[Nfb-editors] Fall-Winter The Federationist In Connecticut

[Robert Leslie Newman]

Dear editors- Chris sent this to me a couple of days back and I almost
forgot about it! sorry:

 

 

The Federationist In Connecticut


“The Blind Speaking for Themselves”


 

Chris Kuell, Editor
Fall/Winter 2011/2012

 

A publication of the National Federation of the Blind of Connecticut


	
	477 Connecticut Boulevard, Suite 217
East Hartford, Connecticut 06108
(860) 289-1971
www.nfbct.org
	
 




 

The real problem of blindness is not the lack of eyesight. The real problem
is the misunderstanding and lack of information which exist. If a blind
person has proper training and opportunity, blindness is only a physical
nuisance. The National Federation of the Blind of Connecticut is a state
affiliate of the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) and works to improve
the lives of blind people in Connecticut. By providing information and
education to its members and the public, the NFB of Connecticut is changing
what it means to be blind.

Articles reproduced in The Federationist comply with public law 104-197, the
Copyright Amendment of 1996. This law allows authorized entities to
reproduce previously published, non-dramatic literary works in specialized
formats, for exclusive use by blind or disabled people. 

 

Table of Contents

BESB RIP
Page 3

WHAT? BLIND PEOPLE TRAVEL TOGETHER? 

BY THEMSELVES?
Page 5

Guide Dogs and the ADA
Page 8

Blindfolded
Page 9

Invocation
Page 11

I Got an iPhone!
Page 12


March Madness for the Blind
Page 13


Shirley Lebowitz
Page 15


Gone Fishing
Page 16

Researchers Identify ‘Bat Sight’
Page 19

Regal Theatres Embrace Audio Description                                Page
20

The Productivity Fallacy
Page 20

Miscellany and Notes
Page 25

 

 

Please help save the environment and keep production costs down! When you
are through using your cassette copy of The Federationist, please return it
to our outreach office for re-use. Our address is 477 Connecticut Blvd,
Suite 217, East Hartford, CT 06108. Thank you!




BESB RIP

By Chris Kuell

 

On June 13, 2011 Governor Malloy signed Public Act 11-44, “An Act Concerning
the Bureau of Rehabilitative Services and Implementation of Provisions of
the Budget Concerning Human Services and Public Health”, effectively killing
the oldest and measurably one of the best performing agencies serving the
blind in America. With this legislation there is created a Bureau of
Rehabilitative Services within the Department of Social Services (DSS). This
new Bureau has been created through the merger of The Bureau of
Rehabilitation Services of the Department of Social Services, The Board of
Education and Services for the Blind (BESB), and The Commission on the Deaf
and Hearing Impaired (CDHI). In addition, The Department of Motor Vehicles'
(DMV) driver training program for individuals with disabilities, and  The
Workers’ Rehabilitation Services (WRS) program of the Worker's Compensation
Commission are also incorporated into the new BRS.

The transfer of the agencies and programs into the new BRS was effective
July 1, 2011. On July 6, DSS Commissioner Roderick L. Bremby was appointed
acting director of the new Bureau of Rehabilitative Services.

Bremby served as director of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment
from 2003 until November, 2010, when he was asked to step down by the
incoming Governor who felt he was too sluggish in granting licenses for new
coal burning power plants (according to Routers News Service). Prior to that
position, he was an assistant research professor at the University of
Kansas.

In addition to losing its stand-alone status, BESB’s Board of Directors was
stripped of all policy making power, and will no longer report to the
General Assembly, Governor and consumers on how the agency is doing. 

If one looks at the situation for blind and visually impaired people in the
state of Connecticut in a ‘glass is half full’ kind of way, as of this
writing, what we formerly thought of BESB has remained relatively intact.
Brian Sigman is no longer the executive director, but he’s performing the
job as if he is. Employees are still reporting to the office in Windsor, and
aside from a half-dozen retirements, the headcount remains unchanged. Same
goes for the budget—no new cuts have been made. All four divisions (Adult
Services, Business Enterprise Program, Children’s Services, and Vocational
Rehabilitation) are operating much as they did before the consolidation in
July. Commissioner Bremby attended the first meeting of the new ‘advisory’
board in September—the first time a commissioner of DSS has been to a board
meeting in at least a dozen years. Services are pretty much the same, and we
should all hope and pray they stay that way.

If one were to take a ‘glass is half empty’ view of things, they might
wonder why a full-time director of BRS hasn’t been appointed. They might say
that after the tremendous opposition to the consolidation voiced at public
hearings, through letters, emails, phone calls and at Governor Malloy’s
‘Listening Tour’, the legislature decided to kill BESB slowly. This merger
was the first step, and the next step will come in a year and a half when
the next budget is due. That’s when the bean-counters will ask, why do we
need VR counselors who specialize in blind services, when it would be less
costly for the less-specialized VR counselors to serve all people with
disabilities? That way, they could lose a few counselors. And why do blind
children deserve specialized teachers that the state pays for, when all
other disability groups are served by the towns who hire special ed teachers
who tend to babysit the kids in a resource room all day? Wouldn’t it be
cheaper and easier to simply cut the towns a check, hope they use it to take
care of the blind kids, then fire all those teachers so the state isn’t
responsible for their raises, benefits, mileage, and so on? That’s what a
bean-counter calls efficiency. And the BEP program—why should blind people
reap all that vending money, when they are only a small portion of the
entire population of people with disabilities? Wouldn’t it be better to
spread that money around a bit, share the wealth and all? Once the program
known formerly as BESB is completely swallowed by the bureaucracy of DSS,
all accountability will be lost and the cries of the needy will never reach
the ears of the bean-counters at the top.

While I wasn’t able to find individual state data, what is clearly apparent
is that in the 26 states (27 if we include Connecticut) who have
‘consolidated’ their state agency for the blind, high school graduation
rates drop, literacy rates drop, employment rates drop, average annual
salaries for blind workers drop and potential tax-payers become
tax-consumers. 

Or, as Governor Malloy says, “We’ll improve efficiencies along with a little
belt tightening.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

WHAT?   BLIND PEOPLE TRAVEL TOGETHER? 
 BY THEMSELVES?

By Esther Levegnale

 

It goes without saying that one of the aspects of being blind is educating
the sighted world.  No matter if we’re 10 or 60, it just goes with the
territory.  Oh yes, we hear comments like, “you’re so-o-o amazing,” or
“you’re such an inspiration.”  My God!  It’s like a broken record, isn’t it?
We tell people that we live independently, work, and participate in
recreational activities, and, yes, even travel by ourselves.

