[NFBofSC] FW: [Brl-monitor] The Braille Monitor, April 2024

[floza58 at bellsouth.net]

From: brl-monitor-bounces at nfbcal.org <brl-monitor-bounces at nfbcal.org> On Behalf Of Brian Buhrow
Sent: Tuesday, April 2, 2024 1:48 AM
To: brl-monitor at nfbcal.org
Subject: [Brl-monitor] The Braille Monitor, April 2024

 


The Braille Monitor, April 2024


BRAILLE MONITOR


Vol. 67, No. 4 April 2024

Gary Wunder, Editor

Distributed by email, in inkprint, in Braille, and on USB flash drive, by the

NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND

Mark Riccobono, President

telephone: 410-659-9314

email address: nfb at nfb.org <mailto:nfb at nfb.org> 

website address: http://www.nfb.org

NFBnet.org: http://www.nfbnet.org

NFB-NEWSLINE® information: 866-504-7300

Like us on Facebook: Facebook.com/nationalfederationoftheblind

Follow us on Twitter: @NFB_Voice

Watch and share our videos: YouTube.com/NationsBlind

Letters to the President, address changes, subscription requests, and orders for NFB literature should be sent to the national office. Articles for the Monitor and letters to the editor may also be sent to the national office or may be emailed to gwunder at nfb.org <mailto:gwunder at nfb.org> .

Monitor subscriptions cost the Federation about forty dollars per year. Members are invited, and nonmembers are requested, to cover the subscription cost. Donations should be made payable to National Federation of the Blind and sent to:

National Federation of the Blind

200 East Wells Street at Jernigan Place
Baltimore, Maryland 21230-4998

THE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND KNOWS THAT BLINDNESS IS NOT THE CHARACTERISTIC THAT DEFINES YOU OR YOUR FUTURE. EVERY DAY WE RAISE THE EXPECTATIONS OF BLIND PEOPLE, BECAUSE LOW EXPECTATIONS CREATE OBSTACLES BETWEEN BLIND PEOPLE AND OUR DREAMS. YOU CAN LIVE THE LIFE YOU WANT; BLINDNESS IS NOT WHAT HOLDS YOU BACK. THE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND IS NOT AN ORGANIZATION SPEAKING FOR THE BLIND—IT IS THE BLIND SPEAKING FOR OURSELVES.

ISSN 0006-8829

© 2024 by the National Federation of the Blind

Each issue is recorded on a thumb drive (also called a memory stick or USB flash drive). You can read this audio edition using a computer or a National Library Service digital player. The NLS machine has two slots—the familiar book-cartridge slot just above the retractable carrying handle and a second slot located on the right side near the headphone jack. This smaller slot is used to play thumb drives. Remove the protective rubber pad covering this slot and insert the thumb drive. It will insert only in one position. If you encounter resistance, flip the drive over and try again. (Note: If the cartridge slot is not empty when you insert the thumb drive, the digital player will ignore the thumb drive.) Once the thumb drive is inserted, the player buttons will function as usual for reading digital materials. If you remove the thumb drive to use the player for cartridges, when you insert it again, reading should resume at the point you stopped.

You can transfer the recording of each issue from the thumb drive to your computer or preserve it on the thumb drive. However, because thumb drives can be used hundreds of times, we would appreciate their return in order to stretch our funding. Please use the return envelope enclosed with the drive when you return the device.


Convention Bulletin 2024


Believe, Dream, Include, Lead, Champion. Join us for the biggest event of the year, 2024 National Convention of the National Federation of the Blind. Find important details in this bulletin.

Wednesday, July 3 through Monday, July 8, 2024
Orlando, Florida, at the Rosen Centre

Start planning your trip now. If this will be your first convention or if you need a refresh, access our First Timer’s Guide (https://nfb.org/get-involved/national-convention/first-timers-guide).


Book Your Hotel


For 2024 convention room reservations, please call the hotel at (800) 204-7234. Ask for the “NFB Convention” block. Here are important things to know about the rates and booking the room:


Rates


Our 2024 convention room rate for singles and doubles is $129. Room rate for triples and quads is $139.


Taxes and Deposit


*	Occupancy taxes and surcharges are an additional 13.5 percent.
*	There is no charge for children under eighteen if no extra bed is requested.
*	At the time you make a reservation, a $146 deposit is required for each room reserved. If you use a credit card, the deposit will be charged against your card immediately, just as would be the case with a $146 check.


Cancellations


If a reservation is cancelled before Saturday, June 1, 2024, half of the deposit will be returned. Otherwise, refunds will not be made.


Registration


Registration for convention opens in March. Registration will be $25 per person plus $75 per banquet ticket. Register early because prices go up if you register onsite in Orlando. Registration includes the biggest event of the year, access to the event app, and communications on the latest news and events.


Convention Season Schedule


The following are important dates to know as you prepare to attend convention.

*	January 1: Hotel open for reservations
*	March 1: Convention registration opens
*	March 31: Scholarship application closes
*	April 15: Bolotin Award application closes
*	May 1: Blind Educator of the Year Award and Distinguished Educator of Blind Students Award nominations close
*	May 31: Online Registration ($25) closes until convention. Onsite registration ($30) will be available. Plan to register early to avoid the increased registration fees.
*	July 3: Convention Begins!


Convention Week Schedule


*	Wednesday, July 3: Seminars, Breakout Sessions, Registration Opens
*	Thursday, July 4: Exhibit Hall Opens, More Breakouts, Resolutions Committee
*	Friday, July 5: National Board and National Division Meetings
*	Saturday, July 6: General Sessions with Opening Ceremonies and Presidential Report
*	Sunday, July 7: General Sessions with Presentations, Business, and Financial Report
*	Monday, July 8: General Sessions with More Presentations, Banquet, and Adjournment

The full agenda will be available in June.


Request for Door Prizes


Door prizes are submitted from state affiliates, local chapters, and individuals. Prizes should be small in size but large in value, at least $25. Cash is always appropriate and welcome. Please do not include alcohol. Drawings will occur throughout the convention sessions with a grand prize of truly impressive proportions drawn at the banquet. If you have a prize that must be shipped in advance of the convention, please email affiliate president Paul Martinez at president at nfbflorida.org <mailto:president at nfbflorida.org>  to make arrangements.


Division, Committee, Group Meetings


Over 200 sessions and meetings happen during convention. If you are a leader in a division, committee, or group who will meet at convention, please don’t wait to organize. Start planning your agenda, goals, and connections now. Stay tuned for details from the Convention Chair, John Berggren.


Volunteer


Thank you to the hundreds of volunteers who help make national convention a big success. If you are interested in learning more about how to get involved, please connect with your state affiliate president. Additionally, register early to get access to all volunteer opportunities.


Countdown to Orlando


The best collection of exhibits featuring new technology; meetings of our special interest groups, committees, and divisions; the most stimulating and provocative program items of any meeting of the blind in the world; the chance to renew friendships in our Federation family; and the unparalleled opportunity to be where the real action is and where decisions are being made—all of these mean you will not want to miss being a part of the 2024 National Convention. We can’t wait to be with you in Orlando in July. Visit nfb.org/convention <https://nfb.org/convention>  for more convention details.

