hair and was not clipping his nails.
Again, if he doesn't do it at twelve, at what age? How
inappropriate that at sixteen, he is just beginning to learn to
wash his own hair. If as a parent you're not sure what is age-
appropriate, in other words, if you have a six-year-old and
you're not sure what a six-year-old does because it's your only
child, take a look around the neighborhood or at church. Look at
other six-year-olds, and see what they are doing. There have to
be other six-year-olds in your family. As a last resort go out
and buy a book: Dr. Spock. Don't buy a book on blindness; buy one
on standard development in children. 
     Eating skills--We can run the whole gamut with this one. But
there is no reason in any area that your child shouldn't be doing
what she would if she were sighted. A lot of people get very poor
advice from professionals about such things as saving a fork
until the child is five or six years old. But this means that by
the time he gets to school he has had very little experience in
using a fork; and, believe me, the rest of the kids in that
cafeteria will pick up real quickly that your child is the only
one consistently bringing a sack lunch with finger foods, that he
doesn't ever get a hot lunch where he has to use a fork and a
spoon and a knife. If you don't think that doesn't isolate your
child, you are wrong. It does.
     Is your child limited in getting around in any way? For
instance, mobility? This organization was at the leading edge in
insisting on mobility for preschool kids and using canes. I can
remember very vividly, five or six years ago, this organization
was already fighting very hard to get the word out that young
children need canes so they can learn what they need to know
early. The blindness field was saying, "No, we need to give them
canes for a thirty-minute mobility lesson at school and then take
them away." You can equate that with giving a pencil to a three-
year-old sighted child. Would you deny pre-schoolers pencils
until they get to school and then hand them out for thirty
minutes at a writing lesson? How good do you think they are going
to be at handwriting if that's the only experience they have with
a pencil? And a sighted person uses a pencil far less than the
blind child uses the cane. 
     Role models--in our family and with the kids that I teach,
we have a cardinal rule that, if you don't know how to do
something, don't go ask the professionals. You ask the real
expert--the blind person who is doing it. For instance, I had a
tenth- or eleventh-grade blind kid in Anchorage. He wanted to
take a class on small engines, working on airplane engines. I
know absolutely nothing about that. When I was in school as a
girl, shop was for boys. So the first time I stepped into a shop
class, I felt like I was in a locker room or something. I had no
idea how Joe was going to take this class--I didn't know the
names of the tools. I had no idea how they could be adapted. It
would have been foolish for me to dream up some way for him to
adapt these things. So I called the fellow who was President of
the National Federation of the Blind, and I said, "Do you know a
blind mechanic?" I didn't even call the guy myself. The President
gave me the number, and the school district paid for the call so
Joe could make the call. And the result was that Joe took the
class without much help from me. He didn't need it anymore,
because he had the real expertise he needed. He had learned from
the blind mechanic about the set of tools he needed. We then got
together with the Lions Club and bought it. 
     When my son was eleven or twelve, he wanted to do a paper
route. Despite all of my professional expertise and wisdom, I had
no idea how he could do one. At the time Jim Gashel was in our
city. It really took a lot of courage on my part as a parent, but
I swallowed my pride, went up to him, and said, "Mr. Gashel, I
understand that you had a paper route when you were a boy, and I
want to know how you did it. My son wants to have a paper route.
Did you go on your mother's arm?" (I thought he was going to gag
on that idea.) He said, "Well, no, but I don't remember how I did
it. Does your son know how to use landmarks with his cane?" 
     "I don't know." 
     He asked, "How does he get home from school?" 
     "He gets off the bus and walks about a block and a half to
the house." 
     He said, "Then he has to be able to use landmarks." I still
can't tell you how Dan did that paper route. This was in Alaska
with snow up to your knees. We just started out one morning as
you would with a sighted child. I had the route list. If you have
ever had a sighted kid with a paper route, you know that as a mom
you normally begin the route with the kid. You say, "Okay, 2113,
that's the brown house on the right over there. Let's see, 2115,
that's the house next to it. 2116, oh, that's across the street.
And normally you go over the list with the kid for a few days.
You know, that's all I did with Dan, and within six or seven days
he was doing it alone. However he figured it out with his cane,
he was doing the route on his own. 
     That is the way he has always made his spending money. He
delivers papers for the Seattle Times still. He handles his own
records. We never have to do anything to help him. In fact, he
had to train two substitutes to take his route so that he could
be here at the convention. We went to the Federation; we went to
the real experts. The people that I work with professionally were
kind of upset that we didn't make mobility lessons out of
learning how to do a paper route. But look at the message that
would have given Dan: You have to have a series of lessons in
being normal. 
     When he was in the tenth grade, Dan wanted to be in the
marching band at school. Again I had no idea how to help. This is
a good marching band. Our high school has won state awards, and
they are not about to let anybody in who will mess up their
precision drills. I had no idea how he could do it, because he
uses his cane all the time, and you can't use the cane during
drills. Before I could think of contriving some kind of an
adaptation, Dan got on the phone, called the National Center for
the Blind, and said, "Let me speak to anybody who's blind and who
has been in a marching band." He happened to get hooked up with
Pat Maurer. The next thing I knew--and I didn't have anything to
do with this at all--he talked to the band director, and the two
of them worked it out to the point where the last time I went to
one of his football games where the band was marching at half
time, I videotaped it. When I got home, I was informed that the
kid that I had the camera on was not even Dan. You couldn't find
him. Dan was very pleased with that because he didn't stand out,
and I was irritated because I wanted a tape of his marching. 
     Staying on the topic of school--kindergarten. You need to
learn about the kindergarten curriculum. They're called specific
learning objectives (SLO's), and every school district has them
for each grade. These are the things that we expect the kids to
know when they come out of each grade. Kindergarten is pretty
basic, pretty easy. Children need to know the alphabet. Your
child needs to know it in Braille; that's all there is to it.
Numbers, children need to be able to count. Normally in
kindergarten they are supposed to be able to count at least to a
hundred. Your child needs to be able to do it too. You should be
able to demand it; you must demand it from your school district.
I don't care how it's done, whether they use Mangold, whether
they do it with Patterns. 
     Because I taught first grade for about nine years before I
got into this field, I like to use basal readers. I take a basal
reader and adapt my own method. It doesn't matter how it's done,
as long as the child is on level from kindergarten through high
school. In kindergarten the kids need to know colors. Blind kids
need to know colors too. Totally blind children need to know dogs
are not blue, hair is not green unless someone's making a
statement. 
     Animals--How inappropriate for a fourteen-year-old not to
know about animals! It's very embarrassing for students at
fourteen and fifteen and sixteen. Sometimes, after they begin to
feel comfortable with me, my students say things that let me know
that they have no concept of a bird, different wingspans, a
bird's feet. We talk about animals' feet. We look at the
difference between a cat's feet, goat's feet, bird's feet, cow's
feet. How about tails on animals? Will your child ever have a
good concept of a giraffe? You say, "Oh my, of course not." Well
sure he will if you describe it by analogy. He's got to know
something about what a giraffe's feet are like. Are they more
like a goat's, a cow's, or a horse's feet? But first he's got to
have a good concept of the animals that you can let him have
hands-on experiences with. Do this at an age-appropriate time--
three, four, and five years old--so that you can talk to him
about animals. A giraffe has a tail that's much like a cow's
tail, but how will he know if he doesn't know what a cow's tail
is like, if you have not taken him to a fair? 
     We are city people, so when a fair came around, I used to
grab the opportunity. If you go into the animal barns, the people
always want to let your kid pet the animals. That's not going to
give the child much of a concept of what that animal is like. I
always say we need to get into the animal. I take the child's
hands and together we feel the back leg of a dog or a cat or a
cow to know what the animal's legs are like and how they differ
from the front legs and how the legs bend. So when I talk about
the legs on a giraffe, the child will have a concept of that. But
it is much harder to do this when the child is twelve than it is
when he is five.
     Remember, when your child is in first grade (Fred Schroeder
mentioned this earlier, and it can't be emphasized too much),
your child is not learning Braille; your child is learning to
read in Braille. It boils down to this: when your child is
leaving first grade, he needs to be reading at a beginning second
grade reading level, or he is behind. It is like dominoes. He's
behind in first grade. That throws second grade behind. He's
behind in second grade, and that gap gets wider and wider and
wider. Don't kid yourself: your child is not going to catch up.
You need to be sure now that your child is on level in first
grade. 
     At three years old every child should be using a spoon;
don't wait until your child is six. Don't let somebody tell you
that it's normal for a blind child not to do something until
later. That's not so! Beware of the word "realistic." Anybody
that tells you to be realistic about your child, you know what
that really means? Lower your expectations. It means don't expect
so much, accept less. That's what it means, and you should get
your back up. 
     Second grade is the time for teaching keyboarding--I don't
like that term; it's still typing to me. A child needs to learn
to type. All vision-impaired kids (low-vision and Braille-reading
kids) need to learn to type because they are going to be
communicating with print-reading teachers. 
     I've been criticized sometimes for waiting too long, but
third grade is normally the grade that I introduce slate and
stylus. I would wait no longer than that. Writing with the slate
and stylus is one of the easiest things under the sun to
introduce to a child. I wait till third grade simply because by
this time normally they've got a pretty good grasp of Braille,
and it takes about six weeks from introduction to the time when
they're just about fast enough to keep up with the spelling
tests. I like to say, "Okay, spelling is the first subject in
which we are going to use the slate and stylus. You are expected
to do your spelling totally with slate and stylus." I have to
prime the teacher first to let her know that she is not to slow
down in dictating the Wednesday preliminary spelling test for
this child. He may be used to making A's in spelling. He may make
an F or so in spelling because he is not keeping up, but the
teacher is not to slow down. There is nothing that will make that
child speed up faster than a poor grade on his spelling test
because he couldn't keep up. As a parent you need to get onto
your child at home and say, "Hey, what happened to this
spelling?" even though you know. If you accept the low score on
the grounds that, well he was using the slate and stylus, so he's
going to be a little slower at this, what message does that send
to your child? It's okay if I'm not up to snuff in writing and
spelling. 
     I would say, be very wary of putting an aide in a classroom
with your child because an aide takes away independence. Think
about it. If you've got an aide in the classroom with your child,
at what point are you going to say, "Okay, no more aides in that
classroom"? At sixth grade, fifth grade, when? Are you planning
for it now? If your child has an aide in kindergarten or first
grade, are you planning that next year we are going to say, "No
aide; she is going to do it on her own"? 
     Dan hasn't even had an IEP since he was in seventh grade. He
graduated from high school two weeks ago today. It has not been
real easy along the way. The hardest thing I think has been for
me to sit on my hands and not go to that school and wring some
people's necks. I had to teach Dan to do his own advocating with
the teachers. The science teacher, for instance, gave Dan a C,
and in looking at the final report I noticed that they had
included a computer printout record of the stuff the kids had
done. Dan had done twenty-five percent of what the rest of the
kids had done that quarter. I said, "Dan, do you realize you've
done twenty-five percent, and the teacher is giving you a C?" The
teacher had written at the bottom that it was too visual. They
had been doing a unit on astronomy, and they were computing
distances between stars and that sort of stuff. It was beyond me,
to be honest with you. 
     Anyway, I impressed on Dan that next year builds on this.
You have twenty-five percent of the knowledge out of this science
class that you are going to need for next year. Are you really
satisfied with that? He went back to the teacher and said he
wanted the extra work. He wanted the seventy-five percent that he
had missed. He got it; he also got a lower grade on his behavior.
I think his teacher thought he was a smart aleck, coming back and
asking for the extra work. But he did the work, and it taught him
a lesson: he should not be letting his teacher make these
decisions for him. 
     Often our kids have assignments cut for them. We are told
that they work too slowly, for instance. It takes so much longer
for them to get the assignment done. But what does this say to
our kids? For one thing, they are being permissioned out of an
education. Many times especially kids who are partially sighted
and who don't know Braille are excused right into incompetence.
If your child is partially sighted, there is no getting around
it: he needs to learn Braille, which he can learn along with
print. I would not advocate that he read only Braille, but he
needs to learn to use print when it is efficient and Braille when
it is efficient. It is far, far easier for your child to be
taught Braille when he is six rather than twelve, because once
kids get to about third grade, they are going to fight anything
that is different. It is normal that they do. But I don't think
that I have ever had a child, partially sighted or blind, below
the third grade level who has ever resisted learning Braille. 
     Extra time--often our kids are given extended time limits,
and the only reason they have extra time, whether they're Braille
or low vision kids who haven't learned Braille, is that we
haven't expected enough of them. If they are low vision and they
need extra time, they need Braille. If they are Braille kids and
they need extra time, they're not reading fast enough. That's all
there is to it. And we need to step up their Braille reading
instruction to be sure that they learn to read fast enough. There
is no reason for our kids to need extra time. 
     Extra time in getting to class, extra time in getting to
lunch--this should not be happening. As Fred said earlier about
the kids who left five minutes early to get to the swings at
recess, the message that policy sends to the child is very
harmful. 
     How do you know if your child will benefit from reading
Braille? If your child has low vision, there are some red flags
that you can think about: If your child has low vision, does he
enjoy reading? Does he pick up a library book and read it for
pleasure? Normally not--low-vision kids avoid reading. As a
partially sighted adult once said to me, "Reading print is just
not pleasurable." There is no such thing as pleasure reading for
these kids. Does your child use tapes a lot because print is so
tiring? Does he need to have someone read the printed material to
him? Your child is not going to learn reading skills if he
doesn't read. He has to read a large amount of material.
Somewhere, in some of the readings that I have done in the last
year or so, I have read that the average fifth grade child runs
across a million words a year. Do you think your partially
sighted child using tapes is going to see that number? To be able
to be literate, our children must physically read the same amount
of material as sighted kids. For instance, is your partially-
sighted child spelling as well as she should be? How is her
reading speed? If it is not up to snuff, you need to be looking
at Braille.
     Does a child use tapes for book reports? Teachers assign
book reports because they want the child to have the experience
of reading books, and tapes don't provide the full experience.
Kids can't learn to spell words off tapes. For instance, one of
the students I had recently was a junior in high school, and she
had just learned Braille. She was reading and saw a phrase in the
text. She said, "'This morning'--I didn't know that was two
words." If you get your information from tapes, there is no way
that you could catch such a simple thing as that, let alone being
able to spell a word like "Chicago." There is no way unless you
have read the word "Chicago" enough times that you would know
that it is not spelled with an "S-h-i-k." Be sure that your child
is reading a lot. 
     Written expression is another big red flag with partially-
sighted kids. Punctuation, paragraphing, syntax: all suffer
greatly if the child doesn't read. Kids who don't read can't
write. Braille is the answer. 
     Handwriting--can your child read his own handwriting after
it gets cold? For instance, after a couple of weeks could you
pull out notes from your partially sighted seventh-grader's
notebook and say, "Read this back to me"? If he can't read it,
seriously consider Braille, because your child could benefit from
learning it.
     When I am called to assess a child in junior high, I know
what I am going to find. The school personnel will say they want
me to come look at a child who is visually impaired. Probably the
student is in a resource room, some kind of a self-contained
setting for at least one period a day. An aide or someone else is
helping the child, more or less pulling her through assignments--
reading the material, helping with spelling. These kids are not
getting through school on their own. They are not getting the
literacy skills that they need at all. Most of them are
permissioned out of a lot of basic courses, such as foreign
language, geometry, and higher math, because teachers believe
these courses are too visual for kids with limited sight. Braille
kids aren't denied such opportunities. For instance, last year my
son Dan took trigonometry and chemistry. He needed no aides to
take these classes. It's not that Dan or my other students are
brilliant. It's just that they learned Braille from early on, and
they took it for granted that they were expected to do higher
math. They were expected to take trigonometry and geometry and
two years of Spanish or French or German. Good Braille readers
can do that. Those who struggle through with print can't. Such
students are not normally good enough readers to handle complex
material.
     I lost my glasses earlier this week, and with my university
courses, I've got to do a lot of reading. I got migraine
headaches Monday and Tuesday. I'm taking a statistics class right
now, and the eye strain gave me migraine headaches. I finally
told my husband I couldn't go on. I was either going to have to
start using Braille or go get some glasses. That experience gave
me real empathy with a lot of the kids I have taught and am
thankful for, the low-vision kids to whom I have taught Braille.
Reading print is just not pleasurable for them, and they don't do
enough of it to be very literate. Your kids won't be either, if
they are partially sighted. Teach them Braille.
     One definition of literacy is the ability to read and write
at grade level. If your child is a Braille reader and she is in
third grade and you don't know whether she is reading on level,
how do you tell? Ask to borrow a third-grade textbook in your
child's class. If it's not in Braille, there is somebody in your
community who knows Braille well enough to Braille a story in the
middle. Hand it to your child and listen to how she reads. See if
she is fluent with it. If she is, ask her some questions about
what she has just read. How is her comprehension? You can tell
whether she is stumbling all over herself in answering your
questions. If she has no idea what she has read, she is not on
grade level. I don't care what that IEP says, what the assessment
says; you do your own assessment of your child. It's not that
hard. 
     I will finish by saying that in the Federation we believe
that blindness can be reduced to the level of a nuisance if
you've got the skills and opportunity. Can blindness really be
reduced to the level of a nuisance? You bet it can, but only if
your kid has good skills, a positive attitude about blindness,
and a chance. One day soon, parents, you will find yourself in my
shoes. Your child will be taller than you are, standing on the
threshold of adulthood. I'll tell you from experience, it will be
here in the blink of an eye. It seems like yesterday that Dan was
a little one in my arms, and he is starting at Washington State
University this fall. I can't believe the time is here. Time is a
vindictive, relentless thief, and the cruelest theft of all is
the theft of our kids' confidence in themselves. Don't let
another day go by before you see that your child has the skills
to ensure that he can become a confident, independent adult. You
do that by seeing that he is a confident, independent child. See
that he's age appropriate in every way.


