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FUTURE REFLECTIONS
Winter, 1994
THE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLInd
MAGAZINE FOR PARENTS OF BLIND CHILDREN
Barbara Cheadle, Editor
Published by the
national Federation of the Blind
1800 Johnson Street
Baltimore, MD 21230
(410) 659-9314
ISSN 0883-3419
Vol. 13, No. 1<T>Barbara Cheadle, Editor Winter, 1994
Contents
Snapshots from the 1993 NFB National Convention
Michigan: Host of the 1994 National Parents Seminar and National
Federation of the Blind Annual Convention
Reflections from Home: Report on the 1993 National Convention of
the National Federation of the Blind, Dallas, Texas
by Jude Lincicome
Through the Screen Door
A poem by Nancy Scott
NFB Recognizes Outstanding Individuals
Gift of Independence: Teacher Helps Blind Find Their Own Way
1994 Distinguished Educator of Blind Children Award
by Sharon Maneki
1994 Application
Childhood on the Lower East Side
by Dr. Abraham Nemeth
Meeting the Needs of the Deaf-Blind Child
1993 Gus Gisser Memorial Braille Readers Contest Report
by Sandy Halverson
Chesnee Girl Wins Braille Award
The Scholarship Class of 1993
NAPUB Plans National Braille-A-Thon for Detroit
by Jerry Whittle and Betty Niceley
The Nature of Independence
by Dr. Kenneth Jernigan
MICHIGAN: HOST OF THE 1994 NATIONAL PARENTS SEMINAR AND NATIONAL
FEDERATION OF THE BLIND ANNUAL CONVENTION
Each year the National Parents of Blind Children Seminar gets
bigger and better. This day-long seminar has become one of the
traditional kickoff events of the annual convention of the National
Federation of the Blind. Sponsored by the National Organization of
Parents of Blind Children (NOPBC), (formerly the Parents of Blind
Children Division), the seminar attracts parents, educators, and
interested members of the Federation from all over the country, and
a few foreign nations as well. And the 1994 seminar and convention
in Detroit, Michigan, promises to be the best, the biggest, and the
most informative we have ever had.
The focal point of the convention activities will be the Westin
Hotel at the Renaissance Center in Detroit. From Friday, July 1, to
Thursday, July 7, over 2,500 blind people and hundreds of parents
of blind children will converge upon the hotel to listen, learn,
share, discuss, debate, and otherwise participate in the week's
activities. It is a unique opportunity for parents and educators to
learn about blindness from the real experts on blindness?the blind
themselves.
For parents, the first big event is the National Parents of Blind
Children Seminar on Friday, July 1. The seminar agenda includes
topics that are always appropriate?"Planning Your Child's
Individualized Education Program (IEP)" and "How to Choose the
Right Technology for Your Child"?as well as some topics never (or
seldom) explored in previous national parent seminars, such as
"Readers and Drivers: The Other Alternative Techniques" and
"Learning Through Play: A Panel Discussion about Toys, Games,
Hobbies, Recreation, and Sports." Other subjects on the agenda
include: "Parents: The Blind Child's First Mobility Teachers" and
"From Taking Notes to Taking Out the Trash."
Registration for the seminar will begin at 8:00 a.m. The seminar
will begin at 9:00 with the keynote address, "Cheap Mistakes: When
Children Need to Fail." The registration fee for the seminar is
$8.00 per family for those who wish to join, or renew their
membership in, the NOPBC. The fee is $5.00 per person for those who
do not wish to become members. The seminar will conclude at 5:00
p.m.
As usual, a special field trip has been planned for children ages
five to twelve. Donna Posont of Michigan is organizing and
supervising this year's trip to Greenfield Village. Donna Posont is
a blind mother, an active member of her local chapter and state
affiliate of the NFB, and an active member of the Parents of Blind
Children Division of Michigan as well. She has conducted many local
field trips and other activities for children for the Michigan
parent division. Here is what she has to say about the field trip:
On Friday, July 1, 1994, children between the ages of five and
twelve are invited to take a field trip to Greenfield Village,
which is one of the most extraordinary places you can visit. It
provides unique educational experiences based on authentic objects,
stories, and lives of America's famous inventors. On this
ninety-three-acre outdoor exhibit stand the Wright brothers'
bicycle shop, Thomas Edison's Menlo Park laboratory, and the Logan
County Courthouse in which Abraham Lincoln worked as a lawyer.
These are not replicas?they are the actual buildings. You will also
find a working blacksmith's shop, an 1880's farm, and a 1913
carousel. These are one-of-a-kind exhibits you don't just look
at?you experience them! And, because of a contact we have with a
member of the Greenfield Village staff, we will have a special
guide for our group who will be dressed in colonial costume and who
will explain the exhibits as we examine them.
We will gather in the hotel near the parents' seminar room on
Friday morning between 8:00 and 9:00 a.m. The price for the trip is
$20.00 per child. This includes the cost of transportation and
lunch. We will return by 5:00 p.m. or before. Parents will be told
Friday morning where to pick up their children.
Since the number of children who can be accommodated for this trip
is limited, we urge you to pre-register your child(ren) for the
Greenfield Village daytrip. Children will be accepted on a
first-come, first-served basis. Please contact Donna Posont if you
have any questions about the day-trip, if you want more information
about pre-registration, or if you have a child with special needs.
To pre-register your child(ren), send your check for $20.00 per
child and the names, ages, and indication of special needs of each
youngster (including whether the child is blind or sighted) to
Donna Posont. Her contact information is 20812 Ann Arbor Trail,
Dearborn Heights, Michigan 48127; phone (313) 271-3058.
Two other very special workshops for qualified parents, teachers,
and other members of the Federation will take place Friday
concurrently with the afternoon session of the 1994 National
Parents of Blind Children Seminar. These workshops, "Braille
Methods," and "The Nature and Nurture of Cane Travel and
Independent Movement in the Early Years" will be conducted from
1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. These workshops are open to two groups of
people: blind adults and parents of blind children who are willing
and able to work within their Federation affiliates to use and
share their new knowledge for the benefit of others and teachers
and others who work professionally with blind children.
The "Braille Methods" workshop will be conducted by Claudell
Stocker, a nationally known Braille expert. The National Library
Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped's (NLS) Literary
Braille Competency Test was developed under her direction as the
former head of the NLS Braille Development Section. Mrs. Stocker
also conducted the very popular "Beginning Braille for Parents"
workshops at our last three national conventions. Participants must
be able to read and write Grade II Braille. A maximum of twenty
persons may register for this workshop.
Joe Cutter, who is both an early childhood specialist and an
orientation and mobility instructor, will be conducting the cane
travel workshop with the help of Carol Castellano, President of the
Parents of Blind Children Division of the NFB of New Jersey, and
George Binder, a children's cane travel instructor in New Mexico.
Mr. Cutter assisted Fred Schroeder with a cane travel workshop at
National Convention a few years ago. He has been a proponent of
giving canes to blind preschoolers, and even toddlers, for many
years. The purpose of this workshop is to train participants in the
concepts, philosophy, and strategies which undergird the successful
nurture of independent movement, confident cane travel, and good
orientation and mobility for young blind children. With this
knowledge participants will be better able to advocate for quality
cane travel and O&M programs for children; and the teachers, O&M
specialists, and other professionals who attend the workshop will
be better prepared to provide these quality programs. The maximum
number of participants in this workshop is fifty. We urge NFB
parent's divisions and state affiliates to consider sending a
representative to this workshop.
To pre-register for either of these workshops, send your name,
address (including city, state, and zip code), telephone number,
and a check in the amount of $10.00 (made payable to National
Organization of Parents of Blind Children) to NOPBC Convention
Workshops, National Federation of the Blind, 1800 Johnson Street,
Baltimore, Maryland 21230. Also, please indicate if you are a
parent, teacher, or other professional and whether you are blind or
sighted. If you are registering for the Braille Workshop, please
describe your level of Braille knowledge or experience.
Other activities during the convention will include an opportunity
for blind youth to get together for a discussion. This will also
take place the afternoon of Friday, July 1. Friday evening the
NOPBC will sponsor a Parent Hospitality Room in the NFB Camp room
from 6:00 to 10:00 p.m. There will be food for everyone (specifics
will be announced at the seminar) and plenty of toys and space for
the kids to play. Susan Benbow of New Mexico and other teachers and
blind adults will be on hand to talk to parents one-on-one about
particular educational concerns. If you wish, they will also
demonstrate the use of the slate and stylus or other simple
activities to you and your child.
As usual, the annual meeting of the NOPBC will also take place
during the convention. The meeting will be on Sunday afternoon,
July 3, from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. An IEP workshop will also be held
for parents on the evening of Monday, July 4, from 7:00 p.m. to
10:00 p.m.
General Child Care Information
As usual, child care will be available during the 1994 convention.
Again this year the volunteer director of child care services
(christened last year and now known as NFB Camp) is Mary Willows.
Mrs. Willows is an experienced educator, the mother of two
children, and a long-time leader in the National Federation of the
Blind of California. This volunteer job is a major undertaking. It
takes a tremendous amount of time from many Federation parents who
care deeply about making the NFB Convention an enjoyable and
enriching experience for every member of the family who attends.
Child care is provided not only during the parent seminar on
Friday, July 1, 1994, but also during the convention sessions, the
banquet, and other special meeting times (as resources allow).
Parents are asked to make these donations for child care: $50 for
the week (including the banquet) for the first child and $25 for
each additional child. Or, if you do not need the full week of NFB
Camp, $10 per child per day and $10 per child for the banquet
night. Parents who cannot contribute the suggested donation should
contact Mary Willows to discuss what donation they are able to
make. Mary will be available in the NFB Camp room before and after
sessions. Please contact Mary as soon as possible to indicate the
number of youngsters in your family who will be participating in
NFB Camp during the week. Be sure to tell her about each child's
special needs, if any. We also need to know the age of each
youngster and whether each is blind or sighted. Checks for child
care (made payable to NOPBC) and registration information should be
sent to Mary Willows, 3934 Kern Court, Pleasanton, California
94558; (510) 462-8557. Since the suggested donation does not cover
all expenses, other donations from individuals and groups will be
much appreciated.
Hotel Reservations
As usual, our hotel rates are the envy of all who hear about them.
For the 1994 convention they are: singles, $38; doubles and twins,
$43; triples, $45; and quads, $48. In addition to the room rates,
there will be a tax, which at present is twelve percent. There will
be no charge for children in the room with parents as long as no
extra bed is required.
To make hotel reservations for the 1994 convention you should write
directly to Westin Hotel, Renaissance Center, Detroit, Michigan
48243, Attention: Reservations; or call (313) 568-8000. Westin has
a national toll-free number, but do not (we emphasize NOT) use it.
Reservations made through this national number will not be valid.
They must be made directly with the Westin in Detroit. The hotel
will want a deposit of $45 or a credit card number. If a credit
card is used, the deposit will be charged against your card
immediately, just as would be the case with a $45 check. If a
reservation is canceled prior to June 20, 1994, the entire amount
of your deposit will be returned to you by the hotel. Requests for
refunds after June 20, 1994, will not be honored.
Convention Dates and Schedule
Here is the general outline of convention activities:
Friday, July 1?seminars for parents of blind children, blind job
seekers, vendors and merchants, several other workshops and
meetings, and Parents' Hospitality (evening).
Saturday, July 2?convention registration, exhibit hall open for
business, first meeting of the Resolutions Committee (open to
observers), some other committees, and some divisions.
Sunday, July 3?exhibit hall open all day, meeting of the Board of
Directors (open to all), division meetings (including the National
Organization of Parents of Blind Children annual meeting),
committee meetings, continuing registration.
Monday, July 4?opening general session, exhibit hall open before
session and during lunch, evening picnic and gala, and evening IEP
Workshop.
Tuesday, July 5?general sessions, exhibit hall open before session
and all afternoon, tours.
Wednesday, July 6?general sessions, exhibit hall open before
session and during lunch, banquet.
Thursday, July 7?general sessions, exhibit hall open before
session, adjournment.
Miscellaneous Information
NFB information tables will be set up in the hotel (usually near
the hotel registration area). Details about where the Friday, July
1, workshops will be held, location of the NFB Camp for kids, and
so forth will be available at these tables. The complete convention
agenda, in print or Braille, is available to all those who register
for the convention. Registration opens on Saturday, July 2. The fee
is $5 per person. There is no pre-registration for the convention.
Each person must be present to register him- or herself.
Banquet tickets generally do not exceed $25 to $30 and should be
purchased at the time you register. We have a system called the
Banquet Ticket Exchange which gives you the option of selecting in
advance the people with whom you wish to sit at the banquet. The
procedure is explained at registration and again early in the
convention session.
Hospitality and convention information will be available at the
Presidential Suite and the NFB of Michigan Suite throughout the
convention. The location and phone numbers of these suites will be
listed in both the pre-convention and convention agendas.
The NFB of Michigan is putting together some wonderful tour
packages for convention. Details will be in the Braille Monitor and
at the NFB Convention Information table when you arrive. If you do
not get the Monitor and would like some information in advance,
write or call:
National Organization ofParents of Blind Children Convention
Information 1800 Johnson Street Baltimore, Maryland 21230 (410)
659-9314.
REFLECTIONS FROM HOME Report on the 1993 National Convention of the
National Federation of the Blind Dallas, Texas
by Jude Lincicome
Editor's Note: Jude Lincicome, a parent from Maryland, received a
scholarship from the Parents of Blind Children Division of the NFB
of Maryland (POBC/MD) for herself and her son, Jeremy, to attend
the 1993 NFB Convention. Jude later gave a fascinating report about
their convention experiences to the annual meeting of the POBC/MD.
That report (which was published in <M>Horizons<D>, the Maryland
Parent Division newsletter) became the basis for the following
article. Here is Jude's "Reflections from Home":
Jeremy and I arrived in Texas on Friday afternoon, July 2, feeling
a little bit of apprehension and a lot of excitement. The Hyatt
Regency DFW was quite comfortable, and we found our room easily. We
stayed in the West Tower. NFB Camp and the swimming pool were also
in the West Tower. Across a quarter-mile corridor was the East
Tower where the majority of convention activities were held.
While parents were attending sessions, children went to NFB Camp,
which was directed by Mary Willows, a blind educator. The week was
abundant with activities in the hotel and about the Dallas area.
The children had a great time not only sharing adventures but
making new friends with true peers?other blind children and/or
siblings of blind children. For one week they were just like
everybody else.
Our busy week began early Saturday morning at 8:00 a.m. with the
Parents of Blind Children all-day seminar for parents and teachers,
"Meeting the Needs of the Blind Youngster." How reassuring to hear
speaker after speaker reinforce the importance?no, the
necessity?for early Braille and cane travel instruction. It was
during this seminar that I realized that I was not demanding enough
independence in cane walking for Jeremy. For those who do not know
us, Jeremy is five years old and attends the Maryland School for
the Blind. How about that! Me, the one most folks who know me say
demands too much from her children, guilty of not expecting enough.