Vol. 67, No. 4 April 2024


Contents


Enhancing Live Radio Broadcasts at Major Sporting Events: A Partnership with the Utah Jazz

by Everett Bacon and Mark Riccobono

How to Host an Event that no one Attends Absent-Tea

by Cindy Scott-Huisman

Red, White, and Blind: Your Way, If Not My Way, Toward Serving

by Kyle Ryan Kiper

To Equalize the World of Audio, Let's Add Accessibility to the Mix

by Michelle Guadalupe Felix Garcia

Fighting the War on ‘Image Poverty’

by Claire Rojstaczer

The Advantages of a Smartwatch and Three that are Currently Available

by Karl Belanger, Kennedy Zimnik, and Matt Hackert

Believe It or Not

by Peggy Chong

Blind Courtesy

by Marc Maurer

Recap of the USM Digital Accessibility Transformational Seminar, October 2023

by Nancy O’Neill

Revolution

by Maurice Peret

Reinterpreting and Expanding "The Right to Live in the World”

by Adrienne Asch

Governor Morehead School: An Interview with Director Melvin Diggs

by LaShawna Fant

Medical devices with screens aren’t accessible to the blind. Congress has chance to change that

by Lizzy Lawrence

A Brief Recap of the National Association of Blind Students Mid-Winter Seminar

by Lauren Altman

[PHOTO CAPTION: Everette Bacon]

[PHOTO CAPTION: Mark Riccobono]


Enhancing Live Radio Broadcasts at Major Sporting Events: A Partnership with the Utah Jazz


by Everett Bacon and Mark Riccobono

>From the Editor: For many of us who are blind, attending live sports events is very enjoyable, especially when these events are broadcast and we can hear the action described on the radio and be part of the crowd and its own reaction to what is happening on the field. With all of the new technology used to digitize and transmit signals, the immediate play-by-play that once we automatically assumed has started to disappear. In Resolution 2023-05, we addressed this issue, and this is an update on our progress. Everette Bacon is an active member of the National Federation of the Blind, serving as our corporate secretary and as the president of our Utah affiliate. As one of our many dedicated sports fans, here is what he says:

In late 2022, I embarked on a mission to witness the prowess of LeBron James, one of the NBA's greatest athletes, live in action. Determined to fulfill this aspiration, I secured tickets to a Lakers/Jazz game. Despite having not attended a game since before the pandemic, I anticipated a seamless experience akin to my previous encounters, where the live radio feed had worked impeccably. However, to my dismay, the game I attended in 2022 exhibited a significant delay in the radio feed. My attempts to address this issue with the Jazz guest services proved futile.

Coincidentally, during this time my esteemed colleague and fellow board member, Shawn Calloway, approached me regarding a resolution for the 2023 National Convention aimed at rectifying the challenge of live radio broadcasts at major sporting events. Shawn, having faced a similar predicament during a Washington Commanders game, shared my fervor for resolving this issue. Notably, President Riccobono and I encountered analogous challenges during a Philadelphia Phillies game, as did Marcy Carpenter in Seattle. Matt Ader of Vispero, an avid sports enthusiast, echoed our sentiments and endorsed the resolution. Given the prevalence of this issue among our Federation community, I collaborated with Chris Danielson, renowned for his expertise in crafting resolutions, to articulate our proposal.

Upon the resolution's successful passage, I resolved to effect change within my home state. President Riccobono dispatched a letter, accompanied by the resolution, to the commissioners of major sports leagues and associations. Concurrently, I identified the Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at the Utah Jazz and initiated correspondence. Despite initial non-responsiveness, a more urgent follow-up elicited a positive response, leading to a meeting at the Delta Center, the Jazz's home venue, in January, just before the Washington Seminar. The reception was warm, and the Jazz demonstrated a proactive approach towards addressing the live broadcast delay issue, alongside exploring avenues to enhance accessibility for all attendees. Excitingly, discussions even broached the prospect of hosting an NFB night with the Jazz in the upcoming year.

Fast forward to February 14, when my wife surprised me with tickets to the Lakers/Jazz game, and I promptly informed the Jazz of my attendance plans. A week before the game, the Jazz reached out to inform me about a device available at guest services, facilitating live game broadcast. Upon arrival at the game, I obtained the device, akin to those used in movie theaters. Though encountering a minor issue during the first quarter, the Jazz swiftly rectified it, allowing me to savor every moment of the game in real-time. This experience underscored the importance of accessibility rights, a principle fervently upheld by the National Federation of the Blind.

As I reflect on this journey, I am indebted to the collective network of advocates within the National Federation of the Blind who have nurtured my advocacy skills. Looking ahead, my next endeavor entails advocating for Aira accessibility at every stadium, ballpark, and arena. With baseball season beckoning, let us embrace the spirit of the game and continue advocating for inclusivity in all facets of society. Let’s play ball!

January 22, 2024

National Basketball Association

Attn: Commissioner Adam Silver

Olympic Tower

265 Fifth Avenue

New York, NY 10022

asilver at nfb.com <mailto:asilver at nfb.com> 

Via email and regular mail

RE: Request for Universal Solution for Live Audio Without Broadcast Delay

Dear Commissioner Silver:

I am writing to you not only as a sports fan, but in my capacity as President of the National Federation of the Blind, the transformative membership and advocacy organization of blind Americans. Our organization seeks the full participation of blind people in all aspects of our society so that we can live the lives we want. We do this through collective action to promote policies decided upon by our annual national convention, which is our supreme governing authority. Please find enclosed a resolution passed at our most recent convention held in Houston, Texas, in July of 2023.

As stated in the resolution, many blind people enjoy the shared experience of live sports. We supplement the unique stadium experience by listening to the live radio broadcast of the event as we cheer on our team from the stands. The radio play-by-play typically provides the descriptive information that we need since we cannot see the action on the field. But this experience often falls short of allowing our equal participation due to the broadcast delay applied to the radio commentary. This delay, sometimes several seconds or even longer, creates a disconnect between the live action and the auditory description, diminishing the overall experience. It means that blind fans learn about a particularly spectacular (or disappointing) play long after the fans around us have already reacted to it.

We believe it is both feasible and crucial for major sports leagues to develop policies and practices that standardize live audio commentary without a broadcast delay for in-stadium attendees. Currently, while some franchises have implemented solutions by working with their broadcast partners or by other means, such as dedicated receivers that fans can borrow, there is currently no way for a blind fan to know what they will experience at different venues, or even sometimes from season to season at the games of their favorite home teams. Therefore, we are asking for the adoption of league-wide best practices.

Finding a solution to this issue would not only be a testament to your league’s commitment to inclusion but also send a strong message about the importance of accessibility in sports. Every fan should have an equal opportunity to fully immerse themselves in the excitement of the moment.

We urge you to collaborate with technology providers, broadcasters, and other stakeholders to devise a universal, delay-free audio solution. The National Federation of the Blind stands ready and willing to collaborate in this effort; indeed, we believe that the expertise of blind fans, gained through our lived experience, is critical to success. We are prepared to bring our expertise at the national level as well as our extensive network of state affiliates and local chapters (the fans attending these venues locally) to be part of the solution. I hope to talk with you soon about how we can work together.

