FUTURE REFLECTIONS 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 Future Reflections Vol. 11, No. 5 Barbara Cheadle, Editor Convention 1992 Contents A Photo Report of the 1992 NFB National Convention Is Your Child Age-Appropriate? by Ruby Ryles Demystifying Braille by Joseph White Our First Convention by Myra Lesser Some Day ... by Donovan Cooper Meet the Scholarship Class of 1992 The Distinguished Educator of Blind Children Award Report on the 1992 Parents of Blind Children Division Annual Meeting by Debra Smith Mobility: Whose Responsibility Is It? by Gary Wunder Fitting In: What Parents Can Do by Kathy Watts and Sunny Emerson An Appropriate Education for Cody by Martin Greiser Summary of Resolutions Adopted by the Annual Convention of the National Federation of the Blind, July, 1992 by Ramona Walhof Shifting Balances in the Blindness Field, an address given by Dr. Kenneth Jernigan at the 1992 Convention A PHOTO REPORT OF THE 1992 NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND NATIONAL CONVENTION One of the pleasures of parenthood is watching our children mature. Sometimes the changes are dramatic and sudden: the first step; the first day of school; the first tooth to come out; the first overnight with a friend; the first date. But other changes are so subtle that we hardly notice them. One day we notice that our child is not only a little taller but a little more--well--mature in manner and behavior; and we wonder how and when this transformation took place. Such a transformation has taken place in the growth and maturity of the parents movement within the National Federation of the Blind. This subtle new maturity was evident at the 1992 National Convention. At the parents seminar on Sunday, June 28, Dr. Jernigan, Executive Director of the NFB, issued a challenge to parents. He said, "If you really have planned to come here just for the Parents Division, think again. That is shortsightedness....You have as much interest in the problems of every adult blind person today as you do in anything else because your child is going to be judged by all of us who are now blind and who are adults. The kind of opportunities your child will have tomorrow will depend on what this outfit does today; therefore you ought to be in on it. When we are discussing what resolutions to pass, about what policies to set, you ought to be participating in it. What we are doing is serious business. It is as serious as the life and destiny of your child. What you do right now in the whole business of dealing with blind people will determine what kind of life your child will have. It's that serious and that important." This year, record numbers of parents accepted this challenge and stayed for the entire convention. The presence of parents of blind children was evident in almost every business meeting as well as social activity of the convention. Everywhere--in the Resolutions Committee meeting; National NFB Board of Directors meeting; division meetings and seminars; Braille Workshop; Music Division Talent Show; banquet; exhibit hall; state affiliate caucus meetings--parents and blind kids were a visible and vital part of the 1992 convention proceedings. Many families chronicle the growth and maturity of their children through family photos. The following eight pages is our photo chronicle of the 1992 National Federation of the Blind Convention, and of the parents and children who have become an integral and dynamic part of this movement. IS YOUR CHILD AGE-APPROPRIATE? by Ruby Ryles Parents of Blind Children Seminar National Federation of the Blind 1992 Annual Convention Editor's Note: Reprinted from the November, 1992, Braille Monitor. Introduction Barbara Pierce, Associate Editor Braille Monitor Among the families of blind children, those who work with blind people, and many blind people themselves there is a polite conspiracy of silence about the actual abilities of blind people. As the views and philosophy of the National Federation of the Blind have found more and more wide-spread acceptance or at least lip-service, people in the blindness field have learned to mouth the politically correct phrases: "My blind twelve-year-old gets himself ready for school independently"; "We expect our blind clients to pull their weight in the work place"; "I can travel anywhere I want to go." All of these are perfectly rational and appropriate statements. The trouble is that most of the people who make them or ones like them every day don't mean or believe them. Many blind people seem to think that pretending they are independent is the nearest they will ever get to true independence. After all, they think, deep down, everybody knows that blind parents use their sighted children as intelligent and literate guide dogs. Family and friends had better be prepared to drop everything to act as chauffeur to the blind person, and no one really expects a blind employee to carry his or her full share of the load. Above all, and most devastating, no one actually expects blind children to keep up academically and socially with their sighted peers. It would be, of course, a shocking breach of good manners to say these things out loud, but many people (perhaps most) believe them. We who are members of the National Federation of the Blind, however, do truly believe that blind people have the capacity to live fully normal, contributing lives. In the beginning we may only hope that this is the case, but in this organization we can look around us and see blind people who are living proof that this is indeed so. The blind children who are being raised by the members of our Parents of Blind Children Division are perhaps the most dramatic living proof of the power of the philosophy we espouse. Ruby Ryles is a leader in the Parents of Blind Children Division and the mother of a blind son. She is also a distinguished expert in the education of blind children. She is currently enrolled full-time in a doctoral program at the University of Washington and is working part-time in the program for visually impaired students that she established in the Bellingham, Washington, School District. She was also this year's recipient of the National Federation of the Blind Distinguished Educator of Blind Children Award. She addressed the Parents of Blind Children Seminar on Sunday, June 30, 1992, in Charlotte, North Carolina. Her remarks went straight to the heart of the confusion about appropriate expectations for blind children. Her expertise is unimpeachable, her words are clear, and her message is compelling. Here is what she had to say: I live in the Seattle, Washington, area; and I am a professional in the education of blind children. I've been the Arkansas State Vision Consultant, coordinating and developing state-wide programs for blind and visually impaired children. My staff and I worked out of the Arkansas School for the Blind in conjunction with the State Department of Education of Arkansas. I spent a number of years as an itinerant teacher for the blind in Anchorage, Alaska. Recently I developed and currently supervise a program for blind and visually impaired children in the Bellingham, Washington, School District. I also do private contracting with various school districts in Northwest Washington to assist in meeting the needs of their visually impaired student populations. I have a bachelor's, a master's, a year and a half of post-master's study; and I am currently a full-time Ph.D. student at the University of Washington in the area of special education, doing educational research on the blind. Are you impressed? Could I intimidate you at an IEP meeting? I certainly must qualify as a major-league expert regarding your blind child; don't you agree? As the kids would say, "Not!" Or, more correctly stated, "Wrong!" Well, if a hot-dog professional, who has read a ton of textbooks and taken and taught innumerable classes isn't the authority on your blind child's abilities and potentials, just who is? You are, my friends. You may not know or use the jargon of the professionals, but you truly do have the expertise regarding your child. Some of you parents do not quite believe me, do you? Well, let me run over your areas of expertise, using the special education terminology of the day. When your blind baby began saying, "Bye bye," did you teach her to say, "Bye bye, Dada"? If so, then you assessed her proximal zone of linguistic development, scaffolded, and became her first communication development specialist. Did you hold on to your year-old baby's fingers and walk and walk and walk barefoot across the living room rug to encourage him to walk alone? Then you probably blatantly defied the Domon-Delacoto theory and became your child's initial peripatologist. Did you wrestle with your child on the bed, stack blocks, roll balls, play on the slides and swings, and guide your child as he or she put on socks and zipped a coat or loosened a lid on a jar? Then you're as accomplished in small and gross motoric guidance and ADL skills as any occupational or physical therapist I've worked with. Do you remember the time you used a stern, disapproving voice and sat your child in a chair for ten minutes to settle him down or sent him to his room because he sassed his grandmother or tore the arm off his sister's Barbie doll or pitched a fit at Safeway? Did you know that you were assessing his current level of behavioral, social, and emotional functioning and applying behavior modification techniques to ensure the appropriate attitudinal adjustment of a non-compliant, temporarily behaviorally-disordered child? I don't know about you, my friends, but my own service delivery model of behavior modification when my blind son Dan was little was expedient, efficient, and measurable, especially when it was administered to the seat of his pants. Parents are cognition and behavior specialists long before any psychologist ever puts our blind child's name on paper work or assigns him a score on any test. You are the expert. You don't use the jargon, and my apologies for the pompous introduction. My point is not to be silly, but to stress the fact that education, specifically special education, is glued together with jargon. I really think that special education would come apart at the seams if we didn't use jargon, especially if professionals had to say in real language who they are and what they do. Don't be too impressed or intimidated by titles and degrees or jargon in special education because there is no one and no test ever devised that knows your child as well as you do. Believe in your child's abilities. If you don't, there is no one who will. Any professional who makes you feel less knowledgeable about your child is poorly trained, insecure, arrogant, or all of the above. We've established the point now that you're an expert in your child's behavioral, emotional, physical, and social development. Well, how about academics? You heard Fred Schroeder speak about this earlier today. Are you just going to have to trust that the special education department in your school district will do the right thing? No. Listen up because after the next few minutes you as a parent will be able to assess your child's academic progress and design a program that will take him through his public school years. Pay close attention now, because this information draws the line between a real expert on blind children and someone with only degrees and titles and pompous introductions to recommend him or her. There are only two words. Write them down on a scratch pad or a piece of scrap paper, but I want you to carry them in your heart for the rest of your son's or daughter's childhood--age appropriate. That's it, and it's a hundred percent, guaranteed, fool-proof, sure-fire, can't-be-denied secret. The majority of professionals in our field don't know it or practice it or, sadly enough, believe it. But you now know the secret of success for your blind child; and I want you to feel it and live it. Let's talk about these two empowering words. Very simply, "age-appropriate" just means that your child is doing the things at the same age as he or she would have done them as a sighted child. For instance, what is a six- or seven-month-old child doing? Sitting up. That's one thing. Okay, there is no reason at all that a blind child shouldn't be sitting up at six months. At twelve months, what's the age-appropriate thing a child should be doing? One thing is walking. There is no reason not to expect it, even though we are told quite often by mobility instructors that blind kids don't walk until twenty-four months. In my own experience that's just not so--I do have a number of years of experience with blind kids and have raised a blind son. He walked at twelve months. A number of times I have had people point to research that blind kids don't walk until twenty-four months. Well then, how do we explain all the kids that do walk earlier? At two and a half years old, sighted babies are into everything. Our blind infants ought to be into everything too. If they are not, you need to teach them. Teach them to get into the cabinets and what fun it is to find the pots and pans and to bang them together and make noise that will drive you crazy: all of the things that we say, "No, no, no" about to a two-and-a-half-year-old. If somebody tells you that your two-and-a-half-year-old is such a good baby, you better get scared, because your baby is not age-appropriate. If he is not age-appropriate at two and a half, then when is he going to be? When is he going to find the pots and pans and get into them? When he is twelve? That is not age-appropriate. Behavior--I often find that I can tell as much about kids by their misbehavior as I can by their behavior. I think it was a real good lesson to me as a mom to watch my own son's misbehavior at age-appropriate levels. I had a student one time who was a third grader and I suppose is now a tenth grader. Kids in Alaska keep their boots in the closet, and they put on tennis shoes when they come to school. At the end of the day you change back into your snow boots. He was looking around for his snow boots, and somebody stepped on his hand. That was not pleasant, and he turned around and bit the kid. When I came in the next day, there was a big hullabaloo about this. I said, "Randy, you are in big-time trouble with the school for biting. If you are going to get in trouble for misbehaving, I would prefer to see you do it like an eight-year-old rather than a three-year-old. The next time somebody steps on your hand in the closet and you get angry about it, haul off and slug him; don't bite him." That's age-appropriate for an eight-year-old. My point is that, if Randy was going to get into trouble, how much more appropriate to do it as an eight-year-old. I have a sadder comment to make on the lack of age-appropriate behavior. I had a student one time--she was probably in the eleventh grade. Somebody in class had called her a name that was none too pleasant, and she responded as an eight-year-old; she hit the girl. Now when I got to this high school, the counselor said that the teachers had already handled the situation. After I sifted through all that was happening, I found out that nobody had done much of anything about it. I asked, "Wait, why has no one done anything about this misbehavior? What would you do to a sighted eleventh-grader who hit somebody in the mouth? "We would expel her." She was never expelled; she was never even disciplined. Two years later, as she was transitioning into a job with the Anchorage Power and Light Company, she slammed a door on her supervisor's hand, not by accident, but out of anger, acting more like an eight-year-old than an eighteen-year-old. Obviously, Anchorage Power and Light was not real interested in retaining her services. Age-appropriate behavior--it's very important. If the child is not appropriate at eight years old, when is he going to be an eight-year-old? When he is eighteen? Language--one thing that needs to be understood is that blindness is in no way a cognitive handicap; it's just not. There is no earthly reason why our kids should not be on level developmentally. The only thing that holds them back in all these areas, whether it is language, behavior, academics, or anything else, is our own expectations--our own as parents and as professionals. I ran across some interesting research recently. Unfortunately it was done outside the United States. Much of our research is rather negative. Fortunately, if you go to other countries to look for research, there is much better data on blind kids. One of the articles I looked at was talking about language and blind kids. The sample they studied indicated that blind kids' language acquisition and development were right on target with that of sighted kids, whereas the research in the United States says no such thing. I thought that was rather interesting. In my own experience I find that blind kids whose parents work with them show no difference in language acquisition from sighted kids. Echolalia is a term often used by professionals to describe blind infants. It's parroting. If you say to your child, "Jennifer, do you want a cookie?" and Jennifer says, "Jennifer, do you want a cookie?" but she means, "I want a cookie," there is nothing abnormal about that. All normally developing kids (sighted or blind) go through an echolalic period. You don't need a speech or language therapist; all you do is model to the child the answer that you want her to give you. Quickly Jennifer will pick it up. Instead of saying, "Jennifer, do you want a cookie?" when she wants a cookie, she will say "Yes" or "Yes, please" or whatever it is in your family--not hard. Dressing--at twelve years old one of my students was not washing or combing his own hair and was not clipping his nails. Again, if he doesn't do it at twelve, at what age? How inappropriate that at sixteen, he is just beginning to learn to wash his own hair. If as a parent you're not sure what is age appropriate, in other words, if you have a six-year-old and you're not sure what a six-year-old does because it's your only child, take a look around the neighborhood or at church. Look at other six-year-olds, and see what they are doing. There have to be other six-year-olds in your family. As a last resort go out and buy a book: Dr. Spock. Don't buy a book on blindness; buy one on standard development in children. Eating skills--we can run the whole gamut with this one. But there is no reason in any area that your child shouldn't be doing what she would if she were sighted. A lot of people get very poor advice from professionals about such things as saving a fork until the child is five or six years old. But this means that by the time he gets to school he has had very little experience in using a fork; and, believe me, the rest of the kids in that cafeteria will pick up real quickly that your child is the only one consistently bringing a sack lunch with finger foods, that he doesn't ever get a hot lunch where he has to use a fork and a spoon and a knife. If you don't think that doesn't isolate your child, you are wrong. It does. Is your child limited in getting around in any way? For instance, mobility? This organization was at the leading edge in insisting on mobility for preschool kids and using canes. I can remember very vividly, five or six years ago, this organization was already fighting very hard to get the word out that young children need canes so they can learn what they need to know early. The blindness field was saying, "No, we need to give them canes for a thirty-minute mobility lesson at school and then take them away." You can equate that with giving a pencil to a three-year-old sighted child. Would you deny pre-schoolers pencils until they get to school and then hand them out for thirty minutes at a writing lesson? How good do you think they are going to be at handwriting if that's the only experience they have with a pencil? And a sighted person uses a pencil far less than the blind child uses the cane. Role models--in our family and with the kids that I teach, we have a cardinal rule that, if you don't know how to do something, don't go ask the professionals. You ask the real expert--the blind person who is doing it. For instance, I had a tenth- or eleventh-grade blind kid in Anchorage. He wanted to take a class on small engines, working on airplane engines. I know absolutely nothing about that. When I was in school as a girl, shop was for boys. So the first time I stepped into a shop class, I felt like I was in a locker room or something. I had no idea how Joe was going to take this class--I didn't know the names of the tools. I had no idea how they could be adapted. It would have been foolish for me to dream up some way for him to adapt these things. So I called the fellow who was President of the National Federation of the Blind, and I said, "Do you know a blind mechanic?" I didn't even call the guy myself. The President gave me the number, and the school district paid for the call so Joe could make the call. And the result was that Joe took the class without much help from me. He didn't need it anymore, because he had the real expertise he needed. He had learned from the blind mechanic about the set of tools he needed. We then got together with the Lions Club and bought it. When my son was eleven or twelve, he wanted to do a paper route. Despite all of my professional expertise and wisdom, I had no idea how he could do one. At the time Jim Gashel was in our city. It really took a lot of courage on my part as a parent, but I swallowed my pride, went up to him, and said, "Mr. Gashel, I understand that you had a paper route when you were a boy, and I want to know how you did it. My son wants to have a paper route. Did you go on your mother's arm?" (I thought he was going to gag on that idea.) He said, "Well, no, but I