Just last fall, Vicki, a friend of mine from Alexandria, VA, (who is also
blind), and I took a Mediterranean cruise, alone, without sighted friends
accompanying us.  I befriended Vicki many years ago when both of us were
involved in cross country skiing events and summer recreational activities
provided by an organization known as Ski for Light.  We visited one
another’s homes and got along perfectly.  We took trips to Aruba, St. Croix,
and went on many cruises together by ourselves.  More often than not, my
sighted friends ask, “Don’t you take a guide with you?”  When I answer to
the negative, they’re quite surprised, but in the end, they’re all happy for
my living an active and productive life.

The Mediterranean cruise was one like no other.  In planning this trip, we
decided on a seven-day cruise, leaving out of Venice, Italy, going to ports
in Croatia and Greece.  The dates we chose were from October 9th through the
16th. We dealt with a travel agency which is geared specifically toward
accessible travel for all kinds of disabilities and we decided, through this
travel agent, that we wanted to use Royal Caribbean as our cruise line
preference.  Thanks to the Internet, which opens a whole new world for us
blind people, we made our own flight reservations separately out of JFK in
New York.  Each cruise offers shore excursions at port destinations.  We
booked them separately on-line as well, informing our travel agent which
tours we selected.  Each tour had a description and we did extensive
research reading about the terrain, what types of clothing to wear, etc.
She in turn contacted Royal Caribbean to inform them that we would need
assistance on these excursions.  They said they couldn’t promise any help on
their end for us, so we decided that we would ask people on our tour buses
to guide us.  All we needed was a helpful arm along with our canes.  I can’t
say enough on how friendly and helpful these tourists were.  As it turned
out, both of us were guided by married couples, Vicki being guided by the
wives and I being guided by the husbands, and we all hit it off extremely
well.

How did Vicki and I plan to meet each other to take this trip?  We both met
in New York City on the day of departure, Vicki traveling up from Virginia
by train and I getting there by bus, and we met at a particular hotel.  We
took a taxi to Kennedy Airport where we had assistance from sky caps and
boarded our plane which was to take us first to Paris, then to our final
destination, Venice.

Upon our arrival at the airport in Venice, we were told that we couldn’t go
to our hotel because St. Marc’s Square was flooded by the high tides that
occur there every day from about October to February.  We thought, well, how
bad could these floods be?  We remained at the airport for a couple of
hours, then we were escorted to a shuttle which took us to the water taxi,
which in turn transported us to the pier and then to our hotel.  Everything
was back to normal.  We were told later by tourists that these tides could
flood the streets with water to knee level, and in order to keep the flow of
the city going, (pun definitely intended) large narrow planks that look
similar to restaurant tables are put up so that people could climb up upon
these and walk across them to get where they want to go.

Vicki and I thought this would be fun, so the next day we asked someone from
our hotel what we had to do to get to a particular coffee bar, purposely
planning this excursion during the time of the floods.  One of the lovely
hotel workers escorted both of us across these planks and it indeed was an
adventure and a true test of our cane skills.  The boards were extremely
narrow and we needed to walk single file behind our guide, being ever
cautious not to walk too close to the edge, while at the same time being
mindful of people walking on the same board in the opposite direction.
Whew!  What a relief when we reached dry land, and I have to say that the
skills of our guide, who had never guided blind people before, were
impeccable!  And I’ll bet you two-to-one that people watching us did so with
bated breath!

We spent a day and a half in Venice before our ship set sail and we made the
best of every opportunity we had.  There was music every evening on the
square from one end to the other, and when one band stopped, another would
begin.  We also took a gondola ride, (what would a trip to Venice be without
one of those?) and toured St. Marc’s Cathedral when it wasn’t flooded over.
The most unusual part of being in Venice was that there was no automobile
traffic, just boat travel and walking.  We found some pretty nice
restaurants, thanks to the hotel staff who gave us fine directions, and if
we were not sure if we were walking in the right direction, we would ask
people on the streets and they would often walk with us to our destination.
It turned out that we weren’t far off anyway.

Once on the cruise ship, we were assigned our cabin and we were taken there.
A note about cruise ships:  The deck plans on these ocean liners are pretty
much the same.  In order to orient ourselves, we asked what side of the ship
our cabin was on, either port (left) or starboard (right).  Most of the
ships have Braille signage which is wonderful, and as we walked down various
stairways to get from one deck to another, there were even Braille numbers
at the bottoms of the rails to indicate the number of the deck.  We used the
stairs so often that more likely than not, we counted as we were going
along.  There are also three significant areas we pay attention to, and
these are forward, midship (or central), and the back.  Now, if our cabin
was in the forward part of the ship, but we needed to go to the dining room
in the midship a few decks up, we would walk toward the midship area and
take the steps up.  Or, if we had to go to a much higher deck, we would take
the elevator.  On the other hand, for example, the gym was toward the rear
of the ship, so I would walk on my cabin deck to the rear, then take the
elevator, as the gym was always on a much higher deck.

There is generally a wonderful buffet area and we had plenty of help getting
our food.  The staff was most accommodating and they would give us a rundown
of all the food stations.  Talk about making decisions?  Figgettaboutit!  It
was very difficult.  Also, through our orientation, we learned where a lot
of the different shops were, and we ambled in and out of them, asking what
they sold in each.  You know how women are when it comes to shopping!  We
could easily annihilate the stores leaving them with almost nothing!

All the tours were wonderful.  In Split, Croatia, we toured the walled-in
city and later we were treated to a sumptuous lunch cooked over an open fire
outdoors in the countryside.  In Greece, we toured the Acropolis, walking
all the way to the top.  At first, the tour guide was hesitant about us
going to the top, but we assured him that we were both in good shape and he
was okay with that.  We toured Corfu, which was a small island, Mikonos,
which was considered a party island, and Katakalon which was where the first
Olympics were held in 700 B.C.

On board ship there is plenty to do.  We had parts of the daily schedule
read to us, and the staff in the purser’s office were very pleased to read
it.  I had my little digital recorder with me and would record the items we
were both interested in.  The purser’s office, by the way, is where people
could exchange money, and where we had to fill out those almighty customs
forms at the end of the cruise.  At times, though, Vicki and I would
separate and participate in different activities.  There’s everything from
Bingo to line dancing, and there was much music going on everywhere, day and
night.  We’d go into the cocktail lounges and ask the bartender what the
drink of the day was.  Gosh!  He probably thought we were lushes!  Both of
us were really great in the “Name that Tune” trivia and, in fact, we won
first prize.  We would go and nab different people, asking them if they
would like to be on our team, and they were more than happy to oblige.
Besides, it was a way to con them into writing our selections down.  We know
all the tricks of the trade!