Thank you for your attention to this critical matter. We look forward to collaborating with you to create a future where all fans can experience the thrill of live sports together.

Sincerely,

Mark A. Riccobono, President

National Federation of the Blind


RESOLUTION 2023-05


Regarding Audio Delays During Live Radio Play-by-Play Broadcasts


WHEREAS, many blind people are sports fans who support their local sports teams; and

WHEREAS, live radio broadcasts of sporting events, where available, are pivotal in helping many blind people to enjoy sporting events, even when they attend the events in person, because radio broadcasters typically provide thorough nonvisual descriptions of the action on the field of play for listeners; and

WHEREAS, there may be a significant audio delay, ranging from a few seconds to a minute or more, between the action and the description of the play over the live radio broadcast, which can mean that blind people listening to the broadcast in the stadium or arena do not receive timely information about the action as it occurs; and

WHEREAS, some sports franchises have worked with their broadcast partners to eliminate such delays, indicating that there is no broadcast requirement that the delays be present to meet Federal Communications Commission standards: for example, the Baltimore Orioles worked with the Greater Baltimore Chapter of the National Federation of the Blind to resolve this issue; and

WHEREAS, other franchises have reportedly solved the problem by providing dedicated pre-tuned receivers to blind fans, tuned to a direct feed from the broadcast booth, allowing fans to hear the play-by-play with no delay; and

WHEREAS, while these solutions have been implemented by some franchises, there are not any league-wide policies, practices, or standards that recognize and address the negative effects of broadcast delays: Now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in Convention assembled this fifth day of July, 2023, in the City of Houston, Texas, that we urge all of the professional sports organizations in the United States, including but not limited to Major League Baseball, the National Football League, the National Basketball Association, and the National Hockey League, to develop policies, standards, and/or best practices in collaboration with the National Federation of the Blind and with their franchises and broadcast partners to eliminate audio delays during live play-by-play broadcasts.

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[PHOTO CAPTION: Cindy Scott-Huisman]


How to Host an Event that no one Attends Absent-Tea


by Cindy Scott-Huisman

>From the Editor: Cindy is becoming a frequent contributor. We are the beneficiaries of her putting her mind to writing and sharing with us her good ideas and observations. Here is her latest contribution, which should give all of us who fundraise some fantastic ideas:

Fundraising. It may not be everyone’s favorite part of being involved with an organization, but some of us love that feeling of getting fired up when we have identified our upcoming goals, and figuring out clever ways to not only raise money to support the mission, but to also find ways to create more awareness. Making a budget is another crucial part of the process. We fundraise to help cover the cost of our projects. We have a plan in place, and if we need money to accomplish our goals, that’s where a great plan for fundraising comes in. This whole aspect can be thought of as development.

I feel fortunate to have several friends who work in development professionally. I learn a lot from them about the whole picture. I want to share my understanding of the step-by-step process.

Here's one example: If you and your team on development in your area are looking for a simple and out-of-the-box fundraising idea, consider having a non-event. When this concept was first presented to folks in the NFB of Arkansas, there were plenty of questions!

This was not a completely original idea.

I have been involved with fundraising my entire adult life. It’s a general practice of ours to donate items to non-profit organizations anytime clients of my small business ask. My business, Cantrell Gallery, has hosted several fundraising events through the years. I have helped plan and participated on the acquisitions committee for both small and major fundraising events. Years ago, I first heard about the “Not At All Ball,” implemented by Potluck of Arkansas, a non-profit organization that works towards helping with hunger-relief. A friend of mine was on the Potluck board of directors and explained how much time, effort, and cost goes into throwing these large fundraising events. The Not At All Ball, carefully spelled out to potential non-attendees how much money they might spend on getting dressed up for a fancy ball, and described how that money could instead support this organization, from the comfort of their homes. Potluck was operating on the proverbial shoestring budget, and this fit their needs perfectly. I remember responding favorably to this idea because of its simplicity. During the spring and fall seasons, so many folks have calendars which keep them busy, it’s a refreshing concept.

After I got involved with the National Federation of the Blind, there was the pandemic to contend with, and I remembered the idea of raising money while allowing supporters to stay at home. At the end of August, 2022, the NFB of Arkansas members kicked off the Absent-Tea. To instill a level of urgency, a deadline for purchasing tickets was set for October 15, White Cane Awareness Day.

There’s no reason this type of fundraiser has to be saved for a pandemic. It can work well anytime! The full wording that was used for promoting this project is included below.

The description was added to the NFB of Arkansas website, accompanied by an image of a table setting that has a silver tea set, no one seated at the table, and included Alt-text. The complete text was also printed on large-format postcards that members mailed. We were able to negotiate special pricing on the printing, since it was for a non-profit organization. The printing was the only cost to the affiliate, because members who distributed the cards either paid for postage or handed them out. My business donated the cost of sending the thank-you letters, and I found a friend who was happy to volunteer help with formatting mailing labels.

We also created a Facebook event to help spread the word about not attending the Absent-Tea. The team shortened the wording and sent out the basic details via text messages and Twitter. Some folks also sent out emails about the Absent-Tea. There are so many ways for members and friends to help spread the word.

The final, and very important step is sending out thank-you letters. The state treasurer organized a spreadsheet of all who purchased tickets and their complete mailing addresses, so we were able to thank each participant. The thank-you letter included information about the National Federation of the Blind, went over what the money would be used for, and we included our tax ID number, so it could also serve as a receipt for the non-attendee’s tax records.

Find the thank-you letter we used at the bottom.

The other area of appreciation to remember goes towards each NFB member who helped make the fundraiser a success. Members will look forward to future fundraising campaigns when they know their part was sincerely appreciated.

When you consider the number of people who got involved with this fundraiser, it’s really remarkable to realize it raised over $3,000. It’s an easy way to get members involved with helping raise funds, no matter where they live in the state.

I’m always thinking of the next idea. Perhaps the spelling could be slightly altered, and we could host a golf tournament called an Absent-Tee, and no one has to lug their golf clubs to the course. Surely there’s some kind of fun ideas that would involve using a scorecard.

Who knows? Maybe you and your development committee will come up with the next big event that no one attends. This idea has a lot of room for creativity.

With no further ado, here’s the official invitation:

You are cordially invited to not attend the ABSENT-TEA, hosted by the National Federation of the Blind of Arkansas.

Who doesn't love fancy finger foods accompanied by tea in china cups (pinkies up) and all the formality of a traditional high tea? Only in this instance, there's no need for you to purchase a new outfit, travel to a destination, tip the valet, or any of the other added expense when attending an event, because this is an ABSENT-TEA.By purchasing tickets, you have the honor of supporting the National Federation of the Blind from the comfort of your home! We have taken all the hassle out of (not) coming to our ABSENT-TEA.The National Federation of the Blind of Arkansas is raising funds to help send members to Washington, DC, so we can work with our government leaders to make a difference for people who are blind in our communities, along with other vital projects.Use #AbsentTeaNFB to let everyone on social media know you are not attending.