don't remember how I did it. Does your son know how to use landmarks with his cane?" "I don't know." He asked, "How does he get home from school?" "He gets off the bus and walks about a block and a half to the house." He said, "Then he has to be able to use landmarks." I still can't tell you how Dan did that paper route. This was in Alaska with snow up to your knees. We just started out one morning as you would with a sighted child. I had the route list. If you have ever had a sighted kid with a paper route, you know that as a mom you normally begin the route with the kid. You say, "Okay, 2113, that's the brown house on the right over there. Let's see, 2115, that's the house next to it. 2116, oh, that's across the street. And normally you go over the list with the kid for a few days. You know, that's all I did with Dan, and within six or seven days he was doing it alone. However he figured it out with his cane, he was doing the route on his own. That is the way he has always made his spending money. He delivers papers for the Seattle Times still. He handles his own records. We never have to do anything to help him. In fact, he had to train two substitutes to take his route so that he could be here at the convention. We went to the Federation; we went to the real experts. The people that I work with professionally were kind of upset that we didn't make mobility lessons out of learning how to do a paper route. But look at the message that would have given Dan: You have to have a series of lessons in being normal. When he was in the tenth grade, Dan wanted to be in the marching band at school. Again I had no idea how to help. This is a good marching band. Our high school has won state awards, and they are not about to let anybody in who will mess up their precision drills. I had no idea how he could do it, because he uses his cane all the time, and you can't use the cane during drills. Before I could think of contriving some kind of an adaptation, Dan got on the phone, called the National Center for the Blind, and said, "Let me speak to anybody who's blind and who has been in a marching band." He happened to get hooked up with Pat Maurer. The next thing I knew--and I didn't have anything to do with this at all--he talked to the band director, and the two of them worked it out to the point where the last time I went to one of his football games where the band was marching at half time, I videotaped it. When I got home, I was informed that the kid that I had the camera on was not even Dan. You couldn't find him. Dan was very pleased with that because he didn't stand out, and I was irritated because I wanted a tape of his marching. Staying on the topic of school--kindergarten. You need to learn about the kindergarten curriculum. They're called specific learning objectives (SLO's), and every school district has them for each grade. These are the things that we expect the kids to know when they come out of each grade. Kindergarten is pretty basic, pretty easy. Children need to know the alphabet. Your child needs to know it in Braille; that's all there is to it. Numbers, children need to be able to count. Normally in kindergarten they are supposed to be able to count at least to a hundred. Your child needs to be able to do it too. You should be able to demand it; you must demand it from your school district. I don't care how it's done, whether they use Mangold, whether they do it with Patterns. Because I taught first grade for about nine years before I got into this field, I like to use basal readers. I take a basal reader and adapt my own method. It doesn't matter how it's done, as long as the child is on level from kindergarten through high school. In kindergarten the kids need to know colors. Blind kids need to know colors too. Totally blind children need to know dogs are not blue, hair is not green unless someone's making a statement. Animals--how inappropriate for a fourteen-year-old not to know about animals! It's very embarrassing for students at fourteen and fifteen and sixteen. Sometimes, after they begin to feel comfortable with me, my students say things that let me know that they have no concept of a bird, different wingspans, a bird's feet. We talk about animals' feet. We look at the difference between a cat's feet, goat's feet, bird's feet, cow's feet. How about tails on animals? Will your child ever have a good concept of a giraffe? You say, "Oh my, of course not." Well sure he will if you describe it by analogy. He's got to know something about what a giraffe's feet are like. Are they more like a goat's, a cow's, or a horse's feet? But first he's got to have a good concept of the animals that you can let him have hands-on experiences with. Do this at an age-appropriate time--three, four, and five years old--so that you can talk to him about animals. A giraffe has a tail that's much like a cow's tail, but how will he know if he doesn't know what a cow's tail is like, if you have not taken him to a fair? We are city people, so when a fair came around, I used to grab the opportunity. If you go into the animal barns, the people always want to let your kid pet the animals. That's not going to give the child much of a concept of what that animal is like. I always say we need to get into the animal. I take the child's hands and together we feel the back leg of a dog or a cat or a cow to know what the animal's legs are like and how they differ from the front legs and how the legs bend. So when I talk about the legs on a giraffe, the child will have a concept of that. But it is much harder to do this when the child is twelve than it is when he is five. Remember, when your child is in first grade (Fred Schroeder mentioned this earlier, and it can't be emphasized too much), your child is not learning Braille; your child is learning to read in Braille. It boils down to this: when your child is leaving first grade, he needs to be reading at a beginning second grade reading level, or he is behind. It is like dominoes. He's behind in first grade. That throws second grade behind. He's behind in second grade, and that gap gets wider and wider and wider. Don't kid yourself: your child is not going to catch up. You need to be sure now that your child is on level in first grade. At three years old every child should be using a spoon; don't wait until your child is six. Don't let somebody tell you that it's normal for a blind child not to do something until later. That's not so! Beware of the word "realistic." Anybody that tells you to be realistic about your child, you know what that really means? Lower your expectations. It means don't expect so much, accept less. That's what it means, and you should get your back up. Second grade is the time for teaching keyboarding--I don't like that term; it's still typing to me. A child needs to learn to type. All vision-impaired kids (low-vision and Braille-reading kids) need to learn to type because they are going to be communicating with print-reading teachers. I've been criticized sometimes for waiting too long, but third grade is normally the grade that I introduce slate and stylus. I would wait no longer than that. Writing with the slate and stylus is one of the easiest things under the sun to introduce to a child. I wait till third grade simply because by this time normally they've got a pretty good grasp of Braille, and it takes about six weeks from introduction to the time when they're just about fast enough to keep up with the spelling tests. I like to say, "Okay, spelling is the first subject in which we are going to use the slate and stylus. You are expected to do your spelling totally with slate and stylus." I have to prime the teacher first to let her know that she is not to slow down in dictating the Wednesday preliminary spelling test for this child. He may be used to making A's in spelling. He may make an F or so in spelling because he is not keeping up, but the teacher is not to slow down. There is nothing that will make that child speed up faster than a poor grade on his spelling test because he couldn't keep up. As a parent you need to get onto your child at home and say, "Hey, what happened to this spelling?" even though you know. If you accept the low score on the grounds that, well he was using the slate and stylus, so he's going to be a little slower at this, what message does that send to your child? It's okay if I'm not up to snuff in writing and spelling. I would say, be very wary of putting an aide in a classroom with your child because an aide takes away independence. Think about it. If you've got an aide in the classroom with your child, at what point are you going to say, "Okay, no more aides in that classroom?" At sixth grade, fifth grade, when? Are you planning for it now? If your child has an aide in kindergarten or first grade, are you planning that next year we are going to say, no aide: she is going to do it on her own. Dan hasn't even had an IEP since he was in seventh grade. He graduated from high school two weeks ago today. It has not been real easy along the way. The hardest thing I think has been for me to sit on my hands and not go to that school and wring some people's necks. I had to teach Dan to do his own advocating with the teachers. The science teacher, for instance, gave Dan a C, and in looking at the final report I noticed that they had included a computer printout record of the stuff the kids had done. Dan had done twenty-five percent of what the rest of the kids had done that quarter. I said, "Dan, do you realize you've done twenty-five percent, and the teacher is giving you a C? The teacher had written at the bottom that it was too visual. They had been doing a unit on astronomy, and they were computing distances between stars and that sort of stuff. It was beyond me, to be honest with you. Anyway, I impressed on Dan that next year builds on this. You have twenty-five percent of the knowledge out of this science class that you are going to need for next year. Are you really satisfied with that? He went back to the teacher and said he wanted the extra work. He wanted the seventy-five percent that he had missed. He got it; he also got a lower grade on his behavior. I think his teacher thought he was a smart aleck, coming back and asking for the extra work. But he did the work and it taught him a lesson: he should not be letting his teacher make these decisions for him. Often our kids have assignments cut for them. We are told that they work too slowly, for instance. It takes so much longer for them to get the assignment done. But what does this say to our kids? For one thing, they are being permissioned out of an education. Many times especially kids who are partially sighted and who don't know Braille are excused right into incompetence. If your child is partially sighted, there is no getting around it: he needs to learn Braille, which he can learn along with print. I would not advocate that he read only Braille, but he needs to learn to use print when it is efficient and Braille when it is efficient. It is far, far easier for your child to be taught Braille when he is six rather than twelve, because once kids get to about third grade, they are going to fight anything that is different. It is normal that they do. But I don't think that I have ever had a child, partially sighted or blind, below the third grade level who has ever resisted learning Braille. Extra time--often our kids are given extended time limits, and the only reason they have extra time, whether they're Braille or low vision kids who haven't learned Braille, is that we haven't expected enough of them. If they are low vision and they need extra time, they need Braille. If they are Braille kids and they need extra time, they're not reading fast enough. That's all there is to it. And we need to step up their Braille reading instruction to be sure that they learn to read fast enough. There is no reason for our kids to need extra time. Extra time in getting to class, extra time in getting to lunch--this should not be happening. As Fred said earlier about the kids who left five minutes early to get to the swings at recess, the message that policy sends to the child is very harmful. How do you know if your child will benefit from reading Braille? If your child has low vision, There are some red flags that you can think about. If your child has low vision, does he enjoy reading? Does he pick up a library book and read it for pleasure? Normally not--low-vision kids avoid reading. As a partially sighted adult once said to me, "Reading print is just not pleasurable." There is no such thing as pleasure reading for these kids. Does your child use tapes a lot because print is so tiring? Does he need to have someone read the printed material to him? Your child is not going to learn reading skills if he doesn't read. He has to read a large amount of material. Somewhere, in some of the readings that I have done in the last year or so, I have read that the average fifth-grade child runs across a million words a year. Do you think your partially sighted child using tapes is going to see that number? To be able to be literate, our children must physically read the same amount of material as sighted kids. For instance, is your partially-sighted child spelling as well as she should be? How is her reading speed? If it is not up to snuff, you need to be looking at Braille. Does a child use tapes for book reports? Teachers assign book reports because they want the child to have the experience of reading books, and tapes don't provide the full experience. Kids can't learn to spell words off tapes. For instance, one of the students I had recently was a junior in high school, and she had just learned Braille. She was reading and saw a phrase in the text. She said, "This morning--I didn't know that was two words." If you get your information from tapes, there is no way that you could catch such a simple thing as that, let alone being able to spell a word like "Chicago." There is no way unless you have read the word "Chicago" enough times that you would know that it is not spelled with a "S-h-i-k." Be sure that your child is reading a lot. Written expression is another big red flag with partially-sighted kids. Punctuation, paragraphing, syntax: all suffer greatly if the child doesn't read. Kids who don't read can't write. Braille is the answer. Handwriting--can your child read his own handwriting after it gets cold? For instance, after a couple of weeks could you pull out notes from your partially sighted seventh-grader's notebook and say, "Read this back to me." If he can't read it, seriously consider Braille, because your child could benefit from learning it. When I am called to assess a child in junior high, I know what I am going to find. The school personnel will say they want me to come look at a child that is visually impaired. Probably the student is in a resource room, some kind of a self-contained setting for at least one period a day. An aide or someone else is helping the child, more or less pulling her through assignments--reading the material, helping with spelling. These kids are not getting through school on their own. They are not getting the literacy skills that they need at all. Most of them are permissioned out of a lot of basic courses, such as foreign language, geometry, and higher math, because teachers believe these courses are too visual for kids with limited sight. Braille kids aren't denied such opportunities. For instance, last year my son Dan took trigonometry and chemistry. He needed no aides to take these classes. It's not that Dan or my other students are brilliant. It's just that they learned Braille from early on, and they took it for granted that they were expected to do higher math. They were expected to take trigonometry and geometry and two years of Spanish or French or German. Good Braille readers can do that. Those who struggle through with print can't. Such students are not normally good enough readers to handle complex material. I lost my glasses earlier this week, and with my university courses, I've got to do a lot of reading. I got migraine headaches Monday and Tuesday. I'm taking a statistics class right now, and the eye strain gave me migraine headaches. I finally told my husband I couldn't go on. I was either going to have to start using Braille or go get some glasses. That experience gave me real empathy with a lot of the kids I have taught and am thankful for, the low-vision kids to whom I have taught Braille. Reading print is just not pleasurable for them, and they don't do enough of it to be very literate. Your kids won't be either, if they are partially sighted. Teach them Braille. One definition of literacy is the ability to read and write at grade level. If your child is a Braille reader and she is in third grade and you don't know whether she is reading on level, how do you tell? Ask to borrow a third-grade textbook in your child's class. If it's not in Braille, there is somebody in your community who knows Braille well enough to Braille a story in the middle. Hand it to your child and listen to how she reads. See if she is fluent with it. If she is, ask her some questions about what she has just read. How is her comprehension? You can tell whether she is stumbling all over herself in answering your questions. If she has no idea what she has read, she is not on grade level. I don't care what that IEP says, what the assessment says; you do your own assessment of your child. It's not that hard. I will finish by saying that in the Federation we believe that blindness can be reduced to the level of a nuisance if you've got the skills and opportunity. Can blindness really be reduced to the level of a nuisance? You bet it can, but only if your kid has good skills, a positive attitude about blindness, and a chance. One day soon, parents, you will find yourself in my shoes. Your child will be taller than you are, standing on the threshold of adulthood. I'll tell you from experience, it will be here in the blink of an eye. It seems like yesterday that Dan was a little one in my arms, and he is starting at Washington State University this fall. I can't believe the time is here. Time is a vindictive, relentless thief, and the cruelest theft of all is the theft of our kids' confidence in themselves. Don't let another day go by before you see that your child has the skills to ensure that he can become a confident, independent adult. You do that by seeing that he is a confident, independent child. See that he's age-appropriate in every way. DEMYSTIFYING BRAILLE by Joseph White From the Editor: The Parents of Blind Children Division sponsored a three-hour Braille Workshop on Wednesday evening of the Convention.It was a basic skills workship aimed at sighted parents of blind children. Even though it was primarily for parents, many teachers and blind adults asked to sit in as observers so they could get some pointers on teaching the slate. The demand for the workshop was so high (it was limited to 25 persons) that some of the parents with more Braille experience gave up their seats so inexperienced parents could attend. POBC owes a special thanks to Claudell Stocker and Linda Bobo, who volunteered to teach the workshop. Their skill as instructors and their contageous love for Braille made the workshop an outstanding experience for many parents. Here is what one father, Joseph White of Maryland, has to report about his reaction to the Braille Workshop. One of the highlights of the 1992 National Convention for many parents of blind children was the Braille Seminar. It was an opportunity for us to get some hands-on instruction in reading and writing Braille. It was also a very powerful reminder of why sighted parents of blind children should know Braille. Without this knowledge, my wife and I had to rely on the vision teacher's word that Braille was hard to learn, difficult to use, and more often than not, simply out of reach for the multi-handicapped child. Now, we know enough about Braille to say, resoundingly, Malarkey! Claudelle Stocker, (who was at that time the Head of Braille Development at the National Library services for the Blind and Physically Handicapped) was our instructor. Her vivacious and witty personality along with her personal approach kept us all at ease, but still attentive and eager to learn. By her very teaching style and the ease with which she presented the material, it was obvious that she was very well founded in Braille. She was assisted by Linda Bobo, who also works at the Library of Congress and is blind. She began by teaching us the history of Braille and the condition of the blind during the time of Louis Braille. We were then taught the reason for the Braille cell size and dot spacing. Instead of focusing on dot positions 1 through 6, she emphasized that the Braille cell has a first side and second side, and that each side has a top, middle, and bottom dot. She introduced several letters and we practiced reading printed Braille dots, proceeding from left to right. Then we read Braille words formed from the letters we had just learned. It was very rewarding and motivating to be reading words so quickly! Next we got out our slates and styluses. Here again, we had the advantage of a teacher of superlative skill and extensive background in the reasons for the shape of the slate and stylus and the manner of manipulation of same. Using the practical, hands-on approach, we began Brailling the letters we had just learned to sight read. We began writing right to left, but the rest was the same. The "a" was still the top dot in the first row we came to, and "g" was still the top and middle dots of the first and second rows, and so on. Pretty soon, not only could we read Braille letters and words, but we could write them as well. The mystery and hocus-pocus of reading forward and writing backward, and how much more