Before we knew it, the cruise came to an end all too quickly, and we
reflected on the wonderful week we had on the flight home.  Luckily we had a
straight-through flight from Venice to New York, and then Vicki and I went
our separate ways.

In closing, I know that we all grumble and moan about sighted people’s
feeling that we’re brave and amazing, but on the other hand, we’re changing
their attitudes about blindness by giving them a positive picture, noting
that we’re just like they are even though we accomplish our goals
differently in all facets of our lives.  On this particular cruise, we met
people from around the world and we, too, certainly broke down the
attitudinal barriers for them.  We were proof that blind people could travel
by ourselves and enjoy what this wonderful world has to offer us.  My
advice?  Try it, you’ll like it!

 

 

Guide Dogs and the ADA

The following is excerpted from a paper by the New England ADA (American’s
with Disabilities Act) Center, regarding recently revised ADA laws as they
pertain to service animals.

 

A service animal is any dog that is individually trained to do work or
perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability, including
a physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, or other mental disability.
Other species of animals, whether wild or domestic, trained or untrained,
are not considered to be service animals.

A public entity or private business shall make reasonable modifications in
policies, practices, or procedures to permit the use of a miniature horse as
a service animal by an individual with a disability if the miniature horse
has been individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of
the individual with a disability subject to an assessment of the type, size,
and weight of the miniature horse and whether the facility can accommodate
these features.

Individuals with disabilities shall be permitted to be accompanied by their
service animals in all areas of public facilities and private businesses
where members of the public, program participants, clients, customers,
patrons, or invitees are allowed to go. If a service animal’s presence in a
specific facility compromises legitimate safety requirements that are
necessary for safe operation, they can be excluded from the facility (e.g.,
from a surgery or intensive care unit in a hospital in which a sterile field
is required.) A public entity or a private business may ask an individual
with a disability to remove a service animal from the premises if the animal
is not housebroken or if the animal is out of control and the handler does
not take effective action to control it. 

          These provisions related to service animals apply only to entities
covered by the ADA. The Fair Housing Act covers service animal provisions
for residential housing situations and the Air Carrier Access Act covers
service animal provisions for airline travel. The definition of a service
animal under each of these laws is different than the definition under the
ADA.

For further questions, please contact: New England ADA Center

200 Portland Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02114; 1-800-949-4232

 

 

Blindfolded


By Reid Fleming


 

You know what I hate? Granted, hate might be too strong a word, and my
mother did warn me dozens of times never to use it, but ‘dislike’ or ‘find
irritating’ or ‘have an aversion to’ just aren’t powerful enough to convey
how I feel about the following situation. You are at a place, and the time
is perfect for a teaching opportunity. Maybe it’s talking to a group of
fourth graders, or a troop of boy scouts, or as happened with me recently,
waiting to testify before the Appropriations Committee of the state’s
General Assembly. A well-meaning blind person uses this opportunity to
influence the public by saying something like—I challenge you to wear a
blindfold for 24 hours. Go ahead—I dare you. Put yourselves in our shoes and
see what it’s like to be blind, the challenges we face every single day, and
so on. 

          We’ve all heard it done, maybe even done it ourselves. The speaker
wants the listeners to appreciate what their life is like, to simulate
blindness even if only for a few minutes, and gain the listener’s sympathy.
And it drives me nuts. Because while you may get their sympathy, what you
are really going for, either consciously or subconsciously, is their pity.
It is painfully revealing about the speakers attitude and acceptance of
their vision loss. Whenever I hear the “wear a blindfold” speech, I think to
myself—there’s a person that’s really saying, “Poor, pitiful, blind me. Feel
sorry for me.”

My reaction at this point is two-fold. First and foremost, it’s a lie. Of
course putting on a blindfold will make life difficult for a sighted person,
just like taking away any sense would. But it’s not a realistic portrayal of
blindness. Very few people are struck instantly blind, and even when it
happens, they can change their life paradigm and learn the skills that all
successful blind people have. They can learn how to travel independently
with a cane, to read Braille, to use technology, to do all the things they
used to do but in new ways. Obviously that doesn’t happen within the first
24 hours—it takes time, practice and persistence. 

The truth is, blindness is not a tragedy, and no pity is required or even
desired. I know I sound like a broken record at times (do people even know
what those are anymore? Maybe I should say a CD with a dust particle on it)
but I know that with proper training, a positive attitude, and equal
opportunity, nothing can get in the way of what a blind person can achieve.


Which brings me to the second reason I cringe when somebody talks about a
blindfold. It is always done as a teaching tool, at what I think of as a
learning moment, when the speaker has that rare opportunity to change the
misconceptions held by the sighted public. When they could be saying that
blind people can do anything, that we know blind doctors and lawyers and
artists and computer programmers and teachers and trainers and scientists
and writers, that blind people travel independently all over the world, have
families, do volunteer work and contribute to their communities—they choose
instead to say “It’s so-o-o hard being blind. Pity me.”

There are two major obstacles which face every blind person. The first is
themselves—their attitude, their life philosophy, their determination and
belief in what they can accomplish. The second is the sighted public who
hasn’t had positive interactions with a blind person before, and holds the
common misconceptions that to be blind is equivalent to being completely
helpless, lost, less capable than a child. Pitiful.

The first obstacle is best addressed by spending time with capable,
competent blind people like those in the NFB. Learn from the things they say
and do, and push yourself to reach further. With each success, you will gain
confidence and start to believe.

Changing society’s misconceptions is far more daunting. The only way to
accomplish this is to take advantage of those teaching moments when they
come your way. Throw away that useless blindfold and reach out with your
cane. Put out your hand proudly and teach the truth about blindness. Make
the listener rethink everything that movies and books and cartoons and
comedians have impressed on them regarding blind people. Only then can we
affect the change we want in the world.     

 

 

Invocation

Editor’s note: Kara Euvino is a member of the Central Connecticut Chapter of
the NFB of CT, and the president of Braille Tees (
<http://www.BrailleTees.com> www.BrailleTees.com). She gave the following
invocation to the Chesire Lions Club annual dinner dance in May 2011.

 

I met a man who would not see.

His eyes were fine –he looked at me,

and said he did not understand

my need to help my fellow man.

 

He said “You must be out of your mind,

the time you spend to help the blind.

Why put yourself through that abuse?

You cannot cure them.  What’s the use?”

 

I told him of the work we do.

I spoke of Yale, and UCONN too.

I spoke about low vision care,

and the fellowship that Lions share.

 

“I guess,” he said, “You have the need

to waste your time and do good deeds.

I do not have the time at all,

my business grows.  My kids are small.”

 

We said goodbye and I felt blue,

but in my heart of hearts I knew.