Select how many tickets you and your group need.

*	The basic ABSENT-TEA tickets are $15 each.
*	Each Unlimited ABSENT-TEA ticket is $35.
*	Reserve a table for 10, Unlimited tickets $300.
*	VIP Early Entry Premium tickets, $50 each.
*	Table of 10, VIP tickets, $450.

Don't delay! The deadline for getting in on the loveliest un-event of the season is October 15, 2022, which is National White Cane Awareness Day.Want to help the NFB with another dollar amount?

Any and all donations are greatly appreciated!!

If you want to use a credit or debit card, visit our website: nfbar.org and click the "Donate Now" button.

If you prefer to write a check, make it out to NFB of Arkansas and put ABSENT-TEA in the memo.

Mail checks to:

NFB of Arkansasc/o (add name of treasurer), Treasurer(add address here)

Want to learn more about our movement? Visit our state website: www.nfbar.org <http://www.nfbar.org> , and find out more about National Federation of the Blind nationally at www.nfb.org <http://www.nfb.org> .

Thank you for your support!

Here is the thank-you letter:

(We added a small format NFB of Arkansas logo to the top of the page)

October 18, 2022

Dear (fill in participant’s name),

Our gratitude overflows for you agreeing to not be a part of the National Federation of the Blind of Arkansas’ inaugural Absent-Tea! You took the time to put your money where your tea goes, and we are so appreciative of your support. Our 2022 Absent-Tea campaign netted over $3,000. This money will go toward helping members attend Washington Seminar in DC next year. Many preparations are taking place for us to have an effective voice for the blindness community during this event.

In addition to the funds, we hope this non-event helped raise awareness about the National Federation of the Blind. Thank you for taking the time to familiarize yourself with our movement by visiting our website, nfbar.org <http://nfbar.org> .

The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the characteristic that defines us or our future. Every day we raise the expectations of blind people, because low expectations create obstacles between blind people and our dreams. We can live the life we want; blindness is not what holds us back.

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions or if you know someone who needs to be connected with our organization,

Cindy Scott-Huisman

Chair, Absent-Tea, 2022

National Federation of the Blind of (your state)

Please use this letter as documentation of your tax-deductible donation in the amount of: (fill in the $ amount donated).

National Federation of the Blind of (your state) Tax ID: (your number)

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[PHOTO CAPTION: Kyle Ryan Kiper]


Red, White, and Blind: Your Way, If Not My Way, Toward Serving


by Kyle Ryan Kiper

>From the Editor: At last, here is an article about the ways we can serve a country that for too long has said no thanks, no place for you, no way for you to help in jobs that add to our defense and help save lives. Though this is what we were told when we asked, it seems there were and are alternatives. Here is the story of Kyle Ryan Kiper, a man who lives in Texas, and who has found ways to serve his country and offers us his story and some recommended alternatives.

During my two decades as a vocational rehabilitation counselor, I have always been heartened by the eagerness of people who are blind or live with other disabilities to do their part, often including a very strong wish to serve their country as a member of the military or as a first responder. We are Americans, and just like that 1 percent who serve in uniform, we match that statistic in desire and in a goal to remove barriers and improve these vital institutions. Most likely, we are even more motivated because someone with low expectations and a lack of scope has told us we cannot do it. Per my observation, this enthusiasm to join crosses all age and impairment demographics, whether physical, sensory, psychological, developmental, intellectual, or, most often, a combination of some or all of the above. More times than I can count, after my first adult decade pops up in conversation or someone sees my memorabilia in my office, I have been told by my clients, "You are so lucky to have been able to do that." I agree, but most of them have opportunities too, for there is a way for them to do their bit as well. But they should follow my advice, and not my example.

When I was about eight years of age, I watched, for the first of a thousand times, the John Wayne Classic, Sands of Iwo Jima. Right then and there, I determined to become a United States Marine. Because I lost my father at an early age, my mother signed me up for the Big Brother program. I was matched with a US Army Ranger Mustang Second Lieutenant. For most of the next ten years, he prepared, educated, and trained me to be successful in the military, in spite of his humorous competitive disgust at my Marine Corps aspirations. But my dreams were shattered when the Navy physician unilaterally disqualified me from all branches due to my family ophthalmologist's notation of a diagnosis of Retinitis Pigmentosa in my chart.

The ensuing months were not good. I became depressed and got in trouble with the law. My family saved me, both from jail and my dilemma. My sister introduced me to the American Red Cross, where I quickly dove in head first, becoming certified in CPR and first aid, then moving up to becoming an instructor and later an instructor trainer. Part of my volunteer and later paid Red Cross service was as a first aid team member and leader. That is when I rubbed elbows with county emergency medical technicians, which set my course for the next decade.

The Lord works in mysterious ways. Before Sergeant Slaughter stormed the beaches of Iwo Jima, I had been enthralled with paramedics John Gage and Roy Desoto on the television show Emergency, so my life adjusted to an earlier setting.

After completing three levels of emergency medical services qualifications and becoming nationally registered, attending the state fire academy, accumulating hundreds of hours in specialized training, and becoming certified as one of the first air-medical communications specialists in America, I was able to work as a metropolitan EMS paramedic, county fire-rescue medic and safety captain, and ultimately as an EMT team member on an elite helicopter unit at Arkansas Children's Hospital. The Defense Department checked a recruit's vision, but lucky for me back then, the Fire and Emergency Medical Services did not. So, even though classified as legally blind, I managed to squeak through.

How did I manage to disguise my failing vision? It was not easy, and looking back, not smart. My first field training officer shared his trick, after a prior twenty-three years in Air Force crash rescue: it was to always carry a clipboard, so everyone thinks you are inspecting them. I also allowed my colleagues to believe that I was the world's most prolific collector of flashlights, as I had them on headbands, mounted on my fire helmet, and at least three or four in my medic kits and pockets.

In addition, I determined that if I was promoted faster than anyone else, stayed one of the most qualified medics, and remained the youngest fire captain anyone remembered, I could always be in charge and never get into a situation where my retinas were a problem. One of my better work-arounds was taking the opportunity to fill the slot of being the safety captain for my department. This is the officer who stands off to the side and makes sure everyone comes out alive. So, I held the rank that benefitted me in other settings, but I was able to oversee rather than be on the search or hose teams. Later in my career, when peripheral and night vision were all but gone, I found that working as an emergency medical helicopter communications specialist was a good fit for me, so I was able to complete my decade at minimal risk to anyone.

As I alluded to above, I don't recommend my path, because it was not the smartest or most transparent way; in fact, it was potentially dangerous. But, I am older and wiser now, and I know of ways in which my blind family and others with disabilities may engage that need to serve.

The first option has already been covered, becoming a volunteer at the local American Red Cross Chapter. There are multiple ways to volunteer in safety, health, disaster, blood, or volunteer services. I worked multiple natural disasters, military support, family fire in support of the fire department, first aid stations, on mobile blood stations, and even teaching lawn mower safety to kids wanting to work over the summer. Of course, you can become certified in CPR and basic life support and become an instructor, by extension saving many lives as your students go out and apply their knowledge.