Just for this, the whole trip seemed worthwhile.
The morning included recognition of the Braille Readers Are Leaders
contestants, discussion of the role of parents, blind role models,
and alternative techniques. There was also an excellent panel on
the needs of deaf-blind children. Dr. Abraham Nemeth, inventor of
the Nemeth Braille code for mathematics, spoke of his upbringing
and education as a blind child in an earlier era. Both the progress
we have made and, sadly, the regression since his days as a youth
were most enlightening.
For the afternoon we broke into specialty groups. The choices
included: Current Trends and Legislation in Special Education;
Deaf-Blind Children; Integrating Braille at Home and in the
Classroom; Alternative Techniques for Junior High, Middle, and High
School Students; IEP Workshop; Blind Multiply Handicapped Children;
Cane Travel; and Personal Independence and Daily Living Skills.
Since I write a column for parents of the multiply handicapped
blind child for the POBC of Maryland newsletter, I attended the
group led by Colleen Roth, who chairs the POBC Network for the
Blind Multiply Handicapped Child.
While I was busy learning all I could about how to be my son's best
advocate and how to more effectively meet his needs, Jeremy spent
the day at a Dude Ranch with his friends from NFB Camp. His
favorite story about the trip is about the hayride and what
happened on the way to the petting zoo. "...The wheel came off and
we tipped." What an exciting start of NFB Camp! For me the most
impressive part of the ranch trip was that all the children
participating were given canes (if they did not already have one),
no matter what level of vision they had. What a great message to
everyone about the importance of using a cane. Since this trip,
Jeremy uses his cane everywhere he goes; a habit I've tried for a
year to instill in him. Saturday evening we went to a pizza party
with high-steppin' fiddle music. We made new friends at the party,
then went for a swim before bedtime.
Sunday was less structured, giving us time to go into town for a
whataburger and shop for a few forgotten items. Then it was on to
the convention exhibit hall to shop again?-this time for
information, ideas, trinkets, gifts for friends and family, and a
tee shirt in Braille. This was my first of many trips around the
exhibit hall, and I dare say I probably still missed a few things
to see. Registration was quick and easy with one stop to register
and purchase tickets for trips and the banquet. Lines were only a
couple deep despite the fact that over 2,500 persons registered
during the week. Sunday afternoon Jeremy and I took our turn
working the POBC table in the exhibit hall. Toys we thought would
be attractive for kids were a hit with the adults. Our
print/Braille tee shirts with the cartoon Pluggers<191> character
Zacharoo (a blind kangaroo) and the words "Braille is Finger-food
for the Blind," were liked by young and not-so-young. We sold out
of several items the first couple of days.
Monday morning was spent again at the exhibit hall and the Sensory
Safari, a hands-on exhibit of stuffed animals sponsored by the
Safari Club International. Jeremy had a rare and wonderful
opportunity to touch and explore, in detail, huge elephant tusks,
tiny squirrel feet, hippo teeth, wolf fur, mountain lion claws,
monkey tails, and bird feathers, just to name a few. Each animal
had a knowledgeable guide to answer any question. Some animals had
tape recordings of their special call or sound. How many of us can
say they have plunged their whole hand into the mane of a buffalo
or felt the tongue and back teeth of a hyena?
Monday afternoon was our Parents of Blind Children Annual Meeting.
Speakers again reinforced the necessity of Braille and cane
independence for blind children, giving example after example of
kids successful at learning Braille or cane walking. We vicariously
experienced each child's triumph and were all encouraged by these
examples to renew our own resolve to have our child be the best
that he or she can be.
Ruby Ryles, who is currently working on her Ph.D. in the education
of blind children, gave an enlightening presentation of her
research which documents the positive link between Braille literacy
and employment of the blind. Officers and board members were
elected and state POBC reports were given. Networking?exchanging
names and addresses?was also a highlight of the meeting.
A swim in the pool after dinner was about all the activity Jeremy
and I could handle as by now we were both feeling the effects of
early to rise, late to bed. Reluctantly we missed the "Yah Sure Can
Do Carnival" sponsored by the NFB of Minnesota affiliate and
BLIND, Incorporated (the NFB of Minnesota orientation and training
center for the blind).
Tuesday morning the magnitude of the convention became evident.
Eight halls were joined to form a huge room to accommodate some
2,500 registrants from not only our 50 states, Puerto Rico, and
D.C. but from many other countries,?such as Thailand, Japan,
Canada, and Saudi Arabia?as well. People of every variety, size,
color, shape, ethnicity, and station who carried canes or used dogs
(and some who used wheelchairs, too) were coming together in one
place for a common cause. It was truly an awesome sight!
As I sat watching the people in the room, it occurred to me that
something seemed to be missing?something that perhaps had not
happened?yet. Then it came to me. We had been here for four days
now, here in a strange place with people we've never seen before,
doing things we've never done before, among people who like my son
are blind. How strange that my level of stress and anxiety was so
low. There were a few people who during the first days seemed to
carry a lot of emotional baggage. But they, too, seemed to have
been able to leave it behind and join the spirit of our single
purpose?learning about blindness and how to be the best that we can
be. And whatever each of us is, is okay. As if this realization was
not exciting enough, the roll call of the states brought my
awareness back to the convention hall.
As each state represented was called forward, conventioneers
responded with a resounding cheer. Our tiny state was third in
numbers attending. Not bad! Albeit, it does seem most fitting that
the state of Maryland, under our President, Sharon Maneki, should
assume a role of leadership since we are the home of the National
Center for the Blind, headquarters of the National Federation of
the Blind. If only we can sustain that enthusiasm when we get home!
Just think what we can accomplish.
The afternoon session was highlighted by the Presidential Report by
Marc Maurer. The scope and power of the National Federation of the
Blind seems to touch us at all levels of our lives. I hope you will
read his report in the Braille Monitor. No less inspiring was an
address by the Honorable Sam Johnson, Member of Congress, Third
District, Texas: "Blindness: Meeting the Challenge Through
Self-Organization and a Fighting Spirit?Lessons From One Who
Knows!" Dr. Kenneth Jernigan, President Emeritus of the National
Federation of the Blind, both amused and instructed us with his
presentation of "The Nature of Independence." Dr. Jernigan gave a
very personal, sensitive, and instructive answer to a group of
letters he received from blind students at a training center for
the blind concerned about what they perceived to be a rift between
Dr. Jernigan's choice of using sighted-guide techniques over
independent cane walking at convention, and the position of the
National Federation of the Blind concerning the importance of
independent cane travel. Again, I hope you will read this also.
[Editor's note: This speech is reprinted in this issue on page 44.]
Tuck Tinsley, III, Ed.D., President of the American Printing House
for the Blind, Louisville, Kentucky, gave us a good look at what we
can expect from the American Printing House in his talk "Tomorrow's
News Today." Some of the joint projects now taking place between
the National Federation of the Blind and the American Printing
House for the Blind will help prepare the future generation to meet
the challenge of competitive employment in the age of computers and
technology.
As my head was reeling with possibilities for my son, I hurried to
pick him up from NFB Camp to go to the Texas Barbecue Under the
Stars. To think I had to travel all the way to Texas to meet the
President of my NFB Baltimore County Chapter. That night Ken
Canterbury met my son Jeremy. This was Ken's first real experience
with a blind child. I have asked Ken to be my son's big brother.
Role models are important for children, and I am glad to find a
blind man for my son to look up to. Just think, several times I
almost gave up on coming to the barbecue. Food, friends, fun,
dancing, and music were abundant. We had a great time. I'm so
grateful we went.
Wednesday morning came all too soon, beginning with election of NFB
Board Members. Greetings from the Congress of the United States
were then delivered to the convention by the Honorable Greg
Laughlin, Congress member from the fourteenth district, Texas. His
remarks were a firm reminder of the responsibility the National
Federation of the Blind has to lead the nation's blind and to
advocate for them and the high regard held for the National
Federation of the Blind by those who govern this great nation.
Turning to other serious matters, the remainder of the morning was
spent in a discussion of issues around "Fair Labor Standards ? Fact
or Fiction for Blind Workers in the Sheltered Workshop." James
Gashel was moderator of a panel which included: Joe D. Cordova,
Assistant Director of the New Mexico Commission for the Blind and
Administrator of the Industries Division; Richard J. Edlund, Member
of the Kansas House of Representatives; Fred Puente, Chairman of
the Board of Trustees of Blind Industries and Services of
Maryland; Donald Ellisburg, labor lawyer and consultant; William
Gross, Assistant Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division of the
Employment Standards Administration in the U.S. Department of
Labor; and Austin Murphy, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Labor
Standards, Occupational Health and Safety of the Committee on
Education and Labor in the House of Representatives.
General consensus was that there is a serious double standard in
the wage earnings of blind and sighted employees in workshops for
the blind. Ironically, the majority of the monies allocated to a
workshop go to the salaries of the sighted administrators and
supervisors, and what is left is paid to the blind employees. The
legislation, which was originally designed with the intention of
increasing employment possibilities for the blind by allowing
employers to pay sub-minimum wages, is now responsible for unfairly
keeping blind employees in sub-minimum-wage-paying jobs. However,
studies show that productivity is higher when wages are at or above
minimum-wage standards. This was a very sobering panel. Reality
shock has certainly made me concerned, even frightened for my son's
future. I'm really glad I insisted on a strong Braille component
for Jeremy's IEP this year! His opportunities in the future will be
better with good Braille skills and cane independence.
Wednesday afternoon and evening was left open for Federationists to
relax, enjoy local sights, or do whatever they wished. Our
afternoon was spent riding the train to the airport and exploring
the shops. This was Jeremy's choice, and I'm so proud that he is
telling me what he wants to do. During our afternoon he wanted to
go about with his cane "all by myself." Before, when we were in the
mall or the airport and even when he had his cane, he has always
wanted to touch either myself or his brother's wheelchair. So this
was a real gain.
Most of Thursday morning's general session was devoted to issues of
education. Those speaking included Frank Kurt Cylke, Director of
the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically
Handicapped of the Library of Congress, and Ramona Walhof,
Secretary of the National Federation of the Blind. Mr. Cylke's
presentation was entitled, "Twenty Years of Service and Twenty
Years to Come." Ramona Walhof's inspiring speech was called,
"Braille: A Renaissance."
Next was a panel discussion called "Mainstreaming, Schools for the
Blind, and Full Inclusion: What Shall the Future of Education for
Blind Children Be?" Panel members were: Fred Schroeder, Executive
Director of the New Mexico Commission for the Blind and formerly
Director of Low-Incidence Programs in the Albuquerque Schools; Dr.
Phil Hatlen, Superintendent of the Texas School for the Blind and
Visually Impaired; Dr. Michael Bina, Superintendent of the Indiana
School for the Blind and President of the Association for Education
and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired (AER); and
Dr. Ralph Bartley, Superintendent of the Arizona State Schools for
the Deaf and the Blind. The morning ended with a presentation by
Patricia Stenger, Senior Vice President of the American Diabetes
Association; the title was "Diabetes: A Leading Cause of Blindness
in the United States."
Issues of modernizing the Social Security and SSI systems were
addressed by Louis Enoff, Acting Commissioner of the Social
Security Administration, first thing during the afternoon session.
Excellence in the workplace was demonstrated by the next panel of
speakers: Richard Realmuto, teacher of technology, Stuyvesant High
School in Manhattan, New York; Kathy Kannenberg, teacher of
mathematics in Raleigh, North Carolina; Michael Gosse, Ph.D.,
Electrical Engineer at Atlantic Aerospace Electronics Corporation
in Greenbelt, Maryland; and Alan R. Downing, a high-performance
engine builder. Under the topic, "Diversified Tasks: The Blind in
the Workplace," each spoke of their success as blind professionals
in a diverse cross section of employment.
Finally the Honorable Jim Ramstad, Member of Congress, Third
District of Minnesota spoke about pending legislation, the
Americans with Disabilities Business Development Act, and what it
could mean to the blind for self-employment opportunities. Reports
from Dr. Kenneth Jernigan as representative of the World Blind
Union of North America/Caribbean Region were deferred to Friday
because of time.
Thursday night's banquet was a most phenomenal success due to an
incredible banquet address presented by President Marc Maurer. A
look at the past and people's perceptions of blindness were
presented in a hilarious walk through the writings of several
scholars of the day. It was clear that President Maurer enjoyed
presenting his address as much as we enjoyed hearing it.
Neither Jeremy nor I had the energy left for the Colorado Hoe-down
following the banquet. The spirit was ready, the flesh weak. Jeremy
had stayed busy at NFB Camp with trips to the park, puppet shows,
and fun in the Oyngo-Boyngo, a marvelous net-enclosed trampoline.
And Friday would bring with it a field trip to the Science Center
and lunch at McDonald's.
Friday's general session was devoted to the business of running a
big organization. Reports, finances, resolutions, and a report from
our NFB Director of Governmental Affairs, James Gashel, filled both
morning and afternoon sessions.
I made a last trip to the exhibit hall to make sure nothing was
overlooked, then went to the NFB Camp to collect my son for the
last time. The tears in the eyes of his caretakers were a sure sign
of the loving care my son received while at Camp. After exchanging
addresses and promising to write, we left for one more ride on the
airport train, dinner, then bed.
My only disappointment from the entire week was that we had not won
any of the hundreds of door prizes, ranging from chips to $1000 in
a leather briefcase. My secret wish was to take home a box of
Armadillo Droppings, the caramel and pecan confections that had
been taste-tested in general session by President Maurer himself.
Saturday's return trip was spent enjoying the quiet and remembering
the past week with friends. How richly blessed we are by the
vision, wisdom, information, friendships, networking with other
families, and the reassurances we received at the Federation
Convention that after all is said and done, blindness need not be
a crippling handicap. And with Braille literacy and competence in
cane walking, blindness may be reduced to nothing more than a
nuisance. I returned home with a renewed hope for my son and his
future, and a resolve to make certain he has the Braille and cane
skills he must have. I, too, am learning Braille.
In closing I would like to share a funny anecdote from our final
train ride to the airport on Saturday. I sat across from a father
with his young daughter. The man sat staring at me for quite a
while before he spoke. I answered his questions about where we had
been and where we were going. Then he asked "What do you use that
for?" looking at my purse with his eyes. "What do you mean?" I
asked, "That's my purse."
"Then what do you keep in that?" he asked, again pointing with his
eyes, but now at Jeremy's book-bag with noticeable Braille on the
flap. Confused by his odd questions, I said, "It's my son's
book-bag."