He would grow old.  His sight would fade.

And someday soon, he’d need my aid.

 

And so, my friends, we gather here,

to raise a glass, to toast, to cheer.

And know that all of us agree,

there’s none so blind as will not see.

 

 

 

I got an iPhone

By Ann Chiappetta

 

I finally went to the Verizon store and bought an iPhone. I was afraid, you
know, sweaty palms, the tight knot of anticipation, etc.  Until this point,
I’d never even attempted to text, let alone purchase a smart phone. Now I
was trading in a tactile keypad for a touch screen and was a bit
apprehensive, to say the least.  Once I instructed the sales girl how to
turn on the voice over accessibility, however, and held it, all the doubts
blew out the window and into the slipstream.  I felt like the Looney Tunes
character Duck Dodgers in the 24th and ½ Century.

All kidding aside, though, it often feels like a fantasy. I doubted the
digital gadget, thought it was overrated.  Then I did some serious research
and when a friend showed me how it sounded, felt, and worked, I took the
plunge, even though I’m paying $50 more per month for my iPhone contract. 

So, with the help of very patient friends and a wonderful user’s guide
called, Getting to Know the iPhone, available  on digital download from the
National Braille Press, I've learned how to flick, tap, split-tap, triple
flick, scroll, four finger flick, scrub, and touch type while interpreting
the clicks, boings, doinks, gurgles, and chimes accompanying each new
gesture.  I think I want to name my new phone R2D2.  I still have trouble
with the two finger wheelie thing called a router that brings up editing and
typing options. 

As for the virtual keypad, I’m good at touch typing and improve every time I
do it, however, I’m not satisfied with how slow the editing process is when
making an error.  Correcting a mistake is time consuming, as it involves the
two finger wheelie router thing and flicking that is disorienting for me. I
am going to invest in a Bluetooth keyboard so I don’t frustrate myself.  My
hope is that once I acclimate, learn to operate the apps, I can leave the
note taker at home and carry two slim, intuitive, and totally awesome pieces
of equipment, which will lighten the weight of my purse and thereby save my
back and shoulders from carrying around the blind person’s miscellany.  I
could even graduate to a smaller purse, thus making the necessary trip to
the shopping mall to purchase a new one.  I could even buy more than one
purse, don’t you think? Onward, space rangers!

 

 

March Madness for the Blind

Editor’s Note: Each year McGee Middle School in Berlin, Connecticut, has a
March Maddness fundraising event. Students can submit letters recommending
non-profit organizations who should receive the raised funds. One of the
winners this year was Carolyn Stickel, a seventh grader. Here is her letter.

I wake up in a hospital bed.  Everyone inches up towards me.  Something is
not right.  My vision, it seems so much smaller. Something’s covering my
left eye.  I go to feel it.  Nothing is there, just my eye.   “Why can’t I
see my hand in front of my eye, mommy?”

“Oh, baby girl,” my mom says as her eyes start to glisten with tears.  

Dear March Madness Committee,

What if the world just appeared black to you?  What if you never knew what
your own mother and father looked like?  For over 1.3 million people in the
United States, this is the case.  The charity I chose this year is the
National Federation of the Blind, or NFB.  I decided to pick this charity
because I know what it feels like to be blind.  Also, I think it is
important to make people aware of the hardships people must face when they
are blind.  This is my story.

Friday, July 7, 2006.  For most people just an ordinary day. For me, for my
family, a moment of faith. A moment of hope.  This was the day I woke up
from a bike accident that could have left me dead.  That ordinary summer
day, that ordinary bike ride.  One little decision changed everything.  My
family didn’t know if I would ever even open my left eye, and if I would
even remember who I was.  Then I wake up.  At first, I am confused, but then
I realize I’m in a Hospital.  My family-mom, dad, uncle, aunt, grandpa,
grandma,-from far and near, sat there waiting for me to speak.  Honestly, I
didn’t know what to say, I didn’t even know why I was in a hospital, why all
these needles were in me.  “What happened, why am I here, mommy?”

““You, you, you got into a very bad bike accident,” my mom forced herself to
stutter out.

“But when, why, how?”

“Sh, sh, shhhhh, close your eyes dear,” she goes to stroke my hair.  Then I
realize there is no hair there. I start to become frantic, and everyone
could tell- I could see the worry in their eyes.  “The doctor said you need
to rest.  Hopefully this will all come back to you later.” 

My eyes flutter and I go back to sleep.

Later I found out all that had happened.  My mother told me.  My sister told
me.  My father told me.  Everyone who knew what happened had told me.  I
never even remembered a glimpse of what had taken place on that bike ride
that horrific day.  What I question even more than what happened is why I
did it.  Was it just because I was young, or was I just trying to be brave?
Why would I cause my family all that pain and grief?  Why was I left
completely blind in my left eye?  I know I should not blame myself, though.
Things happen.  Do they happen for a reason?  Was God trying to tell me
something?  I will wonder for the rest of my life the cause for that day.

At first, this charity never came into my mind.  No charity that had
anything to do with being blind came into my mind.  You’re probably
thinking, “If she can’t even see in her left eye, wouldn’t a charity
associating with the blind be the first thing that pops into her head?”
Well, to be honest, I can’t tell.  Most of the time, I never even realize I
am blind in one of my eyes.  It is just natural to me to only see half of my
vision.  In other words, you seeing in both eyes is like me seeing in both
eyes, except I can only really see in one.  It’s not like I can only see
half of something.  I can see the whole picture, just not beyond that.  As
you can see, though, I can definitely relate to the National Federation of
the Blind.  I feel it is important that you know about this charity and what
it does.  The National Federation of the Blind is the largest organization
of the blind in America. They are devoted to making sure the blind are
treated just as equal as anyone else.  They try to show the blind they are
still talented, and they can still get a quality education.  They also try
to remove prejudice other people might give them, and for over 50,000 blind
people, they have made this possible, I really believe this is the perfect
charity to donate 500 dollars to.  I one-hundred percent agree with all of
their statements.  Some people in this century just don’t realize that even
if you are different on the outside, you are just as capable as anyone else.
People are always concerned with what they wear, how they talk, how they
look. As Helen Keller once said, “If I, deaf, blind, find life rich and
interesting, how much more can you gain by the use of your five senses!"
You don’t need to see to be normal, or interesting.  In some way, being
blind might be better.  Imagine if everyone in the world was blind.  There
would be no judging.  There would be no discrimination.  There would be no
tears of shame.