[PHOTO: Melissa and John Williamson walk hand-in-hand outside
convention center in Charlotte, North Carolina. CAPTION: Melissa
and John Williamson.]


                  HERE'S LOOKING AT YOU, KIDS:
     BLIND TEACHER SHOWS STUDENTS A NEW WAY TO SEE THE WORLD
                                
     Those who have met Melissa Lagroue will tell you that she is
an attractive, perfectly normal young woman. She graduated from
college in June with a degree in elementary education and was
married to John Williamson, a medical student, in mid-July.
Because the young couple will be settling down near the medical
school in an area in which teachers have been laid off in recent
months, Melissa is going on to graduate school rather than
looking for a job right away. Hers is a story repeated with
variations thousands of times every summer.
     But each human being is unique, with personal gifts to give
and contributions to make. Melissa is blind and an active and
dedicated member of the National Federation of the Blind. She
understands that Federation philosophy is meant to be lived and
that it works. When an education professor at her college told
her two years ago that she had no business training to teach
public school, Melissa rallied her forces and disputed that view
successfully. (See the June, 1991, issue of the Braille Monitor.)
     Melissa Lagroue student taught last year like the other
members of her Birmingham Southern education-major class. But
Melissa clearly made a profound impact on the children and
teachers with whom she came into contact. On April 30, 1992, the
Birmingham News carried a story by Scottie Vickery about Melissa
Lagroue and her class. Here it is:

     Elijah Evans has learned a lot more than spelling in school
this year.
     He and the other children in Naomi Goss's fifth-grade class
at Shades Cahaba Elementary School have learned a lesson in
humanity. And it was their teacher, Melissa LaGroue, an education
major at Birmingham-Southern College who is blind, who
enlightened them.
     "I learned to respect people who don't have all the
abilities that you have," said ten-year-old Elijah. "She didn't
tell us that; I've just learned it by watching and stuff."
     "It's been a good education for the kids," said Mrs. Goss.
"From Melissa's perspective, she's not here to teach a lesson
about blindness; she's here to teach school."
     But if the children happen to learn something about
determination along the way, that's fine with Miss LaGroue.
     "Children can learn something from anyone who is not a
mainstream, stereotypical teacher," she said. "A male teacher
teaches children that a man can be nurturing.
     "I hope when these kids are grown and have jobs, they'll
look back on this and assume that blind people with the same
background as their sighted competitors are equally qualified to
get jobs."
     Heather Brandt, eleven, already has a grasp on that. "She's
just like anybody else," Heather said of Miss LaGroue. "She can
teach just like Mrs. Goss can."
     It doesn't surprise Miss LaGroue that the children consider
her blindness no big deal. "Stereotypes are learned," she said.
"They're certainly not developed by the children. If they've
never been told that something is odd, weird, or not acceptable,
they don't know it."
     Miss LaGroue, who grew up in Birmingham and graduated from
Huffman High School, said she always wanted to be a teacher.
     And the only reason she ever considered another profession
was that she'd heard teaching doesn't pay much.
     She said she never considered her blindness to be an
obstacle. "There is a National Association of Blind Educators,
and I knew it was possible because I knew people who were doing
it," Miss LaGroue said. "If anyone ever questioned whether I
could teach even though I was blind, I gave them the telephone
numbers (of the association) and told them to call."
     Although she has a guide dog named Magic, Miss LaGroue
mostly relies on her cane to get around at school. And it's not
unusual to see students jumping over it as she walks down the
hall.
     "From an adult perception, it looks cruel, but from a kid's
perception, it's a cane and it's moving, so why not jump it?"
Mrs. Goss said. "The kids have not tried to treat Melissa like
she's fragile."
     Although she can't see students who are passing notes or
throwing paper balls, Miss LaGroue said discipline has not been a
problem.
     "If a child makes a face at me, it doesn't matter," she
said. "It doesn't affect me in the least. And if someone is
throwing spit wads, you can bet one of the other children will
tell me. I like kids to be well-behaved, but I don't believe in
children sitting in their desks with their hands crossed."
     Anthony Chapman, eleven, said he is surprised at how much
Miss LaGroue knows about what goes on in the classroom, even
though she can't see.
     Soon after she began student teaching, Anthony said he
didn't read his book like he was supposed to. "She caught me,"
Anthony said with a grin. "She found out some way that I wasn't
reading my book. I guess she couldn't hear the flipping pages."
     Antuan Crenshaw, ten, said he wondered at first how Miss
LaGroue would know when the students raised their hands to ask a
question. But he said she told them to say their name softly, and
she would call on the first person she heard.
     "If they say it (their names) real loud, she won't call on
them just like I won't call on students who do this," said Mrs.
Goss, waving her arm wildly.
     Grading papers is another area in which Miss LaGroue has
made adjustments. While the class is working on assignments at
their desks, Miss LaGroue goes over spelling sheets with
individual students. The children come up to her desk and spell
certain words orally.
     Although she has found ways to handle almost everything that
might come up in the classroom, Miss LaGroue acknowledged that
she has some limitations.
     "I would not like to teach writing because I recognize my
limitations in writing," she said. Miss LaGroue said she does
write on the blackboard, but not as often as Mrs. Goss.
     "But I could switch out with another teacher and have her
teach writing and I'd teach health or science for her," Miss
LaGroue said. I know that I'm better at teaching other things
than some people might be."
     Jamie Sparks, however, is impressed with Miss LaGroue's
writing skills. A third-grader at Green Valley Elementary School,
Jamie had Miss LaGroue as a student teacher earlier this year.
     "She used to comment that Melissa wrote in a straight line
when she wrote on the board, even though she couldn't see." said
Lynn Sparks, Jamie's mother.
     Jamie was so affected by Miss LaGroue that she is reading
Helen Keller's autobiography, Mrs. Sparks said. "The children
loved her in spite of the fact that she could not see," Mrs.
Sparks said. "I hope they've learned a lesson that people are
people."
     Gloria Holder, the Green Valley teacher Miss LaGroue worked
with, said she believes Miss LaGroue made a lasting impression on
the children.
     "Probably at this young age they don't realize the impact it
had on them," Mrs. Holder said. "But I think they'll remember it
for a long, long time."
     And the students aren't the only ones who will look back on
the experience and realize they learned something.
     "I learned about determination, courage, and striving for
what you want," Mrs. Holder said. "On Melissa's last day here, we
all wrote her notes, and I told her I hope she learned as much
from us as we've learned from her."

[PHOTO: Portrait. CAPTION: Ruth Swenson, President of the
National Federation of the Blind of Arizona.]

             NEW HOPE FOR BLIND CHILDREN IN ARIZONA
                         by Ruth Swenson

     From the Associate Editor: Ruth Swenson is President of the
National Federation of the Blind of Arizona. She holds a master's
degree in special education for blind children, and she has also
worked in rehabilitation with blind adults. Later she attended
law school, became a licensed attorney, and currently serves as
director of a legal aid office. In the Summer issue of News and
Views of Blind Arizonans, the publication of the NFB of Arizona,
she reported on an exciting and innovative step recently taken by
the staff of the Arizona School for the Deaf and Blind (ASDB).
They developed a position statement on Braille literacy. This
text would be an excellent model for any school, agency, or
organization seeking to develop such a document. Here is the
article:

     There is great concern in America today about the fact that
many in our society are not literate. Almost everyone understands
that, if a person cannot read or write, he or she is likely to
have an extremely difficult time in achieving the American dream.
Also virtually everyone understands and agrees that the
competition in this world is fierce and that it behooves us all
to be as prepared as possible if we wish to succeed. 
     As a nation we are trying to do something about illiteracy.
We are establishing all kinds of programs and activities to
correct this intolerable situation. From Barbara Bush right down
to the simplest informal local volunteer group, the cry is
"Literacy, literacy, literacy!"
     In the sighted population there are many reasons for
illiteracy: lack of student interest, poor schools, poverty,
laziness, and lack of parental interest. But in all of these
cases the youngster has been given at least some opportunity to
learn to read and write. 
     For blind children there is often another major reason for
illiteracy in addition to all those affecting the learning of
sighted kids--often blind children are not given the opportunity
at all. They are told, "Braille is too slow"; "Braille is bulky";
"Braille is no longer needed because of the availability of tape
recorders and computers"; and "You blind kids wouldn't want to
use Braille anyway since using it would make you appear different
from the rest of the kids." 
     Because of these mistaken attitudes about Braille, countless
blind adults are in fact illiterate. This problem is not unique
to any particular state, but it is now recognized as a national
crisis. There are blind adults trying to attend college who can't
take notes in class. There are blind adults who are unable to
perform the simplest task such as keeping and using a list of
phone numbers and addresses of friends and acquaintances. There
are blind adults who can't get jobs because they can't read and
write in any medium! Braille has been denied them, and without
the first-hand exposure to written English, their capacity to
spell, punctuate, and paragraph is rudimentary at best. The
frustration and embarrassment can be enormous.
     There is currently a nationwide movement within the
blindness field (similar to that in educational circles for the
sighted) to reemphasize the need for literacy through the use of
Braille. Many state legislatures are responding positively to the
need and are enacting Braille bills of one kind or another.
     In Arizona we have recently taken a giant step forward in
another arena. The Arizona State School for the Deaf and Blind
recently adopted a Braille literacy policy. A committee of
teachers from the school first drafted a general policy dealing
with communications for blind students at the school. One of the
school's board members, a blind attorney named Bruce Gardner,
then drafted amendments which broadened the policy somewhat in
the area of literacy.
     We of the National Federation of the Blind of Arizona
commend ASDB for this enlightened action and for the concern for
blind children which it represents. The policy as finally adopted
by the ASDB board reads as follows:

        Arizona State Schools for the Deaf and the Blind
                          Board Policy 

Subject: Reading and Writing Literacy Policy for Students
Who Are Blind or Visually Impaired 

     The first value statement of the Arizona State Schools for
the Deaf and the Blind mission is: "We are committed to
excellence in education of all children and youth with sensory
impairments throughout Arizona." In order for students who are
blind or visually impaired to integrate successfully into
society, they need to be able to read and write efficiently and
effectively. 

I. Reading and Writing 

     The Board expects students who are blind or visually
impaired (and who have no other mental, learning, or sensory
impairments) to become as literate, able to read and write, as
they would if they were not blind or visually impaired. This
means that those students are expected to learn to read and write
within the same range of proficiency as their sighted peers in
regular education. 
     For nearly all students who are blind or visually impaired
to become as proficient at reading and writing as their sighted
peers, Braille is essential and should be either the primary or
strong secondary method of reading and writing. When properly
taught and emphasized at the earliest possible age, Braille is
just as efficient and effective for the student who is blind or
visually impaired as print is for the sighted student. 
     Students with residual vision should use that vision to the
greatest extent practical and may be able to function at some
level of proficiency using print. However, if these students are
unable to read and write within the same range of proficiency as
their sighted peers (as would be indicated by a negative response
to any of the practical assessment questions listed below), then
these students must become proficient at reading and writing
through the medium of Braille and use Braille as either their
primary or strong secondary method of reading and writing in
order to become truly literate. 
     The determination of which students should learn to use
Braille for reading and writing should be based upon functional
and practical considerations, rather than technical or legal
definitions, such as "totally blind," "legally blind," or
"visually impaired." 
     The practical assessment should examine the following
questions: 
     1. Can the student, functioning visually: 
     -read and write print for an extended period of time without
     fatigue or eye strain? 
     -read printed materials within the same range of rate
     proficiency as sighted peers? 
     -compete with sighted peers in quality and quantity of
     reading and writing? 
     -efficiently read back his or her own handwriting? 
     -complete routine assignments in a timely manner? 
     -comprehend the material he or she reads? 
     2. Does the student, functioning visually: 
     -often read books or magazines for pleasure? 
     -rely on print rather than tape-recorded materials          
     and readers? 
     -have and demonstrate a basic understanding of English
     skills, namely spelling, punctuation, paragraphing,
     sentence construction, capitalization, etc.? 
     A negative response to any of the above questions indicates
that the student should learn Braille as either the primary or
strong secondary method of reading and writing in order to become
fully literate. Students who are too young or immature to
determine a primary medium should be taught both print and
Braille until a decision can be made. 
     Additionally, the following factors should be considered: Is
the student's eye condition of a progressive nature? Does the
student's visual acuity fluctuate? Does the student have a
significantly restricted visual field which limits the usefulness
of some visual aids? 
     The staff of ASDB shall encourage students who are blind or
visually impaired, their parents, and other members of the IEP
team to have the expectation that these students will become as
proficient at reading and writing as their sighted peers; and
understand and recognize the essential role of Braille in helping
these students to become fully literate. 

II. Assessment

     1. The decision regarding the primary method of reading and
writing will be made on an individual basis and is the role of
the IEP team, which includes the parent and/or student. The
decision will be based on appropriate assessment procedures and
may include any or all of the following team members:
psychologist, occupational/physical therapist, reading
specialist, ophthalmologist and/or optometrist, low vision
specialist, communication/language specialist, classroom
teacher(s), parent, and student. The initial decision shall
consider the lifelong needs of the student and shall be
re-evaluated as a part of the three-year evaluation process or
more often if the situation warrants. 
     2. Assessment regarding the primary reading medium should
include visual etiology and prognosis, efficiency as determined
by reading rate, effectiveness as determined by an analysis of
miscues, achievement, distance from the page if a print reader,
fatigue, learning style, cognitive level, portability of medium
or device, and student and parent preference. 