"You see well" replied the man, seeming pleased with his test of my
vision. I was simultaneously amused by his `beat-around-the-bush'
way of determining my visual acuity, and offended by his obvious
thought that because I was also carrying a cane (Jeremy's small
cane that we replaced at convention) that he needed to determine by
trickery whether I was really blind or merely pretending by also
carrying a cane. For a brief moment, I felt like I could have been
proud to be blind like Jeremy. And then I wondered if it was that
I would be proud to be blind or proud to be associated with the
blind; for I had just spent eight days in the company of the blind
learning about blindness, and I had been privy to some measure of
their courage, determination, and caring for one another. And I do
feel proud to have been at the convention?the National Convention
of the National Federation of the Blind.
THROUGH THE SCREEN DOOR
by Nancy Scott
I am on my back steps, my squirt gun ready, but I need something
good to shoot. I already shot the house. The water thuds if I get
close, but that's no fun anymore.
I hear the hiss of Mom's iron in the pantry. I could shoot her, but
not really. There's a door for the water to hit so I could shoot
her in my head. I aim at the spitting iron.
I fire. The water sisses with the force of my wishing. Buzz against
the screen so I know its going where I want. Buzz. Siss. Pull. Feel
the water going from the gun. Siss. Buzz.
"Stop that." What? That's not supposed to happen. Mom must be
hearing me think. I know she can do that sometimes. "There's water
all over the floor." No. There's a door there.
I'm six and I'm not stupid. "You're shooting through the screen.
Water goes through the door." That can't be. Water is big. It stays
in one place, not like air and noise. I tell her.
Mom sighs from mad to show-and-tell; puts my left hand inside, my
right with the gun out and says "shoot." Pull. Buzz. Wet against
my inside hand. "Yes. Come look." She puts my right hand in the
puddle on the floor.
I could have shot her after all. How far wouldwater go through the
door? How high could I make it reach? Good thing she isn't hearing
me think. Maybe if I reach real high No, I'll try for the tree.
NFB RECOGNIZES OUTSTANDING INDIVIDUALS
Three special awards were presented at the 1993 NFB Convention.
They were: the Blind Educator of the Year Award, the Distinguished
Educator of Blind Children Award, and the Golden Keys Award. These
awards are not bestowed lightly. If a worthy recipient does not
emerge from the pool of candidates for a particular award, it is
simply not presented that year. These awards are, therefore,
meaningful expressions of recognition and gratitude to outstanding
individuals who have made a difference in the lives of blind
people.
The Golden Keys Award was presented for the first time in 1993 at
the Convention banquet Thursday evening. The National Association
to Promote the Use of Braille (NAPUB), a division of the National
Federation of the Blind, created the award; and Betty Niceley,
President of NAPUB, made the presentation to the 1993 winner. The
winner had, in Mrs. Niceley's words, " worked for us and with us to
increase the use of Braille. [He] sought us out, wanted our
comments, listened to us, and put into action the suggestions we
made." She then presented a beautiful plaque with seven gold keys
emulating the keyboard of the Braille writer to Deane Blazie,
inventor of the Braille 'n Speak and many other outstanding Braille
products for the blind.
The two educator awards were presented at the Monday morning
meeting of the Board of Directors. Emerson Foulke was the 1993
winner of the Blind Educator of the Year Award. Stephen Benson,
Chairman of the Selection Committee, described Dr. Foulke's many
accomplishments, then presented him with a plaque and a check for
$500. Dr. Foulke has a Ph.D. in psychology from Washington
University in St. Louis. He has written literally hundreds of
articles, authored and co-authored many books, and taught at the
university level for thirty-three years. He has long been involved
in technical research and research on human perception. Beyond
that, he has done extensive work in Braille and is involved in the
construction of the Braille Code.
Sharon Maneki, Chairperson of the Distinguished Educator of Blind
Children Selection Committee, presented that award. She said:
We in the National Federation of the Blind constantly challenge
ourselves to find new ways to meet our goals. In 1987 we created
the Distinguished Educator of Blind Children Award because we not
only believed in excellence in education, but we believed that the
best way to help blind people is to make it better for the next
generation. The members of the Committee have a difficult task.
Those members were Jacquilyn Billey, Allen Harris, Fred Schroeder,
Joyce Scanlan, and I. We were able to find a candidate who reflects
what we stand for. She is a candidate who has been teaching for
nine years in the classroom. Some may say that's like combat duty,
but she is a person who believes in students and passes on the
torch, not only of knowledge, but of confidence in their abilities.
This year's Distinguished Educator of Blind Children is a teacher
in Zia Elementary School in the district of Albuquerque, New
Mexico, Gail Katona.[applause] I'm going to present Ms. Katona with
a check for $500 and also with a plaque, and I will read the
plaque:
DISTINGUISHED EDUCATOR OF BLIND CHILDREN
The National Federation of the Blind honors
GAIL KATONA
LIST = for your skill in teaching Braille and the use of the white
cane, for generously donating extra time to meet the needs of your
students and for inspiring your students to perform beyond their
expectations. Our colleague, our friend, our ally on the
barricades, you champion our movement, you strengthen our hopes,
you share our dreams. July, 1993
After Ms. Katona accepted her plaque, she said:
I'm overwhelmed. Thank you very much for this wonderful award. It
is a great pleasure and honor to receive it from an organization
such as yourselves. I would like to thank Mrs. Maneki and the
members of the selection committee for selecting me this year. I
would also like to say thank you to Mr. Fred Schroeder, who, when
I was first hired into Albuquerque, was the coordinator of the
program. So Fred was the one who hired me initially and gave me the
opportunity to start the program in Albuquerque and to teach these
wonderful blind children.
I'm a niece of Karen Mayry from South Dakota, so it's no wonder
that I've been a member of the NFB since I was about sixteen or
seventeen years old, and it is through this organization that I
have learned my philosophy and my attitude about teaching blind
children. Blind children are children first?they're kids. They're
little. They need to be taught. Our blind children need to be
taught the skills of blindness. I do my best to make sure that all
of my students get the opportunities to learn and to grow to their
full potential. I think that is done through the use of teaching
Braille so that we have proficient Braille readers, and we always
encourage the use of a long white cane so the students can become
very independent cane travelers. Thank you again. This is a
wonderful honor.
GIFT OF INDEPENDENCE Teacher Helps Blind Find Their Own Way
From the <M>Albuquerque Journal<D>, September 21, 1993, by Tracy
Dingmann.
Jefferson Middle School student Jennifer Espinoza shuffles down the
crowded hallway, tapping her white cane uncertainly and hunching
her shoulders as if to shield her body form students charging
around her toward class. Her eyes see nothing, and her ears strain
to hear clues from her cane over the din.
From a spot down the hall, Jennifer's teacher Gail Katona watches
but makes no move to help. "If I walk with her, then she depends on
me," she whispers, as Jennifer slowly makes her way to class.
For the ten years Katona's been teaching visually handicapped
children, that's been her passion: to keep such students from
thinking they must depend on others to live happy, educated, and
successful lives.
This past summer the National Federation of the Blind named Katona
its 1993 Distinguished Educator of Blind Children. The prize means
a lot to a woman who grew up inspired by a blind aunt, a "really
regular, normal person" who skied, golfed and worked as a probation
officer.
"Through her and the National Federation of the Blind, I met blind
people from all walks of life?successful, capable people," said
Katona, 30. "Then I met some blind people who were not very
independent, and I tried to figure out what the difference between
them was."
What did she find? "It all boils down to education, attitude, and
the expectations others have of them," she said.
Katona learned Braille at Kutztown University in Pennsylvania and
earned a degree in elementary education of the visually
handicapped. Her first job was at Zia Elementary in Albuquerque,
where she co-founded a program to teach visually handicapped
children from throughout the district in one classroom. The program
is the only one of its kind in New Mexico public schools and has
been nationally recognized, Katona said. It was for her work
there?her last year at Zia?that Katona won the Federation's top
honor.
This year Katona moved to Jefferson to start a program that
concentrates services for visually handicapped middle school
students at one school. Four students from Zia, including Jennifer,
came with her.
For most of the school day, Katona follows her students to the
classes they attend with regular students, staying to help them
with especially difficult subjects such as math and science.
"Middle school is tough for any kid. It's been a rough transition
for both of us," said Katona last week while watching Jennifer
navigate the crowded halls.
But the Jefferson program makes it easier for such students.
Visually impaired students at other middle schools have only the
help of one part-time special teacher, who travels from school to
school, Katona said.
At Jefferson, Katona also tells staffers about the special needs of
blind students. And she punches out all of her students' lessons in
Braille and translates their work from Braille for their regular
teachers.
Katona spends considerable time dispelling the fears and
stereotypes kids have about blind people. "We sure had some stares
the first week. We had kids stopping dead in the hallway," she
said, smiling wryly. Katona has since talked to all sixth-graders
about what it's like to be blind. "I've had several students say,
`Can you teach me Braille?'" she said.
Kids at the Jefferson program can also look to each other for
support, Katona said. Jennifer and her best friend, Michelle Lopez,
went to school together at Zia for years, and now they help each
other at Jefferson. Michelle is legally blind but can make out
large letters. Like Jennifer, she walks with a cane and reads
Braille. But they can't be together every minute.
Jennifer's sighted lab partner in science class Friday happens to
be Abby Browder. The task?looking at various objects through a
microscope.
"You're going to have to be Jennifer's eyes as you actually look at
it," Katona tells Abby. "You've got to give good verbal
descriptions."
"It's veiny," says Abby, peering through the microscope at a leaf.
Abby said later she enjoys working with Jennifer.
"I've never really had any experience with blind people, but
Jennifer's nice," she said. "It's different. It's interesting."
Across the room, Michelle scrutinizes a hair and crystals of salt
with her lab partner.
Jennifer doesn't say much, but bubbly Michelle makes it clear how
they feel about their special teacher."Very fun, very intelligent,"
she says. "She's a really neat person."
1994 DISTINGUISHED EDUCATOR OF BLIND CHILDREN AWARD
by Sharon Maneki
Editor's Note: Sharon Maneki is President of the National
Federation of the Blind of Maryland. She also chairs the committee
to select the Distinguished Educator of Blind Children for 1994.
The National Federation of the Blind will recognize an outstanding
teacher of blind children at our 1994 convention, July 1 to July 8,
in Detroit, Michigan. The winner of this award will receive an
expense-paid trip to the convention, a check for $500, an
appropriate plaque at the banquet, and an opportunity to make a
presentation about the education of blind children to the National
Organization of Parents of Blind Children, a Division of the
National Federation of the Blind, early in the convention.
Anyone who is currently teaching or counseling blind children or
administering a program for blind children is eligible to receive
this award. It is not necessary to be a member of the National
Federation of the Blind to apply. However, the winner must attend
the National Convention. Teachers may be nominated by colleagues,
supervisors, or friends. The letter of nomination should explain
why the teacher is being recommended for this award.
The education of blind children is one of our most important
concerns. Attendance at a National Federation of the Blind
convention will enrich a teacher's experience by affording the
opportunity to meet other teachers who work with blind children, to
meet parents, and to meet blind adults who have had experiences in
a variety of educational programs. Help us recognize a
distinguished teacher by distributing this form and encouraging
teachers to submit their credentials. We are pleased to offer this
award and look forward to applications from many well-qualified
educators.
DISTINGUISHED EDUCATOR OF BLIND CHILDREN AWARD 1994 APPLICATION
Name:
Home address:
City:
State: Zip:
Day phone: Evening phone:
School:
Address:
City: State: Zip:
List your degrees, the institutions from which they were received, and your
major area or areas of study.
How long and in what programs have you taught blind
children?__________________________________
In what setting do you teach? Itinerant program[ ] Residential school
classroom[ ] Special education classroom [ ] Other [ ] Please
explain____________________________
How many students do you teach regularly this
year?____________________________________
What subjects do you teach?_____________________
How many of your students read and write primarily using: Braille [ ]
large print [ ] closed circuit television [ ] recorded materials [
] small print [ ].
Please complete this application and attach your letter of nomination; one
additional recommendation, written by someone who knows your work and
philosophy of teaching; and a personal letter discussing your beliefs and
approach to teaching blind students. You may wish to include such topics as
the following:
What are your views on the importance to your students of Braille, large
print, and magnification devices, and what issues do you consider when making
recommendations about learning media for your students?
When do you recommend that your students begin the following: reading Braille,
writing with a slate and stylus, using a Braille writer, and learning to
travel independently with a white cane?
How should one determine which children should learn cane travel and which
should not?
When should typing be introduced, and when should a child be expected to hand
in typed assignments?
Send all material by May 15, 1994, to Sharon Maneki, Chairman,
Teacher Award Committee, 9736 Basket Ring Road, Columbia, Maryland
21045; telephone (410) 992-9608.
CHILDHOOD ON THE LOWER EAST SIDE
y Dr. Abraham Nemeth
From the Editor: A basic ingredient in every NFB National Parents
Seminar is the blind adults who talk about what it is like to grow
up as blind children. Parents?including myself, and I have been
organizing and attending these seminars for the last ten
years?never get tired of these talks. Year after year I have been
inspired, informed, and challenged by Federationists who are
willing to share their insights into blindness. What I find
especially intriguing is that despite the different circumstances
and environment in which these speakers grew up, they always have
something to say which is relevant to the problems we?today's
generation of parents?struggle with.
As relevant and as inspiring as any of our speakers was Dr. Abraham
Nemeth who gave the following presentation at the NFB Convention,
July, 1993, Parents Seminar in Dallas, Texas. Dr. Nemeth,
distinguished college math professor and creator of the Nemeth code
for Braille mathematics, grew up on the Lower East Side of
Manhattan, New York nearly 70 years ago. Here is his inspirational
story:
I was very lucky. I had parents who knew nothing about blindness
but who had an innate understanding of what was necessary to do to
raise a blind child. I was also lucky because I went to the New
York City public schools, where I had a very, very good resource
teacher. Not only was I integrated, but I was really integrated.
Let me tell you a little about that.
The New York City public schools had a resource room for blind kids
in each of the five boroughs. It so happened that the one in
Manhattan was within walking distance of where I lived, so I went
there. Every day my aunt (my father and mother were busy taking
care of the store they operated) walked me to school and walked me
home. We had a wonderful teacher. Her name was Miss Roberts. She
taught me Braille, and she made sure that I learned it.
There were other kids in the resource room; some of them with no
sight, some of them with a lot of sight; and everyone learned
Braille. There was no such a thing as you didn't learn Braille.
Even those who could ride bikes learned Braille.
Now I did not go to the resource room for arithmetic, or geography,
or history. I went to my regular classroom for these subjects. I
went to the resource room during times when the other kids were
doing penmanship, drawing, art, and so forth. It was there that the
resource teacher would teach me blindness skills; for example how
to read a map. I remember one day she put me at a large globe of
the world. This huge globe had nice smooth surfaces for the oceans,
was raised for the land masses, and was even more highly raised for
the mountain areas. And then she put a problem to me. You know the
sun rises in the east and sets in the west, she said. Now, this
globe spins. Which way should the globe spin in order for the sun
to rise in the east and set in the west? Finally I figured that
out, and it was a wonderful educational experience.