Lastly, I would like to inform you on how being blind really affects me.  In
the beginning, when I first dealt with being blind in one eye, it was hard.
At first, I always had my head tilted to the left. I did not realize that my
head wasn’t straight because not seeing on that side; I thought my head was
straight when it was tilted that way.  Also, I constantly would bang into
things on my left side.  It took a very long time, maybe two months to
really get used to it.  For awhile it felt like someone was covering my left
eye.  When I finally adjusted and started focusing on other things in my
life, though, I completely forgot about my vision problem.  On the other
hand, I was constantly reminded of it because all my friends, even people I
barely knew, asked me to cover my right eye and ask me if I could see
anything.  Sometimes people would ask me to cover my right eye.  Then they
would pretend to punch me right in front of my left eye and see if it
twitched.  (It never did.)  Deep inside I was a little embarrassed and
uncomfortable with this.  I didn’t see what the big deal was with being
blind in one eye.  It’s not like I changed as a person at all.  I still was
“me”. 

Hopefully now you can see that choosing the National Federation of the Blind
is the right choice to donate the 500 dollars to.  Your donation can help
thousands of blind people succeed in getting an education and can make them
feel confident inside.  I believe that it is truly necessary for everyone,
blind or not blind, to be treated equally.  I will always be determined to
make a difference in the world and this is my opportunity.  Thank you for
your time reading my letter.  Hopefully you find the light of inspiration in
this organization as I have.

Sincerely,

 
Carolyn Stickel

 

 

Shirley Lebowitz

By Betty Woodward

 

          Our dear friend and colleague, Shirley Lebowitz, passed away on
June 15, 2011. I first met Shirley when I joined the National Federation of
the Blind of Connecticut in 1971. At that time she was already a member!

          Shirley ws in the U.S. Cadet nurses Corps, a graduate of New
Britain General Hospital School of Nursing and we knew he best for her
faithful affiliation with the National Federation of the Blind. Shirley had
served on the Board of Directors of the NFB sometime during Dr. Jernigan’s
presidency. She was also instrumental in the organization of the Greater
Hartford chapter of the NFB of CT. She also served on the Board of Directors
of the Board of Education and Services for the Blind.

          Shirley was a member of the Jewish Women’s Veterans Auxiliary as
well as a member of Temple Sinai in Newington.

          For several years, Shirley struggled with ill health but in the
past few years she was able to attend chapter meetings. Her joy and
enthusiasm captured us all. East month she called each member of the chapter
to remind us of our meetings. How we will miss this dear lady.

 

Below is a letter that Joyce Lebowitz Sturm, Shirley’s daughter, sent to the
National Federation of the Blind of CT:

          Dear Friends of the NFB of CT,

          As you know, my Mom, Shirley Lebowitz, passed away on June 15. NFB
opened up a whole new world to Mom in the area of advocacy for the blind. In
the late 1960s she began making strides on the fight for equality of the
blind. The CT affiliate was reorganized in 1971 and by 1972 Mom joined the
National Board. Mom was a great teacher to many – including me! Little could
I know in the 1970s that the visits to Congressmen, the re-organization
trips to other states and the hearings at the CT Capitol would have prepared
me 15 years later as an advocate for my own special needs sons


          Mom always believed in the good work NFB does and we want her
legacy to continue.

 

 

Gone Fishing

By Chris Kuell

 

In 1961 my parents paid the astronomical price of $9,000 for a summer
cottage deep in the woods of Maine. Camp, as we called it, had two bedrooms,
an indoor toilet and sink but no shower or bath, and sat next to a small
lake. This was where my siblings and I spent a portion of every summer
growing up. No phone, no television, and only one station came in on the
radio, WBZ from Boston, which is how I fell in love with the Red Sox. 

While my parents escaped from the rat race, we kids spent our days roaming
the woods, making slingshots and trying in vain to hunt chipmunks.  We’d
swim, cut and split firewood, and oftentimes just curl up with a good book.

When my older brother and I were big enough to be trusted, my Dad got us
Zebco 202’s and taught us to fish. As we grew and needed my Dad less and
less to untangle our lines, we mapped the best fishing spots around the
perimeter of the lake. The summer I turned fifteen, Mr. Seeley, who owned
the camp a few down from us, gave us his wooden, motor-less boat, which we
aptly named the Titanic. If one of us rowed and the other bailed vigorously,
we could make it across the lake without sinking.

The Titanic opened up new fishing venues to us. Across the lake from us was
a spot where the perch would almost jump on your hook. To the left was
pickerel point, a weedy patch where the long, whippish fish like to lurk. At
dusk the bass liked to feed, and one evening after a rainstorm I caught what
I thought must be the biggest fish in the lake, a sixteen-and-a-half inch
large-mouth bass that established me as the best angler in history
 at least
until my brother David caught a seventeen incher two weeks later. He cut a
plank of pine board the exact size of his fish, creating a plaque detailing
the historic catch that hung on the wall of the camp until my parents sold
it just a few years ago.       

In college I would excuse myself to practice my casting every time I visited
my folks at the camp. Each of the five years I lived in Vermont, I would
enter the Lake Champlain Fishing Derby, hoping to finally land a
prize-winning fish, yet always came up short. Even the year I netted a
pike—a fish story I’ll save for another day— wasn’t big enough to win me a
trophy or a mention in the local newspaper.

After college, with a new job and working on the old house my wife and I had
purchased, there wasn’t much time for fishing. The summer my son turned four
we visited friends in upstate New York and got him his own Zebco 202. I got
to experience the same wonder my Dad once had--how the hell did you get your
line wound up in a tree, under a rock, around the dock and then stuck in
your shirt? The joy on his face made up for the lack of time I had to do
some fishing of my own. And by the following summer, I was blind.

My son grew to be quite the fisherman. One day at my parent’s camp he caught
over 100 inches of fish. I kept him company, chatting and going to get him a
sandwich so he could keep casting, but I had no desire to throw in my own
line. Like many of the things I’d done when I was sighted, fishing had lost
its allure. I satisfied myself by listening to his excitement and feeling
the size of some of the whoppers he caught.

In the spring of 2009, my friend Allan Golabek, who is also blind, told me
about a fishing tournament he’d heard about. Hosted by the Berlin Lions
Club, it was exclusively for people who were visually impaired. According to
Al, the Lions supplied the poles, the bait, fed you lunch—all you had to do
was show up. Unfortunately, I took a bad fall, fractured several bones in my
foot, was stuck in a cast for nearly seven months and missed the derby.

The following year I got another call from Allan. “C’mon, Homer—we going
fishing?”

