[nabs-l] Future of the NFB

[Brice Smith]

I spoke to one of my old VI teachers last week who gave me some
interesting observations to consider. At least from the perspective of
this professional, more and more students who are blind often have
multiple disabilities. She suspects that medical advancements have
made it so that children who previously did not survive are now living
longer lives, but often  with more profound impairments. She notes
that it is a "rare treat" for VI professionals to work with students
who are simply visually impaired. Please understand that I do not have
any hard data or research to back up any of these observations.

I realize the NFB respects and values other disabilities. there are
many divisions within the NFB including the Diabetes Action Network.
However, I think most people can agree that our organization is
concerned primarily with blindness and not other physical or mental
disabilities.

This is not meant as a criticism of the NFB. Advocacy organizations
simply cannot be everything to everyone, and I think it is a testament
to our strength that we gather thousands of blind people and raise a
unified voice that might otherwise go unheard. But if the number of
people with blindness as their only disability is shrinking, what does
this mean for our future?

There has been discussion on this and other NFB lists about the future
of the organization with regards to membership recruitment and
legislation and advocacy. If more and more people with visual
impairments are born with multiple, "profound" disabilities, I'm
curious what, if any, impact would this have on the NFB in the future
and years to come.

Any thoughts are welcome.

Brice

-- 
Brice Smith
North Carolina State University, Communication - Public Relations
Brice.Smith319 at gmail.com