[blparent] Has anybody heard these Learn More 924 commercials on the radio?

Sat Jan 11 19:09:12 UTC 2014

Were they just presenting at a state convention? My comment about the
connection to the leadership and the national convention was apparently
based on a mistake on my part about the location. My thought is that the
speakers for a state convention are probably less well vetted than those for
the national convention.

Jennifer
-----Original Message-----
From: blparent [mailto:blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Steve
Jacobson
Sent: Saturday, January 11, 2014 10:06 AM
To: Blind Parents Mailing List
Subject: Re: [blparent] Has anybody heard these Learn More 924 commercials
onthe radio?

I did not remember the phone number that was given at the convention, so I
appreciate that comment.  In my opinion, the frequency together with the
content of these commercials are dammaging, and I intend to try to find out
more.

Some of you may know I have over time been somewhat skeptical of some of
these studies.  My skepticism is not based on the notion that there could
not be something to the claims, it is with the emotionalism that I've seen
surrounding the subject, not just within our community, but also with the
doctors and researchers conducting the studies.  I've heard outrageous
comments by some advocates, not people on this list, that just make me
wonder how preconceived notions of blindness might be affecting the
research.  I also had firsthand experience with a sleep disorder center who
would not at first do the general tests they usually do because the person
who had the problem was blind.  They were going to go directly into a
protracted sleep disorder study for blind people.  I was very certain that
apnea was the problem but had to argue very hard to get that test done
before plunging into a blindness study.  The results were that the person
had one of the worst cases of apnea they had ever seen.  They would have
figured that out eventually, but the excitement of finding a blind person to
study was to me disconcerting because of the assumptions they made.  

Here is where I think we need to be careful.  Many sighted people have sleep
disorders.  The hundreds or perhaps thousands of sleep centers were not
established for blind people.  <smile>  As a group, we face issues that when
faced by sighted people also affect sleep, particularly unemployment and
other stresses.  In my mind, this does not mean that there couldn't be
factors that are not well understood that could affect our sleep, but being
blind and having a sleep disorder doesn't necessarily mean it is because of
physical blindness.  I don't see much attempt to determine whether a
sleeping disorder may be unrelated to blindness in some of the reading I
have done.  I also have not seen an attempt in past studies to establish a
truly accurate control group, one with the same level of unemployment, for
example.  From what I understand of these commercials, the company has a
vested interest in finding blind people that they can fit into a mold that
makes their product the solution.  Whatever their product does, one wonders
how well it might work for sighted people as well.  I have read where some
believe that a 24-hour cycle isn't natural for most people, that humans tend
toward a longer cycle when separated from day night cycles, although this is
somewhat different than some of the rhythms discussed here.  My point is not
that there isn't anything to these studies, rather it is that there has to
be some sort of perspective, and painting a general picture of blind people
struggling to stay awake as these commercials do, is in my opinion, wrong
and dammaging.

Of course, I expect my comments may generate some responses so I don't mean
to cut them off, but we should start thinking about putting this topic to
rest soon.

Best regards,

Steve Jacobson

On Fri, 10 Jan 2014 13:53:57 -0500, Melissa Ann Riccobono wrote:

>Yes, at least the commercials I have heard are definitely Vanda. Vanda 
>gave a presentation at our state convention, and I am 99 percent sure 
>that the phone number and website they gave at the convention are the 
>same as those given on the commercial.
>Melissa

>-----Original Message-----
>From: blparent [mailto:blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Steve 
>Jacobson
>Sent: Friday, January 10, 2014 1:13 PM
>To: Blind Parents Mailing List
>Subject: Re: [blparent] Has anybody heard these Learn More 924 
>commercials onthe radio?

>These commercials are running very often here, but do we know if this 
>is Vanda?

>On Thu, 9 Jan 2014 20:29:35 -0600, Robert Shelton wrote:

>>Yep, it is real, but I have a big problem with the commercials.  The 
>>speaker starts off by saying "You can't see me because this is radio, 
>>and I can't see you because I'm totally blind."  Cute, I suppose, but 
>>cheesy.  Then he goes off into this business about how he can't 
>>concentrate on anything during the day, leaving the clear impression 
>>that it is because of his blindness.  Were I in the position of a 
>>sighted person thinking about hiring someone in a critical position, 
>>and a blind person showed up, that commercial would add to any and 
>>every other misconception about blindness I might have.

>>So, maybe Vanda is working on a beneficial compound, but their way of 
>>drumming up business strikes me as patronizing at best.

>>OK, not about blind parenting, so no more from me on this.

>>-----Original Message-----
>>From: trising at sbcglobal.net [mailto:trising at sbcglobal.net]
>>Sent: Thursday, January 09, 2014 4:47 PM
>>To: Blind Parents Mailing List
>>Subject: Re: [blparent] Has anybody heard these Learn More 924 
>>commercials onthe radio?

>>    Yes, Non24 sleep disorder is real. I have it, and Melatonin helps. 
>>Vanda Pharmaceuticals is coming out with a medication that will help 
>>more than Melatonin. I have not heard the commercials. There is also a 
>>website if you are interested. If you put Non24 into your favorite 
>>search engine, you will find it.

>>Sincerely,
>>Terri Wilcox

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