The 2010 Lions VIP Fishing Derby was on a beautiful, sunny day at Sage Park
Pond in Berlin, Connecticut. I caught three trout and a bluegill, more fish
than I’d caught in over a decade, but it was only enough to land me fourth
place. The first three places got a free trip to the Outer Banks for the
National Derby, which is the story of my life. In August, Bob Christensen,
the Lion who ran the CT Derby, called to say the first place winner couldn’t
go to North Carolina, and would I like to go? I jumped on the opportunity,
but my mother-in-law was in the last weeks of her battle with pancreatic
cancer and I couldn’t go. 

Fast forward to April 17, 2011. We’d had two inches of rain the previous
night, and people said the pond was muddy and dark. A little before 9:00 we
grabbed our poles and bait, spread out around the edge of the pond and
waited. And waited. About ten minutes went by, I was expecting a whistle or
a horn or something when one of the sighted folks asked, “Why aren’t you
fishing?”

Fifteen minutes later I caught the first fish of the day, a feisty, eleven
inch rainbow trout. An hour later I caught another, this one 11 ½ inches.
Allan, who was on my left, hadn’t had a bite. Alex, on my right, caught one,
but it flopped off the hook just as he pulled it from the water. Across the
pond I heard one or two happy shouts, but the mosquitoes seemed to be biting
more than the fish.     

Around 11:00, I snagged something and slowly reeled my line in, only to find
I’d hooked a long-submerged bucket. Bill Gaughan of Plainville had moved
over to Allan’s left, and in quick succession reeled in two good sized
trout. Allan got a 15 incher, which turned out to be the biggest fish of the
day. Twenty minutes later I caught another trout, almost twelve inches. 

After poles had been turned in and we’d feasted on burgers, hot dogs and
fresh trout, it was time for awards. Turns out my three fish were enough to
land me a huge, first place trophy—and a trip to North Carolina this Fall.
As people shook my hand and congratulated me, I remembered that
seventeen-inch plaque hanging on the camp wall for nearly thirty years. I
smiled, thinking of the picture of me with this big trophy I’m going to give
my brother David for Christmas this year.

To learn more about the Lions VIP Fishing Derby, contact Bob Christensen at
860-680-7227 or  <mailto:rachriste1 at cs.com> rachriste1 at cs.com

 


 


Human brain's 'bat sight' found


>From BBC News, Health, May 26, 2011

The part of the brain used by people who can "see like a bat" has been
identified by researchers in Canada. Some blind people have learned to
echolocate by making clicking noises and listening to the returning echoes.

A study of two such people,
<http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0020162> published in PLoS ONE,
showed a part of the brain usually associated with sight was activated when
listening to echoes. Action for Blind People said further research could
improve the way the technique is taught.

Bats and dolphins bounce sound waves off their surroundings and by listening
to the echoes can "see" the world around them.  “They use echolocation in a
way that seems uncannily similar to vision” End Quote Dr Lore Thaler
University of Western Ontario 

Some blind humans have also trained themselves to do this, allowing them to
explore cities, cycle and play sports. Researchers looked at two patients
who use echolocation every day. EB, aged 43, was blinded at age 13 months.
LB, 27, had been blind since age 14. They were recorded echolocating, while
microphones were attached to their ears. The recordings were then played
while their brain activity was being recorded in an fMRI machine. Increased
activity in the calcarine cortex was discovered.

Dr Lore Thaler, from the University of Western Ontario, said: "This suggests
that visual brain areas play an important role for echolocation in blind
people." The study looked at only two people so cannot say for certain what
happens in the brains of all people who learn the technique, but the study
concludes: "EB and LB use echolocation in a way that seems uncannily similar
to vision."

Susie Roberts, rehabilitation officer at Action for Blind People, said:
"This research into brain activity and echolocation is very interesting and
improves our understanding of how some visually impaired people may be
processing information to help them navigate safely. "Further investigation
may help to improve the way the technique is taught to people in the future,
potentially improving their mobility and independence."

 

 

Regal Theatres Embrace Audio Description

 

In May of last year a Federal judge ruled that all theaters must be
accessible to the blind and hard of hearing, in accordance with guidelines
prescribed in the Americans with Disability Act (ADA). What this means for
movie theaters is they have to install special equipment that will offer the
deaf captioning, and the blind descriptive audio when available. More
studios are including descriptive audio and captioning in their films, and
now one of the largest theater chains in the country plans to equip all of
itstheaters by the end of 2012. Regal Cinemas has 535 theaters across the
country, which means that soon seeing a movie with descriptive audio in your
area will be much more likely.

According to a recent press release, "Regal was the first to provide a
comprehensive website, advertised show times, theatre manager training
program, and free screenings to deaf and hard of hearing children. Our
intentions are to offer captioning and descriptive video for every film that
comes with such content, at all show times, at every theatre equipped and to
be equipped with digital cinema systems over the next 12 to 18 months."
Customers can already view a list of movie show times for films that have
captioning or descriptive video by visiting: 
 <http://www.REGmovies.com/nowshowing/opencaptionedshowtimes.aspx>
http://www.REGmovies.com/nowshowing/opencaptionedshowtimes.aspx

Regal has five theatres in Connecticut—Branford, Stonington, Stratford,
Waterbury and Waterford. 

 

 

The Productivity Fallacy: 

Why people are worth more than just how fast their hands move
by Michael Callahan

 

When Congress passed the sub-minimum wage components of the Fair Labor
Standards Act (FLSA) of 1938 [Section 14 (c)], it is clear the intention was
to assure that workers who were not able to meet employer productivity
standards, because of the impact of disability on work performance, would
not be excluded from earning a wage. Unfortunately, the consequences of this
well-intended legislation have been more negative than positive in the 71
years since its passage. From its onset, the provision was based on an
outmoded concept that the FLSA sought to replace - reliance on an absolute
connection between pay and productivity. In the years prior to the FLSA,
employers were free to connect pay and productivity in a way that too often
placed productivity targets outside the reach of even the most ardent
efforts by workers. Theoretically, one could make a decent wage if one's
production was high enough, but workers wore themselves out trying to meet
impossibly high standards. Congress sought to remedy this through the FLSA
by establishing a minimum wage for most workers. Of course employers could
still set production standards and even offer incentives for increased
productivity but, at the end of the day, employees could expect to receive
at least the minimum wage for their hours worked.

But what happens when disability affects productivity? Congress chose to use
a strategy common in the Industrial Revolution to address this issue - to
pay workers only what they produced. On one hand, Section 14 (c) might have
resulted in the integration of hundreds of thousands of workers with
disabilities making less than minimum wage working alongside workers earning
full minimum or commensurate wage. This outcome would be less than
acceptable, but at least those workers would be integrated in typical
workplaces. But instead of the impact being individually focused, the
sub-minimum wage provisions of FLSA have resulted in the development and
growth of a "separate but equal" industry of alternative employers whose
business it is to employ individuals with disabilities and to use Section
14(c) as the centerpiece of their business model. Today 95% of all
sub-minimum wage certificates are held by human service organizations. By
their own admission, the only way these organizations can remain viable is
to link pay with worker productivity. Both sides agree that there are
individuals who, as a result of the significance of their disability, will
not meet productivity standards regardless of training, matching or
assistive technology. But how can those individuals ever expect to earn at
least the minimum wage and to work in regular community workplaces if the
only indicator of contribution is the speed of their productivity?