difficult Braille is than print had been exposed for the fallacy that it is. Watching Claudelle Stocker and her colleague teaching and using Braille, I realized that my daughter could also use this tool to achieve anything she set her sights on in life. Plainly and simply, Mrs. Stocker and her colleague taught us, as parents of a blind child, how to provide our child with one of the most important tools of success. Just as a sighted child needs to learn the alphabet and then spelling and handwriting, so does our daughter. She merely uses different tools and a different shape to her alphabet. As her parents, we need to be able to help her with homework and also be able to fight, if need be, to get her the proper services and education. Lack of Braille proficiency on the teacher's part is not going to be accepted by society as a valid reason for our child's illiteracy when she is grown. It is our job as parents to assure that she is literate when she becomes an adult. If we know some Braille, we are better prepared to assure that literacy and to help her achieve her goals in life. Without Braille, we encourage underachievement and, possibly, failure throughout her life. OUR FIRST CONVENTION by Myra Lesser July, 1992--Alex and I finally made it to our first NFB Convention! For three years I had been thinking about it, and each year there was some reason why we couldn't go: too busy, too expensive, too far (I hate to fly). Well, this time it was in North Carolina, only a one-day drive from our home in Pennsylvania, and I was able to get some financial help from my affiliate, the National Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania. So even though we were still busy, off we went. The twelve-hour drive there gave me lots of time to think: Why am I doing this? It's such a long drive. I guess it's because I want to meet other parents of blind children, blind children themselves, and blind adults. I also want Alex to know there are many other blind people in the world and to have successful role models. After all, the NFB had already influenced our lives so much: because of articles I read in Future Reflections and the Braille Monitor, Alex has been using a cane since he was three years old; we all have healthy attitudes about blindness; I have been much more assertive and prepared for IEP meetings; and through our state NFB affiliate we already felt a sense of belonging and support. Was it really necessary to drive for twelve hours and be away for five days? When we arrived in Charlotte on Saturday evening we walked into the hotel and immediately met Paul Bartlett, father of Ellen, who is just about the same age as Alex and also uses a cane and a Perkins Brailler. What a nice beginning! After the next five days of riding shuttle buses between hotels and the convention center, attending various group sessions, and swimming in three different hotel pools,--many, many of the conventioneers also came to know Alex and Alex's mom. But on Sunday morning--before we really knew anyone--with great trepidation I took Alex to the room where the children were gathering to go to the Charlotte Science Center. My concern (and his) was not that he was going off with a group of blind people, but that he was going off with a group of strangers. Neither of us knew anyone in the group. I just kept thinking about the articles I had read in the Braille Monitor about previous conventions and how happy the children looked in the photos. Well, it turned out that Alex found a very special adult named Ollie Cantos who helped him and the other kids have a great day. While Alex attended the children's activities I attended the day-long parents' meeting where I got to meet and listen to many of the people whose articles I have been reading for three years in Future Reflections. I also heard presentations by other parents of blind children, educators, blind adults, and blind youth. I was particularly impressed by the five blind youth who were so poised and articulate as they delivered their talks from the Braille notes. (Texts of their talks appeared in Future Reflections, Fall 1992). I realized that some of these youngsters were only a few years older than Alex. Wow! What great models for me--and for some of the other youth in the audience--to see. At the large session I asked a question about rural mobility that was answered by the speaker (Fred Schroeder,) and then at the break I was thrilled to have five other people come over to me to share their personal experiences and offer other resources related to my question. On other days I attended workshops on technology, parental concerns, and Braille. At the Technology Workshop I was pleased to hear that many of the other parents had children about Alex's age and that they seemed to be as new to the world of computers as I am. Tom Balek, the workshop leader, has a wealth of knowledge and experience, but even he couldn't give us the simple answers we were looking for about our future with technology. The range of what is available is so complex and always changing. I felt overwhelmed, but I also felt that when we are really ready to enter this world that Tom and some of the other parents (and kids) will be valuable resources to consult. I attended the Parental Concerns meeting not realizing the focus was on concerns of blind parents. At first I felt like it wasn't going to pertain to me, but of course, very quickly I remembered that most concerns of parents are universal and apply whether the parent is blind or sighted. I think it was also helpful for the blind parents to be reminded of this, too. It was also quite educational for me to hear about the unique concerns of blind parents and to remember that some day Alex may be a blind parent and face some of these same concerns. Even though the material covered in the Braille Workshop was already familiar to me, it was exciting to be with 25 other parents who wanted to know more about Braille in order to help their children. While I attended these workshops, Alex went to day care (or as he called it, his "kids meeting"), where he was watched by volunteers and got to play with lots of other kids, both blind and sighted. Alex and I both visited the exhibit hall many times and bought a talking watch, talking calculator, abacus, Federation cane, Braille Readers are Leaders tee shirt, and picked up lots of information on technology and free literature from the NFB table. Alex really enjoyed visiting the Sensory Safari Exhibit with stuffed lions and tigers and leopards and many other animals. He also enjoyed swimming in the pools at three of the hotels with his many new friends. He loved riding on the shuttle buses, which at first I viewed as a bother and a waste of time, but I quickly realized that some of my best interactions with people took place on the bus or while waiting for the bus--like with the two teenage girls I met who shared their experiences growing up with a blind father. They talked about the ignorance of the general public as when people asked them how they could leave their fathers home alone? What if he had to go to the bathroom? When they were asked in a survey about growing up with a blind parent if that parent ever embarrassed them, they responded as many other teenage girls might respond, that it was actually their sighted mothers who sometimes embarrassed them, not their blind fathers. It was evident to me how their lives had been enhanced by their family's involvement with the NFB. Attending this convention was an important event in my life and in Alex's. The support and sharing and caring expressed by so many people was overwhelming and continued in every session, on shuttle bus rides, and even around the pool. Where else could a sighted child feel "left out" because he was one of the few children there who didn't have a cane? At the Parents of Blind Children Division Annual Meeting I was elected to serve on the National Board. I am really happy to do this, and Alex and I both look forward to next year's convention in Dallas. *In order to make the NFB Convention experience even more enjoyable and meaningful to parents with small children, the POBC board decided to locate inexpensive toys appropriate to display and sell at our POBC table in the exhibit hall next year. If your blind child has really liked a certain toy, especially if it's something you don't see in every store, I'd really appreciate hearing about it. I'd also like to hear from you if you are a blind child or adult with a suggestion about toys. I will also take donations of toys like See'n Says, music boxes, jack-in-the-boxes, push toys, etc. for the day care area next year. Write to: Myra Adler Lesser, RD #3, Box 913, Chicora, Pennsylvania 16025. SOME DAY. . . by Donovan Cooper From the Editor: The experience recounted below by Donovan Cooper, a long-time Federationist and leader in the NFB Diabetic Division, is not unique or extraordinary. In fact, such episodes are downright common whenever blind children are given the opportunity to mingle with blind adults at Federation functions. And that is why it is worthy of our notice. Children's dreams of what they can be and do when they grow up are grounded in the very ordinary interactions with the adults around them. As you read this article, ask yourself these questions: Could a blind child ever learn from a sighted adult what this child learned in just seconds from an incidental meeting with a competent blind adult? How many times has my blind son or daughter had such a moment with a blind adult? This chance encounter happened at a National NFB Convention, but it could just as easily have happened at a NFB State Convention; or chapter meeting; or NFB parent seminar; or a local NFB picnic or holiday party; or any other NFB event which brings blind people together. There are many reasons why parents of blind children should get involved with the National Federation of the Blind, and this is as good a reason as any of them. Here, now, is Donovan Cooper's story. I have not had the pleasure of fatherhood. I was the younger of two male children in my family and I have seldom had the opportunity to act as a "big brother" to a boy. So, when that chance comes my way, and the interaction between me and the boy works well, I really appreciate it. At the July 1992 National Federation of the Blind Convention, I had one of these rewarding experiences. My hotel room was on the fifth floor of the Radisson Hotel in Charlotte, North Carolina. One night I was returning to my room when I met a boy and his mother in the fifth-floor hallway. I didn't get the mother's name, and I regret this because I would like to congratulate her on the fine job she was doing in teaching the young boy to use his cane to find their room. At the moment, however, it didn't seem appropriate because, if I were to do something to help the situation, that help would have to be directed to the boy and not his mother. Although Mom was doing everything right, her son was whining (as children will sometimes do) and resisting using his cane. Again, Mom was doing a great job, but it seemed that the boy needed a good male role model. What a great opportunity for me to try and be that role model! So I gave it my best shot. As I said, I don't remember his name but for purposes of this article, let's call him Andy. "Hi. Who do we have here?" "This is Andy." "Andy, you're such a big boy and that's such a big cane." Andy paused and looked up at me. "Andy, come here. Look at my cane." Andy timidly walked the few feet to where I stood and reached out his hand to look at my cane. He touched it and began following the shaft of the cane upward until he could nearly reach the handle. "Andy, some day your cane will be as big as mine." Andy didn't say a word. He didn't whine. He didn't ask questions. He just turned and placed his own cane on the floor and walked directly to his room. It was clear that Andy liked the idea of his cane getting big. And it was clear that he associated the big cane of a blind adult with his own growing up and the use of his own cane. Although I was not a blind child and therefore did not relate to canes as a child, I remember similar associations from my own childhood and how much they meant to me. I remember the men who were positive influences on my life and how much I wanted to emulate their use of tools. My father, after all, was a carpenter, and as a boy I thought that the time spent with a hammer in my hand was time well spent. The lesson to be learned here is that our blind children need blind adults as role models. That boy's mother was doing two wonderful things. She was taking the time to teach her young son cane travel and giving him much encouragement in the process. But she was also doing something else of extreme value to the boy. She had taken him to a National Federation of the Blind Convention, where chance encounters with confident and skillful blind role models are commonplace. I was one of the lucky ones who got to be one of those role models in Charlotte. Andy was one of the lucky ones who experienced such an encounter as a child. I have never had a moment's interaction with a child mean more to me, and I am sure that it meant a lot to Andy. His reflections on such experiences as he grows will help him to understand that it is respectable to be blind. This is the Federation at work in ways that cannot be accomplished by any other organization. I am so happy that we do what we do. Bring your children to our conventions and help them to interact with us in every way you can. After all, some day their canes will be as big as ours. NOTE: If you would like to get involved with the National Federation of the Blind in your state and community, check your local telephone book for a listing. We have affiliates in every state plus D.C. and Puerto Rico, and chapters in most large communities. If you need help locating an affiliate near you, call the NFB National Office for information: (410) 659-9314; or call Mrs. Barbara Cheadle, President, Parents of Blind Children Division, National Federation of the Blind: (410) 747-3358. MEET THE SCHOLARSHIP CLASS OF 1992 Every year the National Federation of the Blind awards an impressive array of scholarships to an equally impressive array of blind post-secondary students. The task of selecting the winners is never easy. First, the members of the National Federation of the Blind Scholarship Committee, chaired by Peggy Pinder of Iowa, must pore over hundreds of scholarship applications to select the 26 winners who will attend the convention (expenses paid by the NFB) to compete for the various scholarships. Then during convention week Committee members must find the time to get to know each of the winners in order to make the final judgments in the competition for the cash awards which range from $2,000 to $10,000. The scholarship winners are introduced early in the convention at the Board of Directors meeting, where they get a few seconds to tell a little bit about themselves. The scholarship awards are made later in the week at the annual convention banquet. Here are the 1992 winners as they were introduced at the convention Board of Directors meeting. After the name of the student is the name of the state from which the winner comes and then the sate in which he or she will be a student in the fall of 1992. Following the transcript of the comments the scholarship recipient made as each was introduced is the scholarship award he or she received later in the week at the convention banquet. Shelly Berger, Colorado, Colorado: "Hello. I am a junior at Colorado State University. I am hoping to get into veterinary school. I just wanted to let Dr. Jernigan know that I have been taking my NFB vitamins for the past years, and it has really been a help. Thank you." **$2,000 NFB Merit Scholarship Katharine Bond, Virginia, Massachusetts: "I'm very honored. I am going to be studying art history this fall at Williams College. I have worked in the art museum field for the last five years as an assistant art curator at the State Archives in Maryland and as a full staff member at a small museum as a collections manager. I have an undergraduate degree from St. John's College, and I'm delighted to represent blind people in this field." **$4,000 NFB Scholarship Ann Marie Bovaird, Ohio, Kentucky: "It's a great honor to be here. Last December I graduated with a bachelor's degree in international studies from Miami University of Ohio. Beginning in August I will start pursuing a master's degree in international affairs from the Paterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce at the University of Kentucky. Thank you very much." **$2,500 Frank Walton Horn Memorial Scholarship Dennis Bowling, Illinois, Illinois: "Hi. I'm Dennis Bowling, and I'm very glad to be here. I will be starting my third year of doctoral studies at Loyola University of Chicago this fall, but in many, many respects--perhaps in the most important respect--my education began here on Sunday night at 5 o'clock." **$2,000 NFB Merit Scholarship Heather Certner, Maryland, Maryland: "Hi. My name again is Heather Certner. I'm completing a master's in victimology, going on to the University of Maryland to start a J.D. and a Ph.D. I just want to thank you all for letting me have the opportunity to be here. I look forward to meeting as many of you as possible and learning from all of you as well." **$2,500 NFB Scholarship Richard Chen, New Jersey, Massachusetts: "Hi. My name is Richard Chen. I go to Harvard University. I'm currently a sophomore, studying government, international relations; and I hope to become an international lawyer or a corporate lawyer. So I appreciate talking to any lawyers any time. I am currently going to Harvard summer school and working as a law intern." **$2,000 NFB Merit Scholarship Lora Felty, Kentucky, Kentucky: "Hi. First of all I just want to say that I am really, really honored to be here. I graduated from Northern Kentucky University with a degree in English and secondary education last December, and I am starting this summer to work on a master's degree in special education/vision impairment from the University of Louisville. Thanks." **$2,000 NFB Merit Scholarship Jim Hamon, California, California: "I would like to say greetings to the most cantankerous, contentious group of citizens that have ever stood up and looked every gift horse in the mouth--not afraid to kick out the teeth if they need to either. I am really impressed. I study democratic process as a social institution. I am in the graduate Sociology Department at UC Berkeley." **$2,000 Ellen Setterfield Memorial Scholarship Mark Heaphy, Virginia, Connecticut: "Good morning. My name is Mark Heaphy. I did my undergraduate work at the College of William and Mary in international relations and philosophy. I am currently a second-year graduate student at Yale University, studying international security programs." **$2,500 NFB Humanities Scholarship Jean Janicke, Texas, Belgium, and Massachusetts: "Thank you very much. I'm Jean Janicke. I'm thrilled and delighted to be the imported scholarship recipient this year. I am currently working in Brussels, Belgium, and in September I will be starting a master's degree in public policy at Harvard University." **$2,000 Hermione Grant Calhoun Scholarship Kristen Jocums, Utah, Utah: "Good morning. I am currently a third-year law student at the University of Utah. I am also chapter president of the Salt Lake City Chapter of the NFB of Utah, also a treasurer of the newly-formed student chapter of the NFB of Utah. I would like to thank all of you for making this opportunity possible. It's through each of us that we as blind people can become successful. Thank you." **$2,500 NFB Scholarship Heather Kirkwood, Germany, Kansas: "Hello. I will be a sophomore in the fall. I'm majoring in political science and minoring in journalism. I've been a member of the Federation for about a year now. I love this group because it's a strong group, a united group, and a caring group." **$2,500 NFB Scholarship Kristen Knouse, New Jersey, Illinois: "Good morning. I'm going into my second year of graduate study at Northwestern University. I'm studying speech and language pathology. I work with patients with communications disorders such as stroke, head injury, and voice problems. I also enjoy horseback riding in what spare time I have. It's a real honor for me to be here with the National Federation of the Blind because there are only a few blind people in the field of speech pathology, and I may be the first. So thank you for allowing me to be one of the openers in the field." **$4,000 Anne Pekar Memorial Scholarship Christopher Kuczynski, Pennsylvania, Connecticut: "Fellow Federationists, good morning. I am a 1986 graduate of Villanova University, from which I received my B.A. in English literature. I received my law degree from Temple University Law School in Philadelphia in 1989. After three years in private practice, I've decided to pursue a career in law teaching and, to that end, will be attending Yale University Law School's Masters of Laws program beginning in September. This is my seventh national convention, my sixth in a row, and I'm honored and delighted to be at this one as a national scholarship winner." **$2,500 Howard Brown Rickard Scholarship Jana Littrell, California, California: "Hi. I'm glad to be here. Conventions are my favorite places to be. This is my sixth one. I would like to work with blind children, so I'm currently attending San Francisco State University. I will receive teaching credentials, one in special education, working with blind children, another in social studies, and a master's degree in special education." **$4,000 NFB Scholarship Charles Marston, Florida, Florida: "Hello. I just graduated from Miami Senior High in the City of Miami. I graduated number eleven from a class of 700 