III. Other Communication Skills 

     The mastery and application of communication skills
(including the acquisition, organization, retrieval, and
communication of information) allow for efficient functioning and
maximum independence in current and future life situations.
Communication skills other than reading and writing should be
addressed for all students who are blind or visually impaired.
For a student without additional disabilities, these skills will
supplement reading and writing. 
     1. Communication skills for all students who are blind or
visually impaired will include consideration of skills in
accessing, processing, and transmitting information in the most
effective medium(a) for each individual student. A variety of
communication skills is needed by each student so that he or she
can be flexible and use the medium(a) which is best suited to the
task and to the individual. 
     2. Communication skills include reading; writing; listening;
speaking; and use of slate and stylus, typewriter, computer,
electronic communication devices, and other specialized
equipment. Specialized communication skills must be developed,
according to the needs of the individual, to maximize his or her
independence.
     3. The use of specialized communication modes and equipment
should be taught throughout the program, and students should be
encouraged to utilize the skills in all aspects of their lives.

IV. Support Services 

     1. Students who experience a sudden or gradual loss of
vision will receive counseling regarding the use of new reading,
writing, or communication modes. 
     2. ASDB will support this policy by providing ongoing
inservice opportunities for staff and parents to maintain skills
so that they can promote literacy for the students and learn
about new methods and equipment. 
     3. Information and equipment available in ASDB programs will
be made accessible to all students and staff who use Braille,
print, augmentative communication devices, or auditory modes. 
     4. ASDB staff will foster a positive attitude toward all
communication modes through instruction of students, staff
development, and support services programs.


                  LISAMARIA: FOCUSING ON OTHERS

     From the Associate Editor: "There is nothing either good or
bad but thinking makes it so." That's what Prince Hamlet said,
according to Shakespeare, and as usual he was absolutely right.
Learn the art of keeping a firm grip on your attitudes, refusing
to be discouraged by setbacks or depressed by opposition; and
there is no predictable limit to what you can accomplish. Some
people seem to be born with knowledge of this truth, and others
never learn it. But most of us fall somewhere in the middle,
applying the principle sometimes and in some areas of our lives
but ignoring it in others. 
     Parents of blind children are in a powerful position to help
their youngsters focus their minds on positive ways of thinking
and creative activities. Too often, borne down themselves by
their fear and dismay in the face of their children's blindness,
they unwittingly bend their efforts in the wrong direction--
offering excuses and sparing their children the pain of failure.
Every child benefits from positive reinforcement and the
imposition of healthy parental expectations.
     When I was in the second grade, each child in my class was
issued a box of cardboard letters at the beginning of the school
year. The box was filled with small paper rectangles, each
bearing a capital letter. Every week we were expected to
construct our list of spelling words on the top of our desks
using these letters. I hated the exercise. I could distinguish
the letters if I looked closely, but they were not easy for me to
locate in the box. And my seven-year-old fingers found it
difficult to line them up in straight rows. Moreover, when I bent
close to read what I had written, my breath did further damage to
my list. But worst of all, the girl behind me--one of those
artistic, dainty children whose paste never smeared and whose
drawings were always recognizable--created rows of letters that
marched across her desk in maddeningly exact alignment. 
     Second grade was my year to contract every childhood illness
going, which meant that I missed a good bit of school. My mother,
who understood how important it was that I not fall behind in my
work, faithfully brought home my lessons so that I could add
misery to boredom by doing homework. Most wretched of all, she
brought home that dreadful box of letters and expected me to
assemble my spelling words even though the teacher wasn't there
to give me credit for having done it! It would have been easier
and more sensible to use Scrabble tiles for this exercise, and
even better to use ones from a Braille Scrabble game so that I
could have practice working with both Braille and print. But we
didn't know about the importance of Braille and didn't own a
Scrabble game, so I had cardboard letters. Mother helped me with
the searching, but I did the spelling, and I mastered the words.
It was school work, and no one ever entertained the notion that I
should be excused from it. Gradually she taught me to take pride
in my ability to do the work, not to dwell on the frustration of
messy rows of letters. 
     Was this a major struggle in my early education? Of course
not. Did it help to shape my approach to learning and my attitude
about myself? Absolutely. Fifty times a week or even a day
parents of blind children contribute to their youngsters' ability
to succeed in life. We don't have to look far to see the
consequences of inculcating excuse making and lack of personal
discipline; we all know blind and sighted adults whose lives have
been blighted by poor attitudes and low expectations. But happily
there are also wonderful examples of what happens when parents,
teachers, and blind children themselves work together to open all
the doors of opportunity for youngsters eager to try new
adventures in living and learning. 
     Lisamaria Martinez is such a child. Clearly she is a ray of
sunshine in the lives of all who know her. In the August 11,
1992, issue of Woman's Day, an article appeared which profiled
the lives of several children with disabilities who have not let
their problems stand in their way. Barbara Bartocci, the author
of the article, contacted Sharon Gold, President of the National
Federation of the Blind of California, to ask if she could
suggest the name of a blind child for this profile. Without
hesitation Sharon suggested Lisamaria and her family. Lisamaria's
mother is one of the leaders of the Parents' Support Group of the
California Parents of Blind Children Division, and NFB philosophy
has been a part of the Martinez family's thoughts and actions for
several years. The results are unmistakable. Now meet Lisamaria
Martinez: 

     When Lisamaria Martinez was five, a strange rash, followed
by blisters, erupted all over her body. Her temperature soared to
105 degrees, and her eyes swelled shut. "She could die," the
doctor warned her terrified parents, as they rushed the pretty
girl to the hospital.
     In the next few weeks Lisamaria's blisters broke open, and
her skin slithered off. Clumps of her waist-length hair fell out.
She couldn't bear to open her eyes to light or air; it hurt too
much.
     As Lisamaria's world grew dark, doctors diagnosed her
mysterious ailment, a rare skin condition called Stevens-Johnson
syndrome. Greg and Maria Martinez learned the worst: their
daughter was permanently blind. Just twenty-eight and twenty-
seven years old, the young couple lived in Oceanside, California,
a continent away from their families in Puerto Rico. Lisamaria
was the older of their two daughters. They were devastated.
     Yet Maria Martinez also felt profound gratitude. She had
told her husband, during the awful days when they feared
Lisamaria might die, "God gave our daughter to us, and God can
take her back; it's not for us to say." God had returned their
daughter; surely they could deal with blindness.
     Since her eyes no longer could tear, Lisamaria had to wear
protective goggles day and night. "In first grade everyone stared
at me," she relates matter-of-factly. "Sometimes they were mean--
we had crayon holders at our desks, and I couldn't tell which
color was which, so I'd ask for help, and kids gave me the wrong
color on purpose."
     As Lisamaria learned to navigate with her cane, Greg
encouraged her to go wherever she wanted to go. The Martinezes
treated Lisamaria as normally as they did her younger sister.
     In second grade Lisamaria entered the annual "Braille
Readers Are Leaders" contest. "I'm going to win!" she boasted to
her parents, and they encouraged her determination. In three
months, she read sixty-two books, winning her division.
     By third grade Lisamaria joined Brownies and, pushing her
cane ahead of her, hiked up trails with her friends. She also
found an outlet for what her father calls a "natural desire to
help people." In Brownies she collected canned goods for homeless
shelters and visited the elderly in hospitals. At school she
volunteered to pick up trash. "I got my friends to help," she
admits.
     The efforts of a nine-year-old blind girl to help the
elderly caught public attention. In 1990 Lisamaria was nominated
for the national Kiwanis Hope of America Award and, later that
year, was named California's recipient of the coveted Jefferson
Awards for Students for her community service. Lisamaria and her
mother flew to Washington, D.C., for the presentation, and there,
says Lisamaria proudly, "I got my picture taken with Mrs. Bush."
It doesn't bother her that she can't see the photo.
     Lisamaria still has trying times--in physical education, for
instance. "It's hard to bat and run bases when you're blind, but
my teacher says she'll blindfold everyone in my class someday so
they'll understand what it's like."
     Most important: Lisamaria doesn't feel sorry for herself.
"Nothing holds her back" says her mother. "When I see her running
on the playground, she is just like a normal child. Her attitude
is: `It might take me longer, but I can do whatever I want to
do.'"


[PHOTO: Portrait. CAPTION: Nell Carney, Commissioner of the
Rehabilitation Services Administration.]

      THE FEDERAL REHABILITATION ACT: NOW AND IN THE FUTURE
                         by Nell Carney

     From the Associate Editor: The first item on the Friday
afternoon agenda of the 1992 convention of the National
Federation of the Blind was an address by Nell Carney,
Commissioner of the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA).
Commissioner Carney has attended large portions of the last
several NFB conventions, and she has demonstrated herself to be a
knowledgeable, energetic, and dedicated proponent of the
vocational and rehabilitation rights and needs of people with
disabilities. She is making her mark on the federal
rehabilitation programs that shape our lives, and all of us who
are blind have benefitted by her vigilance. President Maurer
welcomed Commissioner Carney warmly and thanked her for her
dedicated service to the disabled community. Mrs. Carney then
reported on the current RSA programs and activities of most
immediate importance and significance to blind people. Here is
what she had to say:

     Thank you, Mr. President. Members of the Federation, I am
here this afternoon to bring you greetings from George Bush and
his administration as the President's appointed person to advance
rehabilitation policy and programs throughout the United States.
President George Bush is the only President in our history who
has made disability issues a primary concern of his
administration. Yesterday afternoon I received a call from the
White House asking that I please announce at this conference, the
largest gathering of disabled people anywhere in the world that
we know about, that the President yesterday appointed a blind
attorney (Richard Casey of New York City, with the firm Brown and
Wood) to sit on the Seventh District Court in the State of New
York. [applause] Mr. Casey is the third blind person that the
President has appointed to a high-ranking position in the federal
government: I was the first. He then appointed a blind man to sit
on the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, and now Mr. Casey.
     As many of you know, the Rehabilitation Services
Administration is charged with the responsibility of
administering four of the seven titles of the Rehabilitation Act
of 1973 and its subsequent amendments through 1986, as well as
administering the Randolph-Sheppard authorities. As many of you
also know, the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 is this year up for
reauthorization. In reality, it was up for reauthorization last
year, but because of some conflicting information and other
delays in the Congress and in the administration, our
reauthorization was advanced an additional year, but this year we
believe that the act will be reauthorized in this Congress. 
     This afternoon I'd like to discuss with you briefly the
administration's position on reauthorization and the highlights
of the reauthorization bill that was introduced by Senator
Durenberger of Minnesota on Monday of this week. Then I'd like to
talk about the Randolph-Sheppard authorities and some of the
issues concerned with that legislation.
     Being aware that people with physical and mental
disabilities throughout the country are more and more concerned
about choices in the provision of rehabilitation services, the
administration was very concerned that the reauthorization bill
contain some choices language. We covered that in two areas.
     To begin with, in the discretionary programs we're asking
that the reauthorization contain a discretionary model program in
choices, and we're asking that it be funded for this first cycle
at six million dollars. The language we are proposing would
prohibit current, established vocational rehabilitation agencies,
public agencies, from competing for the choices projects. It may
include vouchers, but the language doesn't necessarily say that.
The second area to address choice is that surrounding the
development of the individual written rehabilitation program in
title I of the act. Our language proposes that we strengthen this
requirement by directing that any individual receiving services
from a public rehabilitation program be given full choice in a
vocational goal and training to achieve that goal. 
     Another area that we're fully aware is of tremendous concern
to consumers throughout the country is that of lack of upward
mobility opportunities for people with disabilities who do
receive employment. We're therefore asking for a change in the
Rehabilitation Act that would allow us to demonstrate the need
for and advantage of having upward mobility opportunities for
people with disabilities who are already employed. We are asking
that this authority be funded under one of our discretionary
programs, which is probably less known to you than the Vocational
Rehabilitation Program, the Projects with Industries. Again this
program would not be available for competition through the public
vocational rehabilitation agencies, and those served under the
program would not necessarily be subject to the same eligibility
requirements as those in vocational rehabilitation.
     The third area that we will emphasize in reauthorization
will be accountability. We believe that, because 80 percent of
all of the money spent in public vocational rehabilitation is
comprised of federal dollars--your dollars and mine--there must
necessarily be a high level of accountability. We are, therefore,
proposing changes in section 14 of the Act to allow us to develop
evaluation standards and program indicators for the vocational
rehabilitation programs that look at outcomes of the programs
rather than process. We believe that such standards and
indicators will necessarily create an atmosphere that will
enhance employment opportunities for people with disabilities.
     There are a number of other changes that we are asking in
the reauthorization, but they are of less significance than the
three that I have discussed. Having been here for two days at
your convention, I'm also aware (as I know you are) that there
are some other provisions proposed outside of the
administration's. Two specifically that affect blind people are
the provision for a commission for the blind and the provision to
make the title VII, part C, Older Blind Independent Living
Program a formula grant program.
     I believe that most of you were present when our Secretary
of Education, Lamar Alexander, addressed this audience on
Wednesday and stated that he intends to go back to Washington and
find out why we need another commission. It would be indeed
presumptuous of me to make any predictions about title VII, part
C, given what I've heard at this convention and the obvious tie
between the title VII, part C, legislation and the commission for
the blind. 
     Let me move on and discuss very briefly with you the
Randolph-Sheppard authorities. In the fall of 1991, the Randolph-
Sheppard Vendors of America, a division of the American Council
of the Blind, asked for and was granted a Congressional hearing
on the Randolph-Sheppard Program under the allegation that,
instead of growing as directed by the legislation, the program
had started to shrink. 
     Robert DiVilla, the Assistant Secretary for the Office of
Special Education and Rehabilitation Services, and I offered
testimony for the administration, and it was very clear to the
House panel before the day was done that the allegations that had
been brought against the program were indeed not factual, and the
hearing resulted in no changes and no new direction given to the
administration. 
     There are, however, some issues with the Randolph-Sheppard
Program that you need to be aware of. As some of you know, last
winter we started to send out questionnaires about the
regulations, which have not been changed since 1976. We got a
voluminous amount of information from the constituency about the
regulations. We had one meeting in Washington and decided that we
needed to analyze further the information that we had gathered.
It is my full intention to open the Randolph-Sheppard Regulations
for revision, and the only reason that hasn't happened yet is
because of the President's moratorium on the regulation process
at this time.
     There is now an important court case taking place in the
state of Mississippi, the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration versus the Vocational Rehabilitation Program of
Mississippi, which is the state's licensing agency. NASA is
asking that the vending concessions be given to them to
administer because of some special legislation that pertains to
NASA. In that court preparation and ongoing dialogue, the
Department of Justice filed a brief stating that the arbitration
provisions in the Randolph-Sheppard Act are unconstitutional.
When that issue was brought before the District Court in
Mississippi, it ruled that the arbitration language was not
unconstitutional.
     However, the Department of Justice has advised our attorneys
that it will pursue identifying those provisions as
unconstitutional in additional arbitration suits or cases. It's
something that you need to be aware of as consumers and as
participants in the Randolph-Sheppard Program. At the time that
the Department of Justice filed the brief, we had about decided
that we were going to have to offer amendments to the Randolph-
Sheppard Act. We now have put that activity on hold and will
await the decision of the court. Further developments in the NASA
versus State Licensing Agency in the Mississippi case: no ruling
has been made about the request of NASA to negotiate with the
State Licensing Agency for part of the revenue or commission on
the income that's realized from the facilities at the NASA
installation.
     Elsewhere in the Randolph-Sheppard Program the military
installation in White Sands, New Mexico, is also being considered
for part of the National Industries for the Severely Handicapped
Food Services Program. There is no doubt that this issue will
also end up in a court case. Overall, you should be aware that,
as we get into an era of tighter and tighter financial support
for our programs, more and more other disability groups will
continue to look at the Randolph-Sheppard Program.
     Let me now return to the Rehabilitation Act in combination
with the Randolph-Sheppard Program and take just a couple of
minutes to tell you what I think is ahead of us as blind people,
and ahead of the nation, in the area of rehabilitation and the
Randolph-Sheppard Program. The rehabilitation program was
originally established to provide vocational training and
placement for people with physical and mental disabilities. Over
a seventy-two year history, although we say that we have placed
fifteen million people in employment, the unemployment rate for
people with physical and mental disabilities continues to be
about 66 or 67 percent. In the field of blindness, it's even
worse--it's about 72 percent.
     I did look at the statistics last year for blind and
visually impaired people served by public vocational
rehabilitation and found that only 35 percent of the cases closed
were closed in competitive employment. That figure is absolutely
unacceptable to us at the Rehabilitation Services Administration.
Beginning with the 1992 strategic management plan within RSA, our
number one priority is employment of people with disabilities. We
intend to direct our attention, our discretionary programs, our
policy development, and everything else we do towards this end.
     So far as the Randolph-Sheppard Act is concerned, as the
largest and most forceful organization of blind people known
anywhere in the world, you must be ever vigilant in seeing that
the program is not eroded and over-regulated so that it does not
serve its initial purpose, which was to create employment
opportunities for people who are blind.
     In closing let me thank you very sincerely for the
opportunity to come here a third year in a row and share with you
some of the things that are going on in the Federal
Rehabilitation Program, but most important, to make me feel
welcome to sit in your sessions and listen and learn so that I
can know what direction to take as we look forward to building a
comprehensive and responsive program of rehabilitation services.
Thank you very much.


