[Ct-nfb] Article from Citizens Voice Pennsylvania News 2015 11 15

Wed Nov 18 18:36:19 UTC 2015

Hello All,
I agree with Cheri; never take away the ability to read...or deny it.
Although I do not read Braille, I believe it should be taught as one of the
options for reading and communication.  Deaf children are often taught
American Sign Language  (ASL), along with verbal or oral communication.
Whether it is Braille or ASL, eventually as teens or adults, people choose
what is comfortable for them.
What are your thoughts on Braille being used as part of a person's identity
within the Blind community? Is that a significant factor in whether or not
one chooses to learn Braille?
My other question is....How  has assistive technology influenced this
decision making process with the wide availability of text to voice
products?

Mary Silverberg

On Mon, Nov 16, 2015 at 4:38 PM, Cheri Duquette via Ct-nfb <
ct-nfb at nfbnet.org> wrote:

> No, never take the ability to read away from anyone!!
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> On Nov 15, 2015, at 9:00 PM, Esther Levegnale via Ct-nfb <
> ct-nfb at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>
> Thanks for the article, Edward.  There certainly wasn't a good review of
> Braille, though.  To me, it kind of got a bad rap.  You'd be surprised the
> comments and questions I get about Braille being a "dead language".  I had
> to set someone straight over this past weekend, as a matter of fact.  The
> person understood when I explained the benefits of learning Braille.
>
> Esther
>
> Sent From Esther's Amazing and Awesome iPhone 6+!
>
> On Nov 15, 2015, at 8:30 PM, Edward Shaham via Ct-nfb <ct-nfb at nfbnet.org>
> wrote:
>
> What do you all think?
>
>
>
> Edward
>
>
>
> Statewide blind group meets at birthplace. Eric Mark.
>
>
>
> WILKES-BARRE - The Pennsylvania chapter of the National Federation of the
> Blind held its annual convention this weekend at the spot where the
> organization was born in 1940: Best Western Genetti Hotel & Conference
> Center. In November 1940, a group of 16 advocates for the blind, from seven
> states, gathered in Wilkes-Barre at the hotel that is now Genetti's. They
> formed a constitution that created the National Federation of the Blind, or
> NFB, which grew to be the largest organization led by blind people in the
> nation. To mark the 75th anniversary of the federation's founding, the
> Pennsylvania chapter chose Wilkes-Barre as the site for this year's state
> convention, said Lynn Heitz, the chapter's first vice president. "The
> national organization was founded right here," she said Saturday afternoon,
> outside a spacious meeting room where most of the 120 people who attended
> the convention gathered for lectures and seminars on a wide range of topics
> that affect the visually impaired. Blind and low-vision people of all ages
> walked confidently into and out of the room with the help of long white
> canes. One of the seminar topics was "Technology for the blind and how it
> has changed. Mark Riccobono, the national president of NFB, had some
> thoughts on that, as he stepped out of the meeting room to speak with a
> reporter. He called technological advances "double-edged" for the visually
> impaired community. On the upside, there are useful technologies such as
> voice-activated personal assistants available on computers and smart
> phones. Riccobono demonstrated an app he recently installed on his iPhone,
> called KNFB Reader, that can take a picture of printed text and read it
> aloud to a visually impaired person. He pointed his phone toward the
> program for the convention, clicked a button and a mechanical voice started
> to recite the convention schedule listed in the program. On the other hand,
> the push for technological solutions to replace Braille, a writing system
> for the blind that uses raised letters and characters, has left some blind
> people struggling, especially younger ones in school and college, Riccobono
> said. "A lot of technology is not built with accessibility in mind," he
> said. He cited his own experience growing up as a legally blind student in
> Wisconsin, where his teachers, in line with the educational philosophy of
> the time, tried to get him to read and study as much as possible the
> conventional way and use Braille only as a last resort. "I faked it all the
> time," he said. "I had to memorize things. There were lots of positive
> stories at the convention, which draws a dedicated core group and some
> newcomers each year, according to Heitz, who described the gathering as "a
> family. Liliya Asadullina, 22, said being blind has not stopped her from a
> rewarding and enjoyable college career at Metropolitan State University of
> Denver. "They have a really good public transportation system," she said,
> adding that she has no qualms about taking a bus or train on her own. She
> credited the local chapter of the NFB near Philadelphia, where she grew up,
> with helping her to develop that confidence. "They showed me you have to be
> independent," she said. The NFB has led the push for civil rights for the
> blind, which has helped raise awareness for all special needs groups,
> Riccobono said. As traffic drove by on East Market Street outside the
> hotel, he gave an example. In 1940, when the federation was founded, if a
> car jumped a curb and struck a blind person on a sidewalk, the blind
> pedestrian was considered partly culpable, according to Riccobono. Blind
> people and others with challenges or special needs were expected to
> basically stay out of sight and mind in those days, he said. Today, through
> educational efforts and legislation such as "white cane laws" that require
> motorists to stop and allow blind pedestrians to cross the street, things
> are different, Riccobono said. "Blind people have the right to be in the
> world," he said. emark at citizensvoice.com, 570-821-2117
>
> <Untitled attachment 00025.txt>
>
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