My father, (maybe some of you heard me tell this story in Denver
four years ago at the NFB Convention) whenever we were out walking,
he would tell me, "Now we are walking west, and when we make a left
turn, we will be walking south. Listen to the traffic. All of it is
going in the same direction on this street. But when we get to the
next street you will notice that all the traffic starts traveling
in the opposite direction." And he would let me touch mailboxes,
fire hydrants, police call boxes, and fire call boxes and let me
read the lettering on them. You know in our neighborhood on the
Lower East Side the kids would all open the fire hydrants in the
hot summer. He never encouraged me to open a fire hydrant, but he
showed me where and what the firemen would do if they had to open
the fire hydrant.
Anyway, my mother was equally perceptive. She would send me on a
trip to the grocery store. She would give me five or six items to
memorize when I was six years old, tell me exactly what to buy and
in what quantity, and send me to the grocery store for them. Where
was the grocery store? Around the corner, no streets to cross. And
who was the grocer? My grandfather. Anyway, I was very diligent in
remembering every single item and would bring back everything she
sent me for. This was wonderful memory training.
I had an uncle who was a handyman. He taught me how to fish
electrical wire through a wall, how to replace a burnt out bulb and
screw in the new one, and just generally how to do electrical work.
I developed a wonderful sense of mechanics. I knew how things had
to go together. My grandfather, I told you, had a grocery store.
And he had an icebox, not a refrigerator, but an icebox. A large
block of ice kept all the cheeses and butter and things cold. And
from the icebox, which was high overhead, there was a rubber hose.
As the ice melted the water would drain through that rubber hose
into the sink below. Well I was a curious little fellow, and one
day I went around the back of the store and discovered this hose
trailing in the sink. Now my mechanical sense told me that no
mechanical mechanism could work right if there were loose parts
around. Things had to be connected. It was clear to me that the end
of that hose had to be connected somewhere. So, I felt around. Aha,
I thought, the faucet, that's where it goes. So, I connected the
hose to the faucet and, proud of myself for having corrected my
grandfather's obvious oversight, I walked out of the grocery store.
A few hours later I was confronted by my grandfather. I will end
the story at that point.
As a boy I had a tricycle. Now, remember, I had no sight at all. My
father told me that I could ride the tricycle around the block, but
to remember to make a right turn every time I came to a corner.
Ride slowly, he told me, don't bump into anybody, and come back
here. That's what I did. I rode my tricycle around the block and I
came back where I was supposed to. One time my younger brother and
I went on some kind of an expedition. We got separated, and my
brother, who had perfect sight, got lost. I came home.
When I grew up on the Lower East Side I had a wonderful playmate.
We used to filch empty orange crates from the grocery stores, and
then we would go to the junk yards and take the wheels off
discarded baby buggies. Then we would find planks of wood and make
a wagon or a skateboard. I would hop on the back of it, and he
would drive it. Now that little buddy of mine became famous. He was
Zero Mostel. I spent almost every Saturday night in his home. Why
did I spend every Saturday night in his home? Because my father
took me there. What was my father doing? He and all the other men
were poring over the account books. What were they doing in those
account books? They were making interest-free loans to immigrants
coming into this country. After a year or two these people had
acquired furniture and a business and were as affluent as you could
be in those days. They would repay the loan with a little
appreciative addition, and then we would have more money to lend to
more immigrants. And that's what my father and those men were doing
on those Saturday nights?keeping records of those free loans. It
was a wonderful experience in morality, in human feeling. And so I
knew all of Zero Mostel's family. I knew his mother and father and
his brothers and sisters and so on.
Because of my family, because of their expectations and what they
taught me, it never occurred to me that I couldn't do whatever I
wanted to do. I just had to think of a way of doing it.
Take this problem, for example. A lady who was blind called me one
day in desperation. She's having a problem. She has a family and
she wants to broil a pan of hamburgers. She knows she has to turn
those hamburgers over. But she can't see which ones she has turned
over and which ones she hasn't. How can she solve this problem? I
told her it's very simple. You make the hamburger patties and you
put them in the broiler pan. Then you take some toothpicks and you
implant one in each patty. You time the hamburgers and when they
are half done you pull out the broiler pan, pick up the spatula,
and feel above the hamburger. When you locate a toothpick, take it
out and turn the burger over. When there are no more toothpicks,
all the burgers have been turned. The lady was very thankful for
this idea.
There are all kinds of ways of doing things. Let your kids
participate in household activities. Let them change a bulb. Let
them do the dishes. Teach them to pour water from a bottle into a
glass. Let them do this over the sink at first if you don't want a
mess. Pretty soon they will be able to pour any liquid?hot or
cold?without spills. It's not a problem. They will learn if you
expect them to do it and you give them the chance to experiment and
learn. But don't give them the idea that they are wonderful because
they are able to pour a glass of water. Everybody pours a glass of
water.
I once had a teacher, a vision teacher as they call them these
days, who told me I was a genius because I was able to read Braille
at the rate of a high school student. Now maybe I have other
qualifications that would rate me as a genius, but certainly
reading at the rate of a high school student is not one of them!
Expect your kids to do the normal things, and then react normally
when they do. Encourage them and do not overprotect them.
My father did not overprotect me. You know kids will tease a blind
kid in the street?particularly on the Lower East Side where I grew
up. They would get after me, and I would want some protection from
my father. I would say, "Pa, he hit me." My father would say, "So,
why didn't he hit me?" In other words, my father was trying to
teach me to fend for myself. Which I was very well able to do. One
time, in the park, a sighted kid was teasing me. When I ran after
him, he shimmied up a ladder on one of these jungle gyms which had
a trapeze, a pair of rings, a chinning bar, and all that stuff. I
went right after him. Well he wanted to get out of my way so with
his hands he grabbed the upper bar and moved himself to the right.
He ended up dangling above the ground some distance from the
ladder. The poor fellow got so scared he was unable to move back to
the ladder and get down. However, I wasn't scared so I did get back
to the ladder and get down. But somebody from the park had to come
with a ladder and get him down. He didn't start up with me too much
after that.
I did participate in physical activities. I was on the high school
swimming team (I'm still a good swimmer). I climbed ropes and
jumped and did all kinds of physical activities. It was very good
for me.
Well, all I can tell you is that I have led quite a normal life. I
think I have been able to do this because I was not overprotected
as a child. I had a wonderful, wonderful support system in the form
of relatives, parents, and teachers who expected me to be normal
and do the normal things. They gave me opportunities to learn. And
that's what made it all possible. And that's what can make it
possible for your kids to have a normal childhood and life, too.
MEETING THE NEEDS OF THE DEAF-BLIND CHILD
"At first everything looked real bleak for us. We cried a lot the
first few years. But our child is now thirteen and she's absolutely
wonderful!"
Those who met Keri-Ann Ruemmler at the 1993 NFB National Convention
couldn't help but agree with this statement by her mom. Keri-Ann is
a delightful young teenager. Her engaging smile, lively curiosity,
and pleasing personality captivated everyone who crossed her path
at the 1993 NFB National Convention, which she attended with her
mother, Sally Ruemmler of Kansas. Deaf-blindness was certainly no
deterrent to Keri-Ann in making friends and generally having a
great time at the convention.
But it was no easy journey for the Ruemmlers to go from a bleak to
a wonderful outlook for their daughter. It required attitude
adjustment, information, courage, persistence, some very specific
training strategies, alternative techniques in communications and
mobility, and support from the National Federation of the Blind.
Sally Ruemmler shared some of her experiences with other parents at
the NFB Convention through the panel discussion "Meeting the Needs
of the Deaf-blind Child." This panel was one of the items on the
agenda of the all-day Parents Seminar. Sally shared the podium with
Kathy Arthurs, the mother of a three-year-old deaf-blind and
multiply-handicapped daughter; Kathleen Spear; and Don Petty?both
of whom are deaf-blind adults who grew up as deaf-blind children.
Julie Hunter, president of the NFB Parents Division in Colorado and
chairman of the Concerns of Parents of Deaf-Blind Children
Committee, moderated the panel discussion.
Julie began the discussion by giving a little bit of background on
deaf-blindness. She pointed out that most of us think immediately
of Helen Keller when we think about deaf-blindness. But this image
is inaccurate. Helen Keller, Julie explained, is representative of
only one of four general categories of deaf-blindness. The four
categories, according to Julie, are based upon when the individual
became deaf, and when he or she became blind. Helen Keller
represents the category made up of those who are born both deaf and
blind or who lose both vision and hearing very early in life,
before the development of language. Another category is made up of
those who are born deaf (or, again, become deaf very early in
life), then later lose their vision. Ushers Syndrome is a common
medical condition among persons in this category. Sally Ruemmler's
daughter, Keri-Ann, fit into this category. Then there are those
who are blind from early childhood and only later in life (after
the development of language) lose a significant amount of hearing.
Julie explained that her teenage daughter, Lauren, fell into this
category. The fourth category consists of adults who became deaf
and blind through disease or injury. These individuals had learned
language and developed life skills as seeing and hearing children.
Julie Hunter explained that the significance of these categories
lies in the manner in which the children who are deaf-blind have
historically received services. What has happened, and still
happens, is that children who are primarily deaf have their special
education programs planned by educators of the deaf, and children
who are primarily blind have their programs initiated and conducted
by educators of the blind and visually impaired. This was the
pattern of education, for example, for both Lauren Hunter and
Keri-Ann Ruemmler. Keri-Ann, being first and primarily deaf, for
many years received services from only the deaf program. Lauren,
who was blind many years before she began to lose her hearing, had
her special education planned by the teachers of the visually
impaired. As a consequence, the programs for these children are
often inadequate. Sally Ruemmler, in her presentation, explained
that it wasn't until her daughter attended a program for the blind
at the Kansas School for the Visually Handicapped, that they
understood the nature of Keri-Ann's vision loss. It turned out that
she has tunnel vision, which affects her mobility (she couldn't see
to the side or straight down without turning her head). This
explained why she frequently fell and bumped into things and why
she had trouble with interpreters who signed so broadly that much
of it was outside her field of vision.
As troublesome as it was for the Ruemmlers to piece together a
program for their daughter, parents of congenitally deaf-blind
children have far more difficulties in finding suitable programs
for their children. Mrs. Hunter pointed out that very little has
been available to these children, in spite of what was learned from
Helen Keller and her teacher Anne Sullivan regarding the need for
intensive total-waking-hour intervention. The lack of an
appropriate education for these children, Julie explained, has
often led to a misdiagnosis of mental retardation. This problem
highlights the need, Julie Hunter explained, for public recognition
of the special character of deaf-blindness as a unique disability
distinct from both deafness and blindness.
This basic information set the stage for the four panel speakers.
The first speaker was Kathleen Spear, a congenitally deaf-blind
mother, grandmother, and college graduate. Kathleen addressed the
crowd in her own voice without an interpreter. Kathleen explained
that her parents knew that she was blind by the time she was six
months old. At first, they feared she was also brain-damaged.
Although all but one doctor advised her parents to put her in an
institution, she was raised at home with her six brothers and
sisters. When she was four, her parents were told that there was no
evidence of brain damage but that she was deaf. This was
devastating to her parents. "Until the day my father died,"
Kathleen said, "he could not say the word deaf-blind."
Nevertheless, her parents demonstrated considerable insight and
good sense in raising her in those early years. "My dad was an
immigrant, my mother the child of immigrants. Neither had any
experience with disabilities. [But] my first speech therapist,
believe it or not, was my dad, who had the equivalent of a
sixth-grade education. He would sit with me by the window in his
armchair after going through the comics with my brothers. Putting
his hand under my chin, he would point to his pipe and say, `What
is this?' Then he would say, `Who am I?' He would give me the
answers?pipe and dad?and I would try to emulate him. I didn't do a
very good job then. The only people who could really understand me
were my parents. But it was the beginning of the idea of language
for me."
The frustrations she must have experienced in learning to
communicate as a small child were poignantly expressed in her
description of going to Mass on Sunday. "As a little girl the thing
I looked forward to all week was going to church. In church I could
sit for an hour and watch the glow of the candles (I had some
residual vision in my right eye then) and smell the incense. And
for one solid hour nobody pulled me or pushed me or tried to make
me understand."
Even as a toddler, Kathleen had an independent spirit. "I was a
tenement kid. I learned independence by roaming the neighborhood by
myself. Years later my father would say that I was the only
four-year-old on the block with a police record because sometimes
the cops had to go and find me and bring me home."
Education consisted of a series of five different schools before
she entered an apartment for the deaf-blind at the age of eleven.
By then, however, Kathleen explained, she had learned Braille. "A
blind person can talk about Braille as an alternative technique,
but to me it is not an alternative technique. It is salvation. I
read Braille faster than most people read print. I went through
college using Braille."
Of her college experience, Kathleen said, "I didn't graduate summa
cum laude, but I did graduate in four years with a B average. I can
tell you I didn't sleep much during those four years."
It was while she was in college that Kathleen learned to use a
cane. "I had not learned to use a cane because the deaf-blind
weren't supposed to be able to do this. But while I was in
Manhattan attending Hunter's College I taught myself to use the
cane and went about the city with it."
Of all the successes in her life Kathleen stated that she most
valued the fact that she had been a successful parent. As a child
she never believed she would ever marry or have a child, but she
did. Tragically, however, she was widowed when her son was nine
years old. She raised her son, who is now 30 years old and a
lieutenant in the United States Navy, as a single parent. Kathleen
ended her presentation with a poem she had written about Helen
Keller. In one line of the poem, Kathleen refers to the message of
Helen Keller's life. But she could just as well have been referring
to her own life. Here is the line: "The message that she left to us
who are both deaf and blind is symbolized in hope that life need
not leave us behind. If people would accept us, life wouldn't be so
hard. For we possess potential; who knows how much save God."
Don Petty was our next speaker. When Julie Hunter introduced him
and his wife, Marilyn, (who was interpreting for him), she
explained that Don and his parents, Bob and Charlene Petty, had
written a book called Out of the Shadows. The book described their
difficulties in getting education and services for Don when he was
a child.
Don explained that his speech would be given by reverse
interpretation. He would speak first, then his wife would repeat
his speech for the audience. Don's disability came about because of
a bout of encephalitis he had as a baby. The loss of vision came
first. He learned Braille in the third grade, but he could
understand speech until about the eighth grade. By age eighteen he
was learning to sign.
Don especially emphasized the importance of his parents in his
life. At one point, as a young adult, he was doing nothing but
sitting at home, depressed about his life. His father came into his
room where he was sitting in front of the t.v. and asked him, "Do
you want to spend your life in front of the television?" Don
decided that this was not what he wanted to do with his life.