[PHOTO: Curtis Chong speaks at microphone. CAPTION: Curtis Chong,
President of the National Federation of the Blind in Computer
Science.]

[PHOTO: Portrait. CAPTION: Dale McDaniel, Vice President of
Marketing, Artic Technologies International, Inc.]

        ARTIC TECHNOLOGIES HEARS FROM THE ORGANIZED BLIND

     From the Associate Editor: One of the many duties of the
National Federation of the Blind in Computer Science, the NFB's
computer science division, is to do whatever it can to ensure
that the companies providing specialized technology in the
blindness field are encouraged to offer the best service and
equipment they can. The division's president, Curtis Chong,
gathers information constantly about this specialized technology
and often talks with vendors and producers in an effort to carry
out the division's responsibility.
     Historically, Artic Technologies of Troy, Michigan, has been
one of the most respected designers and manufacturers of screen-
review programs and equipment. But in recent times blind computer
users have become increasingly dissatisfied with what they have
concluded was Artic Technologies' aggravating behavior and
corporate decisions apparently designed to increase profits
unfairly. In response to the increasing tide of consumer
complaint, Curtis Chong sat down last spring and wrote a letter
to Artic's Dale McDaniel, Vice President of Marketing. Within two
weeks Mr. McDaniel wrote a response. Because of the importance of
the issues raised and the popularity of the products in question,
we print here this exchange of letters. It is courteous and
candid. Only time will tell whether Artic takes advantage of the
comments offered with all good will by the organized blind. If
Artic Technologies makes full use of the advice and information
provided by Mr. Chong, all of us will benefit. Here is the
correspondence:

                                          Minneapolis, Minnesota 
                                                   April 21, 1992

Mr. Dale McDaniel
Artic Technologies International
Troy, Michigan

Dear Dale:
     I am writing this letter to bring to your attention some of
the current thinking that has taken place among blind people in
this country concerning Artic Technologies International. I
regret the circumstances that have motivated me to write this
letter. However, if Artic Technologies is to maintain any
favorable standing within the blind community and if it is to
continue to be a leading supplier to screen-reading technology
for the IBM PC and compatible machines, it would do well to
consider the points raised here. I trust that you will
communicate what I have said to the other principals of the
company.
     When Artic Technologies and its program, Artic Vision, came
upon the scene in 1986, it was clear to everyone that here was a
company that had developed a screen-reading system with some
unique, innovative, and exciting features. In 1986 no other
screen-reading program for the blind could respond as quickly and
as smoothly as Artic Vision, no other screen-reading program
could silence unwanted speech as quickly as Artic Vision, and no
other screen-reading system could offer synthetic speech for as
economical a price with as high quality as Artic Technologies
could with its SynPhonix speech card. Overnight, Artic
Technologies established itself as a company of prominence in the
field.
     Alas, events that have taken place over the last few years
have done much to erode Artic's favorable standing. In my
conversations with blind people throughout the country, these key
factors are repeatedly cited:
     1. Artic's perceived attempt to lock up the SSI 263 chip
market by making itself the sole distributor of the chip;
     2. Artic's tendency to pre-announce software and hardware as
"soon to be available" when, in reality, many months or even
years go by before anything is brought to market (in this context
I refer to Artic's micro-channel speech card, Vision 3, the not-
yet-released keyboard macro feature for Vision 3, and Artic's
external speech synthesizer);
     3. Artic Technologies' decision to release its newer
SynPhonix cards only with Artic Vision instead of immediately
providing an open interface (SONIX2) to permit the card to be
used with competing screen-reading programs; and
     4. packaging the Artic Vision system in such a way that the
program can be used with only one SynPhonix speech card.
     Consider the question of exclusive distribution rights for
the SSI 263 speech chip. While we can engage in endless debate
and discussion about whether or not Artic Technologies had any
designs to monopolize the market for this chip, the fact remains
that Artic Technologies was perceived as attempting to monopolize
the chip. Proponents of this view argued that Artic Technologies,
as a marketer of screen-reading software and speech synthesis
technology for the blind, should not be vying for the exclusive
distribution rights for a speech chip (the SSI 263)--especially
since that chip was an indispensable component in speech systems
marketed by its competitors. It was felt that, as an exclusive
distributor of the SSI 263 chip, Artic Technologies would be able
to exercise an unfair advantage, thereby stifling competition.
Artic's repeated denials of any intent to monopolize the chip and
its assertion that it would be the best distributor of the chip
because of its ability to provide technical support were either
not heard or not believed by the vast majority of blind
consumers.
     A lot of people have told me that they simply do not give
any credence to new announcements made or prototypes shown by
Artic Technologies. Given the delays encountered getting Vision 3
to market, the commitments made to put out an as-yet-unreleased
key macro capability for Vision 3, unfulfilled promises made to
develop a SONIX2 open interface for the SynPhonix micro-channel
speech card, and the not-yet-released but widely-talked-about
external speech synthesizer, this can hardly be considered
surprising. There are those who have said that Artic Technologies
never releases a product on time and sometimes not at all. Recent
experiences such as those cited above give substance to this
assertion.
     When Artic Technologies developed its new line of speech
cards (the successors to the old SynPhonix 200), it initially
sold them only as part of an Artic Vision or Business Vision
package. At the initial release date Artic Technologies chose not
to market an open interface module that vendors of other screen-
reading software could use to drive the newer speech cards. As
you know, the old SynPhonix 200 cards could not run well on
computers running at more than ten megahertz. People who wanted
the SynPhonix speech cards for their newer and faster computers
found that it was somehow easier to purchase Artic Vision instead
of sticking to their older screen-reading systems. A lot of
people thought that the open interface module should have been
released as soon as the new SynPhonix cards came to market and
resented what was perceived to be a clear attempt by Artic
Technologies to increase the sales of its Artic Vision product.
     And what about software protection? Everyone is well aware
that the Artic Vision product is packaged so as to work with only
the SynPhonix speech card. This has been and continues to be a
bone of contention with many blind people. Although no one denies
that Artic Technologies has a right to protect its software, it
is generally felt that Artic Technologies could have come up with
a better protection scheme that would have permitted licensed
users of the program to run the software on more than one
machine. As it is today, a licensed user who wants to run Artic
Vision on two computers has to buy two copies of the program plus
two speech cards. This is not a major issue in and of itself;
but, when combined with everything else, it reinforces the
perception that Artic Technologies does not hold the interests of
blind consumers as a high priority.
     I would not go so far as to say that Artic Technologies has
deliberately sought to earn the ill will of blind consumers. It
only seems that way. The company has taken actions and adopted
policies which have done tremendous damage to its favorable
standing. There are those who have said that Artic Technologies
is no longer a leader in the field and that Artic Vision, as a
screen reader, has been surpassed by competing software. There
are those who have said that Artic Technologies promises much and
delivers too little too late. My belief is that Artic
Technologies has made some bad decisions and that it has made too
many premature announcements. These have resulted in the loss of
the company's leadership position in the field.
     A lot of blind people will tell you that Artic Technologies
is viewed today as a stable but not spectacular company. Vision 3
is still viewed as one of the leading screen-reading systems on
the market. However, no one holds out any real hope that the
program will make any significant strides in the near future.
     It seems to me that Artic Technologies needs to take
deliberate steps to regain its favorable standing among blind
people. For one thing, the company must do a better job of
announcing new products and then releasing them on time. For
another, the company must do a better job of listening to and
communicating with blind consumers.
     Consider what might be done to facilitate more open access
to your speech cards on the new 33 megahertz 486 processors. I
understand that your current speech cards do not work well on
some 486 machines. Rumor has it that you intend to remedy this
problem by making a software patch to Artic Vision. Why not
include the same fix in your SONIX2 product so that other screen-
reading software will be able to use your speech card on the 486
processors. And speaking of SONIX2, it is high time that a SONIX2
module was made available for the micro-channel version of your
speech card.
     I hope that you and your colleagues will give careful
consideration to the issues raised in this letter. I do not wish
to destroy or discredit Artic Technologies. Rather, I am trying
to help the company perform in a manner that is more in keeping
with the wishes of the consumers who purchase its products.

                                                 Yours sincerely,
                                          Curtis Chong, President
                                 National Federation of the Blind
                                              in Computer Science

     That is what Curtis Chong said in his April 21 letter, and
under date of May 4, Dale McDaniel, Vice President for Marketing
at Artic Technologies, responded as follows:

Dear Curtis:
     I would like to thank you for your letter of April 21.
Constructive criticism is necessary and welcome for any company
that desires to grow and improve. All too often, individuals or
agencies who take exception with a company's actions are willing
to express their dissatisfaction to everyone but the company
itself. This can create unfavorable and distorted attitudes among
consumers who have had this dissatisfaction repeated to them
second- or third-hand, not to mention the fact that it makes it
difficult if not impossible for a company to take corrective
action if they are not informed. We appreciate the fact that you
have taken the time to inform us of your concerns directly and
for your expressed confidence that we can rectify these matters.
     Curtis, we are pleased that "A lot of blind people will tell
you that Artic Technologies is viewed today as a stable" company
and that "Vision 3 is still viewed as one of the leading screen
reading systems on the market." We have watched a number of
companies and many products come and go in the adaptive
technology field and are proud of the fact that our customers can
rely on our continued presence, enhancements to our existing
products, and the introduction of new products to broaden the
horizons of access for them.
     At the same time I can understand in part the reasons behind
your contention that Artic is currently not a "spectacular
company" and that Vision 3 might not "make any significant
strides in the near future." While I can understand the
frustrations that have led to such statements, neither I nor
anyone at Artic can accept them as unchangeable fact. We realize
and accept that as part of our evolution as a company we have
made mistakes. Be assured that we have learned and will continue
to learn from these mistakes and do our utmost to justify the
confidence that you and so many others have placed in us. Artic
gained a reputation as an innovative, technologically advanced
company based on our numerous accomplishments. Anyone who thinks
that this reputation is a thing of the past is vastly underrating
us.
     I realize that you ordered the comments in your letter to
reflect a historical perspective and that several of the items
have already been rectified. However, for ease of presentation, I
would like to respond to the points that you raised in the order
in which you raised them rather than by order of importance.
     1. Regarding Artic's "perceived attempt to lock up the SSI
263 speech synthesis chip market by making itself the sole
distributor of the chip," we are neither the sole distributor of
this chip, nor have we ever refused to sell the chip to anyone
wishing to purchase it. When this issue was first raised at the
NFB convention in Chicago several years ago, I met with Dr.
Cranmer, yourself, other members of the NFB staff, and numerous
manufacturers of speech products. At that time I explained the
salient points that led to Artic's becoming a distributor for the
SSI 263 chip. The principals of Artic designed the 263 chip while
we were with the Research & Development group of Votrax, Inc. SSI
simply manufactures the chip under license from what was then
Votrax's parent company (Votrax has since gone out of business).
Since SSI did not design the chip, they have never had anyone on
their staff who understands the operation of the chip or can
provide technical support. SSI had contracted Votrax, Inc., to
provide technical support, but since everyone involved with the
263 design project had left the company, Votrax had no one on
staff who could support the chip either. This situation, coupled
with the fact that SSI sells relatively few 263 chips in
comparison to their other products, led SSI to announce that they
were discontinuing production of the 263. We made it abundantly
clear at that time that we would make the 263 chip available to
any and all individuals, companies, or agencies who wished to
purchase it. Since that time we have sold chips to numerous
companies and individuals, regardless of their application or
potential market. Interestingly, those companies who manufacture
speech products for low-vision and blind individuals have not
been among our customers. These companies obviously obtain the
263 chip through other sources. Consequently, not only does Artic
provide the 263 chip to any interested party, we also are not the
"sole distributor" of this device. The reality of the situation
is that, if not for the intervention of Artic, the 263 chip would
have ceased to exist several years ago.
     2. Artic is aware of its "tendency to pre-announce software
and hardware." In the past we have released products late and
presently have some still awaiting release. We realize and regret
the frustration that these situations have created and can assure
you that no one feels this frustration more deeply than we do. It
obviously does not benefit us in any manner to announce a product
and then not deliver it by the promised date (your letter is
ample proof of that). Unfortunately, sophisticated software
design and scheduling are not exact sciences for any company, and
the temptation to announce exciting new concepts can sometimes be
irresistible (MicroSoft being two years late with Windows is a
good example of these points). At this point all that we can do
is offer our apologies for our past mistakes and assure you that
they will not be repeated in the future. We will no longer
discuss any new product until we are in a position to quote a
guaranteed delivery date. Additionally, products that were
previously announced will be completed and released as soon as
possible. I will be happy to provide you with firm release dates
for our external speech synthesizer (TransPort) and the keyboard
macro feature for Vision 3 as they become available. As you are
aware, the other products that you mentioned (Vision 3 and the
micro-channel version of our synthesizer (SynPhonix-315) have
been available for well over a year.
     3. Our decision to release our "new SynPhonix cards only
with Artic Vision instead of immediately providing an open
interface (SONIX2) to permit the card to be used with competing
screen reading programs" is in reality an indication of our
commitment to our customers. That some people mistakenly view
this as a negative action on our part is obvious from your
statement that "A lot of people thought that the open interface
module should have been released as soon as the new SynPhonix
cards came to market and resented what was perceived to be a
clear attempt by Artic Technologies to increase the sales of its
Artic Vision product." Such perceptions illustrate my earlier
comment that distorted attitudes can develop when people do not
discuss their dissatisfactions with the manufacturer. The
SynPhonix synthesizers marketed with SONIX2 are a completely
separate product line from the SynPhonix synthesizers with VEST
and Visions. Consequently, when a synthesizer upgrade is planned,
we must decide which product will be upgraded first. If we opted
to upgrade the SynPhonix with SONIX2 and release it first, those
customers who rely on our Vision software for computer access
would find themselves in the position of waiting for a new
release while those who use other screen access programs were
already benefitting from an upgraded synthesizer. What message
would this deliver regarding Artic's loyalty to its customers?
The only other alternative would be to upgrade one product line
and then delay its release until the upgrade on the other product
line was completed so they could be released simultaneously. This
approach might allow us to avoid some criticism, but it would
cause one group or the other to needlessly wait for an upgrade
that could be of great assistance to them. While we are committed
to considering the needs of the entire low-vision and blind
community, our first loyalty must go to our customers who rely
upon us for their access needs. A related issue that you raised
deals with a modification to ensure proper operation of SynPhonix
synthesizers with the new 33 megahertz 486 processors. You state
that "Rumor has it that you intend to remedy this problem by
making a software patch to Artic Vision...." The reality is that
any such modifications would have to be made to the software that
controls the synthesizer, not the screen access program which
uses the synthesizer as an output device. I can assure you that
any such modifications to the synthesizer drivers will be
released simultaneously for all versions of our synthesizers.
     4. Regarding the serialization of Visions software to match
the SynPhonix synthesizer, you state that such software
protection "has and continues to be a bone of contention with
many blind people." This is an area of great concern to us, as
the introduction of serialization was an attempt to address an
unfortunate situation in a manner that did not penalize
legitimate customers. When we first released Visions, the
software was completely open and could operate with any SynPhonix
synthesizer. Unfortunately, over the course of several years we
encountered numerous instances of individuals running copies of
Visions that they had not purchased. Many times these instances
became apparent when the individual called us for technical
support. Such instances damage everyone in a variety of ways.
They reflect a loss of revenue which could have been utilized to
hire additional engineering staff to enhance existing products
and research new products, they utilize technical support time
that should be going to legitimate users, and they divert
personnel and resources from productive activities that benefit
all Artic customers. Eventually such occurrences became too
frequent and unmanageable to be overlooked. At that point we had
several options to resolve the situation. We could have taken the
approach used by many large software manufacturers and increased
our prices to offset these losses. However, we did not then and
do not now feel that it is appropriate to penalize licensed users
for the actions of others. In fact, while our products have
increased in sophistication and functionality over the years, our
prices have not increased. A second option would have been to
discontinue selling SynPhonix synthesizers for general usage and
offer them for sale only with a Visions package. This option was
not rejected due to any profits that might be realized from such
synthesizer sales. In fact, of all of the products that we
manufacture, synthesizers have the lowest profit margin. As
difficult as it may be for some people to accept, Artic is not
simply a faceless company driven by a profit motive. Artic is
composed of people who take pride in the fact that their work
enhances the lives of its customers rather than simply turning
out meaningless products for the mass consumer market.
Consequently, we did not feel that in good conscience we could
turn our backs on customers who depended on our synthesizers. The
third and final alternative was some form of software protection.
The most common form of software protection is a coded disk that
forces the user to perform complicated installation procedures
and limits the number of installations and back-up copies.
Further complicating matters was the fact that such procedures
would have to be performed without benefit of speech. We felt
that these complications and limitations were an unacceptable
burden to our customers. However, by serializing the software to
the synthesizer, we were able to provide a system under which
installation is trivial and the user can maintain back-up copies
without limitation. The only difficulty arises when an individual
needs access to more than one computer. While you state that the
user "has to buy two copies of the program plus two speech
cards," this is not the case. From the day that we implemented
this system, we have offered a complete second system to licensed
individuals for the price of the synthesizer alone. Consequently,
any individual who needs to run on more than one system pays for
the software once and then purchases the additional synthesizer
just as they would with any other system on the market today. We
also offer licenses to accommodate the needs of any company or
organization that requires access for multiple computers. Even
this necessity will soon be removed since the introduction of our
TransPort external synthesizer will enable the user to access any
computer they happen to be near.
     As I said, our intent was to address an unfortunate
situation by implementing a solution that did not penalize
legitimate customers. As always, we would welcome any alternative
recommendations that you or any other individual might have.
     Curtis, I hope that the responses that I have provided
answer the questions and concerns that you expressed. I would be
happy to answer any additional questions or provide further
clarification for you or anyone else who desires it.
     Again, I deeply appreciate your efforts to assist us in
being a company that meets the needs of the low vision and blind
community to the best of our ability. I hope that you and others
will continue to provide us with the feedback we require to
accomplish this goal.