Another very valuable way to serve is on your local or county volunteer fire department, where every fire chief is looking for manpower. Even if you are not able to serve on a hose, ladder, or rescue company—although I know of at least one totally blind firefighter who serves on his department's pumper—you can still be an important part of the unit, working in department or station administration, communications, or just helping out around the fire house. Likewise, city dwellers should research the many support job titles in the local paid first responder agencies, where you can prepare for, apply, interview, and work alongside the front-line personnel in office work, supply and logistics, communications, maintenance, etc.

For those who are young, joining an Explorer Scout post may be a very rewarding way to serve, working alongside first responders in the community. All citizens may request to do a "ride along" with police, fire, and ambulances, therefore making connections with managers and command officers and possibly opening up career doors with agencies who have not successfully recruited employees with disabilities.

Then there are the two big military auxiliary options: the US Air Force Civil Air Patrol and the US Coast Guard Auxiliary. Both are 100 percent civilian volunteer managed and staffed, without regard to any physical requirements. But you still work under their Defense and Homeland Security Department Branches. These squadrons and flotillas are located throughout the country—near most airports, lakes, rivers, and coastal ports—and are always eager to bring in new uniform volunteers. A simple Google search of USAF CAP or USCG Auxiliary in your local area, or research on their national websites will provide plenty of exciting information.

The rehab counselor in me would be remiss if I did not suggest state and federal civilian service, which is key in providing services we can fill. Examples include working as a Defense Department civilian employee, working on the staff of FEMA, the NTSB, the FBI, or similar state agencies. You may be a candidate for a position I now hold at the US Department of Veterans Affairs, serving those who put their lives out there for all of us.

My clients and friends are correct: I am very lucky, actually humbly honored, to have done my duty, although, if I had it to do all over again with my current knowledge, I would follow the advice in this article and not my story of "fake it until I break it." Many of my peers are now fire chiefs and emergency medical commanders. They are aware that I never told them about my sight loss, but most still do not know that I also was completely deaf in one ear during that decade. They did not check hearing back then either, but I probably broke the intent of their rules by taking advantage of a loophole; they examine everything now.

A satisfying outcome of sharing this article for me would be that each member of my blind and extended disability family who feels that inner need to be in the service of their nation and community finds that pathway and lives out their lives, proud to have done their part in making America a better place. In every course I taught, I told every graduating student as I looked them in the eyes and handed them their certificate, "Just do something!"

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To Equalize the World of Audio, Let's Add Accessibility to the Mix 


by Michelle Guadalupe Felix Garcia

>From the Editor: Here is a piece that shows the value of perseverance and dedication to follow a dream. Many of us love audio, but the industry is becoming digital not only in its recording but in the way it displays settings that can be adjusted. It is not at all blind-friendly in its testing to become credentialed, but this is just another jump for someone determined to succeed.

Monitor readers have heard from Michelle before. You will not be disappointed in her second appearance.

In his book "Drive: The Surprising Truth about What Motivates Us," New York Times' bestselling author Daniel H. Pink offers a strategy for finding our purpose. Ask yourself two questions, he says. What gets you up in the morning? And what keeps you up at night?

The answers for each human being will be as diverse and unique as there are species of wild flowers on this earth. To make our lives rewarding and meaningful, we often have more than one answer to these questions. I am here to share what sparks the energy in my brain and lights the fire within me: Audio.

My alarm rang at 3:15 a.m., and I was not bothered in the slightest. I was about to embark on the exhilarating journey of taking a virtual course offered in England and available to me all the way in Mexico. I had won a scholarship to learn what was necessary to get a certification on Pro Tools, the gold standard in the music industry. This software is the norm in recording studios, film post-production facilities, and on-location sound all over the world. It was taught by Leslie Gaston-Bird, now president of the Audio Engineering Society, and Febe Adedamola, an audio mixer from Nigeria, in a two-week intensive format. The sessions were five hours long, with some breaks in between, Monday through Friday. Then on Saturdays each student would take a test on our knowledge. If we passed, we would go on to the next week's round. Upon successful completion of both exams, we would earn the Pro-Tools-Certified official badge from Avid.

The digital audio workstation is accessible with the built-in screen reader for MacOS, VoiceOver. But the tests are highly visual in nature because they rely on screenshots of windows, the shapes of tools and buttons, as well as questions on zooming capabilities and mouse functions. I had wished to get certified for a long time, but five years ago a fellow blind audio engineer told me to forget it. He said it was going to be too difficult because the materials are not adapted for test takers without eyesight.

But how did the goal of doing sound for a living start? I found my dream at a Coldplay concert. After sleepless nights of meticulous strategy-crafting, and fifty-two emails aimed at getting a chance to play “Clocks” with my favorite band at the piano, Coldplay invited me in for the adventure of a lifetime. Their legendary status, complemented by their endless humility, shined through. I appreciated everything that they did, from their efforts to speak Spanish to the incredible amount of trust they granted to a stranger and her family to watch rehearsal a few feet from the stage, hug the members, and play their official A Head Full of Dreams Tour piano, decorated with flowers and a multitude of vibrant colors. I had been into sound for a very long time, since I was thirteen and made my head ache playing with unhealthy amounts of reverb. But this moment marked a before and after. Listening to the pristine, transparent signal of their in-ear monitors; watching the team united as a great big family, working quickly to achieve spectacular results for the audience's enjoyment; and passing by the machine room, feeling the heat emanating from the lighting boards and mixing desks: all of these were reasons that truly consolidated my desire to dedicate my life to sound, and I wouldn't like to envision myself doing anything else.

The road wouldn't be all petals and roses, though. On my first week at San Diego State University, pursuing a bachelor's degree in music recording technology and audio design, my live sound reinforcement professor called my parents aside to have a conversation without me. Later he called me as well to declare, “You should change your major." What was he talking about? The sentence fell like a bomb upon my family and me. We had traveled over three hundred miles to relocate our lives to a country whose language and culture are not our own. My mom had embraced her fears to learn to drive on US freeways, which are different from the highways in Mexico, to support my education. My dad was willing to spend four years living alone, working from Mexico and making six-hour trips to visit us every two weeks. I bet everything on the dream of getting accepted as an international student, trying to get my application noticed among the ninety-three thousand that made up the pile. Now this professor was saying that the career I had chosen is extremely difficult for someone who can see, let alone someone who is blind. "It's impossible," he stated, not having given me the chance to speak. I had been judged before my first class period, before I turned in any assignments. "Perhaps you should enroll in composition instead," he opined. Interestingly, this would mean I'd take all the other classes but his.

In that moment I had two choices. I could drop out of college, forget my purpose, and go back to my country. Certainly, my soul couldn’t stand listening to the bells of the carillon that marked every hour in the student union building, while knowing that I had failed. Alternatively, I could press on, gather courage, and keep going in spite of all odds, ignoring all the voices urging me to recede from the challenge and run away. What did I decide to do? I decided not to listen.