students. I'm going to the honors program at Miami Dade Community College and then transfer to Florida International University. I would like to become a lawyer and work in the civil rights field. Thanks." **$2,000 NFB Merit Scholarship Brad Martin, Alabama, Alabama: "Hello. I graduated sixth in a class of about 260 at the age of seventeen. I will be pursuing a degree at Springhill College in communication arts, going in as a freshmore, meaning that I will start with thirty hours of college credit for work completed in my high school career. Thank you." **$2,500 NFB Scholarship Tonya McCluskey, Montana, Wyoming: "I'm going to go to Northwest College in Powell, Wyoming, in the fall. I'm going to major in equine studies, and I'm going to have a minor in agri-business. I want to some day own my own working horse and cattle ranch." **$2,000 NFB Merit Scholarship Marla Medford, North Carolina, South Carolina: "Hello. I'm pleased to be here, and thank you for the opportunity to be at my first convention. I am originally from North Carolina, the mountains near Waynesville. I received a B.S. in mathematics from Western Carolina University, an M.S. in mathematics from Clemson University, and am currently working on a Ph.D. in mathematics from Clemson, where I am a teaching assistant. Thank you." **$2,500 NFB Educator of Tomorrow Award Peggy Pinder: "You should all be sure to congratulate Marla, too, on her upcoming marriage in about a week and a half." Chad Newcomb, Wisconsin, Minnesota: "Hi. Good morning to all of you. Next year I will be attending Winona State University, where I will be majoring in composite materials engineering and pursuing a minor or perhaps second major in English. And while I am up here, I would like to express my gratitude to all of you because you have really opened up a world of opportunities to us as scholarship recipients. You have made it so much easier for all of us. Thanks." **$3,000 Melva T. Owen Memorial Scholarship Ali Nizamuddin, Illinois, New York: "Good morning everyone. I am a second-year Ph.D. student at Columbia University, pursuing political science. Within political science my specialization is international relations. Within IR my focus is on Japan. Within Japan I am studying Japanese securities issues. Anyway, I have been in the Federation for the past five years, and I joined in 1987. I went to the Phoenix convention primarily because I wanted a vacation. I have stayed and will continue to do so, because I have never been involved in an organization or society or a group whose members love each other as much as the members of this organization do. Thank you very much. I am delighted to be here." **$2,000 NFB Merit Scholarship T.V. Raman, New York, New York: "Hi. My name is Raman and first let me say how happy I am to be here at the convention. This is the first time I am getting in contact with the NFB, and it's been a great experience so far, and I think it will continue to be the same during the convention and hereafter. As I said, my name is Raman, and I'm a graduate student at Cornell, working on my Ph.D. in applied math and computer science. Thank you." **$2,000 Kuchler-Killian Memorial Scholarship Gary Scott, California, Pennsylvania: "Thank you, Peggy, and all the members of the Committee, the Board, and the membership for allowing me the opportunity to come and experience this convention. My experience so far has been highly inspirational, illuminating, and empowering. It's quite an event. I am finishing my doctorate this year at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh in philosophy, where my main areas of concentration will be medical and business ethics, political philosophy, and theories of perception. Thank you." **$2,000 NFB Merit Scholarship Carlos Servan, New Mexico, New Mexico: "Good morning. My name is Carlos Servan. Next semester I'm going to be a senior at the University of New Mexico, majoring in political science and international programs. After that I'm going to law school to study international business law. I'm very glad to win a scholarship. I also went to Puerto Rico to organize a chapter over there. I am the current president of the Student Division in New Mexico. I'm in the honors program at the University of New Mexico. I was elected senator of the University of New Mexico three months ago. Thank you." **$10,000 Ezra B. Davis Memorial Scholarship Corinna Trujillo, Colorado, Colorado: "Good morning. I'm Corinna Trujillo. I'm a professional dancer and choreographer, and I'm a student of the humanities at the University of Colorado. I'd like to use my last fifteen seconds in sharing my favorite quote with you. This is by an unknown author, but I'm sure it's a thought that's shared by all of us: `There is no chance, no fate, no destiny that can circumvent, hinder, or control the firm resolve of a determined soul.'" **$2,000 NFB Merit Scholarship Ramon Vela, Puerto Rico, Massachusetts: "Good morning. My name is Ramon Vela. I am from Puerto Rico, as Peggy said. So it's a special honor for me to be a scholarship winner at the same year and the same convention that my affiliate has been accepted. I will begin studying in the graduate program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology this fall, working on a Ph.D. in political science, and some day I hope that I can put that training to good use and help the Federation teach uppity Congressional staff people a lesson or two about blind people." **$2,500 NFB Scholarship Peggy Pinder: "And there, Mr. President and members of the National Federation of the Blind, are the twenty-six scholarship winners this year." [applause] THE DISTINGUISHED EDUCATOR OF BLIND CHILDREN AWARD Editor's Note: Reprinted from the August-September, 1992, Braille Monitor. Sharon Maneki, President of the National Federation of the Blind of Maryland and Chair of the Distinguished Educator of Blind Children Selection Committee, presented this award at the 1992 Convention banquet. She said: The Distinguished Educator of Blind Children Award is a very important award that we in the National Federation of the Blind have established because of our belief and hopes for our children. The most precious gift we have is to improve the future for our children. This evening we recognize a woman who is known to many of us because she rings the bell for freedom at every convention she attends by working with parents, be it in the Parents Division, at the IEP workshop, or just sitting down to talk. This woman became involved in special education because of her son Dan. She stayed involved because she cares about the blind children of America. Mrs. Ruby Ryles, will you join me at the podium here? [Applause] Mrs. Ruby Ryles was an itinerant teacher in Anchorage, Alaska. She has been a vision consultant at the Arkansas State Department of Education. And when there was no program in the Bellingham School District, she created one in typical Federation spirit. Mrs. Ruby Ryles, the Supervisor of the Bellingham School Vision Program, this evening we present you with a check for $500. [Applause.] And we also present you with a plaque to express our appreciation and recognition of your efforts for our children. Let me read the plaque: Distinguished Educator of Blind Children The National Federation of the Blind honors Ruby Ryles Distinguished Educator of Blind Children For your skill in teaching Braille and the use of the white cane, for generously devoting extra time to meet the needs of your students, for inspiring your students to perform beyond their expectations, and for sharing your wisdom with your colleagues and parents across the nation. July 3, 1992 Mrs. Ruby Ryles in a few short years will be Dr. Ruby Ryles, and I'm sure that we will be hearing more from this fine lady. [Applause.] After Mrs. Ryles accepted her plaque, she said: What words can I possibly use to express my gratitude for the greatest honor a teacher could receive? I did not learn to teach blind children from the universities or the professionals, but from the real experts--from you. You taught me the value of sleep shades, early cane use, slate and stylus; and in your characteristic way you cut through the fat of the professional debates in my field and showed me how really simple it is to determine which children need Braille instruction. There is no debate, you taught me. If I am thought of as knowledgeable in the field of education of blind children, it is due to the countless numbers of Federationists who instructed and supported me and became my friends. Mackenstadts, Omvigs, and other NFB faithfuls forever changed the way I taught about and, more important, thought about blindness. My mother used to say, "Choose your friends wisely because you are a little part of each of your friends." I say to you tonight that each of you--every single one of you in the National Federation of the Blind--is not only a part of me, but a part of every child, every family, every professional, and every class I teach. I thank you for taking me in and teaching me how to be an effective teacher. But most of all, I thank you for being my friends. Were she here today, I know my mother would say in the best of her Southern mothering styles, "Ruby Nell, you certainly did choose your friends well, and I told you so." Thank you, friends. [Applause.] REPORT ON THE 1992 PARENTS OF BLIND CHILDREN DIVISION ANNUAL MEETING by Debra Smith "What a great meeting! Even the elections were fun!" This was just one of the many enthusiastic comments made following one of the most lively and productive annual meetings ever held by the POBC in our nine-year history. The meeting began at 1:00 and was conducted at a brisk clip so we could adjourn at 3:00. President Cheadle took advantage of the increased amount of meeting room space our convention arrangements gave us this year, and scheduled five concurrent workshops from 3:00 to 5:00. Somehow, Mrs. Cheadle managed to cram a presidential report; elections; state division and committee reports; a presentation from our Educator of Blind Children award winner; and a presentation from Student Division representative, Melissa LaGroue into two hours. One of the highlights of the meeting was a presentation from our 1992 NFB Educator of Blind Children award winner. This award was created by the National Federation of the Blind four years ago in order to emphasize our organization's commitment to excellence in the education of blind children. The 1992 winner is an educator who is especially well known to parents who attend our national conventions. Ever since she attended her first Federation convention, Ruby has made it a point to make herself available to any parent or teacher attending the convention. Over breakfast, lunch, or dinner; between meetings and sessions; and late at night, Ruby fills her time listening, teaching, encouraging, and sharing her vast knowledge with parents and teachers. She regularly participates in the annual parents seminar and helps conduct various workshops for parents. 1992 was no different. She gave an outstanding presentation at the parents seminar on Sunday (see page 10 in this issue) and conducted one of the finest IEP workshops POBC has ever sponsored. Mrs. Ryle's award was well earned, and we know that she will continue to earn it by giving outstanding service to children she serves directly, and by indirectly improving the lives of other children though her volunteer activities in the Federation. Melissa LaGroue, a recent college graduate, a former NFB Scholarship winner, and an active leader in the NFB Student Division, talked about what our blind sons or daughters will encounter when they become eligible to take the PSAT and SAT tests. Some of the rules regarding taking the tests in adapted formats are reasonable, some are troublesome. President Cheadle said she had asked Scott LaBarre, president of the Student Division, to provide us a speaker on this topic because parents and students should join forces in addressing the issues related to national testing services. Parents were definitely interested in the topic, and there were more questions than could be addressed in the time we had. However we will be hearing more about the issue in the year to come and at next year's parents seminar or annual meeting. Various state and regional POBC divisions and chapters also gave brief reports on their activities in the past year. President Cheadle first called on Maryland--her own state--to give a report. The POBC of Maryland has been very active indeed. President Loretta White reported that the NFB of Maryland finally prevailed in our fight for Braille with the passage of a Braille Literacy bill. Naturally, parents had played an important role throughout the months leading up to this victory. The POBC/MD sponsored their usual projects and activities--a trip to the farm, a Christmas party, booths at conferences, fairs, etc.; an open house at the National Center for the Blind. New projects included: a $1,300 grant from a private foundation to send parents to national convention; a grant from a local Lions club to fund a White Cane Bank for blind children in the state; and a liaison between the POBC/MD and the nursing and social work departments at the Johns Hopkins world renowned Wilmer Eye Clinic. One of our newest POBC divisions, New Jersey, gave a report which indicates it is well on the way to becoming one of our largest and most active POBC divisions in the country. President Carol Castellano and Elizabeth Klunek did an outstanding job of organizing the new POBC division. The division meets monthly, publishes a newsletter, and is beginning plans to conduct a parents seminar this coming Fall. The POBC of Colorado, headed by Julie Hunter, reported on what was perhaps the largest and most ambitious projects yet taken on by a state POBC division. With funding from a local church, the NFB and POBC of Colorado sponsored a regional two-day conference for parents of blind children in December, 1991. The conference drew parents from Wyoming, Kansas, Idaho, Utah, and Colorado. Running concurrently with the parents conference were two special workshops for blind children and youth who were invited to attend with their parents. College students and students from the NFB Colorado Center for the Blind also participated in the workshops. Nationally known speakers on the agenda included Ruby Ryles (the 1992 Educator of Blind Children award winner), Fred Schroeder (Director of the New Mexico Commission for the Blind and one of the top Braille experts in the country), and President Barbara Cheadle, who gave the keynote speech at the conference. We also heard reports from a good many other state POBC divisions, regional chapters, and NFB affiliates which have had activities for parents and children in the past year. (Although we do not have an organized parent division in every state, most NFB affiliates have committees or projects concerning blind children, their parents, and the education of blind children.) 1991-1992 has been a great year for the NFB Parents Division all around the country. Finally, the meeting was wrapped up with elections. Because of our growth, the POBC board had sought--and was granted--approval from the NFB board to expand our board by two positions. We now have five officers and four board members, for a total of nine on the POBC board. Officers are elected for two-year terms, and board positions are one-year terms. This year, all positions were up for re-election. Barbara Cheadle was re-elected president by acclamation and received a standing ovation. Also receiving a resounding unanimous vote of approval were first vice president, Ruby Ryles, Washington; second vice president, Carol Castellano, New Jersey; secretary, Marty Greiser, Montana; and treasurer, Debra Smith, Iowa. The elections for board positions took a little more time since there was some lively, but friendly, competition. Board members who were elected for the coming year are: Kathy Watts, Arkansas; Sunny Emerson, Michigan; Julie Hunter, Colorado; and Myra Lesser, Pennsylvania. Following adjournment, members were given the choice of attending one of five workshops. The workshops were: IEP Workshop, chaired by Ruby Ryles; Introduction to the NFB, chaired by Denise Mackenstadt; Technology and Blind Children, Tom Balek; Tactile Pictures for the Blind, Dr. Morton Heller and Dr. Paul Gabias; and Organizing and Strengthening NFB Parent Divisions, chaired by Sharon Maneki with panel members Loretta White, Carol Castellano, Dorothy Cofone, and Elizabeth Klunek. MOBILITY: WHOSE RESPONSIBILITY IS IT? by Gary Wunder From the Editor: Gary Wunder is an articulate man of greater than average sensitivity and insight into the human condition. He is also a father and husband; a member of the National Federation of the Blind National Board; president of the NFB of Missouri; and he has been blind since birth. With those characteristics and credentials, it is no surprise that Gary has often been asked to speak at our National Parents of Blind Children Seminar. This year, at the North Carolina 1992 seminar, he was one of two presenter's speaking on the topic of mobility. Priscilla Ferris, who is president of the NFB of Massachusetts, spoke first. Since she is a dog guide user, she talked largely of the myths and misunderstandings which surround the use of the dog; but she also urged parents to get their kids white canes and cane instruction early in life. Mr. Wunder then began his presentation. Even though the agenda title of the two-member panel was "Mobility and Integration," Mr. Wunder's speech clearly suggests another, perhaps even more appropriate, theme: "Mobility: Whose Responsibility is It?" Here is the edited speech of what Gary had to say about that question in relationship to his own childhood and current status as blind adult and father. Well, Priscilla said most of what I had to say. Are there any questions? (laughter) Priscilla was talking about people misunderstanding what dogs do. It strikes me that there is a theme in this which translates also to the cane user which is: Any time you--the blind person--are with somebody who is sighted, your mobility is necessarily the sighted person's responsibility. This poses a problem when you are, as I am, the blind parent of a sighted child. My daughter was four years old when we were out walking one day. Now, there have been times when my daughter knew that I knew everything and times when my daughter was sure I knew nothing. We were going through one of those "I don't think he knows very much" stages. Whether that happened because of something that somebody at preschool said to her about having a blind father, or because it just happens in the development of children, I don't know. So, we were out walking one day. I've always walked with a cane and I've always taken care of Missy--never had one accident whatsoever. But when we came up to the curb, she said, "Stop, Daddy, stop!" I was surprised and I said "Missy, I know to stop." "How do you know?" said Missy. "My cane falls off the curb," I said. "Oh, Yeah. Well, don't go Daddy, don't go." "Missy, I'm not going to go." "Well, you can't see the light!" "No, I can't see the light, but I can tell when to go by the traffic. Do you know what I mean?" "Huh, uh." "Well, when the traffic parallel to me is going, it's safe to go. When the traffic perpendicular is going, it's not safe. Do you know what I mean?" "No, what's perpendicular?" So I explained to her that parallel is that traffic moving on my right and perpendicular are those cars sitting out here in front of me. We waited a while, and Missy says, "Go, Daddy, go." I said, "Missy, the traffic in front of me is still going. It's not safe." She said, "I know. I just wanted to see did you know." (laughter) (applause) So we cross the street when the light (and the traffic) changes. And no sooner do we get across than this woman bends down and gives my daughter a hug, and she said "Oh, you do such a good job with him." (much laughter) So, again, it's the public misperception that it's the dog--or the child--with the blind person who knows everything, and it's the blind person who is necessarily dependent in travel; and that's wrong. I can't overemphasize the importance of independence when it comes to having a positive self-concept. Whether that independence is used to go down to the store to get a loaf of bread or whether it's to do something that seems as trivial as being able to get up and walk off in a huff when you're having an argument, the ability to be mobile is terribly important. The difficult thing for blind people is that you learn dependence at a very early age. The problem with this is that we don't grow out of it like other people. Children at a year and a half or two years old are all dependent whether they are blind or sighted. Parents hold their hand every place they go. The trouble is that at six and eight years of age, we're still doing that for many of our blind children. And while on the one hand blind children sort of resent that and wish for freedom, on the other hand they have come to think that this abnormal dependency is a pretty normal thing--for blind kids. When I was growing up you didn't get a cane when you were six or four or three years old. The cane was a thing that my parents put off for as long as they could, and they did it with support of educators. For them the cane was, in a sense, a symbol. The cane was the thing which transformed me from being their blind son--which was okay--to somebody who might grow up to be a blind man. That wasn't okay. So, I didn't see a cane until I was about eleven years old. When I was in elementary school I was taught that I could read and write efficiently, but my mobility was something else. I was one of the kids who formed a giant human train whenever we went anywhere. We all got into a big line, a line which was led by