                                                       Sincerely,
                                                    Dale McDaniel
                                      Vice President of Marketing
                           Artic Technologies International, Inc.


                    VICTORY IN THE OWEN CASE
                        by Charlie Brown

     From the Associate Editor: The following article first
appeared in the August, 1992, edition of the NFB Vigilant, the
publication of the National Federation of the Blind of Virginia.
Charlie Brown is the dedicated and hard-working president of the
affiliate and a member of the NFB Board of Directors. Here is the
story as he reported it:

     Last March, during our state convention in Virginia Beach,
Stuart and Kathy Owen asked to see me--explaining that "they had
some trouble at the shop." What an understatement!
     Stuart and Kathy both work at the Virginia Industries for
the Blind (VIB) workshop in Charlottesville operated by the
Virginia Department for the Visually Handicapped (DVH). Stuart
has been employed full-time at VIB since April, 1955, and Kathy
began her career there in July, 1972. Their work records are
superb. Last year, for instance, Stuart was named VIB worker of
the year. The Owens are also respected leaders in their church,
their community, and the Federation. Imagine how stunned I was to
learn that they had each been suspended without pay from their
jobs for an entire week! They also lost the sick and vacation
leave they would have earned during that week.
     What did the Owens do to deserve such severe punishment--
rough up a co-worker? Come to work drunk? Use foul language?
Refuse a work assignment? No! They left a meeting early and
returned to their jobs. Was this just one of a long series of
incidents the totality of which might justify such a severe
penalty? No! But the agency decided to get especially tough, and
the Owens paid the price both in financial hardship and in
humiliation.
     I told the Owens that the Federation would do everything we
could to try to get their lost pay and benefits restored. We did
what we could, and by mid-July we succeeded. But it was not
without a fight--a knock-down, drag-out fight!
     The fact that the Owens left a meeting with the workshop
director before being excused was never in dispute. Such an
offence might have warranted at most a warning, but hardly a
suspension. Further, as it turned out, the Owens had good cause
for doing what they did.
     This whole incident grew out of major management
miscalculations in taking on new Federal mop contracts. Although
the VIB management and employees knew last summer that these new
contracts were about to come in, management ignored worker
requests to start learning to make these new federal mops, which
were very different from the state mops employees were used to
making. At about the time the workshop began to make the new
federal mops (late last year), it also became apparent that there
would be a lot more orders than management had anticipated, since
one of the other major mop contractors had proven unable to make
them properly. Thus, an expected trickle of mop orders became an
uncontrollable flood. Nevertheless, untrained workers struggled
mightily to come through for VIB, even though much of the
equipment they were using was not designed to do the intricate
work required.
     In December workshop director Robert Betler held a meeting
and asked the workers to give up their long-accustomed four-day-
a-week and ten-hour-day schedule in favor of a five-day-a-week
and eight-hour-day schedule for a couple of months so that a
temporary second shift could be deployed. In spite of the
significant inconvenience, the workers agreed. As the struggle
continued through January and February, management turned up the
heat. The pressure on the mop workers and the damage to their
morale was the worst the Owens had ever experienced in all their
years at the workshop.
     Then, with production still behind, Betler called another
meeting on February 24. The meeting was tense from the get-go.
Things got worse when Betler told the employees they would have
to stay on the new five-day schedule for another month--at least
through March. Betler paced back and forth, hands on hips,
lecturing the workers about how backed up things were and about
having to pay a penalty for missing a delivery deadline. Some
workers were insulted, and at least one employee (by his own
admission) responded to Betler in words I will not reprint here.
     Stuart was then so upset that he begged repeatedly to be
allowed to go back to work, lest he also lose his temper and say
something he would regret later. Others had been allowed to leave
earlier, and the meeting broke up soon thereafter anyway. Betler
told Stuart to stay awhile longer and kept up his harangue.
Stuart finally returned to work. This turn of events so upset
Kathy that she also asked to be allowed to go back to work. She,
too, eventually left. Shortly thereafter Betler adjourned the
meeting.
     The Owens both received disciplinary notices of suspension
the next day. The Owens then filed a grievance and asked for the
Federation's help.
     I was shocked when the DVH claimed that their workshop
grievance procedure barred me from representing the Owens at any
stage of the proceedings--not at the meetings with management,
and certainly not at any hearing. While the grievance procedure
allows workers to be represented by a fellow employee serving on
the workshop advisory committee, I could hardly believe the
agency's view that this meant that workers could not use an
independent outsider instead. What would you say if someone told
you that the only person allowed to represent you in a case was
on the other side's payroll? Talk about unfair! Because DVH took
this ridiculous position, they made the Owens go through all
sorts of paperwork just to let me see some of the personnel
documents--and DVH even tried to bill the Federation for the
privilege! (I haven't used our money to pay their silly bill, and
I don't intend to.)
     I discussed the representation issue over and over with DVH
officials and was getting nowhere. Finally as the hearing date
approached, I sent DVH's personnel director, Maryann Isbell, a
letter stating that I intended to represent the Owens at their
hearings on June 19, absent only a court order to the contrary. I
also suggested that Ms. Isbell take this issue up with the
Attorney General's Office. Two days before the hearings the
agency finally relented and allowed me to represent the Owens on
behalf of the Federation. Needless to say, all of this Mickey
Mouse DVH behavior created uncertainties for the Owens and me up
to the last minute and made it hard to prepare for the hearings.
     On June 19 the Owens finally got their hearing in
Charlottesville. Both hearings were conducted by a three-person
panel, at least two of whom were required by the VIB grievance
procedure to be DVH employees. The agency picked Don Kinder, and
the Owens picked Seville Allen (an outsider with solid knowledge
of the workshop program). In accordance with the grievance
procedure, Mr. Kinder and Ms. Allen chose the third panel member,
DVH employee Barbara Bowman. I represented the Owens on behalf of
the Federation, and Deputy Commissioner George Koger represented
DVH.
     The hearings literally dragged on for hours as all of the
facts about the Federal mop fiasco came out in the testimony of
both the Owens' witnesses and the DVH witnesses. Koger called an
assortment of management officials to testify for DVH, as well as
a couple of the Owens' co-workers, who didn't seem to be too
happy to be there. Frankly, the testimony of Koger's co-worker
witnesses wasn't all that damaging to the Owens' cause because
their accounts of the February meeting and the events leading up
to it diverged--and one hearing-impaired employee even admitted
being unable to follow much of what had happened. One courageous
co-worker even came forward to testify on the Owens' behalf. The
Owens' minister also gave a powerful testimony about their
character and about the extraordinary pressure the Owens were
under at work. Of course, the Owens themselves, with their
obvious integrity, were their own best witnesses.
     A low point at each hearing was Koger's pathetic effort to
convince the panel that the Owens' departures from the February
meeting were really not first, but second offenses. Even Koger
apparently realized that the week-long suspensions were
inappropriate for a first offense. Accordingly, Koger produced
two pieces of paper--one naming Stuart and the other naming
Kathy. They were disciplinary warning notice forms, apparently
drafted back in 1990. To be a valid notice, the VIB rules require
that either the employee sign a receipt for it (as the Owens did
on their February, 1992, notices) or some other DVH official sign
the notice certifying that it had in fact been issued. Neither
signature was on either of the alleged 1990 notices. The Owens,
of course, had no idea that DVH officials had allowed such draft
documents to be put in their files. Koger tried in vain to prove
that the notices had been issued, notwithstanding the missing
signatures. It was easy to see at the time that nobody was buying
his claim; and, in fact, it was obvious that this questionable
tactic backfired.
     In mid-July the Owens called to tell me the good news that
the hearing panel had ruled in their favor, giving them back
their lost pay and benefits. But what really surprised me was
that the panel decision was unanimous--even the agency's
representative, Don Kinder, voted in favor of the Owens.
     Hopefully DVH will learn some lessons from this dreadful
affair. I believe the hearings could and should have been
avoided. They were an incredible waste of time and money. I tried
more than once to seek a negotiated settlement in order to avoid
the hearings, but DVH management completely refused even to
discuss the issues with me.
     Why was DVH so hard-nosed with such fine employees? I keep
asking myself this question. With my twenty years of experience
in the labor law field I know that sometimes, when management is
in trouble with workers, they pick out a couple of top employees
for tough treatment to serve as examples to others. The message
is not subtle--"If we can do this to outstanding workers, imagine
what we can do to you, so toe the line." Of course, I'll never be
able to prove that DVH meant to do such a thing in this instance,
but I wonder.
     In any case, we proved to all those who work for VIB that
they can sleep a little easier at night, knowing that management
cannot intimidate them whenever officials feel like it. The Owens
were willing to stand tall and fight all the way, and the
Federation stood by their side. Now we are working to change the
VIB grievance procedure to give employees a fairer shake in the
future. That is what the Federation is all about.

     There you have the report that Charlie Brown made to the
Virginia affiliate about the Owens' case, but perhaps the last
word belongs to Stuart and Kathy Owen, who wrote a letter to
President Maurer under date of August 17, 1992, which says in
part: 

Dear Mr. Maurer:
     Let us start by saying that the NFB is the greatest
organization for blind people there is, and we fully believe in
our movement. My wife and I have been members for fourteen years.
I am President of the Charlottesville Chapter; my wife is
corresponding secretary.
     ....[Mr. Owen next summarized the case described in this
article before continuing] 
     We think you should know what a fine job Charlie Brown is
doing as our state president. He stuck with us and gained victory
for us in our grievance hearing. Charlie is a marvelous and
intelligent person. He is the best lawyer that we have ever seen.
We were very proud to have him represent us. We think that
Charlie should be commended to the very highest degree.
     Seville Allen of Northern Virginia is also to be highly
commended. She served on our behalf on the grievance panel. She
is also a marvelous and intelligent person. She spent much of her
time on our behalf. We were honored to have her represent us. She
is a real go-getter. Yes, we are honored to be associated with
both Seville and Charlie. We can never thank them enough for all
that they did for us. We also want to thank everyone in the NFB
for their support.
     Mr. Maurer, we know that you are a busy man, but we think
that you should know what a fine job the leaders in the Virginia
affiliate are doing in our movement. We also want to thank you
for the fine job that you are doing as our national president. We
are proud of you too. We know that you have an awesome task. God
bless you. We pray for you in the many decisions that you have to
make. Thank you for your time in reading this letter and article.

                                                 Sincerely yours,
                                                   Stuart N. Owen
                                                Katherine C. Owen























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

     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."