At least one answer to this dilemma is to confront the presumption that pay
and productivity are inextricably linked. While it is important to say that
productivity is of critical importance to business and that every reasonable
effort should be made to assist individuals with significant disabilities to
enhance their productivity, there is an alternative construction to resolve
this dilemma -- that of contribution. The concept of contribution offers a
richer and broader perspective to solve the equation of employee pay than a
sole reliance on productivity. Of course one aspect of employee contribution
is productivity, but it is of critical importance to understand that
employers do not use the productivity yardstick to gauge all facets of
employee contribution in typical workplaces. Indeed, many tasks performed in
the workplace are simply accomplished episodically, once a week, every other
day, or once or twice a day. Yet others are performed in a manner that
counting productivity is neither economically or logistically feasible. What
matters most in those cases is that the task gets done and gets done
correctly.

The concept of pay for productivity used by Congress for sub-minimum wage is
based on the strictest interpretation of employer expectations. Employers
always expect, rhetorically at least, high productivity from employees and
compensate them at a reasonable rate less than the value of the
productivity. It is true that unless the value of the employees'
productivity exceeds pay offered, a for-profit entity cannot stay in
business for long. Even non-profit and governmental entities must strike a
balance, theoretically, between pay and productivity to remain viable and
successful. The traditional formula has been that employee pay must be equal
to or less than the employer's productivity demands. However, this tight
formulization does not take into consideration that, beyond the demand for
productivity, businesses have needs. The concept of adding value by meeting
business needs allows for a focus on those aspects of a business that bring
added value to the workplace. When the value equation shifts from meeting
demands to meeting needs, pay at or above the minimum wage becomes possible.

The most common way to add value to a business, beyond typical productivity,
is to meet unmet needs. The concept of unmet needs refers to a host of
workplace tasks that need to be performed, theoretically at least, but that,
in actuality, are not being performed. By targeting unmet business needs as
an organizing concept, individuals with disabilities who have specific
contributions to offer can move beyond the demands associated with
productivity standards. Since 2001, the Office of Disability Employment
Policy (ODEP) of the US Department of Labor has been promoting this strategy
through its initiative on Customized Employment. Through a series of nearly
40 multi-year implementation projects, the Customized Employment (CE)
Initiative has set pay of at least the minimum wage as the threshold for a
successful job. This initiative has shown that the contribution of meeting
an unmet need is valued differently by many employers than that of the
original task that was not performed. In other words, CE provides a strategy
to broaden the pay for productivity equation to an enhanced, pay for
contribution equation.

Beyond addressing unmet needs, customized employment allows for additional
strategies to unbundle the demand of employers. For instance, many employers
assign episodic duties to highly paid employees that could easily be
performed by workers at a much lower (though at or above minimum wage) pay
grade. It has been demonstrated clearly from the days of Marc Gold's
ground-breaking research to the present-day examples of individuals in
customized, supported employment that individuals with even the most
significant disabilities have discrete contributions to offer to employers
if the demand of pre-set productivity standards is not present. Gold found
it was possible to teach virtually any individual, regardless of severity of
intellectual disability, to perform tasks in a quality manner. This finding
fits perfectly with the concept of customized employment that allows a
business-friendly strategy to remove the barrier of productivity.

Another perspective regarding the presumed need for sub-minimum wage pay is
that individual performance is neither a static nor a general concept. A
colleague from the University of Massachusetts, John Butterworth, notes the
following: The regulations regarding sub-minimum wage clearly indicate that
it is intended to be contextual in nature, and that even if an individual is
paid sub-minimum wage for a particular type of job at a particular time
there should be no assumption that the individual is incapable of earning
minimum wage or higher in a different position, or in the same position,
with the benefit of experience. In practice, it appears that the contextual
nature of sub-minimum wage has often been ignored. Anecdotal evidence and
observation indicate that when an individual is incapable of working at a
rate to meet the requirements of the prevailing wage for a certain position,
this is often used as evidence by service providers that the individual is
incapable of working in the community at minimum wage or higher.

It is estimated that approximately 425,000 individuals with significant
disabilities are in services that use sub-minimum wage as the basis of pay
in the USA. For the first time in the history of the disability field,
concerted efforts are being made to remove Section 14 (c) from the FLSA.
Conversely, those who favor its continued use are stating their case. What
seems to be occurring is less of a debate around sub-minimum wage payments
than focusing on the continued existence of the industry of organizations
that use Section 14 (c) as an essential ingredient of their viability. It
has been suggested that the payment of sub-minimum wages is somehow
connected to the national value that, disability is a natural part of the
human experience, as stated in the Americans with Disabilities Act. How can
the case be made that disability is being treated as a natural part of our
human experience when people with disabilities are virtually the only
segment of society for whom it is legal to pay sub-minimum wages? In fact,
this beautifully stated national value seems to argue strongly for the
removal, not the continuation, of sub-minimum wage.

At this point, only the most traditionally devalued segments of our society
are allowed to receive less than minimum wage. This is especially critical
in that in recent years there has been an increasing focus on the concept of
asset development and access to a living wage for persons with disabilities.
How can persons with significant disabilities ever be expected to build
assets and earn a living wage if they must start in the hole created by
sub-minimum wage? In the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Congress
provided that "the Nation's proper goals regarding individuals with
disabilities are to assure equality of opportunity, full participation,
independent living, and economic self-sufficiency for such individuals."
Equality of opportunity to earn a living wage that results in economic
self-sufficiency is only possible for all Americans if they are guaranteed
access to at least the minimum wage as payment for their work.

Another argument by those in favor of continuing Section 14(c) is that of
personal choice - persons with disabilities should have the right to choose
to be employed in services that typically pay less than the minimum wage.
However, if disability is to ever be seen as an aspect of life potentially
associated with all citizens, not just an aberration associated with a small
portion of society, personal choice should be over-ridden as it is for all
citizens on the issue of pay. Job seekers without disabilities do not have
the choice to apply for a job for pay of less than the minimum wage.  There
seems to be a legitimate concern voiced by the organizations that use 14(c)
as the primary basis of employee pay that its removal from FLSA would be
negative, resulting in the loss of sheltered employment for many of the
425,000 individuals who are paid sub-minimum wages. This concern seems to be
linked with the observation that the access to employment at regular wages
offered by Customized Employment are relatively new and not widely accepted
and understood by traditional providers of competitive employment services.
Both of these points should signal a cautious and measured approach to any
effort to remove 14 (c) from FLSA. However, these concerns should provide
the framework for a long term plan to gradually reduce the use of 14(c) as
more and more individuals receive regular (possibly customized) jobs in the
community rather than a rationale to keep this outmoded concept.