Smith Recital Hall is the birthplace of an annual jazz, classical, and world music concert series. The two hundred-seat capacity venue hosts hundreds of events and serves as the training ground for students who need to practice their front of house mixing and recording skills. A Soundcraft Vi4 mixing console was the first learning tool and the first great obstacle for me. A sixteen-channel surface with tactile faders is not accessible enough when you're confronted with a touch screen to patch your signal flow and access all menus. But I'm not used to taking no for an answer, and it was our turn to put the designer hats on. When engineers don't have a solution, we create it from the ground up. We invented a sixteen-by-six system to be pasted on a cardboard frame surrounding the screen of the console. Horizontally it told me where each channel began, and vertically it showed me the margins of each menu page such as inputs, outputs, sends A and B, EQ and dynamics. The method wasn't perfect, but by touching perpendicularly the dots of the function I wanted to carry out, then drawing a mental square and calculating where the touch screen button laid, I was able to run sound as my peers did, and the audience liked it! My friends helped me learn the board's layout, and soon I was fluent on its operation.

Towards the closing of the semester, we had to take a final. If we passed, we had the chance to earn a pair of headphones. My instructor tried to force me to take the console test orally instead of hands-on because "it would be too visual." I sat down in front of the desk and let him know that I wasn't moving until I was given the same exam my classmates took. He had no choice! He administered the interactive questionnaire, and I succeeded with flying colors. I don't think I ever changed my professor's mind, but long story short, he resigned before I did! That pair of headphones not only signifies that I learned the material well; it also serves as a reminder that I am strong. Experiences like these build up my character and make me find within me the spirit of a warrior who isn't afraid to stand up for what she believes in and who fights for her rights if she must.

But I wasn't always so confident in myself. Other people contributed to my perseverance in this critical period through their unbreakable belief in me.

When we were interns at the studio which we lovingly called "the crows' nest," we set up for big bands, ensembles, and orchestras. One of the required items was securing tripping hazards such as cables and snakes to the ground with gaffing tape. Weekly, we were divided into teams to perform the live sound duties, and often my instructor wanted to leave me as a floater member, "to be called only when needed." This was only a way of avoiding telling me a decision not to take my help was already in place. My white cane, for almost any crew I encountered, was a symbol of not being able to do anything. Though I looked forward to every future event with real anticipation, practically every time I asked if I could help with something, I was politely told staff was complete for the evening, so not that day! If they weren’t going to use my help, why didn’t they tell me in advance? It feels just as disheartening as when a group of friends asks for help in moving from one house to another, I show up, and they tell me to sit down because it is crowded, and everything is already done.

I had begun internalizing the doubts my professor held about me. Fortunately, I had a really good relationship with our internship supervisor, Kevin, who thought about my abilities differently. I asked him, "Who is gaffing today?" To which he replied "You, Michelle, you are!" Surprised and a little shocked, I asked how I could do that. I could see myself setting up mic stands or plugging in monitors, but I hadn't imagined a way to make straight, organized lines of cable without eyesight.

"Feel the ground," he said. Words can hurt or heal, strengthen or create doubt, edify or destroy. Words are an immensely powerful medium. These three words taught me an unforgettable lesson. They taught me that I can overcome my own mental limits and tear them down, that I mustn’t judge my efficacy to pursue something if I haven't tried to do it and that I must give myself ample practice with the discipline beforehand. I must function with the belief that there's an immense wealth of approaches and ways to do things that I do not yet comprehend.

That wasn't the only time that someone opened my eyes to new possibilities and methods to achieve results. Jon Kull, prolific composer and orchestrator for films such as Black Panther, Avatar, and Harry Potter, and The Fantastic Beasts had the task of teaching me music for audiovisual media. Personally, I was certain that film scoring was reserved for people whose eyes could follow and observe the action playing out on-screen. I was in for a delightful surprise. For the entire semester, my professor carefully crafted time notes that described each scene and facial expression, landscapes and animation effects, and the slightest changes, not to the second, but to the frame. Armed with this level of equality, I composed for different genres of film and reached the summit of learning with the same amount of constructive feedback given to my classmates.

Toward the end of the semester, we had to turn in a final project: We'd choose a film clip to write music to, and Jon enlisted the help of renowned music editor Joe E. Rand, whose credits span from Titanic to Westside Story, and whose clients include John Williams (Star Wars) and Randy Newman (Toy Story). He delivered the time notes of a scene from How To Train Your Dragon for me to score. For countless decades, time notes were the norm, until they somehow fell out of fashion. The clip I picked was completely silent. I can't tell you what a liberating experience it was to be able to write for a medium without any sound to guide me. It gave rise to new forms of expression that could only use my mind as their compass. Logic Pro, with its intuitive nature and accessibility built into every corner, was also my ally. I've found treasures in the people life has blessed me with. Thanks to their trust, I wrote compositions whose quality my teachers praised and that I feel remarkably proud of myself for persisting and proud of them for believing in me.

The blind help the blind, too. During my last year of university, Cory Wilkins, an audio engineer, drummer, and composer gave me a chance to acquire skills in his studio. He let me use his collection of microphones, guitar amps, and the best of all, an Alesis HD24 machine that operates almost exactly like an analogue tape recorder from back in the day. He never treated me like a coffee-making intern who is cautioned to stay away from equipment and keep to herself. On the contrary, he gave me the freedom to shadow his sessions, make mistakes, and become an assistant for some of his projects, where he could finally focus on being a musician and forget about the technical side, since I was running it. He patiently explained how to position the mics and how we can tell by ear if they will record with our desired acoustic flavor. He told me how helpful it is to get to the venue early and explore it with your white cane if you are doing live sound so that you may familiarize yourself with the facility before showtime. It makes an extraordinary difference if you feel comfortable with your surroundings because you can participate in load-in and load-out using both hands like any member of a team would. He had answers for each of my doubts.

God has given me the privilege to live a life filled with opportunities that I've diligently managed to take. While I lived in Denver to receive training at the Colorado Center for the Blind, I shadowed audio engineers nine times. I got to experience Broadway’s Aladdin and DCPA’s The Color Purple from behind the board. Theaters, a tango festival, and a recording studio were fertile ground for exploration. A young A1 in particular, Meagan Holdeman, stands out in my list of adventures. Not only did she enthusiastically open her doors and show me the DiGiCo SD9 she was using, she also looked for more places in the city where they'd welcome my whole self, to ask questions and learn as an equal. The invaluable mentorship of the people who have stood beside me demonstrates that each of us, through our lived experience, can look out for each other, and by marching together, we have the ability to make this world a better place.

It is easy to get discouraged on the path when I receive yet another email from a console manufacturer saying that screen reader accessibility is not in their future development plans, when a software update breaks the scripts that made it possible to navigate a DAW; or when in a theater an A1 asks me, incredulously, "How will you be able to mix if you can't see?" But there are gleams of hope on the horizon. For the longest time, access to the production of immersive audio through Dolby Atmos had been denied to blind engineers, but we're no longer left behind. Through Logic Pro's renderer, we can now draw mixes through all dimensions of the sphere. Slowly but steadily, now that we are making progress through our advocacy, we must not quiet down our voices. We must not give up. Our fighting for justice and freedom must continue.