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

    MAJOR SURGERY, AN EDUCATIONAL IF FRIGHTENING EXPERIENCE
                          by Eric Clegg

     From the Associate Editor: A number of years ago I served as
a chaplain in my local hospital. When I began working there, the
staff was clearly nervous. By and large, the more exalted the
employee, the less notice he or she took of me. The doctors were
hardly aware of my presence among them except when it was
necessary for us to confer about a patient. The nurses fluttered
around for a bit and then settled back into the everyday
absorption of their duties. The cleaning staff, on the other
hand, worried incessantly, for a while at least, about the
possibility of my falling on their wet floors; and the volunteers
never did resign themselves to my cruising through the halls on
my rounds.
     Since in some respects I was a member of the staff myself, I
could safely ignore the sillier comments and attempts to help
from the volunteers, and the employees eventually got the
message: nobody needed to take care of the blind chaplain; she
was there to help take care of the patients. It is useful for all
of us to remember that this evolution is the normal pattern of
human behavior when confronted with a new thing. People are, by
and large, capable of learning; and the efforts of the Federation
to educate the public about blindness are beginning to take
effect. 
     Eric Clegg is a member of the National Federation of the
Blind of California. Last March he had an emergency appendectomy.
Sudden hospitalization is never a pleasant experience, but he has
reflected about what happened to him and, perhaps more
significantly, what did not happen. This is the way he tells his
story:

     Emergencies in life are never planned. They just happen,
ready or not! This was the way things were with me on Saint
Patrick's day this year. Earlier that evening I had eaten a
supper of corned beef and cabbage, but around midnight the
stomach pain I'd been feeling all evening began to intensify. I
wondered if I had a case of food poisoning. At around 1:30 a.m.
the pain stopped circling and settled into the lower right
quadrant of my abdomen.
     What to do? Like many other blind people, I live alone. My
Siamese cat Sasha would not be of much help. The closest thing to
family in the area was my girlfriend, also a Federationist, but
she lived in Stockton, a town some forty-five miles from my home.
Worse yet, in the two years I had lived in Sacramento, I hadn't
chosen a physician or a hospital. 
     I went to bed still thinking I was suffering from food
poisoning. Having taken some aspirin, I decided I would deal with
the situation in the morning. Of course Sasha was her usual
helpful Siamese self, offering to lie on my stomach, particularly
the part that hurt, just to keep it warm. I immediately
threatened her with the loss of one of her nine lives if she
didn't move. The next day the pain was still there, not worse,
just dull and persistent. I packed a suitcase with the
essentials--forgetting a bathrobe--although my radio and plenty
of Braille reading material were included. When I called the
dentist to cancel an appointment, the receptionist told me that
Sutter Memorial was as good as any hospital in the area, so I
called a cab and took myself to the emergency room. 
     Please understand, all this was new and strange to me. The
only other time I was admitted to the hospital was to have my
tonsils removed as a child, and I have no real memory of the
event. Also I had read in the Monitor and elsewhere horror
stories about blind people bent on getting needed medical
services and receiving condescension or discrimination as well. I
really did not know what to expect, but I figured I would deal
with things as they came. In fact, as it turned out, I had only
two bad experiences. 
     My initial impressions proved quite surprising. The person
at Emergency took the needed information from my insurance card.
Then I was hustled off to another area and immediately put to bed
where fluids began pumping into my veins. At around eleven in the
morning, some two and a half hours after my admission, a doctor
came to examine me. Again I was treated with respect and
absolutely no condescension. In fact, I learned later from one of
the night nurses that, in her opinion, I had gotten the best
surgeon in the house. 
     Meanwhile, realizing that I was probably in for a stay of a
few days, I notified my reader and tried to reach my girl friend.
When this failed, I did what many blind people would have done: I
called the president of my Federation chapter, and she got a
message through which, though garbled, eventually enabled my
friend to reach me by phone. 
     I was scheduled for surgery at 3:00 p.m. and was wheeled
into the operating room, which sounded as reverberant as an old
garage--not what one pictures from watching those medical
television programs. Again everyone was great; they all
introduced themselves. Then I began receiving the anesthetic. One
minute I was counting down as ordered; the next minute the
surgery was over, and I was lying in the recovery room--thirsty
and uncomfortable--waiting for the required forty-five minutes
before being taken back to my room. My doctor told me that I had
been lucky. My appendix had nearly burst, but they had caught it
in time. 
     The next few days were a blur. I remember waking up every
few hours to be checked and given pain medication. I do recall
the astounding lack of control one has in a hospital. I needed
assistance to do everything, both because at first I was as weak
as a kitten and because it was necessary to drag my intravenous
trolley (which looked like an oversized, top-heavy microphone
stand) everywhere I went. 
     In some ways hospitals are little fiefdoms. They run by
their own rules, and there is no explaining them. An example of
this involved using my electric razor. The nurse explained that
it was all right to use my radio because it ran on batteries, but
before I could use my razor, it would have to be inspected for
safety and compatibility by the electrical inspector. I asked if
they had a substitute razor I might use. They did not. I assured
the nurse that my razor had been used in many places (including
other countries) without starting fires. Eventually she relented.
After creeping around the floor at 1:00 a.m. looking for an
outlet, I discovered that the hospital electrical system was
equipped with outlets that automatically disconnect if they sense
a ground fault. 
     The food I was given Thursday and Friday was horrible. It
was described as clear liquids, which meant salty broths, not
very appetizing gelatin deserts, and some very good fruit juices.
But I was promised a solid meal from a wide menu by Saturday. I
remember ordering a grilled cheese sandwich, and I can't tell you
when solid food tasted so good! 
     By Saturday and Sunday I began feeling much more myself. My
girl friend had come up to Sacramento and had visited me both
days. And of course I was eating solid food. On Saturday I
managed to wangle a midnight snack, and on Sunday night--well
early Monday morning--I was able to obtain a cheeseburger from
the cafeteria. I remember commenting to a nurse that a
cheeseburger a day keeps the infection away. These little things
really made a difference in the quality of my hospital stay. 
     How was I treated by the hospital staff? Two of the nurses
in particular were really wonderful. One was a Japanese woman who
attended me during the day, and the other was the night nurse.
These people made the mundane tasks of changing dressings and
I.V.'s and giving me pain shots almost a pleasure. We also had a
number of good conversations and deep discussions. 
     On Friday morning one of the two staff members who would mar
this hospital stay came into my room. Let's call her Rosa. This
nurse, who was not overly bright, came in to change an I.V. I
don't think she had ever met a blind person in her life. She kept
telling me that she was pregnant and was about to have her child.
Of course, preoccupied and inattentive as she was, she messed up
the procedure. Because of her I was uncomfortable for the rest of
the day, and the folks from I.V. Therapy had to come during the
night to readjust the apparatus. In passing I flagged this woman
as possible trouble, but then I thought no more about it. 
     Monday morning was discharge time, and the doctors asked me
if I would be hiring a visiting nurse to do the necessary and,
they seemed to think, mysterious task of changing dressings twice
a day. I responded that a friend would do this task for me. Ellen
is one of the most competent people I know, and I did not think
that the hospital needed to know that she too is blind. She came
on Monday morning along with one of our sighted friends. 
     The staff said I couldn't leave until a nurse explained the
dressing procedure to us, and whom should they send in to do the
explanation but Rosa of the I.V. fiasco. We were afraid that they
might not let me out of the hospital when they discovered that
the person giving me nursing assistance was blind. I must admit
that I did not treat Rosa with the courtesy I might have. I still
remembered the pain of the botched I.V. and her self-absorption.
When she saw Ellen, she freaked out. Looking imploringly at our
sighted friend, she demanded to know who would sign the necessary
discharge papers. I of course said that I would and proceeded to
do so. She made a complicated production of explaining a simple
procedure: saturate a dressing with saline solution, cover the
wound with it, and tape a dry dressing over the saturated one.
Rosa had some trouble with the English language, but I still
believe, as I said earlier, that she had never dealt with a blind
person, and having to deal with two of them at once proved too
much for her. 
     The other incident occurred in transportation. This is
hospital jargon for taking a patient by wheelchair to the
discharge area. The orderly that came had also, it seemed, never
met a blind person. He just about ran down one poor woman in the
hallway as he was asking me some of the inane questions sighted
people often ask us: Why don't you have a guide dog? Do you live
with your family? Is the girl with you your sister? When he saw
me signing my name at the hospital insurance office, he had to
marvel about that as well. I tried tolerantly to explain that
this was no great accomplishment. He then explained that he was
married to a lawyer and that she was an environmentalist. Ellen
wondered later how a supposedly intelligent lawyer could marry
someone like that. Our friend informed us that the guy actually
was good-looking, the California surfer type. We concluded that
maybe the lawyer was more interested in other attributes than the
brains of this orderly.
     Why was my hospital stay so uneventful and generally lacking
in discriminatory and condescending treatment? Was it because the
staff admired my sparkling personality? No, I don't think so.
Were most of these people especially trained, or had they been
particularly sensitive in dealing with blind patients? I don't
believe that is the answer either. 
     I do believe that the half century and more of public
education conducted by the National Federation of the Blind is
starting to pay off. Also I am lucky to live in a state in which
blind persons suffer less mistreatment on a daily basis than they
do elsewhere. It is no accident that we have a strong and
vigilant NFB chapter and affiliate in Sacramento, California. 
     In short, aside from the two brief incidents on my last
morning, I experienced a normal hospital stay. I was treated in
the way anyone would want to be--as a normal person who had to go
into the hospital to have an appendectomy. This is a
straightforward surgical procedure, and fortunately little fuss
was made over me. I received the type of treatment that each of
us in this movement is striving to receive in all areas of our
lives. 
     What about the peculiar treatment I did experience? The
incident with the orderly can be dismissed quickly. I was dealing
with a flake. We all risk meeting people like this every day. His
ignorant and silly questions can soon be forgotten. Someone like
this is a pain but not really harmful in the long term. Rosa the
foreign-born, pregnant nurse, is something else again. I myself
was born in Lima, Peru. I obtained American citizenship in 1979.
Someone from another country can have towering misconceptions
about blindness. In many developing countries blind persons
cannot attain much in the way of normal lives. Their only future
is likely to involve begging on the streets of the capital city
or working in some primitive sheltered shop. Rosa had probably
seen blind persons of that ilk, and she was also having to adjust
as an immigrant to our American culture. I usually try speaking
in Spanish to those who are likely to respond favorably. I did
not, however, make such an effort with her. 
     States like California are starting to fill with immigrants.
We in the Federation may have to change our patterns of outreach
and public education. Increasingly we will have to educate people
like Rosa about the abilities of blind people and what it truly
means to be a blind person. 
     My stay in the hospital was quite normal--in fact, what we
as a people's movement are striving to achieve. I was lucky in
many ways. This fact was brought home to me forcefully when I saw
some of the other patients. Hospitals are truly for the sick and
the dying. Even though I had had major surgery, I knew I would
soon be well and would return to my normal life. If you happen to
be sick and find yourself in Northern California, you could do a
lot worse than Sutter Memorial Hospital.


[PHOTO: Portrait. CAPTION: Christopher Kuczynski.]

              TRANSFORMATION AND POSITIVE PREJUDICE
                   by Christopher J. Kuczynski

     From the Associate Editor: Chris Kuczynski has worked
successfully for the past three years as an attorney in a
prominent Philadelphia law firm. This fall he entered the Master
of Laws Program at the Yale University School of Law in order to
prepare himself to accomplish his long-held goal of teaching on a
law school faculty. Those who know Chris or who have read his
articles in the Braille Monitor recognize that he thinks
carefully and deeply about blindness and the role of blind people
in American society today. Here is what he has to say: 

