[Nfbf-l] New York Times article President Riccobono mentioned

[Charlie Richardson]

A well written article and more than a mention.

-----Original Message----- 
From: Denise via Nfbf-l
Sent: Wednesday, March 01, 2017 9:46 PM
To: NFBF ; NFBF
Cc: Denise
Subject: [Nfbf-l] New York Times article President Riccobono mentioned


Aids for Vision Loss, From Those Who’ve Been There

February 27, 2017
Personal Health
By JANE E. BRODY
In letters to The Times, blind readers reacted with heartfelt reassurance 
and practical guidance to Edward Hoagland’s essay, “Feeling My Way Into 
Blindness,” published in November.

Stanley F. Wainapel, clinical director of physical medicine and 
rehabilitation at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx, admitted that 
“adapting to vision loss is a major challenge.” But he disputed Mr. Hoagland’s 
allusion to “enforced passivity,” pointing out that many advances in 
technology — from screen-reading software for computers to portable devices 
that read menus or printed letters “with a delay of only seconds” — can keep 
productivity, creativity and pleasure very much alive for people who can no 
longer see.

Rabbi Michael Levy, president of Yad HaChazakah, the Jewish Disability 
Empowerment Center, also acknowledged that “transition to a world without 
sight is far from easy.” But he insisted, “Blindness does not cut me off 
from the world.” He cited skillful use of a cane, travel devices that tell 
him where he is and what is around him and periodicals available in real 
time by telephone among myriad other gadgets that “see” for him.

Annika Ariel, a blind student double-majoring in English and political 
science at Amherst College, wrote that her problems are not with her 
blindness but rather from people’s attitudes that depict the blind as 
helpless and dependent. She said she travels independently, uses assistive 
technologies to complete her work as efficiently as others who can see, and 
excels academically and socially.

Equally inspiring was the response of Mark Riccobono, president of the 
National Federation of the Blind, who became legally blind at age 5 and lost 
all useful vision to glaucoma at 14.

“I once let blindness make me a passenger in my own life,” he wrote. “That 
changed when I encountered a vast network of other blind people who 
convinced me that blindness did not define me, who taught me nonvisual ways 
to handle everyday and not-so-everyday tasks, and encouraged me to expect 
more of myself.

“I am now a successful blind man married to a blind woman, living a rich, 
full life with her and our three children” while heading a membership 
organization that helps tens of thousands of blind people. He met his wife, 
who was born blind, when they were both students at the University of 
Wisconsin.

Mr. Riccobono, 40, said in an interview that he grew up trying to hide his 
blindness until he met people at the federation who taught him that “it was 
respectable to be blind” and that he could do things as effectively as 
sighted people do.

“I’ve taught many blind people to use a chain saw,” he told me, noting that 
many activities that we assume require vision really don’t. For example, I 
knew a blind professor at Cornell University who continued to build 
exquisite wooden canoes for decades after losing his sight. A blind man who 
lived in my neighborhood volunteered at a hospital, playing piano to 
entertain patients.

A screen-reading computer program called Jaws enables Mr. Riccobono to 
 “read” what’s on the screen, type and send email using synthesized speech. 
With the KNFB Reader app on his smartphone, three clicks on the home button 
turns it into a reading machine that takes pictures of text — a menu, label, 
whatever — and reads it out to you, he said.

He credited his federation with having “built the best news information 
source out there — the NFB Newsline, with access to hundreds of 
publications, breaking news, weather” that delivers information orally by 
telephone, on a mobile phone, on a computer via a screen reader or in 
Braille.

He navigates using a long white cane, which he described as “one of the most 
elegant pieces of technology for blind people. I find things with my cane 
and plunk the image into a mental map of my environment.” He also uses the 
same GPS system available to sighted people.

Mr. Riccobono emphasized the importance of being proactive before a 
progressive disorder destroys vision entirely. Two of his three young 
children have the same condition that rendered him blind, and while they can 
still see, they are learning to read both print and Braille.

He advised me to tell my three friends who have varying stages of 
age-related macular degeneration to start now to learn to use the tools they 
will need when they can no longer see clearly. “It will make their 
adjustment that much easier,” he said.

Of course, preparation is not possible for people who become blind suddenly 
through accident or disease. In a study of nine women blinded during 
military service, researchers from King’s College London reported that they 
struggled at first to adjust to vision loss, experiencing low self-esteem, 
social withdrawal and depression.

The women were initially reluctant to ask others for help and struggled by 
themselves. But over time, although they occasionally felt frustrated, angry 
and depressed, they learned how to “cope with the challenges and limitations 
associated with being visually impaired,” the researchers wrote in The 
Journal of the Royal Army Medical Corps.

The American Council for the Blind has an online list of all manner of 
products that can smooth the way for people with limited or no vision, 
including information on where to buy them. Products range from 
voice-activated television remotes and talking calculators to sewing and 
kitchen aids. There are also products for people with both vision and 
hearing loss.

Equally important is for sighted individuals to know how to interact 
effectively with people who are blind or visually impaired. First and 
foremost, be sure to identify yourself by name (and association, if your 
name may not immediately ring a bell). Don’t assume the person can recognize 
you by your voice.

Don’t channel your remarks through a third person, and speak naturally. Don’t 
restrict your use of words like “see” or “look” when they are a logical 
component of a conversation. And don’t raise your voice, unless the person 
who can’t see also can’t hear well.

Don’t assume. Always ask first if the person needs help, whether that 
involves crossing a street, finding a building or carrying a package. When 
providing directions, be specific, using words like “on the left” or “on the 
next corner.”


Sincerely, Denise Valkema by iPhone
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