<html xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:m="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2004/12/omml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40"><head><meta http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name=Generator content="Microsoft Word 15 (filtered medium)"><style><!--
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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple style='word-wrap:break-word'><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><div style='border:none;border-top:solid #E1E1E1 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in'><p class=MsoNormal><b>From:</b> Penny Rosenblum <prosenblum@afb.org> <br><b>Sent:</b> Thursday, November 5, 2020 11:38 AM<br><b>To:</b> Flatten Inaccessibility <flatten-inaccessibility@afb.org><br><b>Subject:</b> COVID-19’s Impact on Education of Visually Impaired Children: You Can Help<o:p></o:p></p></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p> Hello, I hope that you are well in these challenging times. As an adult with a visual impairment, I thought you might also be interested in our work on behalf of children with visual impairments. I would be very appreciative if you'd share the below information with family members of children with visual impairments, teachers of students with visual impairments, and O&M specialists who work with children. Perhaps you know a family member who doesn't do much or anything online or has little time or a device to use. If you could reach out to that person and support them in completing the survey that would be wonderful. We want to be sure all voices are heard.<o:p></o:p></p><p>Thanks,<o:p></o:p></p><p>Penny<o:p></o:p></p><p><b>L. Penny Rosenblum, Ph.D.</b><br>Director of Research<br>American Foundation for the Blind<br>1401 South Clark Street<br>Suite 730<br>Arlington, VA 22202<br><a href="mailto:prosenblum@afb.org">prosenblum@afb.org</a><o:p></o:p></p><p>Direct Phone: 202-469-6837<o:p></o:p></p><p><a href="http://www.afb.org/">www.afb.org</a><o:p></o:p></p><p> <o:p></o:p></p><p><i>I work at home in Tucson, Arizona which is currently on Mountain time</i>. <o:p></o:p></p><p> <o:p></o:p></p><p><strong><span style='font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Let's Work Together to Ensure Accessible, Engaging, and Inclusive Education for Children with Visual Impairments</span></strong><br><br>The <a href="https://afb.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=bd3c8fefc9f905f5ccf41c577&id=25fdc459cf&e=ffd2030d24">second Access and Engagement study</a> opened on October 30 and closes on November 22. We want all family members, guardians, teachers of students with visual impairments (TVIs), and orientation & mobility (O&M) specialists in the U.S. and Canada to have the opportunity to share their experiences about education this fall. The survey takes approximately 30 minutes to complete. If you qualify, please consider taking it and inviting a family you know to take it too. Tell them why you think this survey is important. <br><br>The <a href="https://afb.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=bd3c8fefc9f905f5ccf41c577&id=736663c006&e=ffd2030d24">first Access and Engagement study</a> report is available for free download. In addition to the full report as an accessible PDF, there is also an accessible PDF of the Executive Summary. Everything is also online by section, so if you want to point someone to a specific section you can do so. Each section of the report has recommendations.<br> <br>Speaking of recommendations, Dr. L. Penny Rosenblum, the lead author of the report, has put together a blog post on how you can <a href="https://afb.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=bd3c8fefc9f905f5ccf41c577&id=c81e7303a8&e=ffd2030d24">use the first Access and Engagement report to advocate for students with visual impairments</a>. If we all come together, we can have a stronger impact on administrators, policymakers, technology companies, and others. The findings and recommendations in the first Access and Engagement report allow you to pair your own experience with data about 455 children and 1,028 professionals. That’s a lot of voices!<br> <br>Finally, do you know about AFB’s Town Hall on November 10 from 2:00-3:00 PM Eastern? The topic is Education Across the Lifespan. This is an opportunity to ask your questions and share your comments. The first three authors of the Access and Engagement report, Dr. Rosenblum, Dr. Herzberg, and Dr. Wild will be responding to questions and comments. It’s <a href="https://afb.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=bd3c8fefc9f905f5ccf41c577&id=e9e06b37d8&e=ffd2030d24">free to sign up</a>, so please plan to join us.<br> <br>On social media use <strong><span style='font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>#AccessEngagement</span></strong> to share how you are using the report, encourage others to complete the second survey, or ask your questions. You can also email <a href="mailto:access_report@afb.org?subject=Access%20and%20Engagement%20Study">access_report@afb.org</a>. We want to hear from you!<br><br><br>Thank you,<br><br>AFB Communications<br><a href="mailto:communications@afb.org?subject=Access%20and%20Engagement%20Study">communications@afb.org</a><o:p></o:p></p><p style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><br><br><br><br><o:p></o:p></p><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p>This email was sent to <a href="mailto:jmackin@afb.net">jmackin@afb.net</a> <br><a href="https://afb.us11.list-manage.com/about?u=bd3c8fefc9f905f5ccf41c577&id=ec813cd965&e=ffd2030d24&c=cd64f2ecc8"><em><span style='font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>why did I get this?</span></em></a> <a href="https://afb.us11.list-manage.com/unsubscribe?u=bd3c8fefc9f905f5ccf41c577&id=ec813cd965&e=ffd2030d24&c=cd64f2ecc8">unsubscribe from this list</a> <a href="https://afb.us11.list-manage.com/profile?u=bd3c8fefc9f905f5ccf41c577&id=ec813cd965&e=ffd2030d24">update subscription preferences</a> <br>American Foundation for the Blind · 1401 South Clark Street · Suite 730 · Arlington, Virginia 22202 · USA <o:p></o:p></p></div></div><p class=MsoNormal>-- <br>You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Flatten Inaccessibility" group.<br>To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to <a href="mailto:flatten-inaccessibility+unsubscribe@afb.org">flatten-inaccessibility+unsubscribe@afb.org</a>.<br>To view this discussion on the web visit <a href="https://groups.google.com/a/afb.org/d/msgid/flatten-inaccessibility/ba9f9786-b4f8-4aa2-8258-166363dce577n%40afb.org?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer">https://groups.google.com/a/afb.org/d/msgid/flatten-inaccessibility/ba9f9786-b4f8-4aa2-8258-166363dce577n%40afb.org</a>.<o:p></o:p></p></div></body></html>