Today, he is married and has a job. After his brief presentation
Don invited everyone to come and speak with him, his wife, and his
parents at the exhibit hall where they had copies of his book for
sale.
Our first two panelists were living proof of the ability of
deaf-blind children to grow up and become happy, productive adults.
They were representative of what can be if parents dare to dream
and expect the most from their child.
But we all know that dreams are not achieved without hard work and
persistence. Our next panelist, parent Kathy Arthurs, described the
nitty-gritty reality of life with a deaf-blind infant and toddler.
Here is the edited text of her remarks:
My name is Kathy Arthurs. I have two children. Kristin is eight,
and Kaylee is three and a half. Kaylee is here with me at the
convention. She is a spunky three-year-old. You'll hear me calling
her as she runs and runs down the hallway. Kaylee was born blind
deaf. She was born with a cleft-lip palate. She has epilepsy. It's
a depressing thing to hear the doctors tell you that your child
will never see well, hear well, speak well, or even develop
cognitive skills?that she'll never do much of anything. Naturally,
I went home depressed. My husband didn't know what to do with me.
But I thought about it, and I came to the conclusion early on that
the only person who should put limitations on my daughter was my
daughter. I decided I had to be positive. I know that's been said
a lot today, but it is so true. You have to be positive. You have
to be positive, and you have to understand what your child needs.
For example, I decided that Kaylee needed to know when I was
around, even when I wasn't touching her. So, from the time she was
a small infant I wore the same perfume so that no matter where I
was, she could smell me. It just seemed like common sense to me
that Kaylee needed to learn to use her hands to explore things
around her. So I wore interesting jewelry and interesting clothing.
I painted t-shirts with fabric paint. I sewed appliques on my
clothing and on hers. I did anything I could so she couldn't avoid
touching different textures from the very earliest age. I had a
rule when she was an infant: If you wanted to admire my baby, you
held my baby. This way she could see your glasses, your beard?God
help you if you had false teeth!
When she was a little older, we needed to find a way to get her
interested in moving about. Kaylee does have light perception, so
for stimulation we used a small flashlight. We used it to help her
pick up her head and to motivate her to move across the floor. My
husband would push on her feet, and I would use the light in front
of her. We strung Christmas lights from toy, to toy, to toy. This
really motivated her and got her moving. Then I put my Christmas
lights around my child's room so she could see the perimeter of the
room. This has made for an interesting childhood, let me tell you.
She thinks Christmas is year-round.
Dealing with food was terrible! She was scared to death of touching
her food. So I devised a method of putting plastic wrap across the
food so she could feel the food through the wrap. This way she
could discover a lot of things about the food?shape, temperature,
hard, soft, thin, thick, even bumpy or smooth?without actually
getting her hands on its surface. And little by little I pulled
back the wrap so that, with a lot of encouragement from me, she
began to feel the unwrapped part. We still have some trouble with
gooey stuff, but for the most part she is feeling everything now.
Very early on I Brailled all of her children's books with clear
contact paper and a slate and stylus. I didn't know Braille well,
so I found a Braille chart?a cheat sheet?and used that to help me.
When Kaylee started to cruise around and walk on her own at
eighteen months, I gave her a cane. I had three rules: she had to
hold onto it, she had to hold it in front of her, and she had to
keep the point down. I confess my shins were definitely raw for the
first six months or so after she got her cane, but she finally got
the idea. Now she has confidence and independence. The cane is an
extension of herself. She doesn't leave home without it. We keep it
in the same place by the door so when we go someplace she always
knows where it is.
When she runs into something she hasn't seen before, I take the
time to let her feel that object. We spent an hour at last year's
convention on a grate on the sidewalk in downtown Charlotte.
Parents, please, I urge you, get your child a cane. If it doesn't
work at first, put it up for a while and give it to them later.
Education and IEP's?what a nightmare it was at first! My school
system said "We've never had a deaf-blind child in our preschool
classroom," and I said that's okay, Kaylee's going to be the first.
I stood my ground and the school system, when they realized they
couldn't push me around or make me change my belief in Kaylee,
backed down. From that experience I learned that parents have
power. This is my advice to parents: Get yourself educated. Know
the rules. Stand your ground.
Kaylee is now in preschool. Regular, ordinary,
toddlers-running-everywhere preschool. For support she has me and
an interpreter in the classroom in addition to the regular
preschool teacher. And all the children in there love her. She has
taught them as much as they have taught her. With the right
support, why not regular preschool for the deaf-blind child?
Everybody asks me how I deal with Kaylee's disabilities, how do I
raise her? The answer is simple. Mostly it's just like raising any
other three-year-old. We go places together as other families do:
to church, to the YMCA, to the park, to the mall, wherever. I don't
tell Kaylee she can't do something. I've always said she can try.
Yes, she can play with other kids in school, the neighborhood, or
at church. Yes, she can ride her tricycle?even if it means crashing
into a few things. And Kaylee has rules and regulations to follow
just like other kids her age. She has to pick up her own toys. She
has a regular bedtime. She has chores. For example, she takes the
clothes out of the dryer and puts them in a clothes basket. She
puts the silverware in the drawer. (Mind you, it doesn't always get
in the right place, but it gets in the drawer.) I always remember
that Kaylee is first and foremost a child like any other child.
Yes, she is deaf-blind, but that comes second. First, she is a
child.
In our three-year journey with Kay, I have discovered that I can
still have the same dreams for her that I had before she was born,
before we knew about her physical disabilities. I expect her
...[emotionally overcome and cannot speak for awhile, applause] I'm
sorry. I expect her to get a higher education. I expect her to have
a career, to marry, to have children, and to aid her community.
And if you see my little toddler at this convention, please say
hello to her?that is, if you can catch up to her as she's running
through the hallways. [applause] Thank you.
Sally Ruemmler, who was introduced at the beginning of this article
as the mother of deaf-blind teenager, Keri-Ann, concluded the panel
with her remarks. Unlike the other panelists, Keri-Ann was deaf
first. The gradual loss of peripheral vision did more than create
a mobility problem for her. Because of her blindness, she began to
lose friends and was rejected by many in the deaf community.
Interpreters at the public school she attended did not understand
why they needed to modify their signing for her. (Interpreters,
Sally explained, tend to sign widely and Keri-Ann, because of the
loss of her side vision, could only see signs if they were kept
within the very narrow range of her central vision.)
Finally, with the help of their new friends in the Federation,
Keri-Ann got a cane and some mobility training. Her parents
enrolled her in a private residential oral school where her
specific communication needs were accepted and understood. Although
many parents are understandably reluctant to send their child away
from home to school, Sally said that for Keri-Ann this move "was
absolutely the beginning of independence for her." "I am," Sally
explained "the original overprotective mother. Now my child flies
home every other weekend by herself. She is quite independent." To
further increase that independence Keri-Ann, her mother explained,
had enrolled in a summer program for youth at the National
Federation of the Blind's Colorado Center for the Blind. She would
be attending that program after the NFB Convention. "She is very
excited [about going]," Sally said. "She is going to come back more
independent than she left, I'm positive."
Sally concluded her remarks with a declaration of her commitment
and gratitude to the organization?the National Federation of the
Blind?which truly changed what it means to be deaf-blind for
Keri-Ann and her family. She also invited everyone to take a moment
at the convention to stop and talk with her daughter. "She's quite
a character," Sally proudly boasted. "You will be in for a treat."
It was obvious from the audience's warm, enthusiastic response to
this panel that one did not need to be the parent of a deaf-blind
child to draw inspiration and increased understanding from the
deaf-blind and their parents who have become an important part of
this movement.
FAMILY SUPPORT OF EMERGENT LITERACY PRACTICES FOR CHILDREN WITH
VISUAL IMPAIRMENTS
by Chris Craig
I am a doctoral student in the Special Education department at
Peabody College of Vanderbilt University, majoring in visual
impairment. I strongly believe that research involving families of
children with disabilities should center on the needs of the
family, rather than the needs of the researcher. Thus, I deeply
appreciate the cooperation of the NFB on some research which I hope
will benefit children with visual impairments and their families.
The professional literature has discussed how reading aloud to
children is the most important way to foster literacy development.
Selecting stories with repetitive passages, using tactual books and
material which adequately represents visual concepts, and promoting
Braille awareness through exposure to the medium in a variety of
contexts have all been identified as ways to enhance the shared
reading experience for parents and their children who are blind. In
general, the literature has emphasized the importance of family
involvement in the literacy development of young children with
visual impairments. Unfortunately, there is very little research on
how children with visual impairments "emerge" into literacy or how
home literacy experiences impact on learning to read and write in
either print or Braille. Thus, my doctoral dissertation will
examine the nature of family support of emergent literacy practices
in the homes of children with visual impairments.
Fifteen families attending a week-long preschool evaluation program
at the Tennessee School for the Blind assisted in the development
of a survey instrument for the study. The survey measures family
support of literacy practices, home literacy opportunities, and
parental attitudes toward Braille and low vision devices. Over a
three week period, these families reviewed drafts of the survey and
made suggestions as to how to improve the instrument. In addition,
the research staff at the American Printing House for the Blind
(APH) has provided both technical and financial assistance for this
research, and I am very grateful for their support as well.
During the month of September, 1993, the NFB assisted me in my
research by sending out survey packets to over 250 of its members.
The study includes primarily families who have a child with a
visual impairment ages two to eight and who believe that their
child has the ability to learn to read and write in either print or
Braille at some level. Families who received the packets were asked
to fill out the survey and return it using the self-addressed
stamped envelope enclosed in each packet.
I am very excited about beginning my dissertation as I believe the
outcome of this research will help to increase literacy
opportunities for children with visual impairments. I hope to be
able to share with you the preliminary findings of this study
sometime in 1994 through the Braille Monitor or Future Reflections.
1993 GUS GISSER MEMORIAL BRAILLE READERS CONTEST REPORT
by Sandy Halverson
Editor's Note: Sandy and John Halverson of Kansas City, Missouri,
voluntarily serve as the judges for the annual Braille Readers are
Leaders Contest co-sponsored by the National Association to Promote
the Use of Braille (NAPUB) and the National Organization of Parents
of Blind Children (NOPBC). Sandy is a Braille teacher, and both she
and John have been Braille readers since childhood.
Ten years ago, the boards of NAPUB and NOPBC established the
Braille Readers Are Leaders Contest for the purpose of promoting
Braille reading among school-age children. The members of our
organizations were appalled by, and deeply concerned about, the
growing Braille illiteracy among our blind youth. Even bright
children were in danger of remaining mediocre or poor Braille
readers. For numerous reasons, blind children were not catching on
to the excitement and thrill of reading via Braille.
We finally decided that if the kids were motivated to read, they
could overcome other obstacles to reading Braille (such as less
instruction time with teachers, fewer books, and so forth). And
they have! Once motivated by the contest we have seen both good
readers and lackadaisical readers catch fire with the excitement
and pleasure of reading. Although originally motivated by the cash
prizes and other awards, the students soon become self-motivated as
reading becomes its own reward.
In the 1993 contest we had 226 contestants?our largest number
ever?from 35 states plus Canada. We had a nice mixture of students
who have been in the contest off and on for several years, and
students who were entering the contest for the first time. We also
had four deaf-blind contestants who were given special recognition
and prizes in honor of Gus Gisser, a deaf-blind, long-time member
of the National Federation of the Blind. A memorial donation from
the National Federation of the Blind of New York made these special
prizes possible.
Judging for the contest is based entirely upon the number of
Braille pages read by the contestant. All students competed in one
of five categories: grades kindergarten through first, second
through fourth grades, fifth through eighth grades, ninth through
twelfth, and Print to Braille. Those who had participated in
previous contests were also eligible to compete in the Most
Improved category. This category honors students who show the most
improvement in number of Braille pages read from one year to the
next. First-, second-, and third-place winners in each category
receive cash prizes?$75, $50, and $25 respectively?a contest
t-shirt, and a certificate. Most Improved winners also receive a
cash prize and a certificate. All contestants receive a Braille
certificate and a ribbon of participation. Here is the list of
winners by category:
Kindergarten?First Grade
First place: Krystle Zamudio?1,656 pages Salinas, California
Second place: Jessica Culley?1,329 pages Steubenville, Ohio
Third place: Amber Jo Kineard?1,268 pages Pineville, Louisiana
Second?Fourth Grade
First place: Blake Earl Roberts?8,366 pages Felton, Delaware
Second place: Gabriela Gonzalez?6,317pages Alexander, Alabama
Third place: Jessica Leigh McCracken?5,678 pages Dorchester, South
Carolina
Fifth?Eighth Grade
First place: Stacy Kruger?13,694 pages Worthington, Minnesota
Second place: James Konechne?12,510 pages White Lake, South Dakota
Third place: Jennifer Espinoza?10,643 pages Albuquerque, New Mexico
Ninth?Twelfth Grade
First place: Chastity Morse?15,838 pages Anoka, Minnesota
Second place: April Swaim?12,649 pages Arlinton, Texas
Third place: Matthew E. Weaver?6,955 pages Berlin, New Jersey
Print to Braille
First place: Hillary Anne Bates?2,361 pages Ceville, Indiana
Second place: Joshua Jungwirth?2,044 pages Ishpeming, Michigan
Third place: Laura Ann LaDuke?1,802 pages Frankfort, Michigan
Most Improved
Jocelyn Dore, Ontario, Canada
J.T. Fetter, Sterling, Virginia
Katherine Gresh, Flourton, Pennsylvania
Melissa Saylor, Kentucky
Jennifer Warner, Green Springs, Ohio
Deaf-Blind Award Winners
Second?Fourth Grade
First place: Robert Riddle?3,498 pages Vancouver, Washington
Fifth?Eighth Grade
First place: Janna Nelson?2,699 pages Aliquippa, Pennsylvania
Ninth?Twelfth Grade
First place: Jennifer Baker?4,884 pages Rockville, Maryland
Print to Braille
First place: Hillary Anne Bates?2,361 pages Ceville, Indiana
CHESNEE GIRL WINS BRAILLE AWARD
Editor's Note: The following article by Steven Shultz appeared in
a South Carolina paper, the <M>Spartanburg Herald-Journal.<D> It
was later reprinted in <M>The Palmetto Blind<D>, the newsletter of
the NFB of South Carolina. Jessica is the daughter of Mrs. Sarah
Jane McCracken, president of the Parents of Blind Children Division
of the NFB of South Carolina. The contest is, of course, the
National Federation of the Blind's Braille Readers are Leaders
Contest. Jessica was one of the fifteen national winners in the
1992-1993 annual contest.
For third-grader Jessica McCracken, learning to read was more than
just another accomplishment on the way through school. Blind since
she was born, Jessica struggled with Braille reading for years. She
and her teachers worked at it month after month with little
success. Then Jessica suddenly had a breakthrough, and the
meaningless mass of bumps that had been so frustrating opened up
into a whole new world of meaning.
