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

Sun Jan 12 05:33:30 UTC 2014

I believe that Vanda may have been a sponsor of the national convention at some level.  However, these commercials have, to my knowledge, not 
always been a part of their strategy.  I've been hearing the commercials only for the past few months.

Best regards,

Steve Jacobson

On Sat, 11 Jan 2014 13:09:12 -0600, Jennifer Stewart Jackson wrote:

>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

>>>_______________________________________________
>>>blparent mailing list
>>>blparent at nfbnet.org
>>>http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blparent_nfbnet.org
>>>To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
>>blparent:
>>>http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blparent_nfbnet.org/steve.jacobson%4
>>>0visi
>>.com

>>_______________________________________________
>>blparent mailing list
>>blparent at nfbnet.org
>>http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blparent_nfbnet.org
>>To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
>>blparent:
>>http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blparent_nfbnet.org/melissa%40riccobo
>>no.us

>>_______________________________________________
>>blparent mailing list
>>blparent at nfbnet.org
>>http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blparent_nfbnet.org
>>To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
>blparent:
>>http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blparent_nfbnet.org/steve.jacobson%40
>>visi.com

>_______________________________________________
>blparent mailing list
>blparent at nfbnet.org
>http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blparent_nfbnet.org
>To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
>blparent:
>http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blparent_nfbnet.org/jennifersjackson%40att
>.net

>_______________________________________________
>blparent mailing list
>blparent at nfbnet.org
>http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blparent_nfbnet.org
>To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for blparent:
>http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blparent_nfbnet.org/steve.jacobson%40visi.com