     During a recent affiliate seminar I asked a group of
Pennsylvania Federationists to identify some of the
characteristics of prejudice. The following ideas were generated
in that discussion.
     First, prejudice involves a judgment about a person or a
group of people sharing a particular characteristic--in the
context of our discussion, blindness. The judgment is typically
formed on the basis of inaccurate or incomplete information.
Thus, each blind individual is treated in accordance with the
beliefs of those who act prejudicially toward blind people
generally, whether or not these convictions are justified by the
actions of the current victim of the prejudice. Additionally (and
perhaps more important to the discussion that follows), the
behavior of a specific blind person is often attributed to blind
people generally, whether or not its application to the entire
class is appropriate. 
     Second, we always associate some action with prejudice. Not
only do people judge others inaccurately and inappropriately, but
they then treat them discriminatorily on the basis of their
judgments. In turn, the victims of prejudice respond with an
action of their own, which (to the extent it corrects inaccurate
and incomplete information) may be positive, but which may be
equally prejudicial. The blind person helped across the street by
a well-intentioned but over-zealous sighted person is a typical
example of what one member of our group referred to as the
action-and-reaction phenomena that comprise prejudice. The
sighted person's conduct, founded on the belief that blind people
are not only incapable of crossing streets independently but also
too foolish to realize their incompetence, contributes the
action. The reaction arises from the blind person's response,
which will either reinforce erroneous ideas and add to them new
ones--blind people are not only incompetent, but rude and
ungrateful as well--or educate the sighted person about the
capabilities of the blind.
     Finally (and perhaps obviously), the effects of prejudice
are generally perceived to be negative, even if the judgment
being made appears to be either neutral or positive. The belief
that blind people are musically gifted or that they are
peculiarly suited for careers as social workers or teachers of
the blind is harmful because it limits the sighted person's
perception of the capabilities of the blind, and it limits the
blind person's understanding of what is possible. The belief that
blind people have so-called special powers or that their other
senses are heightened to compensate for their loss of sight
actually diminishes their humanity even as it pretends to
attribute superhuman abilities to them. To the person who holds
them, these beliefs are understood as complimentary to the blind.
Yet they translate into lost opportunities for blind people in
careers regarded as inappropriate for them and into the
uneasiness that some sighted people feel around the blind.
     Having identified at least these characteristics of
prejudice, the discussion turned to what for want of a better
term we will call positive prejudice. The concept appears to be a
contradiction, but every Federationist probably understands its
meaning. It is an attempt to turn prejudice on its head--to use
to our advantage the tendency to judge whole groups on the basis
of individual members of that group. Fewer than one-half of one
percent of all people in the country are blind. Most sighted
people will probably encounter (personally or in the electronic
media) at least one (but probably not more than a few) blind
people in their lives. The impression which that one blind person
makes is necessarily lasting. The sighted person who encounters a
competently functioning blind person will probably come away from
the experience with an overall positive image of blind people
generally. In this way transformation of the public's image of
blind people begins. While we should not become so overburdened
by our genuine obligation to reform the public's image of
blindness that we sacrifice our individuality, we must also be
aware that the way each of us acts has ramifications for all
blind people.
     When the misconceptions of centuries about blindness are
reinforced through the powerful medium of television, our task of
transforming public misconceptions is made considerably more
difficult. Unfortunately, many children today receive as much
education from television as they do in school, and many adults
are inclined toward a sedentary existence in front of the
television, either after a hard day's work or during the entire
day if they do not work. It would be easy to say that people do
not take seriously the depictions of the blind (or any other
group) they see on television, but it is not easy to believe. We
know that characters like Blind George from the short-lived ABC
comedy "Good and Evil" really do reinforce stereotypes about
blind people; that is why we protested until the program was
removed from the air.
     But the protest and removal from television of "Good and
Evil" are only the first steps in transforming the image of blind
people through the electronic media. Our effort at eradicating
detrimental images of blind people on television is the first
part of a project which must continue by proposing an accurate
and constructive alternative. Blind people are alive and well in
the world; they can and should be depicted on television.
Employing the concept of positive prejudice, we must ask how we
think television can be used to help us. How do we want the blind
to be depicted? What image do we want blind characters to
present? What values do we want them to promote?
     I think that the answers to these questions begin with a
study of the most recent depiction of blindness I have seen on
television--a blind lawyer named David McCoy on the NBC series
"L.A. Law." McCoy reminds us of how far we have come. The fact
that the creators of the series consulted, among others,
President and Mrs. Maurer when constructing the character
underscores the fact that the National Federation of the Blind
really has become the driving force changing the images of
blindness in the media. Increasingly our organization (not the
agencies for the blind) is recognized as the single most
influential force in the blindness field. But for all its
positive characteristics, "L.A. Law"'s representation of
blindness also tells us that we still have a great deal of work
to do to educate the public through the media. By looking at the
positive and negative characteristics of this blind lawyer, I
think we can begin to define what we want from the media.
     Overall, McCoy's image is positive. He is a successful
personal injury lawyer whose achievements are seen basically as a
product of his skill, not as a function of the sympathy juries
and judges may feel for his disability. We see him competently
representing his client in a trial--a task which includes the
presentation of written exhibits with which he has familiarized
himself, apparently through the use of alternative techniques.
McCoy's blindness is not made the focal point of the trial. In
fact, when his opposing counsel attempts to make him appear less
than fully competent and herself as benevolent by showing him to
his chair after he has conducted the examination of a witness, he
later takes her to task for trying to make his blindness an
issue.
     We learn through watching him that McCoy travels well with a
guide dog and moves around freely in a courtroom with his cane.
At a settlement conference blindness proves to be no more than a
nuisance. He is perfectly poised, believing that his case is a
strong one and that his client (not he) will be viewed
sympathetically by the jury. Casually he asks whether there is an
empty chair to his left or his right. His opponent's conduct at
this conference is equally positive. When he enters the office,
she does not rush from behind her desk to usher him to an empty
chair. She merely responds to his question about the chair's
location, allows him to find it himself (which he does with
ease), and begins the negotiation.
     They can't agree on a settlement, and in the end McCoy
loses. This is reality: blind lawyers, even very good ones,
sometimes lose cases. Blind people sometimes fail and are
entitled to do so without having their failure attributed to a
lack of vision. McCoy conducted a good trial as any other lawyer
might have; he lost on the merits of the case.
     But the image of the competent, well-respected lawyer who
happens to be blind is sometimes plagued by the jokes and the
stereotypes we might expect. The first joke is a subtle one. In
the courtroom the day before the trial is to begin, McCoy and his
adversary discuss the relative strength of their positions. When
it becomes apparent that they are both adamant about the
correctness of their positions (all litigators are), McCoy says
something that I have heard probably a hundred times on "L.A.
Law": "I'll see you in court." His opponent's smile, as she
leaves the courtroom, tells us that the familiar phrase was here
being used as a joke. Imagine, a blind person saying he'll "see"
someone anywhere. Now that's comedy!
     The other joke is a variation on the same tired theme. The
second episode in which McCoy appears begins with his walking
down the hall in the courthouse. Someone runs into him, causing
him to drop his cane, which is folded while he uses his guide
dog. The offending party (someone pointed out to me that it was a
positive thing that the blind lawyer was not at fault) says,
"Sorry, I didn't see you." Demonstrating his quick wit, McCoy
responds, "We're even."
     To many, my reaction to these two scenes might seem
hypersensitive. However, I think that though not as blatantly as
with characters like Blind George and Mr. Sunshine, each
reinforces a stereotype about the blind--that we as a class have
a good sense of humor and are just waiting to make jokes about
blindness. Remember that those who are prejudiced tend to see the
characteristics of one of us as the characteristics of all. David
McCoy is demonstrating something about blind people, whether we
like it or not.
     Though we might disagree about whether the play on the word
"see" is really damaging to the image of the blind in the way I
have described, I think there is one scene about which few or
none of us would disagree. Early in the second episode in which
McCoy appears, it becomes clear that he is attracted to his
opposing counsel. The adversaries go out to dinner while the
trial is still going on and discuss their mutual attraction.
McCoy initially astounds us by describing his opponent's
appearance in detail, a feat which we learn has been accomplished
by his asking an assistant (whom we never see) for a full
description. When McCoy says, in response to a question, that his
assistant has not described the wart on the end of his opponent's
nose, she asks whether he would like to see it for himself. What
follows is unbelievable--a period of about thirty seconds during
which McCoy feels her face. Remember, this scene takes place in a
restaurant dining room. Yet this is the way blind people get to
know others, is it not? I think that McCoy's conduct is a marked
step backward in the process of transforming our image.
     Finally, although McCoy often appears to be just a competent
lawyer who happens to be blind, he sometimes takes on the
qualities of the super blind man, possessing special or
unexplainable powers. In the scene in which McCoy's cane is
knocked out of his hand, his opponent appears and picks it up.
She says nothing, but he identifies her anyway. In response to
her question about how he did it, McCoy says that the blind "have
special powers." On the positive side, McCoy then exposes this
statement as the myth that it is, telling her that he knew it was
she by her perfume. Perhaps the exchange is a lesson in
alternative techniques--a way of telling the viewer that blind
people employ different means to do what others do with sight.
Yet the absence in the two episodes of such basic alternative
techniques as Braille and the failure to show McCoy's interaction
with his assistant left me with the impression that the
alternative techniques with which the program was most concerned
were those which had an air of the mysterious about them. The
ability to identify a person by the scent of her perfume (which I
do not find convincing, since several women may wear the same
brand) is of little importance in a blind person's life,
particularly when compared with the ability to read and write
effectively. Yet techniques that appear more sensational--more
like tricks than tools--play better on television. Ultimately,
the audience is left with the impression that blind people really
do have special powers or at least that they like to make their
use of alternative techniques the center of some kind of magic
trick.
     The same is true of one of the trial scenes, in which McCoy
questions a witness for the defense. McCoy's strategy is to
demonstrate that the witness's testimony about the defendant's
character is prejudiced by the witness's business ties to and
financial dependence upon the defendant. (The defendant is the
head of a movie studio, the witness a producer of two films for
which he hopes to obtain lucrative contracts with the defendant's
studio.) Though the witness maintains that the defendant's power
to grant or deny these contracts has not influenced his
testimony, McCoy concludes his questioning by asking why the
witness has been looking at the defendant during the entire
course of his testimony. On the one hand, the message is
positive: sighted witnesses should not think that blind lawyers
will miss important cues at trial; blind lawyers should be
respected as the equals of sighted ones. But if the witness was
indeed looking at the defendant throughout the course of the
testimony, could not the members of the jury have observed this?
If they could, we are left with the question of why McCoy rounded
out an effective cross-examination as he did. Would a sighted
lawyer have asked the same question? There may be a way that
McCoy could have known that the witness was looking at the
defendant; perhaps he could tell that the witness had turned his
head by listening to the direction from which his voice came. But
we, like the jury, are left guessing, and I think the scene is
just another way of making us ask in amazement: "Wow! how did he
do that?" The answer can only be McCoy's statement from earlier
in the episode, "The blind have special powers."
     To the positive and the negative aspects of McCoy's
character can be added certain omissions which do not necessarily
make him a bad representation of a blind person, but which leave
us with an incomplete picture. We never see McCoy using Braille.
We do not know whether he can, and the viewer unfamiliar with
this system of reading and writing would not know any more about
it after having watched both shows. We hear about McCoy's
assistant, but I do not recall ever seeing him interact with this
person. With this we can contrast the deaf woman who plays a
prosecutor in NBC's "Reasonable Doubts," who is constantly seen
interacting with her sign language interpreter in the courtroom.
     I hope that this lengthy discussion of David McCoy's
character has been more than a review of the two episodes, and I
hope it has not detracted from the point of this essay,
transformation of the public image of blindness through positive
prejudice. In describing the good, the bad, and the indifferent
characteristics of McCoy, I have tried to say something about the
kind of blind character we should be looking for on television.
     Let me be clear about what I think our obligations as the
organized blind movement should be in working with media,
particularly television, and what their responsibilities ought to
be. We should be seeing more blind people on television. But we
and the television industry must consciously try to make these
characters a means by which the public is really educated about
blindness.
     The characters created must be the best a blind person can
be. Like David McCoy, they must be competent, employed,
contributing members of society. Of course there is a seventy
percent rate of unemployment and underemployment among American
working-age blind people, and reality would seem to demand that
at least seven out of ten blind television characters should be
similarly situated. But let us remember the transformative power
of positive prejudice. Viewers may see only one or two blind
characters on television, just as they will see comparatively few
blind people in their everyday lives. The viewer should be
educated about what a blind person--well-trained, confident, and
given the opportunity--is capable of doing.
     Unlike David McCoy, my ideal blind character does not look
for opportunities to make blind jokes, caress another person's
face in public, or leave his or her audience dazzled by and
begging for more tricks and superhuman efforts. Many blind people
have good senses of humor and joke about many things. Some even
joke about blindness. Certainly some will use the techniques of
blindness as a way of impressing sighted people by demonstrating
that there are things blind people can do that sighted people
cannot. (I do not think very many, if any, blind people caress
the faces of others in public as a way of seeing what they look
like, though this kind of activity, done in private with the
right person, can be pleasurable for the sighted as well as the
blind.) Despite the propensity of some blind people to use humor
and the techniques of blindness in the same ways as did David
McCoy, we must admit that the average viewer will attribute these
characteristics to all blind people, and we must ask ourselves
whether we want the image they come away with to be that of
either the eternally happy or the superhuman blind person.
     I would emphasize alternative techniques that the creators
of "L.A. Law" did not, namely, Braille and the use of a reader or
sighted assistant on the job. While it is true that not all blind
people know Braille, the television character who promotes the
idea that it can be used effectively can and necessarily will
educate the public about the need to promote its teaching and
use. The blind person who is seen working with a reader on the
job demonstrates that there is no inherent disgrace in the
differences between the techniques used by the blind and the
sighted.
     My blind character would be what we in the Federation want
to become--a fully integrated, first-class member of society, an
example of what can be. The character would be seen moving about
freely and easily: using a cane or guide dog, taking public
transportation, asking directions when needed, being permitted to
walk unmolested when assistance is not needed. The character
would, at various times, cook, clean, eat, work, and do the
several tasks of daily life in their proper place and in a way
that is not praised as spectacular or extraordinary. The
character would experience love and dislike, joy and sadness,
success and failure. By many members of the television society in
which the blind character lives, he or she would be regarded as
an equal and respected. By some, the character might be rejected
or disliked, yes, even because of blindness (for the viewer
should be reminded that discrimination against the blind and
misconceptions about blindness are real), and for other reasons
as well. This character would at times deal with blindness--
sometimes with the attitudes of others, sometimes with the need
to learn proper alternative techniques, and sometimes with the
development of his or her own identity and self-esteem. But the
character's blindness would ultimately be depicted as nothing
more than a characteristic and only a single trait among many
others which may be of greater importance.
     The character I have described is not uncommon. "L.A. Law"'s
Jonathan Rollins, an attorney who happens to be black, is a good
example. Jonathan's race is a part of his life. In some episodes
he must deal with his identity as a black American in a
profession dominated by white people. Sometimes his race is
precisely the characteristic that others resent. We are never
allowed to forget that Jonathan is an African American, but we
are always able to see him as much more than this--a competent
lawyer who possesses a myriad of other characteristics, some
likable and others not.
     While black people have been depicted on television in all
sorts of roles (rich, poor, and middle-class; good and bad--in
short, as the cross-section of society at large that they
represent), we must remember, in educating the public about
blindness through television, that many more black characters
appear than blind ones. It is easy to understand that all blacks
do not share the same characteristics when they appear in
different contexts on several programs or even on the same
program. But the dearth of blind characters on television, like
the small number of us in society, leads the viewer to draw
different conclusions--conclusions based on partial, often
inaccurate information. Blind George cannot be tolerated when he
is the single depiction (or one of very few depictions) of blind
people on television. If he had been one of ten or twenty (and
the others were overwhelmingly positive representations), we
might have been able quietly to ignore him as he stumbled his way
off the air on his own.
     Until that time--and it is not now and will not be for quite
a while--we have to make sure that the networks know not only how
to entertain people, but how to educate them about us, or at the
very least how to prevent more damage to our image than centuries
of myths and misconceptions have already done. David McCoy is a
step in the right direction, but we need not be satisfied with
that. Not every blind person may have come as far as the
character we would like to see on television, but the portrait I
have sketched captures the essence of real blind people--those
whom we meet in increasing numbers at every NFB convention.





                            RECIPES

     From the Associate Editor: This month's recipes have been
contributed by Bernetha McLamore of the Washington, D.C.,
affiliate.

                     CREAM CHEESE POUND CAKE
                      by Bernetha McLamore

     Bernetha McLamore is a member of the Board of Directors of
the Washington, D.C., affiliate. She conducts a food service
business in the District, as well as doing catering in her free
time--twice she has catered luncheons for the affiliate during
its annual conventions. In addition, Bernetha is the mother of
nine children. Obviously she does lots of cooking and thoroughly
enjoys her work.

Ingredients:
3 sticks butter
2-1/2 cups sugar
3 cups self-rising flour
8 ounces cream cheese
6 eggs, separated
1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

     Method: Beat the butter and cream cheese together. Then add
sugar, egg yolks, and vanilla. Sift the flour three times before
folding into other ingredients. Beat egg whites until soft peaks
form. Gently fold them into flour mixture. Pour batter into oiled
bundt pan. Bake 45 minutes in a 325-degree oven. Let cool for a
few minutes on rack before removing from pan.

                      MRS. B'S MUMBO SAUCE
                      by Bernetha McLamore
Ingredients:
2 cups catsup
1/8 cup BBQ sauce
1/4 cup sugar
Up to 2 tablespoons hot sauce

     Method: Combine all ingredients in a sauce pan and bring to
a boil. Remove from heat and use as you would any barbecue sauce.

                           CRAB CAKES
                      by Bernetha McLamore
Ingredients:
1 pound crab meat
1/2 pound turbot fish
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
1/4 cup milk
2 eggs
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/8 cup celery, diced
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1/8 cup green pepper, chopped
1 tablespoon flour
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 tablespoon yellow mustard

     Method: Remove all pieces of shell from crab meat. Heat
turbot in oven 6 minutes at 300 degrees. In a large bowl mix all
other ingredients. Then add the turbot and crab meat. Shape into
2-ounce patties and cook in a deep fat fryer. Drain and keep
warm.


                   * * MONITOR MINIATURES * *

**New Baby:
     Loren and Theresa Wakefield of the Blackhawk Chapter of the
National Federation of the Blind of Iowa are the proud parents of
a brand new baby, Andrea Nicole, born July 31, 1992, at 12:37
p.m., weighing seven pounds, six ounces, and measuring twenty-one
inches long. Mom, Dad, brother Ryan, brother Matthew, and Andrea
Nicole are all fine.

**For Sale:
     We have been asked to print the following:
1. VersaBraille II with Soft Bit and disk drive. It can be used
as a stand-alone computer as well as interfacing with an IBM or
compatible computer. Asking $2,495 or best offer.
2. Optacon with computer lens and soft carrying case, $850 or
best offer.
3. Focus manuals on 3 1/2-inch or 5 1/4-inch IBM or compatible
disks. Asking $250 or best offer.
     Please send Braille letter or tape to Kit Lau, 5407 Bryant
Avenue, Oakland, California 94618; or call (510) 653-6343.

**36 Chapters and Growing:
     From the Editor: The National Federation of the Blind of
South Carolina continues its unparalleled expansion. Here is the
latest example from the Positive Note, issued each week by NFBSC
president Don Capps:
     The NFB of SC continues to enjoy phenomenal growth. Already
one of the nation's largest and strongest state organizations of
the blind, the NFB of SC today is even bigger and stronger.
Tuesday evening, June 16, 1992, at a Moncks Corner restaurant,
the 36th chapter was established. Some 30 persons attended the
organizing dinner. The new name of the group is the Berkeley
County Chapter of the NFB of SC. The chapter has excellent
officers, who are as follows: Jim Puckett, Moncks Corner,
President; Sam Nelson, Cross, Vice President; Stanley Thierse,
St. Stephen, Secretary; Jim Driggers, Moncks Corner, Treasurer;
and Lois Thorp, Moncks Corner, Social Director. Both the
president and vice president served in the Air Force. The editor
of the local newspaper covered the meeting. Betty and I spent
Monday and Tuesday traveling throughout historic Low Country
Berkeley County, searching for and calling upon blind persons. We
found them. Also, NFB of SC's treasurer, Frank Coppel, and his
driver, Linda Onley, worked both Monday and Tuesday contributing
greatly to the success of the new chapter. Thus, today both the
NFB of SC and the NFB are better than was the case a week ago.
Our goal is to have 50 chapters across the state by the year
2000, with every county in the state having at least one chapter.