a sighted teacher. We all followed along. Because blind people were necessarily less mobile than everybody else, we got to go to lunch early. We were the first in the line; the first out to recess; and the first in from recess. We were always in the train. Your blind children don't have to do that today because more and more people are accepting the fact that if you give a blind child a cane he or she can learn to get around on his own. I thought it was a big deal when I invented a technique that would let me walk around the block. It was called "slide one foot along the curb." I understand now that I am not the first person who invented it, but at the time I thought about marketing it to other blind people. It seemed like a really good idea to me. It was a lot more fun than being hooked up to somebody all the time. I remember in high school playing lots of gimmicks and tricks because I didn't have mobility skills. I remember being told that if you had to use a cane at all, you used it only when you were outside. If you used it inside, you'd trip your classmates. That would be a terrible thing to do. It was irresponsible. Besides, who wanted to look any blinder than they had to? That was the line I got. So I remember in high school figuring out how long each period was and trying to arrange it such that I would strike up a conversation with a fellow student just before the bell would ring--especially if the student with whom I struck up the conversation happened to be going to the same class as I. Now, it's fine to have interesting, stimulating conversations with fellow students, but it's not fine to believe that that's what you have to do to get from one class to the next. Again, the reason I did it was that it wasn't considered acceptable to use a cane inside. A cane was an outside thing. I think at first I carried the cane with a certain growl; believing--like most people around me--that my mobility was really someone else's responsibility. I could hang on to somebody. The cane was only there when I couldn't force that responsibility off onto somebody else. I got lots of support for this attitude. As I said earlier, for a long time my family resisted letting me get and use the cane. They always guided me from one place to another. It wasn't easy to change this when I got to be eleven and was finally introduced to a cane. My brothers and sisters just assumed that somebody in the family ought to have a hold on me--if not one of them, then my mother or my father was supposed to hold onto me. I think we were taught that mobility was a very complex and highly scientific thing that had to be taught by the mobility professionals. If there were no mobility professionals around, well of course you had to hang on to somebody. What's worse is that we were taught that the only thing you could really be taught as a blind person in terms of independent travel was how to "route" travel. That is, how to go from point A to point B. If ever you were to introduce points C and D into that route, you needed to call your mobility specialist at least two or three weeks before you needed to know this "new" route. It didn't sound too exciting to me. I learned many things about mobility when I started meeting blind people who were independent travelers. I learned some of my best mobility from a blind guy who asked me at midnight if I knew how to get from building A to building B on the college campus. I said, no I didn't, and the mobility instructor wasn't coming until next Thursday. My blind friend said that he thought he could teach me how to get there now, and so we went out and learned it. He showed me how to use things like trash cans and telephone poles as landmarks. (The mobility professionals had always taught me to avoid those things). What amazed me most, however, about this experience was that I was being taught by someone who was blind. And he--my blind friend--was teaching me that it wasn't so important to learn this slick routine to get from A to B, but that I learn general skills that would let me travel safely. There's a tremendous difference between route travel and truly independent travel. It's strange that it took somebody who was blind to teach me that. But, I'm glad, too, because I knew that the guy who was blind didn't have professional certification. He was just a blind man who was looking for something to do at midnight and figured he could help out another guy. That was wonderful because at that time in my life, I didn't think that blind people could teach other blind people. Again, I thought mobility was a highly technical skill--and it isn't. I remember when I went for my first job interview. I wanted a summer job, so I went to the Kansas City Association for the Blind, which is a sheltered workshop. That summer I put together pins and put washers on bolts and did all kinds of things that made me a good little stash of money for a college student. My parents had never seen me travel without the benefit of a travel instructor, so my mother decided she was going to have me followed (just like one of the parents out in the audience.) She figured that I would catch her if she did it, (I'm not sure how she thought this) so she asked my cousin to follow me. My cousin at the time was probably about eighteen years old and rather scatterbrained. She was a nice enough kid but couldn't keep on task (that's the term we use for it now). So I got on the city bus and rode from South Kansas City to Downtown Kansas City, and while she wasn't looking, I got up and got off the bus. It wasn't until two or three blocks later that she realized I wasn't there anymore. She got off the bus and--not knowing where I was traveling to, only that it had something to do with the blind--went to a phone book. The first thing she saw was the Bureau for the Blind. She went over to the Bureau for the Blind where she and a counselor discussed what a wonderful kid I was while I continued on my way--unaccompanied--to the Kansas City Association for the Blind. So, it didn't do my folks a lot of good to have me followed; but they tried. It took me a long time to come to see my cane as a symbol of independence. I regarded it as something that I used only when I couldn't foist my mobility off onto somebody else. I want to tell you the story about how I got broke of that attitude. I started dating hot and heavy when I went to college. I enjoyed dating immensely. One night I went out to dinner with a woman. Because my date was sighted, I left my cane at home and went sighted guide. (I thought this was the way that the world worked if you were blind.) We had liver and onions that night and as I was cutting my liver and engaging this woman in conversation (I was showing her how witty I was), the plate moved closer and closer to the edge of the table and suddenly plopped off into my lap. Well, I was in something of a bind, and I was terribly embarrassed. When this woman asked if I wanted her to walk me home so I could change my clothes, I felt bad enough without also accepting the humiliation of having somebody--my date!--walk me home, so I said "No, I'll be fine." I had to walk six blocks home without a cane. There were several four-lane, lighted street crossings, and I didn't like that very much. After this experience, it seemed to me that carrying a cane was probably a very good thing. (I also learned to be a little more careful in cutting my liver.) For the first time I realized that I was responsible for my own mobility. I don't know why that was such a hard concept to understand. I guess after years of being taken care of by people--parents, sisters, brothers, friends, teachers, etc.--who had assumed that my mobility was their responsibility, I had come to consider that approach just normal. Priscilla talked a lot about guide dogs and canes. I used a guide dog for a time when I went to college. I enjoyed using my guide dog, so I don't have a thing to say against using guide dogs. However, I want to give you a couple of precautions which I think Priscilla would go along with. When I got my guide dog I got it because I had some trouble with orientation. I thought, somewhere deep down inside, that I would be able to give a dog a command that said I wanted 3402 West 52nd Street, and the dog would figure out for me how many blocks south and how many blocks west I wanted to go. This didn't happen. In fact, I would say that sometimes a dog aggravated my problems with orientation because I couldn't look for the landmarks which were so obvious to me with a cane. I had to know in my head where we were. The dog didn't let me get close to the trash cans or the telephone poles because he knew that was the surest way to get leash correction, but with a cane I could use these landmarks. With a dog I had to know, in some respects, more about my surroundings in order to get around. The second thing I thought the dog would solve for me was a certain tension I felt when traveling with a cane. It used to bother me when I would be clipping along with my cane and the cane would hit something. I would have only half a step to react. Well, if you have only half a step to react, you better travel tense; you have to be on your guard and quick to react. It wasn't until I came to an NFB meeting and somebody said, "Your cane is a couple of feet too short," that I realized that I didn't have to react in half a step; that I didn't have to walk with my elbow locked and my arm stuck our straight like--try holding your arm like this straight out in front of you for very long! This is what the specialists teach because they say that in order to be a courteous blind person you have to have a short cane that only comes up to your breast bone. Nonsense. Now I have a cane that comes up to my shoulder. Sometimes I have a cane that comes up to the tip of my nose. The length of a cane has nothing to do with courtesy. It has to do with good use. I like traveling with a cane much better now that I get a little over a step's (maybe two) worth of warning. I don't find travel to be the ordeal that I did before. With proper advice, I shouldn't have had to go through any of that. I don't know that I have a lot more to say except that I think there are a number of mobility techniques that people can use from time to time that are appropriate. Sometimes people tend to frame mobility issues in terms of "I'm fer it and I'm agin it." Do you use sighted guide or don't you use sighted guide? Do you use diagonal cane technique or don't you? Do you use the pencil grip or don't you? Is it good or bad? Do you use a collapsible cane or straight rigid cane? There are times and places for all of those things. I think the issue is to figure out when you're using a technique because it truly is the most convenient and appropriate for what you are trying to do, and when you're using it as a cop-out. If I want to have a conversation with one of you, and we are cutting through this convention crowd, it may be that I take your arm or you take my arm--whether you're sighted or blind. We'll do that because it is convenient and appropriate for what we want to do--have a conversation and stay together in a crowd. So, sometimes, yes, that may mean that with a sighted person I am going to go sighted guide. But do I give them responsibility for my mobility? Not anymore! Anyway, that's about all I have to say. I'd be glad to answer any questions that you have. FITTING IN: WHAT PARENTS CAN DO From the Editor: In the last issue of Future Reflections (Fall, 1992) we published an article entitled "Fun, Friends, and Fitting In." Readers may remember that the article was a collection of speeches given by blind youth at the 1992 Parents Seminar. The seminar agenda also had a panel of parents talking about the same topic, but from the perspective of parents. The panel consisted of: Mike Freeman of Washington, a blind father of an adopted blind child; Martin Greiser of Montana, father of twins (one of whom is blind) and a POBC officer; Loretta White, president of the POBC of Maryland and the mother of a multiply handicapped, blind child; Julie Hunter, president of the POBC of Colorado and the mother of a blind, hearing impaired teenage daughter; Kathy Watts of Arkansas (formerly of North Carolina) newly elected POBC board member; and Sunny Emerson, long-time NFB parent leader in Michigan and also a newly elected POBC board member. There is not enough space to reprint each speech (although all were informative and inspiring), but here is the edited text of the presentations given by two of the panel members, Kathy Watts and Sunny Emerson. KATHY WATTS Arkansas First of all, let me introduce myself. My name is Kathy Watts. I would like to begin by saying that you have already taken one of the most important steps in your child's future, by being here and by joining the National Federation of the Blind. My son Brian is eight years old and has been blind since birth. When he was eight weeks old I took him in for a routine check-up. The doctor said he had strabismus and wanted to admit him to the hospital for a neurological checkup. Through the suggestion of a friend, I took Brian to an Ophthalmologist. In a very matter of fact way, he said, "Your son is blind, but don't worry; there will be a lot of things he can do." At that moment I felt overwhelmed and scared. And then a friend said to me, "You can look at this in one of two ways, as a tragedy or as a blessing. The choice is yours." It may sound like a simple statement, but it really made a difference in how I perceived the situation. Back to the topic of helping our kids fit in. The first area I would like to talk about is education. If your child is going to be a Braille reader, I feel it is of the utmost importance to have a Braille certified vision teacher. Some professionals believe a resource room teacher can receive adequate Braille instruction to, in turn, teach your child Braille skills. I don't want to frighten you (parents) away from Braille because you will be able to learn it. But when it is being taught to our children I feel it needs to be taught by an experienced teacher. I have tried to help my child fit in by being involved in the development of IEP's which specifically address the needs of my child. Each IEP becomes more involved as I gain more knowledge through workshops and seminars such as this one. Another thing I want to talk about is the physical abilities of our blind children. Besides games that are adapted for the blind, why not try some games that are created for the blind, such as goal ball and beep ball? It was an exhilarating experience, the first time I saw a goal ball match, to see blind people coming together in such a physical sport without adaptations. I feel by challenging our children physically as well as emotionally, it builds self-esteem. Try not to limit your children by your own fears. I've tried to help Brian fit in by encouraging him to participate in activities such as goal ball, beep ball, bowling and, Brian's favorite, roller skating. There are various organizations that can lead you to information regarding some of these activities. Something else I've tried to encourage in my child is a sense of accomplishment. From early on we've praised him for all the things he's tried, from walking and riding a bike to being accepted in the academically gifted program for the upcoming school year. I believe I helped develop this sense of achievement by becoming a den leader and helping Brian become involved in Cub Scouts, and then sharing his enthusiasm as he participated in Pinewood Derby and earned badges for various achievements. In closing I want to say something about the treatment of your child. Don't be afraid to stand up for your child's rights. Remember, you are your child's best advocate. By standing up for your child's rights you teach him to stand up for himself. As far as expectations go, expect as much from your blind child as you would from any child. Let them experience as much as safely possible, even though the possibility exists that they may fail. Please give them that chance. SUNNY EMERSON Michigan If you are like our family you knew next to nothing about blindness when you were blessed with your blind child. You had new concerns, new fears, and lots of new words. Here you will have the opportunity to observe and meet and learn from people who have been walking in the same shoes our children walk in. There is no need for us to reinvent the wheel for every situation that arises. By coming to these conventions, reading Future Reflections, watching and speaking with blind adults at your chapter or state meetings, and honestly accepting your child as he really is, you will know more about what type of education your child needs than many professionals. This is your child. You love him more than anyone does. He is part of your family and always will be. Don't turn him over to any system and let them make all the decisions for you. Find out your child's interests and talents and deficit areas (that's one of those new words we learned) and help and encourage him. Our son Adam began his education at the age of six months in the early intervention visually impaired program. They told us he was very bright and at age three they recommended a private school in another county. But no one told us our son was legally blind. When he was two years old we read about it in the newspaper. We thought visually impaired meant that you wore glasses, or had crossed eyes, or that you had eyes that moved around a lot (nystagmus). Now we started investigating everything about blindness we could find. Fortunately, our other four children were grown and we had only Adam at home, so we could do a lot of running. Again, no one told us about the NFB. We found out about it when we read a small announcement in our newspaper and attended our first NFB meeting. It changed our life. We saw blind people running a business meeting, and the Braille users were much more efficient than those who covered their faces and maneuvered to get in the right light while using large print notes. We saw people getting around independently using canes or dogs. We saw families just like ours, only some members were blind. We also saw people who had never had the opportunity to learn the skills of blindness or social skills. We now knew what we wanted for our son. So at our next IEP meeting we asked that Adam receive Braille and cane travel instruction at the new private school. Little did we know that we were in for more pain, humiliation, struggle, and frustration than ever before in our lives. And we had already raised four teenagers. First, we had problems getting our son in the recommended private school (they were afraid their insurance would go up). But they did allow Adam to attend the school in a one-month trial (but not until October so the teacher could get the other children started). After that they said they would try one semester; then one year. Every year it was a new battle. His teacher let us know it wasn't fair that he sit next to her all the time in order to see the pictures in the books she was reading, as recommended by the teacher of the visually impaired. Furthermore, his Visualtek (a brand name for a closed circuit T.V. magnifier) and other equipment was taking up too much space in her classroom. He was five years old. We have always been able to get any equipment and aids for Adam to use, free of charge, from our school system, including tape recorders, typewriter, Braille writer, Braille 'n Speak and all types of visual aids (how to get a small child to juggle all this is another thing)--but never a slate and stylus. One of the easiest and best things we ever did for Adam was to teach him to type when he was four or five years old. I ran across an article in a women's magazine on how to learn to type in a few short lessons and used that article to teach him to type before we would let him use our new talking computer. It wasn't hard, just keep those fingers on home row and add a few new keys every day. It is well worth your time and effort. Since then we have found this book Type It, by Joan Duffy, which also teaches reading and spelling skills while you type. I'm using it with our grandchildren. Adam has always been able to turn in classroom work along with his peers because of his typing skills. He also writes longer articles and reports then when trying to use handwriting, which is very difficult to decipher. At age six we were thrilled when our son got his magnification glasses and could handle print, but we couldn't see why the teachers certified to teach Braille refused to instruct him in Braille. No matter how much we reasoned, begged, and cried they refused. They insisted our legally blind child was a visual learner. This sounded like gobbledygook to us, but not until we invited NFB in to advocate for us at our IEP meeting were we able to get Braille instruction for Adam. Or so we thought. By the way, do you know what they call the students majoring in education of the visually impaired, who graduate at the bottom of the class? TEACHERS. Be sure they are not working with your child. Every year we had a new teacher/consultant for Adam because no one wanted to teach him Braille. And every teacher let Adam know that he would never use Braille--it was too hard, and he didn't need it because he could see. He didn't need a cane either, but his parents insisted. So, the mobility teacher (whom our son loved) said he would never work with our child again. We have never been able to quit a teacher, but they sure kept quitting us. Our son loves learning and admires educators, so what they tell him has a big impact on his life. Having Braille instruction on the IEP does not mean your child is receiving proper instruction. Sometimes it means being set up for failure. Although Braille was on Adam's IEP since age three, we had to wait