[nfbmi-talk] Blind seek understanding and awareness

[Mary Ann Rojek]

Friday, December 4, 2009
Blind seek understanding and awareness
Marcus Schmidt carries a Braille laptop wherever he goes. Schmidt is the president
of the West Valley Chapter, National Federation of the Blind.
By Carolyn Dryer
An organization that mentors, trains, advocates and provides support for the blind
in research and technology development. Sounds like a lot of work, and it is.
Marcus Schmidt, West Valley Chapter president of National Federation of the Blind
of Arizona, and Allison Hilliker, vice president of the chapter, opened a few eyes
when they spoke to Peoria Rotary Club members last month. Both are college graduates
who have turned what some may describe as a handicap into an asset that helps them
reach out to others and assist them in living successful lives.
The NFB is a consumer advocacy organization, "whose ultimate purpose is to assist
blind and visually impaired people to become productive, independent citizens who
participate fully in their community."
It is the largest organization of blind in the world, numbering 50,000 members. Started
in 1940, it has four chapters in Arizona.
c13629304/creative/peoriatimes.com/news+features+instory/201157-1251807750.jpg?r=http://www.wsmauctioneers.com
Schmidt said there are 1.5 million blind people in the United States, of which 150,000
are totally blind. Among the elderly, macro-glaucoma is the major cause. He said
85 percent of blind children are integrated into the public school system.
Schmidt said he and other blind people are working toward widespread acceptance and
understanding that the real problem is not loss of eyesight, but misconceptions and
lack of information.
NFB, Schmidt said, "brings blind together for imaginative solutions."
"Our purpose is to help blind be successful," Schmidt said, "and enable them to live
lives normally, independently and freely, achieve self-confidence and respect and
act as a vehicle for self-expression.
"And last, but not least, educate the public."
Blind people run into problems not because of their loss of eyesight, Schmidt said,
but because of "attitudinal barriers."
Braille is what he wanted to focus on when he spoke, Schmidt said, because it is
an important tool for the blind. He carries a Braille laptop, but said there is a
"horrible illiteracy rate," and 90 percent of the blind in U.S. schools do not learn
Braille.
Hilliker, who works as a collection development associate for Benetech, had some
sight when she first started attending kindergarten. She was taught with large print
instead of Braille.
"The overall attitude was Braille would be used as a last resort," she said.
Further into school, it became more and more difficult for her to read even the large
print. In third and fourth grade, she could no longer keep up with reading. Her family
lived in Michigan at the time and her parents got involved in a parents group of
NFB.
They went back to school, told the teachers they wanted Allison to be taught in Braille.
"There was so much about literacy I wasn't getting," she said.
NFB officials helped get Braille for her, but by the time middle school rolled around,
she was still behind. She said blind people have fairly equal literary skills if
they learn Braille at age 4 or 5.
By the end of high school, Hilliker's vision was much worse and she could no longer
use print. So, she took an extended Braille class.
She now has a degree from Arizona State University and works for an online library
for the blind accessible. This past summer, she gave a presentation of her undergraduate
research at a National Organization for Women conference.
"Aside from the stigma about Braille, there are not enough teachers or funding,"
Hilliker said.
Schmidt uses Braille extensively. When his wife died recently, his aunt helped him
with labeling items around the house.
The NFB has four main goals for the future, Schmidt said.
1) Increase the number of school-age children reading Braille by 2015.
2) All 50 states pass legislation requiring special education teachers learn and
maintain efficiency in Braille by 2015.
3) Braille resources are made available to children.
4) American public will learn blind people have a right to Braille literacy.
There are ways people with sight can help.
Spread the word, join the NFB in encouraging legislation for teaching Braille, and
financially contribute.
Schmidt was raised in Germany and Austria, where he did all of the normal physical
activities with his family; hiking, skiing. He attended high school in Vienna, and
then moved to the U.S. because the country integrates the blind so well.
He graduated from Northern Arizona University, where he met his wife, and holds a
degree in electrical engineering.
The West Valley Chapter NFB meets the fourth Saturday of every odd-numbered month.
The next meeting is 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. Nov. 28 at Faith Presbyterian Church, 16000
N. Del Webb Blvd., Sun City.
In even-numbered months, the chapter gets together for an activity. Schmidt can be
reached at  602-942-0181  602-942-0181 . More information about the NFB can be obtained
by visiting the national Web site,
www.nfb.org
.
Reach the reporter at  623-847-4604  623-847-4604 .
Copyright © 2009 Peoria Times.
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