Now Jessica reads every spare moment she has. And last week, the
South Carolina School for the Deaf and Blind where she studies
honored her for having won third place in the National Braille
Literacy Reading Contest.
Between November and February, Jessica read 5,678 pages of Braille.
She reads stories, poems, children's books?everything she can put
her fingertips to.
"She just zooms through everything," her teacher, Terrie Randolph,
said, as Jessica sat nearby, her hand flying over a maze of raised
dots on a white page. She's insatiable for a dot."
Jessica's parents, Joel and Sarah Jane McCracken of Chesnee, said
learning to triumph had changed their daughter's life.
"We thought she'd never learn to read," she said. "Then one day,
after three years, it was like a light came on. It's been so
wonderful."
Both her parents teach in Spartanburg County public schools and
knew the importance of not giving up on teaching Jessica to read.
"She is such a good example," Mrs. McCracken said. "That's what I
tell my students: Reading opens so many doors."
Like other children her age, Jessica reads Nancy Drew mysteries,
the "Ramona" books by Beverly Cleary, and Judy Bloom.
Even though the McCrackens learned a little bit of Braille,
Jessica's abilities are in a different league. Mrs. McCracken said,
"People say, `How on earth is she reading?' And I say I have no
idea. It's a miracle."
THE SCHOLARSHIP CLASS OF 1993
Reprinted from the September-October, 1993, issue of the <M>Braille
Monitor<D>.
The task of the National Federation of the Blind Scholarship
Selection and Award Committees is never easy. During the spring the
members of the selection committee must pore over many hundreds of
scholarship applications to choose the group of finalists, who will
attend the convention to compete for the various awards. Then
during convention week, when there are always at least five things
one wants to do with every free moment, the awards committee
members must find the time to get to know each of the twenty-six
winners in order to make the final judgments in the competition.
This year the job was particularly difficult. The Class of '93 is
talented and energetic. A number of its members are already active
in the Federation, and during the convention many others began to
demonstrate deep interest in and personal response to our
philosophy and commitment to changing what it means to be blind.
Here are the 1993 scholarship winners as they presented themselves
to the Board of Directors at its Monday, July 5, meeting. Peggy
Pinder, Chairman of the Scholarship Committee, introduced each
person and listed first the state from which the winner comes and
then the state in which he or she would be a student this past
fall. This is what the winners had to say in the few seconds they
were given in which to introduce themselves:
Jack Allord, Wisconsin, Wisconsin: "Good morning, everyone. I'm
Jack Allord from Shawano, Wisconsin. I went to Illinois School of
Technology and studied mechanical engineering. After that I went
into the Army, and they saw fit to make a Korean interpreter out of
me. After the Army I went to Northern Illinois University and got
a degree in biology, studying genetics. After that I went to
Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska, and got a doctor of dental
surgery degree. Right now I'm at the University of Wisconsin in
Green Bay, studying administration science. I hope to go into
health care administration. Extracurricularly, I'm on the
Independent Living Council of Wisconsin. I'm a speaker for the
visual impairment program at North Central Technical College. I am
very active in Free Masonry?I'll be the Grand Master of Free Masons
in Wisconsin in 1996. Thank you."
Laura Biro, Michigan, Michigan: "Good morning, fellow
Federationists. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank the
National Federation of the Blind not only for honoring me with a
scholarship, but for your continued love and support. I am
currently a junior at Sienna Heights College in Adrian, Michigan,
where I'm pursuing a career in social work. My ultimate goal is to
obtain a master's degree and work with handicapped children. Thank
you."
Matthew Brink, Michigan, Michigan: "Thank you, Miss Pinder, and
good morning to you all. I am presently at Western Michigan
University, academically focused right now in psychology,
specifically working with clients with traumatic brain injury. I
also co-instruct in a class in abnormal psychology and just
finished an internship in Battle Creek. I am also learning from the
National Federation of the Blind, for which I am grateful and hope
to contribute to the '93 convention, as well."
Maren Christensen, Montana, Montana: "Hello. My name is Maren
Christensen. I'm currently a student at the University of Montana.
I'm enrolled in a joint degree program, receiving my law degree and
a master's in public administration. I intend to work as a lawyer
with particular emphasis on implementing progressive public
policies. I am honored to be here. I have enjoyed the last two days
of meeting, talking with, and listening to this group of dynamic,
intelligent, and active, dedicated individuals. I'm real pleased to
be here, and I'm particularly pleased with my new NFB long white
cane. Finally I can move as fast as I want to. Thanks."
Bill Cuttle, Massachusetts, Massachusetts: "Hello, everyone. This
is my first convention. I'm very grateful to be here, not only for
the scholarship, but also I have just met so many nice people. To
be honest, I'm a little overwhelmed with everything that's here.
I'm going to be going to Boston College Law School in September,
and I'm going to be focusing on the field of family and juvenile
law. I received my bachelor's degree at Bridgewater State College
in psychology and a master's degree also in counseling psychology
from the University of Massachusetts and have been working in the
field of mental health for the past seven years as a clinical
director of programs for kids. I'm thirty-one, and I'm going to be
trying a new career. I'm hoping to combine my background with law
to help other people. Thank you."
Marvelena Desha, California, California: "Hello. My name is
Marvelena Desha, and I'm from San Francisco, California. This is my
first convention, and I must say that I am very impressed with the
Federation. In September I am going to be attending the University
of California at Berkeley with a major in linguistics and foreign
language. I hope to pursue a career as a foreign language
interpreter."
Brigid Doherty, Oregon, Oregon: "Good morning, everyone. I am a
junior at Portland State University in Portland, Oregon. I am
majoring in international studies. I have been out in the work
force for the past twelve years, working as a legal secretary and
office manager among other things. I'm very pleased to be back in
school, working toward a better understanding between cultures. I
would like very much to work either in a governmental capacity or
in business, helping people to learn to communicate with other
cultures as they are traveling overseas?also just to have a better
understanding door to door, neighbor to neighbor. We're all living
in an increasingly interdependent world, and I think it's very,
very important that we learn to understand one another better. I
thank you for the opportunity of being here."
Ann Edie, New York, Massachusetts: "Good morning and thank you all
for the opportunity to be here at the NFB convention. My background
is teaching Asian studies and Chinese. In the fall I'll be going to
Boston College to study teaching of the blind. I hope eventually to
combine these two interests by teaching blind people the skills
that they need, by teaching sighted people Braille and other skills
that will help them understand the abilities of blind people, and
by teaching both sighted and blind people Chinese and Asian studies
and Asian cultures. I'm very happy to be here, and thank you very
much."
Tina Ektermanis, Missouri, Missouri: "Hi. My name is Tina
Ektermanis. I'm a senior at Northwest Missouri State University
with a major in computer science and a minor in mathematics. I
ultimately plan to go on for a master's degree. I'm not exactly
sure where yet, but I plan to work in the field of adaptive
technology or network administration. Thank you."
Al Fogel, New York, (Washington, D.C. this summer) and New Jersey:
"Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Al Fogel. I've just
completed my first year at Rutgers Law School in Newark, New
Jersey. This summer I'm working at the Department of Justice with
the ADA. I have a bachelor's degree in accounting and Talmudic law.
I hope to be a corporate attorney with an emphasis on bringing more
disabled people into the corporate field. I can say that starting
next year, working with Rutgers, we'll be getting the first
disabled student to go into a New Jersey law firm. I'm glad to be
here. I'd like to thank the Scholarship Committee, and I'd really
like to thank the Texas people for some down-home hospitality.
Thank you."
Christopher Foster, California, California: "Good morning. I'd like
to thank the Federation as well as the committee. This is my first
convention, and I have learned a lot in the last few days. I also
have my brand new long white cane. Again I'd like to thank you all.
I'm going to be a freshman at Sierra Community College in Rockland,
California, where I will start my studies in English and computer
science. I hope to then go on to the University of California at
Davis, where I will continue and hope to get a master's in computer
science. I would like to go into possibly design engineering or
something like that, just to sort things out and do the
follow-through work at companies and things. Thank you very much."
Saeed Golnabi, Ohio, Ohio: "Good morning, everybody. My name is
Saeed Golnabi. I am very happy and pleased to be here. This week I
have had the best experience in my whole thirty-two years. Right
now I am at the University of Cincinnati. I'm working on my Ph.D.
in mathematics, and I hope I will graduate in a couple of years.
Thank you."
Kathleen Hart, New York, Washington: "Thank you. Good morning. I
previously have been a teacher of special education and a
counselor. I hold both a bachelor's and a master's in education. I
am currently a senior at Colgate Rochester Bexley Crozer?that is a
seminary. I am working on my master's in divinity and will be
graduating next May 14. I am looking for ordination in the
Episcopal Church as a deacon and have about four more years to go
till that happens. I have been a Federationist for two years. My
first convention was two years ago. About a month after that my
state affiliate's president invited me to a state leadership
conference, and I also met my fiance at my first convention, so the
Federation has been wonderful!"
Denise Howard, Georgia, Georgia: "Good morning. My name is Denise
Howard, and I'm from Savannah, Georgia. I recently graduated from
high school. In the fall I'll be a freshman at Spelman College. I
plan to double major in English and elementary education. Thank
you."
Mary Hurt, Kentucky, Kentucky: "I'm Mary Hurt from Louisville,
Kentucky. My first convention was in '87. I'm a past treasurer of
the Diabetics Division and Kentucky State representative for the
Diabetics Division. In 1991 I raised $10,000 for that group, and I
am a senior at the University of Louisville, studying business
administration. I plan to pursue a career in the world of corporate
finance, and I'm very honored to be here."
Jennifer Lehman, Wisconsin, Minnesota: "Good morning, everyone. My
name is Jennifer Lehman. I'm a recent graduate of BLIND, Inc. in
Minnesota. I am President of the Minnesota Association of Blind
Students, and I was elected last night to be the Secretary of the
National Association of Blind Students. I'm also a member of the
Metro Chapter of the National Federation of the Blind of Minnesota.
Right now I am a junior at the University of Minnesota. My major is
sociology. My minor is communication and speech and hearing
science. I would eventually like to be a speech clinician, working
with preschoolers. I want to say that I am very honored to be a
scholarship winner and very glad to be here for my third
convention."
Zuhair Mah'd, Florida, Florida: "Good morning, fellow
Federationists. I've always been told how hard it was to speak in
public, but I guess I know now what it means. My name is Zuhair,
and I am studying computer science at Florida Atlantic University.
I also work for the Office for Students with Disabilities as a
computer consultant in assistive technology. I'd like to take the
opportunity here to thank the National Federation of the Blind
very, very much for the help and the honor it has bestowed upon me.
I'd like to make a pledge here to be, for everyone else that I
meet, as helpful as the National Federation of the Blind has been
to me. Thank you very much."
Angie Matney, West Virginia, Virginia: "Good morning. My name is
Angie Matney. I recently graduated from Iager High School in Iager,
West Virginia, and I will be attending Washington and Lee
University in the fall, where I plan to major in English and/or
computer science to pursue a career either in post-secondary
education or in the field of adaptive technology for the blind. I
would just like to thank each and every one of you for the
opportunity that you have given me to attend my first NFB
convention as a national scholarship winner and also to thank you
for my new long white cane. Thank you very much."
Janelle McEachern, Arizona, Arizona: "Good morning, everybody, and
greetings from the great state of Arizona, the home of the almost
world champion Phoenix Suns?almost, I say. My name is Janelle
McEachern, and I hold my bachelor of arts degree from Arizona State
University. It's a history degree in American and European military
history. I am currently in law school, ASU College of Law. I'm
studying to be a lawyer, and I am also taking my master's degree in
American and British constitutional and legal history. I'm doing
both at the same time, so I'm either desperate or crazy?I haven't
figured out which yet. I hope to be both an attorney and a
professor of constitutional and legal history for either American
or British?I haven't figured out which. I guess I'll cross that
bridge when I get to it. In my spare time I do disability advocacy.
I am a prospective board member for the Arizona Bridge to
Independent Living. I am a volunteer consultant on ADA
accessibility guidelines for area historical museums and zoos. I
also do local missionary work for my church, and I am a civil war
history buff. Thank you."
Jonathon Mize, Texas, Texas: "Good late morning, close-to-lunch
late morning. Welcome to Texas, where you have wide-open spaces and
always pleasant-smiling faces?the only place where it costs a $10
cab fare just to get out of the airport. My previous background in
education?I got an associate in science degree with emphasis in
public administration from South Plains College in Levelland,
Texas, and transferred to Stephen F. Austin University as a junior
majoring in public administration. I will continue to get my
master's degree at the University of Texas at Austin, where I will
also have the public administration master's. In the near future I
plan to be a city manager or work in some of the state
agencies?Lord knows they need help. Thank you."
Sally Nemeth, West Virginia, Ohio: "Good morning. How y'all doing
out there? Good, I hope. I thought I'd try a little bit of Texan.
This is my first NFB experience, and I have to say, what an
incredible initiation! My background is in communication and
psychology. I have a strong interest in the area of wellness. I am
a member of the ADA Training and Implementation Network. This fall
I'll be beginning a degree in counseling at the Franciscan
University of Steubenville. I hope eventually to obtain a Ph.D. in
either counseling or counseling psych and with that to teach, to
conduct seminars on a national basis, to write, counsel, engage in
community service, and eventually join the Peace Corps. I thank you
for your generosity in helping me to obtain my goals."
Jim Salas, New Mexico, New Mexico: "Good morning, everybody. I'm
Jim Salas. I'm attending Webster University, pursuing a master's
degree in human resources development. I'm interested in the people
side of organizational effectiveness. For the last four years I've
been the associates program chairman in New Mexico. Over that
period of time we've quadrupled the number of associate recruiters,
and we are the two-time defending national champion. They're going
to be telling us in a little while who the champion is for this
year, and we have some pretty good numbers again. If we win, great,
congratulations to us. If Missouri or Maryland or California or one
of those pretenders happens to get in this year, well
congratulations to them; but remember there is always next year! In
the immortal words of Arnold Schwarzenegger, `Vi'll be back!'"
Carolyn Scharkey, Missouri, Missouri: "Hi. It's good to be here. I
was the first licensed hairdresser in the state of Missouri as a
blind person, and I then had three children of my own, two foster
children, and just loved people. I decided to go into social work
so will be entering the University of Missouri, St. Louis, in the
fall. Thank you."
Christopher Smith, New Jersey, Rhode Island: "I just recently
graduated from Ridgewood High School in northern New Jersey. I'll
be a freshman at Brown University this September, and I plan to
major in English, creative writing, with the goal to become a
professional writer. This is my first experience with the
Federation. I'd like to thank everyone for their truly sincere
welcome, and I look forward to a long and committed future with the
Federation. Thank you."
Chuck Strickland, California, California: "I have a master's degree
in physics with a minor in computer science from Southwest Texas
State University, which is where I've mostly been, in Texas. I was
a participant in the Young Scholars program sponsored by the
National Science Foundation, and I was a science counselor there.