As the arguments pro and con emerge regarding sub-minimum wage payments it
seems of fundamental importance to separate the issues of pay and
programmatic services. It is the position of this paper that the value of
the contributions made by individuals with disabilities to employers goes
far beyond how fast their hands and bodies move. By focusing on employer
needs, it is possible to achieve pay at or above minimum standards for all
people. The fact that thousands of sheltered workshops depend on sub-minimum
wage payments is a different issue. While no one wants tens of thousands of
individuals to be dumped back into non-activity, sitting at home (or worse),
this doesn't have to happen. Providers of sheltered employment could embrace
these new concepts and partner in a plan to gradually reduce reliance on
14(c) as they increase customized, supported employment outcomes or, if
locally desired, to recast their business model based on a minimum wage
threshold for payments to individuals who choose a sheltered form of
employment.

At the end of the day, it all boils down to a decision as to how we wish to
view the issue of disability and life. Do we see people with disabilities,
including all people with the most significant disabilities, as co-workers,
neighbors, friends, citizens and contributors in the regular sense, with
support and accommodation as necessary, or do we see them in a special sense
as individuals who are not expected to join society fully, living lives
apart and different from the rest of us. The positive concept of moving
beyond productivity as the primary indicator of human worth in the workplace
provides a pathway to follow. Contribution can then be the basis of
legitimizing typical pay in typical settings.

 

 

Miscellany and Notes:

 

ITNNorthCentralConnecticut™ is now offering rides 24/7 to seniors and adults
with visual impairments in Bloomfield, East Granby, East Windsor, Enfield,
Granby, Somers, South Windsor, Suffield, Windsor and Windsor Locks.  This
alternative transportation program uses a combination of volunteer and paid
drivers who provide rides in private vehicles.  There is no restriction on
the purpose of a ride, and help is offered to carry packages, fold walkers,
and open doors.

Annual memberships are $40 for an individual and $60 for a household.  Ride
charges during the day are $4 for pickup plus $1 per mile.  Unlike with a
taxi or bus, no money changes hands during the ride because members set up a
Personal Transportation Account™ from which their fares are debited. 

Volunteer drivers receive mileage reimbursement for part of the ride and
transportation credits for the rest. Volunteers can save these credits for
their own future use, transfer them to a loved one, or donate them to the
Road Scholarship Program™ for low-income riders. 

ITNNorthCentralConnecticut™ is a community-supported nonprofit that does not
use public dollars for operating expenses.  The organization needs
additional volunteers to keep the cost of the service affordable. ITN also
accepts car donations, or members may trade their unused cars for an equal
value of ride credits.  Applications for memberships and to become a
volunteer driver are on the website at  <http://www.itnnorthcentralct.org>
www.itnnorthcentralct.org.  For more information, call Margaret Smith Hale
at 860-758-7833 or email  <mailto:info at itnnorthcentralct.org>
info at itnnorthcentralct.org.    

 

 

Noreen Grice, noted author and member of the Central CT Chapter of the NFB,
has a new book out. It’s called “Everyone's Universe: A Guide to Accessible
Astronomy Places.” The book has two parts. The first part is an educator's
guide on how to make the night sky accessible to people through mobility
access, non-visual access, non-hearing access and non-verbal communication
access. The second half of the book is a friendly travel guide to
already-accessible astronomy places such as planetariums and observatories.
The book is available through Amazon in three versions: large print,
ebook(Kindle) and accessible PDF, and the retail price is $19.95 (same price
for either of the versions).

 

 

FREE AUDIO MAGAZINE

Choice Magazine Listening produces a free, bi-monthly, eight hour recorded
magazine of the best written articles, short stories, essays and poetry to
anyone who is blind, visually impaired, physically handicapped or dyslexic.

The materials are chosen by the editors, who read approximately 100
magazines such as National Geographic, Time, The New Yorker, Smithsonian,
Business Week, Discover, Sports Illustrated, Foreign Affairs and more. The
pieces are read, unabridged, by professional narrators who bring each
selection to life.

Choice Magazine Listening is a non-profit organization that has been
providing this free service for almost 50 years. Please call 516-883-8280 or
1-888-724-6423 if you would like to subscribe to their free service.  Their
issues can also be downloaded from the National Library Service website.  

 

Christine Chaikin is a visually impaired individual who has struggled with
the massive amount of information available on the Internet. She has
constructed a website to stockpile relevant data in one spot for the blind
and visually impaired communities. The website is an amalgam of different
information. There is a very useful job links page that is constantly being
updated. Most of these positions are specifically for the blind or visually
impaired. She also has an interview page in which she interview noted blind
or visually impaired individuals. The resource and vendor links are also
very useful tools for those seeking this information. “It is my goal to make
my website a useful tool for my blind and visually impaired peers.”For more
information go to http://www.visuallyimpairedandtheblind.com



AI Squared Releases iPad app:

AI Squared is excited to announce the release of ZoomContacts- an app for
the iPad & iPad 2! ZoomContacts is the perfect "Large Print" contact
application for iPad users who have difficulty seeing the small text on
their screen. ZoomContacts uses Apple's internal Contacts database to store
and manage information but presents it using multiple font size and color
combination choices. This makes it easier on the eyes for anyone who could
use some visual assistance. ZoomContacts is available now in the
<http://aisquared.us1.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=46e107c7813eb905dfd2a69
38&id=484065994a&e=ea22cae865> iTunes App Store for $4.99

 

 

Robert Leslie Newman

President, Omaha Chapter NFB

President, NFB Writers' Division

Division Website

 <http://www.nfb-writers-division.> http://www.nfb-writers-division.net

Chair, Newsletter Publication committee

Personal Website-

 <http://www.thoughtprovoker.info/> http://www.thoughtprovoker.info

 

-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image003.emz
Type: application/octet-stream
Size: 3503 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/nfb-editors_nfbnet.org/attachments/20111211/ce31c458/attachment.obj>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image004.png
Type: image/png
Size: 2585 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/nfb-editors_nfbnet.org/attachments/20111211/ce31c458/attachment.png>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image005.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 2916 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/nfb-editors_nfbnet.org/attachments/20111211/ce31c458/attachment.jpg>