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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72" style='word-wrap:break-word'><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal>For your information. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Camille <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><div><div style='border:none;border-top:solid #E1E1E1 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in'><p class=MsoNormal><b>From:</b> NFBF-Leaders <nfbf-leaders-bounces@nfbnet.org> <b>On Behalf Of </b>DENISE VALKEMA via NFBF-Leaders<br><b>Sent:</b> Sunday, October 18, 2020 2:59 PM<br><b>To:</b> NFBF <nfbf-l@nfbnet.org>; NFBF <nfbf-leaders@nfbnet.org><br><b>Cc:</b> DENISE VALKEMA <valkemadenise@aol.com><br><b>Subject:</b> [NFBF-Leaders] Why I Identify as Blind When I Can (Kinda) See | by Lisa Ferris | Medium<o:p></o:p></p></div></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><div><div><p class=MsoNormal>Kimberly shared this with FPOBC on Facebook. I relate. What are your thoughts? <o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>“If you can only read with 20X magnification, you are going to read with incredible effort and incredibly slowly, as compared to the blind people reading braille at 200–300+ wpm. If you are afraid to go out at night because you are night blind, you are going to be more impaired than someone who can use their cane and go anywhere, anytime. If you struggle to find your way around your computer with only 1/9th of the monitor visable (through magnification) you are going to be more strained and tired, and less efficient than blind people who learned to use voice synthesized computer programs. The skills of blindness (basically, non visual methods of doing things) are almost always much more efficient than those that maximize vision, which cause strain, fatigue and can be unreliable. I think most people with some vision use maximizing strategies sometimes, but they gain the most function if they have a full bag of tricks. By not considering those with limited vision as blind, they weren’t considered for blindness skills training. It robbed them of the strategies that would make them almost fully funtional in a sighted world.”<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><p class=MsoNormal><a href="https://medium.com/@lisaferris/why-i-identify-as-blind-when-i-can-kinda-see-2df3f6af5a0c">https://medium.com/@lisaferris/why-i-identify-as-blind-when-i-can-kinda-see-2df3f6af5a0c</a><o:p></o:p></p></div><p class=MsoNormal><br>Together, <o:p></o:p></p><div><p class=MsoNormal>Denise Valkema, President <span style='font-size:13.0pt'>National Federation of the Blind of Florida </span><o:p></o:p></p><div><p class=MsoNormal>(305)972-8529<o:p></o:p></p><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:13.0pt'><a href="mailto:president@nfbflorida.org">president@nfbflorida.org</a></span><o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:13.0pt'><a href="http://www.nfbflorida.org">www.nfbflorida.org</a></span><o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:13.0pt'>Follow us @nfbflorida</span><o:p></o:p></p></div></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:13.0pt'>You can live the life you want.</span><o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>The National Federation of the Blind is a community of members and friends who believe in the hopes and dreams of the nation’s blind. Every day we work together to help blind people live the lives they want.<o:p></o:p></p></div></div></div></body></html>