It was held at SWT. I'm now going for a Ph.D. in physics. I hope to
teach at the university level and do theoretical physics, make some
contribution. I'm attending the University of California at
Riverside. Thanks for your consideration."
Colleen Wunderlich, Illinois, Indiana: "Good morning. I would like
to begin by thanking the Federation for the opportunity they have
given me to be here today. I feel very fortunate to have received
influence from these Federationists. I feel that they have a great
sense of inner strength and pride, and I hope that I will achieve
my dream of becoming a psychiatrist. Right now I will be attending
Purdue University in the fall, where I will major in pre-med and
psychology. Then I plan to go to medical school. I believe that the
Federation will be here to help me achieve my dream. When I do so,
I'd like to give that back to future generations to come. Thank you
very much."
Peggy Pinder: "And there, Mr. President and members of the National
Federation of the Blind, are the twenty-six scholarship winners
this year."
As you will observe, it was an impressive group of students this
year. Here are the awards they received:
$2,000 NFB Merit Scholarships: Marvelena Desha, Tina Ektermanis, Al
Fogel, Saeed Golnabi, Kathleen Hart, Denise Howard, Jonathon Mize,
Christopher Smith, and James Strickland.
$2,000 Ellen Setterfield Memorial Scholarship: Janelle McEachern,
$2,000 Hermione Grant Calhoun Scholarship: Angela Matney.
$2,000 Kuchler-Killian Memorial Scholarship: Ann Edie.
$2,500 NFB Scholarships: Jack Allord, William Cuttle, Christopher
Foster, Mary Hurt, and Zuhair Mah'd.
$2,500 NFB Educator of Tomorrow Scholarship: Sally Nemeth.
$2,500 NFB Humanities Scholarship: Colleen Wunderlich.
$2,500 Frank Walton Horn Memorial Scholarship: Carolyn Scharkey.
$2,500 Howard Brown Rickard Scholarship: Maren Christensen.
$3,000 Melva T. Owen Memorial Scholarship: Matthew Brink.
$4,000 NFB Scholarships: Brigid Doherty and James Salas.
$4,000 Anne Pekar Memorial Scholarship: Laura Biro.
$10,000 American Action Fund Scholarship: Jennifer Lehman
In introducing Jennifer during the banquet for brief remarks, Peggy
Pinder said:
Jennifer took time out during her undergraduate years to go to a
training center for blind people when she met the Federation and
realized that she needed what the Federation and its training
centers have. She hasn't been in school this last year. She's going
for the first time to the University of Minnesota (ranked as a
junior), where she is earning a bachelor of science degree in
sociology. As I think many of you know, Jennifer is an active and
loved member of both the Minnesota and the Wisconsin affiliates and
intends to be a pre-school speech clinician. Now here, for a few
remarks, is this year's $10,000 scholarship winner, Jennifer
Lehman.
Jennifer Lehman: Thank you all so much. I am very, very honored to
be chosen as this year's top scholarship winner. I want to thank
President Maurer and Dr. Jernigan and everyone in the National
Federation of the Blind for all the help and support you have given
me during the past three years.
I would not have been able to make it through a lot of situations
that have happened in the past three years if it had not been for
all the support from the members of the Federation family. I can't
even tell you how I feel right now or how much the NFB means to me.
So I just want to say that I will continue to be active in this
organization and help to change what it means to be blind. I want
to help get more people into the movement so that everyone's life
can be changed as much as mine has been by this wonderful
organization. Thank you all.[applause]
NAPUB PLANS NATIONAL BRAILLE-A-THON FOR DETROIT
by Jerry Whittle and Betty Niceley
For the past five years, the National Federation of the Blind of
Louisiana has held a Braille-A-Thon at its state convention as a
means both to promote Braille literacy and to raise funds for the
state affiliate. During the past five years, the NFBL has raised
over five thousand dollars and has received some excellent
publicity about Braille literacy in almost every major city in
Louisiana.
Volunteer Braille readers pledge to read a set number of Braille
pages between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. on the Friday before a state
convention begins. For several weeks prior to the state convention,
these volunteer readers procure sponsors, and then the volunteers
gather in a large room in the hotel where the state convention is
held and complete their page goals. Some read as many as three
hundred pages, and others read just a few pages. For example,
Harold Wilson raised over $1,300 on just ten pages the first year
the event was held.
Because of the success of the Louisiana Braille-A-Thon, the
National Association to Promote the use of Braille (NAPUB) has
decided to hold a similar event at the 1994 NFB Convention in
Detroit, and if successful, it will be continued at each National
Convention. "We expect to have excellent Braille readers and
brand-new Braille readers participating on Saturday from 9:00 a.m.
to 4:00 p.m. in Detroit," said Betty Niceley, President of NAPUB.
"We should have at least two hundred people reading Braille in one
room in Detroit, and we will try our best to have every major
television station and newspaper in the Detroit area there to cover
the event. We will be calling on our membership in NAPUB to pledge
to read their pages and to find sponsors in their home states who
would be willing to pay them handsomely for their hard work. Half
of the money will go to NAPUB and half will go to the national
organization. If Louisiana can raise two thousand for state
convention, there is no reason why we couldn't raise over one
hundred thousand for national Braille-A-Thon," said Niceley,
smiling. "We want to make this an annual event. I bet it will be
one of the quietest fund raisers we could ever have."
If you would like to participate and receive some sponsor sheets,
you may contact either Betty Niceley, 3618 Dayton Avenue,
Louisville, Kentucky 70402, (502) 897-2632, or Jerry Whittle, 101
South Trenton Street, Ruston, Louisiana 71270, 1-(800)-234-4166.
THE NATURE OF INDEPENDENCE
An Address Delivered By Kenneth Jernigan At the Convention of the
National Federation of the Blind Dallas, Texas, July 6, 1993
Shortly after last year's convention, I received a number of
letters from students at the Louisiana Center for the Blind. It was
clear that the letters were written as the result of discussions
held at the Center and that, although the apparent topic was
independent mobility, the real issue was independence in general,
and how blind persons should live and behave. I want to share those
letters with you, then tell you how I answered them, and finally
say a few things about what I think independence really is. The
letters are all dated July 23, 1992. Here is a composite of them:
Dear Dr. Jernigan:
I am a sophomore in high school. Right now, I am in a teenage
program that the Louisiana Center for the Blind is sponsoring. It
is the STEP program. That means Summer Training and Employment
Project. We are allowed to get jobs and make money as well as have
classes.
A few weeks ago I attended the national convention. I really
enjoyed all your speeches and everything. People noticed that you
and Mr. Maurer walked sighted guide sometimes, [I interrupt to call
your attention to the almost code-word use of the term "sighted
guide." Not "walking with a sighted guide" or "walking with a
sighted person" or "holding the arm of a sighted person," but
"walking sighted guide." This makes it clear that the concept of
"sighted guide" has been the topic of considerable conversation.
But back to the letter.] and we thought you all would never walk
sighted guide, because you all are so highly involved in the NFB.
I never thought sighted guide was OK until then. So why did you all
use sighted guide? I know there are many reasons why this might be.
We discussed this in one of our talk times and came up with one
reason this might be. We know that you all have to be at meetings
all the time, and it would be faster if you would use sighted
guide. [I interrupt again to call your attention to the use in the
following sentences of the depersonalized "it." Now, back to the
letter.] I am sure you don't use it so much that you lose your cane
travel skills. I am not trying to say this is wrong. I was just
wondering why you do this. Someone brought up that if we, as the
people being trained at the moment, were caught using sighted
guide, they would fuss at us. And I realize that you are not the
one in training, so it is not wrong. We couldn't use sighted guide,
because we might want to use it more than the cane if we use too
much of it.
Yours truly, ____________________
Dear Dr. Jernigan:
During this past convention in North Carolina some of us noticed
that you did not walk with a cane. I do not understand this at all.
I can understand that you have to be in many places in a short
amount of time at the conventions, and that might be the reason you
went sighted guide. But I also know that when you came for a tour
of the Center, you also went sighted guide. We do not understand
this.
We all have our own theories as to why you went sighted guide, but
we want to get the correct answer straight from the horse's mouth.
Your fellow Federationist, ____________________
That's a very clear-cut letter, and I am pleased to be called that
end of the horse. Here is the last one:
Dear Dr. Jernigan:
This year I came to Charlotte to attend my third national
convention of the NFB. I am currently a student at the Louisiana
Center for the Blind in the STEP program for blind teenagers. This
program stresses cane use, Braille literacy, employment readiness,
and self-confidence based on achievement. While at the convention
I heard from a friend that you were never actually seen using your
cane. I discussed this with a group of friends, and it was decided
that you most likely had many places to go and had to get to them
quickly. This made sense, and the question seemed settled. Then one
of the group remembered you using sighted guide during a tour you
took of the Center while passing through Ruston on the way to the
Dallas convention in 1990. This was such a hectic situation, and
the question was no longer settled because the only alternative
travel technique anyone noticed you using was sighted guide.
I do not mean this letter to imply any disrespect towards you, the
Federation, or its many achievements. If the Federation had not
pushed so hard for independence for the blind, I would have no
grounds on which to write this letter. It is because of my own
personal convictions about independence that I ask why the
figurehead of the NFB is not himself using the alternative
techniques that his student, Joanne Wilson, has been teaching for
nearly ten years in Ruston.
I would prefer to end the letter on a positive note. I realize that
you are responsible for the training I am currently receiving, and
I am grateful for it. I am not implying that you have no cane
skills, because I do not honestly know.
Sincerely, ____________________
These are straightforward letters, seriously written. They raise
fundamental questions, questions that deserve a reasoned answer.
Here is the expanded substance of what I wrote:
Baltimore, Maryland July 29, 1992
Under date of July 23, 1992, the three of you wrote to ask me why
I didn't travel alone with a cane during the national convention in
Charlotte and why on a visit to the Louisiana Center in 1990 I took
a sighted person's arm instead of walking alone with a cane. I
appreciate your letters and will tell you why I do what I do.
In the first place let us assume that I didn't have any cane travel
skills at all. This might be comparable to the situation of a
parent who had no education but dreamed of an education for his or
her child. That parent might preach the value of education and
might work to send the child to high school and then to college.
The parent might, though personally uneducated, feel tremendous
satisfaction at the learning and accomplishment which his or her
effort had made possible. In such circumstances what attitude
should the child have toward the parent? The child might be
critical of the parent for his or her poor grammar and lack of
education and might even be ashamed to associate with the parent?or
the child might feel gratitude for the sacrifice and the work that
had made the education possible.
This is not an apt analogy since I have perfectly good cane skills,
but it has elements of truth about it. When I was a child, there
were no orientation centers or mobility training. The only canes
available were the short, heavy, wooden type, and we youngsters
associated carrying a cane with begging, shuffling along, and being
helpless.
It was not until I finished college and had taught for four years
in Tennessee that I first carried a cane. It was made of wood and
had a crook handle. I might also say that it was longer than most
of those in vogue at the time, forty inches. I started using it in
1953, just before going to California to work at the newly
established state orientation center for the blind. The Center had
been in operation for only a few months and had enrolled only four
or five students by the time of my arrival.
In those days the California Center was using 42-inch aluminum
canes. They were a tremendous improvement over the 40-inch wooden
cane I had been carrying, and I immediately adopted the new model.
Even so, it seemed that something better was needed. I worked with
the person who had been employed as the travel teacher, and we
experimented with different techniques and canes.
In the mid-1950's the solid fiberglass cane was developed. It was
first made by a blind man in Kansas, but we at the California
Center popularized it and brought it into general use. We also
worked to improve the tip. Our students received intensive
training, those with any sight using blindfolds (or, as we called
them, sleep shades), and our students and graduates were
identifiable in any group of blind persons because of their
competence and ease in travel. Since they had enjoyed the benefit
of our study and experimentation, as well as intensive instruction
and the time to practice, many of them probably became better
travelers than I?and I felt pride and satisfaction in the fact. We
were advancing on the road to freedom and independence.
In 1958 I went to Iowa as director of the state commission for the
blind, and I carried with me the experience and knowledge I had
acquired in California plus a 48-inch fiberglass cane and a head
full of new ideas and hopes for the future. I hired a young sighted
man who had no experience at all with blindness and spent several
days giving him preliminary instruction in mobility, using blind
techniques. First I had him follow me all over Des Moines, watching
me use the cane while crossing streets and going to various places.
Then, he put on sleep shades, and I worked with him to learn basic
skills. Next I sent him to California for three or four weeks to
gain further experience and to compare what I had taught him with
what the California Center was doing. Finally he came back to Des
Moines, and I spent several more weeks working with him until
(though sighted) he could (under blindfold) go anywhere he wanted
safely and comfortably using a cane.
During all of that time I worked with him on attitudes, for unless
one believes that he or she is capable of independence as a blind
person, independence in travel (as in other areas) is not truly
achievable. This travel instructor's name is Jim Witte, and he
developed into one of the best I have ever known.
Iowa students rapidly became the envy of the nation. You could
single them out in any group because of their bearing, their
confidence, and their skill in travel. As had been the case in
California, some of them undoubtedly traveled better than I, and I
felt a deep sense of fulfillment in the fact. Joanne Wilson (the
director of your own Louisiana Center) was one of those students,
and I am sure she has told you how it was at the Iowa Center?how
students were treated, what was expected of them, the relationship
between staff and students, our dreams for the future, and how we
set about accomplishing those dreams. Arlene Hill (one of your
teachers) was also an Iowa student. Both Joanne and Arlene are
living examples of what we taught and how it worked. So are
President Maurer, Mrs. Maurer, Peggy Pinder, Ramona Walhof, Jim
Gashel, Jim Omvig, and at least fifty others in this audience.
It was in Iowa that we developed the hollow fiberglass cane. It was
an improvement over the solid cane, lighter and more flexible. We
also gradually began to use longer and longer canes. They enabled
us to walk faster without diminishing either safety or grace. As I
have already told you, I started with a 40-inch wooden cane. Then
I went to 42-inch aluminum?and after that to solid fiberglass, then
to hollow fiberglass, and (three or four years ago) to hollow
carbon fiber. As to length, I went from 40 inches to 42, then to
45, 48, 49, 51, 53, 55, and 57. At present I use a 59-inch cane. It
seems about right to me for my height and speed of travel. Will I
ever use a still longer cane? I don't know?but at this stage I
don't think so. Obviously there comes a time when a longer cane is
a disadvantage instead of a help.
I've told you all of this so that you may understand something of
my background and approach to independence in travel, and
independence in general. The doctors who established the medical
schools a hundred years ago were (with notable exceptions) not
generally as competent and skilled as the doctors they trained, for
they did not have the benefit of the kind of concentrated teaching
they themselves were providing. Obviously they could not stand on
their own shoulders. Through their students they extended their
dreams into the future, building possibilities that they themselves
had not known and could never hope to realize.