until he was ten before we got someone who worked with him consistently and effectively. Only with the help of the NFB advocates were we able to get teachers for our son that would teach him Braille and cane travel in a positive way. Remember the squeaky wheel gets the oil. Still, our son was set up for failure in Braille because the intermediate school system would not allow enough time for the Braille teacher/consultants. So we worked on Braille reading at home, using Braille-print books from the Library of Congress. Now we read a chapter from the Bible every day in Braille and sometimes do spelling on the slate and stylus. I have never met a blind child who's making it who hasn't received a lot of support from his family. There is more to life than school work. We must expect our children to have the same social graces and manners as other children, and the same limits. Love them and give them lots of hugs and kisses but don't do everything for them. They need to learn to do everything we know how to do around the house, and trial and error is a good way for them to learn. There are some things we wish we could do over. We always let Adam listen to talking books in the car, so now he doesn't know how he has gotten anywhere. Recently, we made him the official navigator, but he still prefers to read. This is another time where we will have to be firm. And how do we know Adam can learn this skill? Well, we have been the driver for blind adults who have told us the name of every exit as we are traveling on the expressway to our state capital; or given us directions to places we have never been before or have forgotten; or who have taken us to places for dinner and told us where the parking garage was located. Remember, parents, be positive and use common sense. Parenting a blind child does not need to be complicated. They need our assurance that we can all have fun sometimes doing things a little differently. Your attitude and those around you and your child will make all the difference. Stay for the entire convention. There are seminars and division meetings for everything you or your child may be interested in. And remember, if the people here can do it, so can our children. We can learn from them the most effective ways to reach our goals for our children, as well as answers to questions and situations we have yet to encounter. AN APPROPRIATE EDUCATION FOR CODY by Martin Greiser From the Editor: Martin (Marty) Greiser came to his first NFB National Convention in 1989--four years ago. He has served two of those years on the Parents Division board, and was elected to serve as POBC secretary at the recent 1992 POBC annual meeting. Those who have come to know him both like and respect him for his steadfast and reliable ways. Marty was on a panel of parents who spoke last year, 1991, at the annual Parents Seminar in New Orleans. He talked then of the difficulties he and his wife were facing in getting an appropriate education for their blind preschool son, Cody, in their rural Montana community. Despite the odds against it, he and his now former wife Nancy persevered and put together an unusual--but workable--solution. However, there is a bitter side to this story. When Marty wrote the following article, he added these comments, "As one parent to others who may read this, Cody's success came at a price. That price was stress and marital neglect. In some instances that price was anticipated and willingly incurred, and in other instances unexpected and/or grossly underestimated....Our twins' premature birth; Cody's extensive medical needs and subsequent blindness; and the efforts necessary to create an appropriate education had taken their toll at the expense of our marriage." Marriages may dissolve for many reasons, but how tragic, how unnecessary when even part of the reason can be traced to the burdens society imposes upon parents of blind children. The promise of P.L. 94-142 and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act is for many blind children and their parents nothing more than words on paper. And the cost of even attempting to transform those words into reality can leave permanent emotional scars on every member of the family. As Marty also said about his story, "The good news out of all this is that P.L. 99-457, or 94-142, can work. The bad news is that it doesn't necessarily work easily or well." But there is hope. As we have so often said in the Federation, the real problem of blindness is not the physical fact of blindness itself, but in society's response to it. We cannot change the physical fact of blindness--at least, not for our children--but we can, through determined, concerted action change the laws, regulations, and yes--attitudes--which guide society's reaction to blindness. We can respond to the bitter side of Marty Greiser's story--and hundreds of others like it--with resignation and sympathy; or with determination and love. The National Federation of the Blind long ago chose the path of determination and love. Here, now, is the sweeter side of Marty Greiser's bittersweet story of his family's struggles to get an appropriate education for Cody. After Cody's first year of preschool my former wife, Nancy, and I saw very clearly the difficult task which lay before us. Cody would have yet another year of preschool before he entered kindergarten. We felt Cody could not afford, nor would we tolerate, another year of preschool like the one just finished. With all due respect to the efforts and good intentions of this private preschool, we felt that our son's needs were not being met in almost every respect. None of the teachers had any experience in the education of the blind or knowledge of the skills used by blind people. The teachers were to receive some training during the year, but this never materialized, and hindsight reveals it probably would have been too little too late to benefit Cody. We have come to realize that educational programs, curriculums, and knowledgeable teachers must be in place when the child walks through the doors on the first day of school. Having attended three National Federation of the Blind Conventions where we talked with blind adults, teachers of the blind, and other parents, we felt reasonably informed as to what constitutes an appropriate education for a blind child and we felt we knew Cody better than anyone. We also believed we understood our legal rights in the special education process and the procedure to see that those rights are secured. However, the fact that one recognizes the educational needs of his or her child and where the legal responsibilities lie doesn't necessarily mean those needs will be met. In our case, Cody is the first blind child ever to enter our local public school. The administrators and staff had no experience with the education of the blind and were at a loss, both in defining Cody's needs and in planning to meet those needs. And quite frankly we didn't know how Cody's needs would be met either. So this is a brief background description of how we entered into our I.E.P meeting to define what was appropriate for Cody's second year of preschool. At that I.E.P. meeting we successfully defined Cody's need for Braille, cane travel instruction, and inclusion in a mainstream kindergarten class. Of equal importance, we were able to define as an appropriate need that an instructor of Braille and cane travel be proficient in those skills. In an attempt to find an instructor for Cody, our school district advertised for about six weeks in area papers for a classroom aide capable of working with the visually impaired. While there were many applicants, not one knew Braille or had any experience with the blind. It soon became obvious that without a teacher proficient in and knowledgeable of blind skills, Cody's needs, as defined in the I.E.P., would not be met. We perceived this as leaving us with three options. One option was to initiate due process proceedings; another to relocate; and still another was to find the teacher that the school was unable to find. With regard to due process, we had documented our meetings with the school administrators over the past two and one half years. We had an appropriate I.E.P., and we had contacted our state office of public instruction for instructions on the initial steps in requesting a due process hearing. Now, in the event that our efforts at due process were unsuccessful, or if the stress or timeliness of due process became intolerably excessive, we had to prepare to relocate. I was very fortunate to have an employer who was willing and able to relocate us to several areas around the country. We eventually found a place in Oswego, New York, where I could be placed. After talking with school officials and the parent of a blind mainstreamed kindergartner, we decided this was the place to go if we needed to exercise this option. We contacted area realtors, reserved a U-Haul truck, and listed our house for sale. We were prepared to relocate. However, neither due process nor relocating had much appeal, so we next focused our efforts on helping our local school create an appropriate program. At this point I called the N.F.B., explained to Mrs. Cheadle our problem, and asked for any help or advice she might have. She, I understand, called Miss Rovig, Director of the Job Opportunities for the Blind (JOB) program; a joint effort of the NFB and the United States Department of Labor. In about ten days, we received the proverbial phone call from heaven. It was from Kim Hoffman, a woman from South Dakota who would be graduating from college in the spring with a degree in elementary education. She said that she was blind and that she had heard there was a position open here that she might be able to fill. She wondered if we would be interested in having her as Cody's Braille teacher. Our first question was if she considered herself to be proficient in reading and writing Braille? To which she laughed and replied matter-of-factly "Why yes, I have been doing it most of my life." Nancy and I knew immediately that this was the person we wanted to teach our son. The subsequent phone conversations over the next months further strengthened our belief that she was the right person for the job. Kim then had an encouraging phone conversation with the school administrators and was told she would be sent a job application. About two months later, despite three reminders to school officials from us, Kim had yet to receive that application. We then wrote a letter to the local school board requesting their assistance in the matter and for time at the next public meeting to present our concerns. This letter was hand-delivered to the chairman three days prior to the meeting, with corresponding copies to the school administrators. The day after the school board meeting, Kim had the application in her hand. The school then put together an intimidating six-member interviewing team of administrators, teachers, and related professionals. To get Kim here for the interview, Nancy drove to South Dakota, picked her up and brought her back to Montana, where she spent a week with us. This gave us an opportunity to get to know one another better before we took her back home. Kim was the last applicant to be interviewed, and she was offered the position on the spot and allowed several days to decide. After accepting the aide position, there was another problem which needed to be solved. That is how and where was she going to find a place to live. Since the aide position was only a twenty-hour-per-week job, how could she afford to come to Montana? This was not a new or unanticipated problem; we had been discussing it for several months. After pursuing several options without success, the best we could do was to offer her our home as a place to live at no cost to her. After considerable communication, this was agreed upon, although, she later (understandably so) insisted on contributing approximately one-third of her wages toward her support. At this point, I must make it clear that our offer to Kim was based entirely on meeting the needs of our son and in no way reflects on her ability to live independently. She had more lucrative job opportunities closer to home. So why would she accept this occupational arrangement? She says that she is acutely aware of and sensitive to the educational problems encountered by blind children and that she wanted to be part of the solution to those problems even if it meant dealing with them one child at a time. So, this was the setting for the pad from which our son's public school educational experience would be launched. Kim arrived in the fall of 1991, and we began what would conclude a year later as a very successful experience for our son, and a year filled with learning for all the adults involved in his education. To try and describe and account for all that transpired during the year would fill a book. So, I'll just touch on some of the significant events and accomplishments in role modeling, socialization skills, academic achievement, and family matters. Just as an appropriate education is measured by more than academic achievement, we knew Kim had more to offer than just her impeccable academic skills. Her perspective as a blind person and her knowledge of, and access to, resources are unmatched by a sighted person. With Kim living in our house we had a very concentrated, up-close and personal view of the powerful effects of role modeling. About a week after school started Cody asked me if Kim was blind. I answered "Yes," to which he replied, "No, she isn't," and I said again, "Oh, yes she is." And that was the end of the conversation. But for several minutes I could see the little wheels turning as he was obviously deep in thought. Because of the limited space in our house, Kim would keep her Brailler under her bed. When Cody found this out, he started keeping his Brailler under his bed. Then there was the time when I went past his room and he was sitting on the floor in front of his Brailler, in which he had loaded paper, just pounding randomly on the keys as fast as he could. I inquired of him (in somewhat of an admonishing tone) as to what he thought he was doing? He answered that he was writing as fast as Kim. And we all know where he got the idea to ask Santa Claus for a talking alarm clock. These are some of the immediately obvious effects of role modeling. It is much more difficult to recognize and identify the long-term emotional and psychological effects which I believe to be no less present. Kim's positive attitudes, her confidence in her abilities, her gregariousness, and her position as an adult in the classroom can't help having a dramatic positive influence on Cody's own self-esteem and feelings about his own blindness. I believe socialization skills develop primarily by inclusion and association with mainstream activities. But this doesn't mean that they can't be directed, molded, or enhanced by deliberate efforts. Much of the success in this area has to be attributed to Kelly Samson, the classroom teacher. Without her sensitivity, receptiveness, flexibility, and efforts such a successful year would not have been possible. At the beginning of the day Cody hangs up his coat and backpack in the same fashion as the other children and joins in play at the various activity centers around the room before class starts. During class Cody participates in all activities with assistance from Kim and/or Kelly when necessary. Lessons and materials are prepared and adapted in advance in appropriate and meaningful formats--whether tactual, auditory, or Braille--to enable Cody to learn alongside the mainstream kids. Another success during the year was a marked reduction in Cody's mannerism of eye pressing (or poking). Kim and Kelly started a reward program of giving Cody a sticker for every day that he didn't press his eye or in which he corrected himself without being reminded. Three stickers and he was allowed to go up to the teachers lounge and get a can of pop (soda) or a candy bar. He certainly enjoyed his reward and frequently voiced his pride in his accomplishment. After a two-and-one-half-hour kindergarten class, Cody spends one hour a day working one-on-one with Kim on Braille and/or cane travel. Her main instructional materials are the Patterns Program which she supplements with The Mangold Developmental Program of Tactile Perception and Braille Letter Recognition, and Braille Instructional Materials a Phonetic Approach, and Listen and Think tapes. Both Kelly and Kim rely heavily on their print and Braille copies of the Handbook for Itinerant and Resource Teachers of Blind and Visually Impaired Students (published by the National Federation of the Blind) for information, guidance, and creative suggestions. Each month Kim prepares and distributes to Kelly, us, and Cody's I.E.P. case manager a progress report in which she describes the subject areas worked on, Cody's strengths and weaknesses, pages covered in each program during the period, suggestions for home activities, and other appropriate comments. The last progress report of the year indicated that Cody has a 40-word reading vocabulary, can read and write all the letters of the alphabet, can read numbers 1 through 20, and can independently write numbers 1 through 10. He knows common cane skills for walking, stairs, doorways, etc. and uses them correctly when reminded. It is at this developmental level that Cody will officially start kindergarten in the Fall of 1992. We all believe he is very well prepared, and that repeating kindergarten brings with it a unique set of challenges and opportunities. Kim will be back in the Fall again as Cody's aide and have her own apartment. Kelly will again be the classroom teacher, and the I.E.P. calls for more of the same, with only the goals adjusted. As parents, we feel Cody is receiving more than just an appropriate education. He is benefiting immeasurably from normal involvement in family and community life while at the same time realizing academic achievement and independent travel. There is also a well-educated, talented, independent adult in his life who happens to be blind. Our experience has taught us that the problems of educating blind children in the mainstream lie not in the cognitive capabilities of the children, but rather with the skills, knowledge, and attitudes of the adults who surround the child's educational life. SUMMARY OF RESOLUTIONS ADOPTED BY THE ANNUAL CONVENTION OF THE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND JULY, 1992 by Ramona Walhof Editor's Note: The following summary of the 1992 resolutions is taken from an article in the August-September, 1992, issue of the Braille Monitor. The Monitor article is more comprehensive; it reprints the full text of each resolution passed by the convention. Free copies of the resolutions are available from: National Federation of the Blind, Materials Center, 1800 Johnson Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21230. Resolutions adopted by the National Federation of the Blind are written policy statements of the organization. Each resolution is presented to the convention for discussion and a vote. Prior to coming before the convention, resolutions are ordinarily presented to the Resolutions Committee for discussion and a recommendation. The committee may not block a resolution from coming to the floor; it can only recommend "pass" or "not pass." The committee may recommend changes and revisions, but these must be acceptable to the presenter if they are to be incorporated in the text of the document. Any NFB member may present a resolution to the Resolutions Committee and, through it, to the NFB convention. If the presenter chooses to withdraw a resolution based on committee discussion or for some other reason, this is also possible. At the 1992 convention the Resolutions Committee consisted of fifty-two Federationists, who considered thirty resolutions. Twenty-five were brought to the floor of the convention. All of them passed. Printed below is a summary of these resolutions. Five resolutions were withdrawn by their authors. Resolution 92-01 opposes the establishment of the Study Commission on Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired. Background: At the time of the convention a proposal to establish such a commission had been made in the Committee on Education and Labor in the House of Representatives. Members worked throughout the convention to help Congress understand the problems which this commission would cause. Resolution 92-02 supports statutory linkage between the earnings exemptions for blind people and for retirees under Social Security. Background: For some years benefits for blind people receiving Social Security Disability Insurance have been paid according to the same formula as the one used for computing benefits for retirees who are sixty-five or older. The NFB has worked to maintain these similar benefits. Resolution 92-03 calls upon Secretary of Education Lamar Alexander to terminate his Department's inclusion of the National Accreditation Council on the Department of Education's list of approved accrediting bodies. Resolution 92-04 commends Congressman William Jefferson of Louisiana for sponsoring legislation to strengthen the right of choice for individuals receiving Vocational Rehabilitation Services, and it encourages other Congressmen and Senators to join with Mr. Jefferson in this effort. Resolution 92-05 calls upon employers and software developers to help make Graphical User Interfaces (GUI's) accessible to the blind. Resolution 92-06 is an updated statement of NFB policy regarding audible traffic signals. Background: Audible traffic signals have been installed in some cities, purportedly to assist blind individuals at street crossings. The National Federation of the Blind is on record opposing audible traffic signals. For the most part this