**Franklin Electronics:
     Fully Speaking Dictionary, Thesaurus, Grammar Guide, and
Language Learning Game Player--Franklin Electronic Publishers,
Inc., the leader in electronic books, has developed a hand-held
speaking English language resource, which includes 300,000
definitions and 500,000 synonyms from Merriam-Webster, spelling
correction, a grammar guide, and language learning games. The
Language Master Special Edition was specifically designed for
persons who are blind or visually impaired, in cooperation with
individuals and organizations dedicated to the advancement of
people with special needs. The device pronounces everything that
the sighted person can see on the screen, including every letter
as it is typed, as well as every word, definition, help message,
and more. Ten speaking word games and a speaking grammar guide
are also included. It has adjustable speech speeds, raised
location dots for ease in identifying keys, and the ability to
store up to 26 spoken messages. In addition, the user can
customize many of the features for his or her own needs. The
Language Master Special Edition sells for $500. For more
information, contact Franklin Electronic Publishers, Inc., 122
Burrs Road, Mount Holly, New Jersey 08060, telephone 1-800-762-
5382.

**Braillegrams:
     The following announcement appeared in the Spring, 1992,
edition of The Federationist in Connecticut, the publication of
the National Federation of the Blind of Connecticut. Here it is:

     Western Union will send Braille telegrams (Braillegrams).
The cost is $2.00 for the first twenty-five words and $1.00 for
each additional twenty-five words. Call 1-800-325-6000, extension
16. Braillegrams may be charged to your telephone bill or credit
card.

**For Sale:
     We have been asked to print the following:
     Kurzweil Personal Reader, model 7315, for sale. This unit
contains both hand and automatic scanners, Version 2.1 software,
tracking guides, and complete Braille manuals. Asking $8,000
including shipping to anywhere in the United States. Call the NFB
of Utah at 1-800-876-9007.

**Information on the Baha'i Faith Available:
     We have been asked to print the following:
     Baha'i Service for the Blind offers information on the
Baha'i faith to all who request it. Information is available in
Braille, cassette, and large print. Write to the service at P.O.
Box 463, Ludington, Michigan 49431, and state your preferred
medium.

**Short Stories on Cassette:
     We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
"Short Stories of C. Edward Hupton, a recent release from Accent
Records, is available to interested readers of the Monitor at a
special introductory price. Confessions of a Washtub Thief and
The Tale of the Old Horse and the Birds can be purchased by
writing to: Accent Records, Capital Square, Box 93952, Des
Moines, Iowa 50393. Send check or money order for $6.95 per
cassette."

**Versa-Braille For Sale:
     We have been asked to print the following:
     Versa-Braille II-Plus with carrying case, battery charger,
Braille manual for operation, Electric Webster, cassette manual,
utilities disks, printer and serial cable, BIT software, and
various other software. Versa-Braille has recently been serviced
by TSI and is in excellent working condition. Asking price is
$1,000 or best offer. Contact Jessie L. Rayl using Braille or
cassette at 104 Kent Terrace, Apartment 4, Martinsburg, West
Virginia 25401; or call (304) 263-4009.

**Tellatouch Machine For Sale:
     We have been asked to print the following:
     I have a Tellatouch machine for sale. I am asking $200 and
will sell to a deaf/blind individual, an itinerant teacher with a
deaf/blind or blind/hearing-impaired student, or a school
district wishing to mainstream such a student. Contact (in
Braille or cassette) Jayne Fuhrman, 2005 Roggerson Road, Apt. B,
Monroe, Louisiana 71201; or call (318) 387-5459 (voice only).

[PHOTO: Ken Canterbury stands in front of his hotdog cart with
Sharon Maneki and Thelma Horn. CAPTION: Ken Canterbury,
proprietor of Hot Diggity Dogs, awaits the beginning of the
hotdog-eating contest with Sharon Maneki (center), President of
the National Federation of the Blind of Maryland, and Thelma
Horn.]

**Creative Fundraising:
     Ken Canterbury is an energetic board member of the National
Federation of the Blind of Maryland, who thinks up different
approaches to raise funds and promote the work of the National
Federation of the Blind. Ken is the proprietor of Hot Diggity
Dogs, selling hot dogs from a cart to the lunchtime business
crowd on the streets of Baltimore County. By holding a hot dog
eating contest for his customers on June 16, 1992, Ken not only
generated funds for our movement but spread our message. The
contest was covered by radio station WQSR, by three local
television stations, and by the local press. Ken creates unique
opportunities and makes the most of them. The NFB of Maryland was
instrumental in helping Ken to stay in business by having
Baltimore County's law amended to exempt disabled street vendors
from moving their carts when not serving customers.

**Writer's Division Contest:
     Nancy Scott, of the National Federation of the Blind
Writer's Division, asked that we print the following:
     The Writer's Division has decided to renew its fiction
contest. Inclusive dates: September 1, 1992 through May 1, 1993.
Limit 2,000 words, or eight typed, double-spaced pages. Entry fee
is $5 per story. We do not limit the number of entries. Prizes
are $60, $45, $30, and $15. Winners will be notified in July or
August of 1993. Entrants are asked not to submit their stories
elsewhere until 1994. A self-addressed, stamped envelope is a
must. Put your name and address on each story. Winning entries
may be published in Slate and Style.
     Make checks payable to the Writer's Division, and send to
Tom Stevens, President, 1203 Fairview Road, Columbia, Missouri
65203.

**For Sale:
     We have been asked to print the following:
     I have for sale a two-and-a-half-year-old Perkins Brailler,
which is in excellent working condition. I will also include a
hard carrying case. I am asking $325 or best offer. Write in
Braille or on cassette to Raquel Gomez, 2017 55th Street,
Sacramento, California 95817; or call (916) 456-2735.

**Become a Friend of Libraries:
     The Friends of Libraries for Blind and Physically
Handicapped Individuals support library programs that enrich the
lives of blind and physically handicapped persons in the United
States and Canada. The Friends of Libraries is associated with
the national library programs and complements local library
Friends groups.
     Membership benefits include cultural programs available in
special media featuring eminent poets, authors, and guest
lecturers; a journal with in-depth feature articles, interviews,
and research reports; a semiannual newsletter of upcoming events,
activities, and lectures; an annual gala to help recognize
leaders in the blind and physically handicapped communities. A
$25 contributor receives three cultural programs, a newsletter
subscription, and a membership card and certificate. A $5 member
receives one cultural program, a newsletter subscription, and a
membership card.
     Institutional and corporate members are also welcome, with
categories ranging from $500 to $5,000. (Benefits of membership
vary according to dues levels.) 
     For more information contact Friends of Libraries for Blind
& Physically Handicapped Individuals in North America, 1555
Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 200, Washington, DC 20036; or call
(202) 588-0101.
     To become a Friend of Libraries, please complete and send
the coupon which appears in the print edition or provide the
requested information together with a check for your membership
to the address given. 
     Please enroll me as an individual member.
          Enclosed is $25   $5   Other  
       Send me more information on individual memberships.
       Send me information on corporate and institutional
memberships.
NAME                              
ADDRESS                              CITY/STATE/ZIP               
          PHONE                    

**Elected:
     We have been asked to print the following:
     At the 1992 convention of the National Federation of the
Blind, the National Association of Guide Dog Users elected the
following officers to serve two-year terms: Paul Gabias,
President; Junerose Killian, Vice President; Tracy Carcione,
Secretary; and Priscilla Ferris, Treasurer.

**Job Opening:
     We have been asked to carry the following announcement:

                        State of Indiana
            Family and Social Services Administration
          Division of Aging and Rehabilitation Services
               Blind and Visually Impaired Section

     Posting Date: September 30, 1992
     Position: Deputy Director, Blind and Visually Impaired
Section
     Location: Indianapolis, Indiana
     Immediate Supervisor: Director, Division of Aging and
Rehabilitative Services
     Position Description: The Deputy Director is responsible for
the administration of the Blind and Visually Impaired Section.
The Blind and Visually Impaired Section programs include:
Statewide Itinerant Rehabilitation Teaching; Bosma Rehabilitation
Center for the Blind; Randolph-Sheppard Vending Program;
Randolph-Sheppard Vendor Training; and Adaptive Technology Lab
(At Lab). Deputy Director supervises Program Directors of the
Blind and Visually Impaired Section programs; develops budgets
for various accounts required for operating programs; actively
participates in the Division of Aging and Rehabilitative Services
management team; works closely with Vocational Rehabilitation to
assure effective services for people who are blind/visually
impaired; and maintains working relationship with the
Rehabilitation Services Administration, the General Services
Administration, and other state and federal agency
representatives.
     Qualifications: Applicants will be considered based on
education, experience, and thorough knowledge and sensitivity to
the needs of people who are blind and visually impaired.
     Salary Range: $32,916 - $50,752
     Employment Date: Negotiable
     Contact with Questions: V (317) 232-1433 or TDD (317) 232-
1466.
     Please Send Resume by November 15, 1992, to: Jacquelyn
Pitman, Acting Deputy Director, Blind and Visually Impaired
Section, Division of Aging and Rehabilitative Services, 402 West
Washington Street, Post Office Box 7083, Indianapolis, Indiana
46207-7083.

**Computer Items For Sale:
     We have been asked to print the following:
     I have a number of computer-related items for sale,
including a Prose 4000 speech board, and Vert Plus Version 5.0B
for $350; an SR 10 printer with four ribbons for $40; and a 40
meg hard drive for $100. These prices do not include shipping and
handling. Contact: Denise Avant, 5300 North Sheridan Road, Apt.
401, Chicago, Illinois 60640; phone (after 7:00 p.m. Monday
through Friday): (312) 878-9518.

[PHOTO: Peggy Pinder seated during NFB convention session.
CAPTION: Peggy Pinder, newly sworn member of the Architectural
and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board.]

**Access Board Names New Members:
     In the October issue of the Braille Monitor we printed a
speech delivered by Peggy Pinder, Second Vice President of the
National Federation of the Blind, at our 1992 annual convention.
In it she reported on the recent work of the Access Committee of
the American National Standards Institute. President Maurer had
assigned Miss Pinder to represent the Federation in the
Committee's deliberations. She reported to the convention that
the group had made a good deal of progress, and in passing she
commented that there was also much work for the Architectural and
Transportation Barriers Compliance Board (also known as the
Access Board) to do. In the light of those comments, Monitor
readers will find the following press release interesting: 

     The President today announced his intention to nominate the
following individuals to be members of the Architectural and
Transportation Barriers Compliance Board for terms expiring
December 3, 1994:
     Fritz Edmunds, Jr., of Kansas. He would succeed Howard E.
Stone, Sr. Since 1991 Mr. Edmunds has served as President and
Founder of the Edmunds Group, Ltd., Americans with Disabilities
Act Compliance Consultants, in Overland Park, Kansas. Mr. Edmunds
was also appointed in 1991 to serve as a Member of the Kansas
State Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.
     Tracy James Mueller, of Colorado. He would succeed Robert A.
Cothren. Since 1984, Mr. Mueller has served as a Substance Abuse
Counselor with the Institute for Alcohol Awareness in Greeley,
Colorado. Mr. Mueller has also served as a member of the Greeley
City Transit Advisory Board from 1988-1989.
     Peggy Pinder, of Iowa. She would succeed Susan A. Castle.
Miss Pinder currently serves as an attorney in Grinnell, Iowa,
specializing in legal services and financial management for non-
profit organizations. Since 1984, she has served as Second Vice
President of the National Federation of the Blind.
     R. Jack Powell, of Maryland. He would succeed Robert C.
Brostrom. Currently Mr. Powell serves as President of ADA
Management Systems, Inc. in Gaithersburg, Maryland. From 1979 to
1990 Mr. Powell served as executive director of the Paralyzed
Veterans of America in Washington, D.C.

     There you have the press release circulated by the Access
Board itself, and on September 9 the new members were sworn in by
Assistant Secretary of Transportation Jeffrey Shane, who
addressed the 1985 NFB convention in Louisville. Congratulations
to Peggy Pinder; we look forward with interest to the future work
of the ATBCB.

[PHOTO: Illinois governor and others during signing of Braille
bill. CAPTION: Illinois Governor Jim Edgar (center) signs Braille
literacy bill. Looking on are NFB of Illinois President, Steve
Benson (also seated), and (left to right, standing): State
Senator John Cullerton (prime sponsor), Ellis Levin (House co-
sponsor), and Ann Stepan (House prime sponsor).]

**Braille Triumphs in Illinois:
     Shortly after 5:00 p.m., Sunday, September 13, 1992, a dozen
Federationists witnessed Illinois Governor Jim Edgar implement
Public Act 87-1071, the Braille Literacy Act of 1992. The Act
mandates that blind and severely visually impaired children be
taught Braille upon request. The presumption is that Braille
should be the primary reading medium for blind children. This
reverses a twenty-five-year trend in this state. The Act also
requires that Braille teachers in the public schools pass a
Braille reading and writing competency test beginning in 1994.

**New Chapter:
     The following item appears in the August 13, 1992,
"President's Clipboard," issued by Sharon Gold, President of the
National Federation of the Blind of California:
     Last Saturday we organized a new chapter to serve the
Central San Joaquin Valley. The president of the Central Valley
Chapter is Mike Corn. The vice president is Alta Caulkins, and
the secretary-treasurer is Nancy Johnson. It is always exciting
to have a new chapter, and it is especially exciting to have the
Central Valley Chapter. Mike attended the NFB convention in New
Orleans and the state convention last fall. He says that the
Central Valley Chapter will be well-represented in Sacramento
when we gather for our 1992 convention in November.

**Bartlett's Quotations:
     The following press release which was issued jointly in
October of 1987 by the National Library Service for the Blind and
Physically Handicapped and the National Federation of the Blind
first appeared as a Monitor Miniature in the October-November
1987 Braille Monitor. With the addendum (which was not part of
the original release) it appeared again as a Monitor Miniature in
the May-June, 1988, and October-November, 1990, Braille Monitor.
As a reminder to some and as new information to others, we
reprint it again:

     The National Library Service for the Blind and Physically
Handicapped (NLS) and the National Federation of the Blind (NFB)
announce the availability of the first ever mass-produced Braille
edition of Bartlett's Familiar Quotations. 
     Blind writers, students, and other interested readers now
have access to this important reference tool, which lists more
than 22,500 quotations, sayings, and writings of English and
American authors. A detailed index serves as a key to locating
and identifying passages in the book.
     Braille production of Bartlett's is a joint effort of NLS
and NFB with the permission of Little, Brown, and Company, the
print edition publisher. Gift funds from the estate of Leonard R.
Stachura were used to purchase the metal plates needed to produce
the 105-volume set.
     NLS has distributed copies for reference use in forty-three
cooperating Braille lending libraries around the country. NFB is
offering the set at cost in soft-bound and hard-bound editions.
Individuals and schools or other organizations may purchase the
soft-bound edition for $230 and the hard-bound edition for $630
directly from NFB at: 1800 Johnson Street, Baltimore, Maryland
21230.
     Addendum: The soft-bound edition requires thirteen feet, two
inches (158 inches) of shelf space, and the hard-bound edition
requires seventeen feet, six inches (210 inches) of shelf space.

**Recycling Reminder:
     It's time for our periodic reminder to those of you who
receive JOB, Presidential Release, or other cassettes, mailed
from the national office. They can be returned for recycling. We
do reuse these returned cassettes, which saves the organization
money and makes us just that much more efficient and less
wasteful. If you wish to maintain a personal or chapter tape
library for later reference, you should certainly do so, but if
these cassettes are not needed, please bundle them up and return
them to the National Center for the Blind, 1800 Johnson Street,
Baltimore, Maryland 21230.