So it is with me in relation to you. You are the third generation
of our mobility trainees, having the benefit of what I have learned
and also of what Joanne and the other Iowa graduates have learned.
Unless you make advances over what we have done, you will, in a
very real sense, fail to keep faith with those who have gone before
you and those who will follow. In this context I would expect and
hope that some of you will become better travelers (and, perhaps,
better philosophers and teachers) than I, and if you do, I will
take joy in it.
Having said all of this, let me come back to my own travel skills.
During the 1950's I traveled completely alone on a constant basis
throughout this entire country, going to almost every state and
dealing with almost every kind of environment?urban area, city bus,
taxi, complicated street crossing, rural setting, hired private
car, country road, and almost anything else you can imagine. During
late December and early January of 1956 and 1957, for example, I
traveled alone to fourteen states in eleven days, writing testimony
for the NFB's Right to Organize bill. It was no big deal, and not
something I thought about very much. It was simply a job that had
to be done, and the travel was incidental and taken for granted. I
have taught travel instructors and have developed new techniques
and canes. I travel whenever and wherever I want to go in the most
convenient way to get there?and sometimes that means alone, using
a cane.
Once when I was in Iowa, students observed that I walked to a
barber shop one day with another staff member, and they raised with
me some of the same questions you have raised. That afternoon in
our business class (you may call it by some other name?philosophy
or something else) I dealt with the matter. I told the students
some of the things I have told you, and then I went on to say
something like this:
"Although what I have told you should mean that even if I couldn't
travel with much skill at all I might still not merit your
criticism, we don't need to leave it at that. Follow me. We are
going to take a walk through downtown traffic?and see that you keep
up."
I took the lead, and we walked for eight or ten blocks at a fast
clip. When we got back to the classroom, I didn't need to tell them
what kind of travel skills I had. They knew.
Then, we talked about why I had walked to the barber shop with
another staff member. In that particular instance I had matters to
discuss, and I felt I couldn't afford the luxury of doing nothing
while going for a hair cut. As a matter of fact, in those days I
often made a practice of taking my secretary with me to the barber
shop and dictating letters while getting my hair cut. Of course, I
could have made a point of walking alone each time just to make a
visible demonstration of my independence, but somehow I think that
such insecurity might have made the opposite point and would
certainly have been counterproductive.
In the Iowa days I was not only director of the state Commission
for the Blind but also First Vice President and then President of
the National Federation of the Blind. Both were full-time jobs,
requiring me to use to best advantage every waking minute.
I was up before 6:00 to go to the gym with the men students; I
wrote over a hundred letters a week; I entertained legislators and
other civic leaders an average of two or three nights a week to
gain support for our program; I traveled throughout the state to
make speeches; and I spent long hours working individually with
students. Besides that, I handled the administrative details of the
Commission and the NFB on a daily basis. At the same time I was
doing organizing in other states and dealing with problems brought
to me by Federationists throughout the country.
In that context it would have been a bad use of my time (and both
Federationists and Iowa students and staff would have thought so)
for me to spend much of my day walking down the street to make a
visible show of my independent travel skills. I traveled alone when
I needed to, and I gave demonstrations to students, legislators,
and others when I needed to do that?but I never did either to
convince myself or to establish in my own mind the fact of my
capacity or independence. It didn't seem necessary.
So what about the NFB convention in Charlotte? I was in charge of
convention organization and arrangements, and there were a thousand
details to handle. There were four hotels and a convention center,
each with its own staff and each requiring separate handling and a
myriad of decisions. Sometimes I had not only one but two or three
people with me as I went from place to place, talking about what
had to be done and sending this person here and that person yonder.
Even so, I might (you may say) have refused to take the arm of one
of the persons with me and used my cane to walk alone. But for what
reason? When a blind person is walking through a crowd or down a
street with somebody else and trying to carry on a meaningful
conversation, it is easier to take the other person's arm. This is
true even if you are the best traveler in the world and even if
both of you are blind.
In fact, I contend that there are times when refusing to take an
arm that is offered may constitute the very opposite of
independence. If, for instance, you are a blind person accompanying
a sighted person through a busy restaurant closely packed with
tables and chairs, do you create a better image of independence by
trying to get through the maze alone, with the sighted person going
in front and constantly calling back, "This way! This way!" or by
simply taking the sighted person's arm and going to the table? What
is better about following a voice than following an arm? From what
I have said, I presume it is clear which method I favor. Of course,
if no arm is conveniently available, you should be prepared to use
another method, regardless of how crowded the restaurant or how
labyrinthine the path. In either case you should do it without
losing your cool. But I'll tell you what alternative is not
acceptable in such circumstance?pretending that you don't want
anything to eat and not going at all. That's not acceptable.
But back to the convention. When you are trying to get through
crowds quickly to go from meeting to meeting, and possibly also
trying to find different people in those crowds in a hurry, the
efficiency of sighted assistance multiplies. Incidentally, even if
I were sighted and doing the things I do at national conventions,
I would want two or three persons with me?to look for people in
crowds, to send for this and that, and to talk and advise with.
As an example, consider what happened at last year's convention
with respect to Secretary of Education Lamar Alexander. He has
normal eyesight and is in every other way, so far as I know,
able-bodied and energetic. I am sure that he can drive a car and
walk vigorously. Yet, he sent an assistant to Charlotte a day in
advance of his arrival. The assistant scouted out the convention
and then went to the airport to meet the Secretary. The assistant
drove the car from the airport to the convention, accompanied the
Secretary into the meeting hall, went with him to the platform, met
him at the edge of the platform when he finished speaking, and
drove him back to the airport. If the Secretary had been blind, I
wonder if somebody would have said, "Just look! He's not
independent. He has to have a sighted person with him at all times,
accompanying him everywhere he goes and driving his car."
Since I am not a student trying to learn to travel independently or
to establish within my own mind that I can compete on terms of
equality with others, and since I can and do travel by myself when
that is most convenient, I feel no particular obligation to make a
demonstration when it is more efficient to do otherwise. If I were
a student, I should and would behave differently. As an example, I
think a student should always use a rigid (not a collapsible) cane.
But I generally use one that is collapsible. Why? Students often
are uncomfortable with canes, and if they are allowed to use those
that fold or telescope, they may tend to hide or conceal them
because they think (even if subconsciously) that it will make them
look less conspicuous. I have carried a cane for so long that I
would feel naked without it, and I always carry one whether I am
with somebody or not. Because they were so rickety, I refused to
carry a collapsible cane until we developed the telescoping carbon
fiber model. I pull it to such a tight fit that it doesn't collapse
as I use it, and I almost never collapse it unless I'm in close
quarters. Again, it is a convenience, and my sense of independence
is not so brittle that I think I have to carry the rigid cane to
prove to myself or others that I am not ashamed to be seen with it
or uncomfortable about blindness.
When I was teaching orientation classes in California and Iowa, I
often said to those in attendance that students at a center tend to
go through three stages: fear and insecurity, rebellious
independence, and normal independence?FI, RI, and NI. During fear
and insecurity one tends to be ultracautious and afraid of
everything, even if at times putting on a good front. During
rebellious independence one tends to be overly touchy, resenting
anybody who attempts to offer him or her any kind of assistance at
all, even when the assistance is appropriate and needed. In the
rebellious independence stage one is likely to be a pain in the
neck, both to himself or herself and others?but this is a necessary
step on the road from fear and insecurity to normal independence.
Unfortunately some people never get beyond it.
Hopefully one will eventually arrive at the stage of normal
independence, with relatively little need constantly to prove
either to oneself or others that one is capable of independence and
first-class citizenship. This means maturity in dealing with
condescending treatment, and it also means flexibility in accepting
or rejecting offers of assistance, kindness, or generosity.
Sometimes such things should be graciously or silently taken,
sometimes endured, and sometimes rejected out of hand?but the
reason should never be because you doubt your own worth, have inner
feelings of insecurity, or wonder whether you are inferior because
of blindness.
Normal independence also means not rationalizing your fear or
inability by saying that you are just doing what is convenient and
efficient and that you don't feel the need to prove something when
in reality you are just covering up the fact that you are as
helpless as a baby?and it means not going so far the other way and
being so touchy about your so-called independence that nobody can
stand to be around you. It means getting to the place where you are
comfortable enough with yourself and secure enough with your own
inner feelings that you don't have to spend much time bothering
about the matter one way or another. It means reducing blindness to
the level of a mere inconvenience and making it just one more of
your everyday characteristics?a characteristic with which you must
deal just as you do with how strong you are, how old you are, how
smart you are, how personable you are, and how much money you have.
These are the goals, and probably none of us ever achieves all of
them all of the time. Nevertheless, we are making tremendous
progress?and we are farther along the road now than we have ever
been.
I am pleased that you wrote me, and I am especially pleased that
you are able to receive training at the Louisiana Center. It is
grounded in Federation philosophy, and it is one of the best. You
are getting the chance while you are young to learn what blindness
is really like, and what it isn't like. You have the opportunity to
profit from the collective experience of all of us?the things we
tried that didn't work, and those that did. On the foundation of
love and organizational structure which we have established, you
can make for yourselves better opportunities than we have ever
known?and I pray that you will. The future is in the hands of your
generation, and I hope you will dream and work and build wisely and
well.
Sincerely,<Kenneth Jernigan
That is what I wrote, and there have been a number of subsequent
developments. One person, hearing these letters, said, "I can see
your point, but don't you think you should try to be a role model?"
To which I replied, "I thought that was what I was doing."
Then, there was the letter I got about a month ago from a person
who attended a seminar at the National Center for the Blind last
Christmas. She said in part:
The discussion about the letter from the students at the Louisiana
Center for the Blind has stuck with me and helped me in two ways.
I no longer feel the deep embarrassment I had been experiencing
about being unable to read Braille and having less-than-perfect
travel skills. I remain painfully aware that I could be much more
efficient than I am, particularly if I could read and write
Braille, but I no longer feel that I am less worthy because of the
lack. And, by the way, I hope to take care of my deficiencies in
that area soon.
The discussion also helped me better to appreciate and respect my
dad, who was blinded by an on-the-job accident when he was 26.
After he became blind, he went to law school, and I have always
admired his relatively quick adjustment to blindness. On the other
hand, I have always felt somewhat embarrassed that when traveling
he uses a sighted guide the majority of the time. (For instance, I
was horrified and disbelieving when I heard my dad flew to Alaska
by himself to go fishing without his guide dog or a white cane!) He
has a guide dog but only used him when he was going to work. I have
never seen him use a white cane although I have just learned that
he used one while in his office at work. However, the seminar
discussion helped me to understand that everyone's situation
differs and that the opportunities available are not uniform. My
dad has accomplished a lot: He was an administrative law judge
until he retired last month; he is an avid fisherman; and he is as
pro-Braille as anybody I have ever met.
That is what the seminarian wrote me, and her letter makes a point.
It is simply this: We absolutely must not become so rigid and
dogmatic about the means and precise details of achieving
independence that we make ourselves and everybody else around us
miserable. Down that road lies bigotry, as well as the loss of any
real independence or true normality.
Usually when I go to bed at night, I read myself to sleep with a
recorded book. A few months ago somebody took me to task for this.
The person said something to this effect: "You should not read
recorded books. You should use Braille. After all, the Federation
advocates Braille literacy, and if you use tapes and talking books,
you decrease the circulation of Braille from the libraries, and you
also set a bad example. What kind of statement are you making? What
kind of image are you creating? You have an obligation to serve as
a role model."
I didn't argue with the person. It wouldn't have done any good.
Yes, I use Braille; and as you know, I find it helpful. More than
that. My life would be poorer without it. But Braille is a means.
It is a vehicle, not an article of faith. I am conscious of the
fact that I have an obligation to be a role model, and I do the
best I can to meet the requirement. But the kind of role model I
want to be (for anybody who cares to see me that way) is that of a
competent, well-balanced human being, not a caricature. The fact
that I don't want to die of thirst doesn't mean that I want to
drown.
What is independence? I would define it this way. With respect to
reading, it means getting the information you want with a minimum
amount of inconvenience and expense. For me that means Braille, but
it also means using live readers, recordings, and (despite my
limited competence in that area) a certain amount of work with
computers. For somebody else the combination may be different, but
any active blind person who lacks skill in Braille will be
limited?not necessarily unable to compete but definitely limited.
As to travel, independence is the ability to go where you want when
you want without inconvenience to yourself or others. Probably none
of us (blind or sighted) ever fully achieves that goal all of the
time?and almost all of us achieve at least some of it some of the
time. Usually we are on a continuum.
If I could not travel by myself without discomfort or great
expense, there are times when it would be a real problem. What
about the trip I made to Kansas City in May of this year to meet
with local Federationists and speak at a JOB seminar? My wife had
other things to do, and it would have been inconvenient to take
somebody else. I went alone. Did I have any assistance during the
trip? Yes. At times?when it was convenient for me and not
inconvenient to others.
What about the time last month when I was called for jury duty? It
would have been very difficult for a guide to have accompanied me
to the jury box or the jury room?so, of course, I went by myself.
Does that mean that nobody showed me where the jury box was or gave
other assistance? No. It means that I went where I needed to go
without inconvenience to me or those around me. That is what I call
independence.
Just as with the sighted, there are times when you as a blind
person want privacy?want to go somewhere (to see a boyfriend or
girlfriend, for instance) without being accompanied by your daily
associates, want to buy a present for a friend or a loved one, or
just feel like following a whim. In such cases a dog or a cane is
helpful. On the other hand, there are times when the assistance of
a sighted person is extremely beneficial. Taken by itself, the use
or lack of use of a sighted guide has very little, if anything at
all, to do with real independence. In fact, the whole notion of
independence (not just in mobility but also in everything else)
involves the concept of doing what you want when you want, and
doing it without paying such a heavy price (either monetarily or
otherwise) that the thing is hardly worth having once you get it or
do it.
In conclusion, I say to each member of this organization: Hold your
head high in the joy of accomplishment and the pride of
independence?but not because of dog or cane or human arm, and not
because of your ability to read Braille or use a computer. These
are the trappings of independence, not the substance of it. They
should be learned, and used when needed?but they should be regarded
only as means, not ends. Our independence comes from within. A
slave can have keen eyesight, excellent mobility, and superb
reading skills?and still be a slave. We are achieving freedom and
independence in the only way that really counts?in rising
self-respect, growing self-confidence, and the will and the ability
to make choices. Above all, independence means choices, and the
power to make those choices stick. We are getting that power, and
we intend to have more of it. That is why we have organized. That
is why we have the National Federation of the Blind. We know where
we are going, and we know how to get there. Let anybody who doubts
it put us to the test. My brothers and my sisters, the future is
ours! Let us meet it with joy; let us meet it with hope; and (most
important of all) let us meet it together!