position has not changed. However, it is important, under the Americans with Disabilities Act, that representatives of the National Federation of the Blind be consulted by city and county governments considering the installation of audible traffic signals. Further, newly developed audible traffic signals which can be activated by pedestrians and used only when they choose to do so may require study and testing. Resolution 92-07 opposes research on detectable warnings for the blind in architecture, on sidewalks, etc. Background: The Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board adopted regulations implementing the Americans with Disabilities Act, requiring installation of truncated domed tiles as a warning to the blind of the proximity of certain allegedly dangerous areas. For example, a strip could be used between a sidewalk and a parking lot if there is no curb. The blind have argued that bumpy tiles are more dangerous than helpful and tend to lead others to the false conclusion that the blind are incapable of gathering information. Resolution 92-08 calls upon rehabilitation agencies to provide instruction for blind clients in the use of city buses and trains even if special Dial-A-Ride services for the handicapped are available. Resolution 92-09 calls upon officials in the Department of Justice to support the arbitration process provided for by the Randolph-Sheppard Act. Resolution 92-10 seeks to avoid competition between Randolph-Sheppard vending facilities and the Committee for Purchase from the Blind and Other Severely Handicapped. Resolution 92-11 opposes North Carolina legislation regarding vending facilities. Background: A piece of legislation was introduced in the North Carolina Legislature which seriously damages opportunities for vendors in that state. At the time of the convention in Charlotte, this bill was being debated. Resolution 92-12 calls upon the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped to offer all its tests for blind proofreaders in Braille. Resolution 92-13 calls upon the Small Business Administration to award contracts to the disabled and to define disability as a presumed social and economic disadvantage. Resolution 92-14 joins the voice of the Federation with that of the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in requesting that federal agencies eliminate special awards for the disabled. Background: Many federal agencies have long had the practice of presenting disabled employees with awards which are different from--and often in addition to--awards presented to their other employees. If these awards were ever desirable, there seems to be general agreement among the disabled that time has passed. Resolution 92-15 calls upon the Social Security Administration to develop improved reporting procedures for disabled persons who are working. Resolution 92-16 calls upon the Health and Human Services Office of Civil Rights to treat blind applicants for child care certification in the same way as it treats sighted applicants. Resolution 92-17 declares that parents should have primary decision-making responsibility about whether a blind child should attend a residential school or a public school and calls upon school officials to furnish parents with relevant information. Resolution 92-18 takes the position that guide dog schools do not have the right to stipulate the kinds of employment in which their graduates may engage. Background: The National Federation of the Blind has worked hard to reduce the number of blind persons who engage in begging. The image of the blind beggar is one of the most destructive stereotypes which puts us down and keeps us out. We have worked to improve training and job opportunities and to broaden public understanding of blindness. We have also fought to increase welfare and Social Security benefits for the blind. Further, the NFB has gone on record repeatedly as believing that demeaning activities (such as begging) carried on by some blind individuals reflect poorly on all members of the blind community. Nevertheless, the convention took the position that no guide dog school should have the power to deny any blind person appropriate training and a dog on the basis of the individual's occupation. Resolutions 92-19 and 92-20 were withdrawn by their authors. Resolution 92-21 calls upon all guide dog schools to transfer ownership of dogs to the blind people who use them. Resolutions 92-22 and 92-23 were withdrawn by their authors. Resolution 92-24 calls upon those exploring the installation of audible traffic signals to consider the problems these signals may cause for deaf-blind people and to consult them when considering such installations. Resolution 92-25 requests exploration of the purchase and circulation in this country of Braille books produced in Great Britain. Resolution 92-26 calls upon the Association for Handicapped Students Services Programs in Postsecondary Education to consult with the NFB to develop a policy on blindness that does not lump blind students with all other disabled students. Resolution 92-27 demands that the Educational Testing Service comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Resolution 92-28 calls upon the General Services Administration to amend its rules so as to exempt blind federal employees from mandatory special requirements regarding building evacuations. Resolution 92-29 calls upon the Internal Revenue Service to do local hiring and training of blind people. Resolution 92-30 was withdrawn by its author. SHIFTING BALANCES IN THE BLINDNESS FIELD An Address Delivered by Kenneth Jernigan Executive Director National Federation of the Blind At the Annual Convention Charlotte, North Carolina July 2, 1992 On Thursday morning, July 2, 1992, delegates to the annual convention of the National Federation of the Blind listened attentively to a panel presentation devoted to an examination of the present and future structure of the blindness field. Participants were Dr. Kenneth Jernigan, Executive Director of the National Federation of the Blind; Mr. Carl Augusto, President and Executive Director of the American Foundation for the Blind; and Mr. Ritchie Geisel, President of Recording for the Blind. The texts of all three addresses as well as a summary of some of the discussion which followed the speeches, is published in the September-October, 1992 issue of the Braille Monitor. Here are Dr. Jernigan's remarks as he delivered them on July 2: The German scientist Max Planck said: "A new truth usually doesn't triumph by convincing its opponents and making them see the light but rather because its opponents eventually die and a new generation grows up that is familiar with it." In more prosaic language I say that those who base their actions on yesterday's perceived truths (whether real or imagined) are poorly equipped to deal with today's realities and are likely to have much time for reflection in tomorrow's leisure of unemployment. Today we are talking about the future of services for the blind. The fact that we are, along with the popularity and recurrence of the theme, means that there is a felt need and that there are problems. But we are talking about something more. We are talking about the shifting balances in the blindness system of this country. We are talking about the governmental and private agencies, blind consumers, and the relationship between consumers and professionals. In a broader sense we are talking about the very survival of the blindness field as we have known it. The most notable thing about the blindness field is how different it is today from what it was twenty or thirty years ago. From the 1920's to the 1960's the unquestioned leader among the governmental and private agencies doing work with the blind in this country was the American Foundation for the Blind, and there was a reasonable amount of coherence and unity. As to the organized blind movement, the National Federation of the Blind didn't even exist until 1940, and it didn't become a major factor in the field for quite a few years after that. Today everything has changed. If what I am about to say is to do any good at all, it is absolutely essential that we deal with facts, not just wishes or claims or fantasies. Let me begin with the American Foundation for the Blind. It was established in 1921, and its mission was fairly clear. It was to coordinate the efforts of the professionals in the blindness field throughout the country, help create and guide new agencies, do research, serve as a mechanism for resources and referrals, and generally act as a focal point for agency activities. Realistically viewed, most of those functions no longer exist as prime objectives. In the 1920's the Foundation was instrumental in establishing and providing initial guidance to quite a number of state agencies. In Iowa, for instance, where I was formerly director, the American Foundation for the Blind worked in 1926 and 1927 with the state legislature and the school for the blind to establish the Iowa Commission for the Blind. It sent staff members to help get programs started and to find and train personnel. The same was true in a number of other states. That mission no longer exists. Today the state agencies are well established, and they don't now generally look to the Foundation for guidance; nor do they feel any particular loyalty to it. Rather, they look to their state-federal relationships, their own national organizations and committees, mechanisms within their state borders, and alliances with consumer organizations. This is not to criticize but simply to state facts. In the twenties and thirties the American Foundation for the Blind, if not alone in the work, was certainly the principal leader in developing specialized tools and appliances for the blind: Braille watches, measuring devices, household aids, and the like. The Foundation also took the lead in developing the talking book machine, and for a time it was virtually the only organization producing talking book records. All of that has now changed. The Foundation is a relatively minor participant in the production and sale of specialized tools, aids, and appliances. It does not even sell or ship these from its own premises but relies on a catalog fulfillment company to do the work. If the Foundation were to go completely out of the specialized tools and appliances business today, there would scarcely be a ripple. The Foundation is, by no means, the principal manufacturer or distributor. That part of its original mission is now largely (and in the main, successfully) finished. As to the production of talking book records, the Foundation still does it, but there would be no great problem to anybody but the Foundation if it ceased the activity. Others have now taken the lead in the field. Again, this is no criticism. In fact, quite the contrary. It emphasizes the success of the Foundation's pioneering effort. The Foundation played a key role in helping design and pass some of the principal legislation which determined the direction of the blindness field and which still underpins many of the opportunities that we as blind people enjoy, but that was decades ago. The golden age of the Foundation's influence in shaping federal legislative and administrative policy was probably the 1930's and the early '40's when the Books for the Blind program of the Library of Congress was established, Title X (the Public Assistance for the Blind section of the Social Security Act) was adopted, the Randolph-Sheppard Act was passed, the Rehabilitation Act (Barden-La Follette, 1943) was amended to include the blind, and a whole new spate of other legislative and administrative policies came into being. Indeed, the Foundation did not singlehandedly make these achievements, having at times to compromise with others in the field and even now and again failing altogether to get its own way--but few would argue that the Foundation was not at the center of the action or the dominant force. That, however, was more than fifty years ago, and the 1990's bear little resemblance to the 1930's and '40's. Certainly the Foundation is no longer a controlling factor in legislative or executive decisions concerning the blind. We who are blind now speak for ourselves through our own organization, the National Federation of the Blind, and we are the most powerful force in such matters in Washington and the state capitals today. Of course, the governmental and private agencies for the blind still have a major presence in legislative and executive decisions concerning blindness, but they speak with many voices--and certainly with no dominance or central influence on the part of the Foundation. Again, I cannot emphasize too strongly that what I am saying is not meant as criticism but only as a recognition of fact. The Second World War and the period immediately following brought a shift in emphasis for the Foundation. Because of the thousands of children who developed retrolental fibroplasia (today we would call it retinopathy of prematurity), there was a crisis in education. In California, for instance, where I was living at the time, there were in the early 1950's more than 1,200 young RLF children who were blind--and the residential school could handle only about 200. What was to be done? RLF had largely been conquered, and when the wave of hundreds of blind children had passed through the population, there was every reason to believe the number would return to normal. It made neither economic nor political sense for the state of California to build five or six new residential schools for the blind. It was simply not in the cards. At the same time the parents were not going to permit their blind children to stay at home and not have an education. The answer was obvious. They would have to be placed in the public schools in their local areas--which, incidentally, made the endless arguments (arguments often stimulated by the Foundation) about which environment is better for the education of a blind child, the residential or the public school, not only pointless but downright harmful and diversionary. Regardless of the quality of the training or the competence of the teachers, most of these children were necessarily going to be trained in the public schools in their home communities. To its credit, the American Foundation for the Blind stepped into the breach. It had a major new mission, the establishment of university programs to train teachers of blind children, the recruitment of the teachers, the finding of teachers to teach the teachers, and the development of educational materials to make the process possible. Important as that mission was (and it was extremely important), it has long since passed. The university programs to train special education teachers for the blind are now completely mature. They demonstrate no special loyalty to the Foundation nor any evidence of following its leadership or asking it to coordinate their efforts. In fact, as adult children are wont to do, they often find themselves competing with the Foundation for money and leadership. Whatever else may be said for the loose national confederacy to which most of the university programs belong--that is, the Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired (AER)--the organization is not now controlled or dominated by the American Foundation for the Blind. This is true despite the fact that the Foundation was instrumental in establishing many of the university programs and that in the 1970's it gave sizable amounts of money to the AER, which at the time was using another name. As a natural concomitant of its work with the university programs, the Foundation began to organize and give direction to parents of blind children. In fact, a few years ago the Foundation was instrumental in organizing NAPVI (the National Association for Parents of the Visually Impaired). It provided a staff member to the organization, gave direction and leadership to it, and helped it set policy. Recently, however, the Hilton Foundation gave the Perkins School for the Blind a $15,000,000 grant, running over a five-year period; and Perkins effectively took control of NAPVI, giving it many tens of thousands of dollars, much more than the Foundation could possibly muster. The Foundation competed for the Hilton grant, but it lost--another sign of the shifting balances in the blindness field. With respect to those shifting balances, there is still another factor. The Parents of Blind Children Division of the National Federation of the Blind is now probably the major force in the field. Certainly its magazine, Future Reflections, is the largest circulation publication for parents and educators of the blind, as well as the most influential. In any case the Foundation (to the extent that it has any part left to play in organizing and directing the activities of parents of blind children) is now only a minor participant. Once more I repeat that I am not being critical. The American Foundation for the Blind filled a need with respect to the education of blind children and the counseling of their parents which could not have been filled by anybody else at the time and which absolutely demanded attention. It is simply that this part of the Foundation's mission has now been largely accomplished. There are those who would argue (in fact, I am one of them) that some of the Foundation's advice to the parents and many of its policy guidelines to the universities were custodial in nature, overly defensive about what was called professionalism, and more involved with complexity and prestige than common sense and the good of the child--but these criticisms must be viewed in context. When considered from the distance of the years and the magnitude of the task undertaken, the criticisms soften and take perspective. There was no viable alternative, and the Foundation did what it could with the knowledge it had and the resources it possessed. It deserves our appreciation, not our spleen. The Second World War brought other changes besides those affecting the education of blind children. It moved the United States to the center of the stage in world affairs. Among other things, this meant that our country would take the leading role in helping other nations develop programs for the blind. The American Foundation for the Blind was the natural leader and coordinator. It played a principal part in establishing the World Council for the Welfare of the Blind, and in November of 1945 it took control of the American Braille Press for War and Civilian Blind and renamed it the AFOB (the American Foundation for Overseas Blind). The AFOB was technically a separate organization, but its board was almost identical to that of the Foundation. Throughout the world in the forties and fifties the Foundation was generally recognized as the leading force in the blindness field in the United States and as our chief spokesman in overseas matters. All of that has now changed. In the late sixties and early seventies the AFOB went through an alteration. It changed its name to Helen Keller International, began to acquire a different board from that of the Foundation, and ultimately broke the ties almost completely. Then, in the changing climate of public opinion about overseas projects, Helen Keller International very nearly went bankrupt. It is now largely financed (and, therefore, in reality substantially controlled) by the U.S. government and spends the major part of its money (a sizable budget) in prevention of blindness projects in other countries. Meanwhile the American Foundation for the Blind no longer has preeminence in overseas activities. In 1984 the International Federation of the Blind and the World Council for the Welfare of the Blind (the two major world organizations in the field) merged to become the World Blind Union. The North America/Caribbean Region of the World Blind Union consists of organizations of and for the blind in Canada, the English-speaking nations of the Caribbean, and the United States, and is generally recognized by other countries as the principal mechanism for action affecting the blind in this part of the world--particularly, regarding overseas matters. The Foundation is a member of the regional structure, but it is certainly not dominant. I have already alluded to the $15,000,000 grant which the Perkins School received from the Hilton Foundation. Some of this money is being spent inside the United States, but much of it is being used to develop projects and give aid overseas. With respect to dollars spent in overseas aid, Perkins is now a major factor--and with money goes influence. I think it is fair to say that (with the exception of providing a certain amount of professional literature) the American Foundation for the Blind does not today have any significant commitment, influence, or mission beyond the borders of this country. This is in no way to belittle or take away from the work which the Foundation did in this area in the past or the work which it may do in the future. It is simply to state facts as I believe them to be at present. Let me turn next to NAC (the National Accreditation Council for Agencies Serving the Blind and Visually Handicapped). In the 1960's the American Foundation for the Blind created COMSTAC (the Commission on Standards and Accreditation). It financed COMSTAC and provided it with an executive director. The objective was to establish for agencies in the blindness field a system of accreditation, which the Foundation hoped would come to be universally accepted, bringing influence to the Foundation and harmony to the field. The exact opposite occurred. After a brief existence, COMSTAC established NAC, which confidently announced that it would be completely self-supporting in no more than five or six years and that it would encompass most of the agencies. What followed is a study in failure. NAC was never accepted