After two weeks of boundless dedication to learning and a little bit of mental insanity, the Pro Tools exam was now in front of me. "Congratulations, you passed!" Leslie said. Her grin was audible. My relief came out in screams. I could stop holding my breath. I'd just become the first blind woman to be Pro Tools certified, and I still wish for hundreds more to follow, because we have the capability to achieve this and much more.

My orchestral literature professor taught us about the continuous struggle and eventual triumph present in the theme of Beethoven's third symphony, The Eroica, and in many of his compositions. The free-spirited triad dives forward but then lingers on the accidental of uncertainty several times, before rising in victory. But what moved him to highlight the grueling effort of the journey, the frustration, the fear, the pain—before allowing us to reach our destination?

I believe there is beauty to be found in our battles. Whether you choose to be a lawyer, an architect, a professor, a scientist, a baseball player, or a sculptor, there are inevitably going to be challenges in your way. There will be times when you feel like quitting, moments when your determination is struggling for breath. But challenge is where our faith and spirit grow strong and it is in struggle where we find the richest, most exquisite rewards. If life is in one way or another going to throw at us degrees of difficulty to conquer, we may as well choose an activity that provides us great amounts of joy in its pursuit, a purpose that transcends our sense of time, and goes beyond the ordinary. Choose, with patience and wisdom, what you would like to struggle at. I will take the liberty to end with a passage from Coldplay's song Us Against the World: "So whatever you do... Don't let go!"

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[PHOTO CAPTION: Chancey Fleet]


Fighting the War on ‘Image Poverty’


by Claire Rojstaczer

Reprinted with permission from NLS News.

Editor’s Note: The National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled, a part of the Library of Congress, administers the Braille and talking-book program, a free library service available to US residents and American citizens living abroad whose low vision, blindness, or other disability makes reading regular printed material difficult. Through its national network of libraries, NLS provides books and magazines in talking-book and Braille formats and playback equipment directly to patrons at no cost. Materials are also available online for download and are accessible on smart devices through the BARD mobile app. Music instructional materials are available in large-print, eBraille, Braille, and recorded formats. For more information, call 1-888-NLS-READ (1-888-657-7323).

Chancey Fleet can’t remember when she started receiving books from NLS as a child, but she does know the first time she visited the Andrew Heiskell Braille and Talking Book Library in New York City, where she now works.

“I was ten years old, and I was blown away by the ability to just walk around and browse the Braille stacks,” she says—an experience not offered by the NLS network library in Virginia where she received service. “Somehow, the librarians even worked out a way for me to check out a book and return it after I went home to Virginia.”

That moment of wonder—of meaningful access to something previously kept hidden—is something Fleet strives to create for her own patrons as Assistive Technology Coordinator at the Andrew Heiskell Library.

Fleet began volunteering for the Andrew Heiskell Library while an adaptive technology instructor at the Jewish Guild for the Blind, launching a weekend adaptive technology clinic in 2010. “We were told the library was underutilized, that young people weren’t coming to the library,” she says. “I wanted to change that.”

At first, Fleet recalls, it was just her and her friends hanging out together, but patrons began to trickle in with questions about their iPhones, about using Skype and Facebook and about the free NVDA screen reader. BARD, the NLS Braille and Audio Reading Download service, was also a frequent source of patron help requests.

By 2014, demand had built enough that the Andrew Heiskell Library was able to create a new position and hire Fleet full-time. “Now we have three full-time tech experts supported by over a dozen dedicated volunteers,” she says.

“In the next ten years, we’ll see AI capable of rendering visual graphics into tactile graphics—replacing text with Braille abbreviations, assigning colors to textures, removing background clutter, improving contrast, scaling up. As many misgivings as I have about AI in other domains, I’m excited about the tactile graphics potential. We will always need talented tactile designers, but AI can help speed up routine work.” —Chancey Fleet

As the assistive technology program at the Andrew Heiskell Library expands, Fleet keeps exploring new services to bring to patrons. Since 2016, one of her areas of focus has been tactile graphics.

“A patron who had just moved to the area called and asked for a map of the five boroughs, and I realized I couldn’t just create one,” Fleet says. She wrote up a proposal for a way to solve that—and was awarded the New York Public Library’s 2017 Innovation Grant. That brought the Andrew Heiskell Library $12,000 to purchase equipment, including a 3-D printer and a graphics embosser, and train staff. Within a year from the initial idea, the Dimensions Lab was ready to launch.

As with the adaptive technology clinic, it took a while for the Dimensions Lab to draw patrons. “At first, almost nobody came,” Fleet admits. “I would go up to patrons and tell them, ‘You can make anything!’ and they would say ‘What am I going to make?’ I had to take a step back and realize that when we’ve been denied access to images, we don’t know what we want or how to begin.”

That lack of access creates what Fleet calls “image poverty,” a term she coined about five years ago. “I sometimes get pushback about the term,” she says. “I’ve been told, ‘That’s too dire.’ But a whole lot of us are missing out on this immense swath of information. It starts when we’re kids, when we’re given ‘alternate activities’ while the rest of the class learns to draw. It is dire.”

But “every patron has an image that will be a catalyst or a gateway” to understanding the appeal of tactile graphics, Fleet says. And once they find that image, “the unexpectedness and richness of the ideas people bring to the lab is a challenge and a privilege.”

The Dimensions Lab now regularly hosts large group events, as well as drawing in a steady stream of individuals who want assistance making everything from maps to holiday cards to tactile finger- and footprints for a forensics class. This summer, it hosted a group from Cooper Hewitt, the Smithsonian Design Museum, who were making tactile symbols for a new exhibit. And Fleet is proud to have helped a recent Juilliard graduate receive a diploma not only written in Braille but adorned with a tactile version of the school’s seal.

Regular workshops on embroidery, accessible drawing and origami—the last taught by Fleet herself—are also popular offerings.

Going forward, she’s excited by the development of refreshable displays designed for displaying tactile graphics, not just single lines of text. One currently on the market sells for around $15,000. “We’ve got a ways to go,” Fleet says, “but it’s reasonable to think that within ten years this kind of display will be as available as refreshable Braille displays were before the NLS Braille eReader—still expensive, not as accessible as I’d like, but there.”

That NLS Braille eReader, which is loaned to patrons free of charge, is finally making electronic Braille text accessible to all, and Fleet is enthusiastic.

“This could be the year we move the needle on Braille literacy,” she says. “The economic disincentive goes away with the wide release of the eReader.”

She hopes that with accessible technology at their fingertips—and with the introduction of more tactile maps and graphics from NLS, such as the recently released Game of Thrones map—more patrons can be convinced that they can be Braille and audio readers. “Braille,” she says, “is beautiful.”


Chancey Fleet


Age: 41

Education: B.A. in Sociology and Psychology, College of William & Mary; M.A. in Disability Studies, CUNY

Current position: Assistive Technology Coordinator, Andrew Heiskell Braille and Talking Book Library

Quote: “Coming from a more traditional blindness organization allowed me to be excited about the innovation and openness of working in libraries, where we’re truly here to serve the individual. At the library, every goal is valid, even goals outside of work and educational life.”