by even as many as twenty percent of those that it wanted to accredit. Through the sixties, the seventies, and the eighties it bled the Foundation financially and politically, a black hole of controversy and cost. NAC has been the Foundation's Vietnam--and (as with America's Vietnam) disentanglement, admission of mistakes, and loss of face have been bitter medicine to swallow. My conversations with Foundation officials indicate that the Foundation has spent more than $9,000,000 on NAC. It has now stopped the expenditures, and NAC is in its death throes. Even so, the Foundation understandably finds it difficult to make a clean break and a public statement that the chapter of its Vietnam must be closed and left in the past. In a number of discussions during the past few months, Carl Augusto (the recently appointed president and chief executive of the Foundation) has talked with me quite frankly about the condition and future of his organization. I gather from him that the Foundation's assets have dropped from a worth of about forty million dollars four or five years ago to a present value of something over twenty-four million and that the hemorrhaging (though slowing) continues. I also understand that the Foundation eliminated some twenty percent of its staff positions during 1991, making massive layoffs. In my opinion this does not mean that the Foundation will go bankrupt or cease to be a major participant in the affairs of the blind, nor do I think it would serve the best interests of the blind if such were the case. Rather, I think it means that the Foundation must redefine its mission, free itself from its Vietnam, and accept the realities of the present day. As to redefining its mission, the Foundation has recently been working on the matter. Under date of January 15, 1992, Mr. Augusto sent me a letter concerning extensive planning sessions the Foundation conducted during 1990 and 1991, and along with the letter he enclosed a statement entitled the "AFB Mission." Here it is: The mission of AFB is to enable persons who are blind or visually impaired to achieve equality of access and opportunity that will ensure freedom of choice in their lives. AFB accomplishes this mission by taking a national leadership role in the development and implementation of public policy and legislation, informational and educational programs, diversified products and quality services. To advance this mission, AFB works to: develop and disseminate knowledge, programs, and products that can be used by professionals providing service to persons who are blind or visually impaired, by educational institutions, by legislators, by employers, and by others in a position to widen and improve equal access; to initiate or join with coalitions of other organizations, when appropriate, to accomplish specific goals or objectives; to promote the positive image of persons who are blind or visually impaired in the media and the community, and to provide a diversified and stable funding base for the organization to ensure ongoing support for the strategies and activities required. The mission statement [the document continues] calls for AFB to move toward a more selective national leadership role in effecting the fundamental changes required to achieve equality of access and opportunity for persons who are blind or visually impaired. It defines AFB's national leadership role as an information broker, an agent of change, a leader, and innovator. That is what Mr. Augusto sent me as the Foundation's new mission statement, and I can only say that I find it somewhat disappointing. It seems to me that it is too much couched in generalities and does not contain enough that is different from yesterday's largely finished activities. It announces almost no new initiatives, no specifics, and no clear direction for the future. Perhaps the Foundation will go back to the drawing board and further define its role and how it intends to achieve it. I hope that it will, for the blind and the blindness field need the Foundation--not a Foundation looking back to the past but the kind of creative organization of the formative years--vital, resilient, determined, and innovative. It is a positive sign that the Foundation and the Federation have been working together with increasing closeness during the past decade. Bill Gallagher and I have become warm personal friends, and Carl Augusto shows an interest in continuing to strengthen the ties. He was at last year's convention and indicated a positive desire to speak on this year's program. These things would not have been possible twenty years ago. In this discussion of shifting balances in the blindness field, why have I spent so much time on the American Foundation for the Blind? The answer is simple. The Foundation has played such a major part in the development of the blindness system in this country during the past seventy years that any meaningful discussion of where we are and where we are going must take it into account and give it significant emphasis. But there are other forces to be considered. One of them is the AER (the Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired). The AER resulted from a merger between the AAIB (American Association of Instructors for the Blind, which later changed its name to the Association for Education of the Visually Handicapped) and the AAWB (the American Association of Workers for the Blind). The AAIB was established in the middle of the last century, and the AAWB came into being in 1905. The merged organization (AER) was meant to encompass most of the professionals in work with the blind in both Canada and the United States. It has a large membership on paper and is potentially the leading force among the agency professionals--but the potential has never been realized, and there seems little likelihood that it will. The problem is that AER has almost no central authority. It is so loosely knit that in many ways it is an organization in name only. Its constituents show no prime loyalty to it and no ability to act in concert on tough questions and meaningful issues. It has many members but little influence, and it is likely to stay that way. Let me illustrate. In the summer of 1988 at an AER convention in Montreal a number of us decided to try to see if we could pull the blindness field in Canada and the United States together for concerted action. Accordingly, the Committee on Joint Organizational Effort (JOE) was established. Those invited to attend as initial members (it was thought we might later expand the membership) were the Canadian National Institute for the Blind, the Canadian Council of the Blind, the AER, the American Foundation for the Blind, the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, the American Council of the Blind, the Blinded Veterans Association, and the National Federation of the Blind. The first JOE meeting was held in March of 1989 at the National Center for the Blind in Baltimore and was hosted by the National Federation of the Blind. All who were invited attended except the American Council of the Blind, which thereby emphasized and increased its growing isolation from the main stream of the blindness field. Although the first JOE meeting spent much of its time smoothing tensions and establishing relationships, it dealt with substantive issues as well. One of these involved Braille literacy. After much discussion we unanimously agreed upon the language of a statement. Present as representatives of AER were its immediate past president, its then current president, and its president-elect--presumably the top leaders of the organization. Most of us left that meeting feeling that we had achieved a binding agreement. Yet, the AER board agonized, wanted to water down the statement, and ultimately rejected it. At the second meeting of the Committee on Joint Organizational Effort, which was held at the Canadian National Institute for the Blind in Toronto in November of 1990, the need to find a way to increase Braille literacy was further discussed. At the third JOE meeting, held at the American Foundation for the Blind in New York in January of this year, Braille literacy was again considered. Once more, AER was represented by its immediate past president, its current president, and its president-elect. After much discussion and refinement of language we unanimously agreed upon the following statement: Recognizing that ongoing assessment and due process are requirements of the law, the members of the Committee on Joint Organizational Effort endorse the principle that in planning the educational program for a blind or visually impaired child, these guidelines be followed: - If reading and writing are to be taught and if the parent or parents and the decision makers for the school want the child to be taught Braille, this should be done. - If reading and writing are to be taught and if the parent or parents and the decision makers for the school want print to be taught, this should be done. - If the parent or parents and the decision makers for the school cannot agree, then both Braille and print should be taught. This was the statement we agreed upon, and if it had been any milder, it would have been worthless. Also, remember that it had been discussed over a three-year period at three succeeding meetings and that top AER officials had participated throughout the process. Yet, under date of April 12, 1992, Dr. William Wiener, president of AER, sent a memorandum to the members of the Committee on Joint Organizational Effort entitled "Recent JOE Agreements." Here is what he said: As you may know, because AER is a membership organization, its Board of Directors requires that major policy decisions of the Association be reviewed by its duly elected representatives. Based on this policy, the officers of the Association that attended the last JOE meeting presented our agreements for confirmation by the Board of Directors. It is the purpose of this memorandum to report the decisions that were made. In general the Board is supportive of the efforts of the JOE to discuss issues that affect blind people. Because our differences are sometimes great, it should not be viewed as negative when consensus is not reached. It is felt by the Board that honest discussions will result in an increased ability to understand each other and that agreement is not a required outcome. The Board was appreciative of our efforts to reach consensus on the issue of Braille Literacy. After a lengthy discussion, however, the Board voted not to support our concluding agreement. The Board felt that the wording of the agreement left the statement open to different interpretations. A statement that can be viewed differently by different groups serves no useful purpose. The Board did, however, endorse that AER supports the goal that no child should ever find the implementation of legislation an obstacle to his or her best educational process. The JOE discussions on this issue have been useful as they have inspired the Board of AER to move ahead to define its own position on Braille Bills. As President, I have appointed an Ad Hoc Board Committee chaired by Toni Heinze to develop a statement that clearly defines our beliefs. It will not be "model legislation" but rather important points to be considered in formulating a position on any particular version of the Braille Bills. I believe this will be a useful tool as we move forward to insure that blind children and adults receive the best possible education and rehabilitation. It is our goal to complete this task by our biennial meeting in Los Angeles. I will be sure to share this information with the Committee on JOE as soon as it has been approved by the AER Board. There you have the AER memorandum--and there you also have, in AER's own language, the reason why it is not, and cannot be, the leader of the governmental and private agencies in this country or, for that matter, even a strong force in their conduct. The AER totally rejected the actions of its top leaders on what should have been almost a non-controversial issue, and even if the Board had approved, there is no reason to believe that the individual agencies and members of AER would have paid any attention or altered their policies in the slightest. Again I remind you that I am not criticizing. I am only stating facts as I see them and suggesting that those in the blindness field (all of us) must either avoid the world of fantasy and face reality or risk destruction. Let me next turn to the ACB (the American Council of the Blind). It was formed in 1961 at the end of the NFB's civil war, partly from people who were expelled from our organization and partly from those who quit. It, too, has an identity crisis and a problem of mission. At first its goal seemed simple--hate the National Federation of the Blind and get revenge. But that was over thirty years ago, and a new generation has risen. Hate and negativism are poor materials for long-term building, and thoughts of revenge are mostly the dream of the weak and the solace of the dispossessed. At our conventions you will observe that the American Council of the Blind is rarely thought of or mentioned, but at their meetings the circumstances are different. We are frequently the topic of discussion and the subject of snide allusion. As to mission, the Council has a growing problem. In the sixties and seventies, when the American Foundation for the Blind and some of the other agencies were in bitter conflict with us, the ACB was used as a buffer. When there was a hotly contested issue, the agencies could trot the Council out and say: "The Federation does not represent the blind. Here is another consumer organization, which agrees with us." In short, the Council served as a company union. But that was before the 1980's when the Federation and an increasing number of the agencies started drawing closer and working in partnership. As the process continues and accelerates today, the Council not only ceases to be an asset to the agencies as a company union but actually becomes an embarrassment and a liability. It does, that is, unless it is willing to change its stance and join with the rest of us in trying to build a new basis for positive partnership in the field. At a minimum this would mean stopping the pretense that it is the largest organization of the blind in the country (a claim which nobody, including its own members, takes seriously anyway) and ceasing the hate campaigns--in short, leaving fantasy and facing reality. The American Council of the Blind can be a real force for constructive action if it will, and we will gladly work with it if it takes that road. There are, of course, numerous other organizations and agencies in the blindness field, but many of these have not taken a significant role in the politics of it. The Blinded Veterans Association, for instance, falls into this category. Comparatively small and generally respected, it has traditionally limited its activities to matters concerning veterans. The National Council of State Agencies for the Blind, the organization of residential schools, the organization of state vision consultants, the National Council of Private Agencies for the Blind, and a number of other such groups have been loosely associated and have generally not attempted to exert much influence outside their particular specialties--and even in those areas of specialty, they have largely been forums for discussion and exchange of information rather than rallying points for broad-based, united action. Obviously all of this can change, and there is a good deal of evidence that in some instances it will. The balances are shifting. In addition to the groups I have mentioned, there are individual agencies which have a national constituency and scope of operation that potentially give them influence far beyond what they have ever developed or chosen to use. I think of the Hadley School for the Blind, Recording for the Blind, and the American Printing House for the Blind as prime examples. All three of these agencies are reaching out to play broader roles than they have ever attempted before, and their presence is being felt. The Rehabilitation Services Administration and the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped of the Library of Congress are also factors in the equation. They have broad constituencies and will necessarily play key roles in determining the nature and effectiveness of the blindness system in the years ahead. They will influence and be influenced by the coalitions which are built and the philosophies which are developed. With the leadership that they currently have, it seems clear that they will make positive contributions. Then, there are the vendors of technology. They, too, are becoming an important part of the mix. Thirty years ago they did not exist, and such technology as we had came almost exclusively from the American Foundation for the Blind and the American Printing House for the Blind. Today the situation is totally different. There are an increasing number of commercial and nonprofit producers and distributors of both high and low tech items, and their influence is growing. Their products affect our lives, and their sales representatives and service personnel mingle with us on a continuing basis. Whether they want to or not (and, for that matter, whether either they or we like it or not), they will necessarily be a significant factor in the discussions and alliances that are shaping the future of the blindness system. Of course, technology has brought major changes in the lives of the sighted just as it has in the lives of the blind, but there is a significant difference. When the sighted moved from medievalism to the industrial revolution, then to the automobile, the airplane, and later to the electronic age, they had 200 years to do it, and there was time for adjustment and acclimatization--but not so with us. Our move from medievalism to electronics has happened in less than thirty years, with all of the upheaval such compression brings. Yes, technology is changing our lives--and there are political as well as technological implications. So the vendors and distributors of technology will play an important part in determining the course of the blindness system, and there are also others who will. Some of the agencies in New York and other parts of the country, for instance, now have financial resources (more than one of them with upwards of fifty million dollars) which far exceed those of the American Foundation for the Blind or the others I have mentioned. Will they choose to become factors in the national mix? They could--and some of them may. Perkins, for instance, (although possibly a little less wealthy than a few of the rest) is well financed and energetically led. Whether it will choose to raise its profile and whether that will be good or bad will turn entirely on its motives and actions. Whatever all of this may prove, surely there can be no doubt about at least one thing. The blindness field in this country is in ferment, and the old alignments and power bases are gone, gone forever. New forces are emerging. New balances are being struck. Will this be good or bad, positive or negative? It depends on what choices we make, what wisdom we show, and how responsibly we act. So far, I have talked about others. Let me now say a few words about us, about the National Federation of the Blind. What does the new reality mean for the Federation? Well, for one thing, it means that we must be careful not to get too big for our pants. We may be (and I think we unquestionably are) the strongest force in the affairs of the blind in this country today--but we are not the only force. There are others, and their views must be taken into account. If we make the mistakes of some of those who were leaders in the blindness field in the past, if we fail to reach out in cooperative good will, our momentum will slow. Our progress will stop. We do not want to boss or lord it over others. We know what that feels like. We have been treated that way too often ourselves to want to do it to anybody else. But let nobody misunderstand what I am saying. We are just as determined as we always were, never again to be treated like second-class citizens or kept from having a say in our own destiny. We have had a bellyful of that--and we are strong enough to see that it doesn't happen again. We still have teeth, and we know how to use them. The blindness system in our country today is seriously threatened. Unless it can pull itself together in true partnership (with all, or at least the major participants, working in mutual respect), it may very well perish. Budgets are tightening; the environment is deteriorating; population is rising; and resources are dwindling. In addition, other disability groups (once disorganized and invisible) are finding their voice and reaching for power. They are now a growing force to be reckoned with, and there is no turning back. As we look ahead, the future is bright with promise. We as an organization are stronger than we have ever been, and we are prepared to work in partnership with any and all who are interested in helping the blind move toward opportunity, equality, and freedom. These are the things we want, and these are the things we intend to have--opportunity, equality, and freedom. A measure of our progress can be seen in the increasing number of governmental and private agencies and members of the public who are joining with us in common cause, but the real indicator of our progress is what is happening within us as blind people. By the thousands and tens of thousands we have gained confidence, determination, and self-respect--and no force on earth can turn us back. This is the meaning of all I have said. This is the message of the shifting balances in the blindness field. Let us join together, and we will make it come true!