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[PHOTO CAPTION: Karl Belanger]

[PHOTO CAPTION: Kennedy Zimnik]

[PHOTO CAPTION: Matt Hackert]


The Advantages of a Smartwatch and Three that are Currently Available


by Karl Belanger, Kennedy Zimnik, and Matt Hackert

>From the Editor: I remember being both amused and amazed when the comic Dick Tracy would run around with a wrist radio he would use to communicate. Given the size of two-way radio equipment and even short-range walkie-talkies, this seemed really far-fetched. What we find in this article is that the idea is not at all far-fetched, and we can get much more from a smartwatch than just a way to speak to others. It is with gratitude to the folks at our Jernigan Institute that we run this article:


Introduction


Smartwatches have continued to grow in popularity since the introduction of the Apple Watch in 2015. The combination of rapid access to notifications, accurate health tracking and GPS features without looking at your phone have proven very popular, and the smartwatch market has exploded in the years since. Today, many companies are in the smartwatch business, from Apple and Google, to Fitbit, Fossil, and many other companies. The features of these watches vary, as do the prices. For this article, we are reviewing three smartwatches from three of the largest phone manufacturers: the Apple Watch, the Google Pixel Watch, and the Samsung Galaxy Watch. All three watches fall within the $300-$400 range. The Apple watch specifically works with iPhones, while the Google and Samsung watches both work only with Android devices.


Getting Started with the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5


The Galaxy Watch has a round face with squared edges and four prongs that stick out to hold the band in place. On one side are two buttons which serve as back and home buttons and provide other functions when held down. The charger is a round disc that magnetically attaches to the bottom of the watch. Attaching the band is fairly difficult, because it requires moving a very small piece of metal built into the band to retract the pins, aligning the band, then releasing the latch. It is quite difficult to impossible to do without sighted assistance and will likely be impossible for someone with any level of dexterity issues.

To turn on the watch, press and hold the home button for a couple seconds. You will feel a brief vibration. After a while, the watch will be on the setup screen. Press and hold two fingers on the screen to start TalkBack. You will also need the Galaxy Wearable app on your phone. Open the app and follow the instructions to set up the watch.


Configuring the Galaxy Watch


The Galaxy Watch has a number of settings that can be configured. These include everything from Wi-Fi and Bluetooth to sound, display, security, and mobile payment features. You can adjust the settings either on your watch or through the Galaxy Wearable app. The accessibility settings contain many of the same options you would expect coming from an Android phone, including TalkBack, display settings, audio adjustments, and more. TalkBack settings allow you to adjust verbosity, punctuation levels, TalkBack’s sounds, and more. Interestingly, the text-to-speech rate is in the Text-to-Speech settings under General rather than Accessibility, which was a bit confusing at first.

There is no Braille Keyboard support due to the small screen, and there is also no Braille Display support. Due to the dense nature of the setting screens, many users will likely find it easier to make settings changes on their phone, though making them on the watch is most certainly doable and accessible.


Using the Galaxy Watch


Navigating around the watch is straightforward for anyone familiar with using TalkBack. Many of the one-finger gestures work to navigate around, and two-finger gestures can be used to change screens. The interface is largely responsive, but can slow down drastically if the watch is downloading data or doing other processor intensive activities. This seemed particularly egregious if the watch had been powered off for a while, and the laggy behavior could last for several minutes before things return to normal. There is also a feature where you can run your finger around the bezel of the watch to scroll through content. This seemed to cause more issues than it was worth, so I turned it off in settings. The feature does appear to work reasonably well with TalkBack, but, due to the small screen, I found myself triggering it accidentally a lot of the time and causing my focus to change when I didn’t want it to.


The Home Screen


When you wake up the watch, you will hear the time and that you are on the Home Screen. The first screen contains the time, any activity you’re currently involved in, and other customizable information. Doing a two-finger swipe right accesses recent notifications. Swiping left with two fingers takes you through a series of customizable tiles. These can contain information such as current heart rate, number of steps taken that day, your next calendar appointment or alarm, music controls, and potentially more depending on the installed apps. Activating a notification or one of these tiles will get you into that app. Lastly, swiping down from the top edge on the Home Screen brings up Quick Settings, and swiping up brings up the list of installed apps.


Installing and Using Apps


When you first set up the watch, any compatible apps installed on your phone can be optionally downloaded to the watch. After setup, you can access the Google Play Store directly from the watch, or you can filter by watch apps when browsing from another device. Installing an app to the watch works just like it does from the phone: just bring up the Play Store page and select Install. Once installed, swiping up from the Home Screen brings up an alphabetical list of installed apps, which you can scroll through. Unfortunately, the selections of apps on the Android watch are fairly limited. You can use Google Maps for GPS, YouTube Music for listening to music from your watch, and various health tracking apps. Some notable apps, such as Audible for Audiobooks, which have Apple Watch apps, do not have equivalent versions for Android watches. As with any device, not all apps will be equally accessible.


Handling Notifications


Swiping right from the Home Screen will bring up the notifications panel. You can flick through your notifications and act on certain ones. You can return calls, acknowledge alarms and timers, and reply to messages with your voice. Other notifications will show the content of the notification and advise you to continue on your phone if there is no watch app for the notification. I found no real problems here, and things generally behaved as expected.


Calls


Making and receiving calls worked quite well on the Galaxy Watch. While not especially loud, callers came through clearly, and I could also be heard even when the watch was not near my mouth. All call controls are accessible. When a call comes in, both the phone and watch will ring. Once on a call, it is easy to transfer the call back to the phone if desired. Initiating a call is also straightforward on the watch and can be done either through the phone app or by voice.


Tracking your Health


A main feature of any smartwatch is tracking your health metrics, and the Galaxy Watch is no exception. From the Home Screen, you can get easy access to your steps and heart rate, and you can easily track various workouts. I tracked a few walks, and they seemed fairly accurate to the time and distance I actually walked. The Galaxy Watch also has automatic workout detection. For example, if you start walking, after a few minutes the watch will start tracking your walk automatically. This can be very useful since you don’t have to remember to start a workout every time you leave. It also has a feature that pauses the workout if it detects you’ve stopped. Again, this can be useful so that the workout doesn’t get skewed while you’re waiting for a long traffic light. However, this does mean that if your speed is inconsistent or you have to slow down or stop frequently, such as moving through a crowd, you can get a lot of paused/started/paused/started messages rapidly, which can get a bit annoying. The Galaxy Watch also has sleep tracking, but I wasn’t completely satisfied with its accuracy. It also has EKG features, which I did not test. Overall, the Galaxy Watch offers solid and accessible health tracking, and it should meet your needs whether you’re just wanting to track steps or have a more serious workout.


Low-Vision Features of the Galaxy Watch


The Samsung Galaxy smartwatch incorporates a range of low-vision accessibility features to enhance usability for individuals with visual impairments. These features include customizable font size and contrast, color correction and inversion, filters, and magnification. These are accessible under the "Visibility Enhancements" menu within the accessibility settings. "Magnification" allows users to enlarge screen content for easier reading and interaction, while font size customization ensures information is displayed in a readable format. Color inversion provides high contrast for improved visibility. The "Dynamic Type" feature offers a range of font sizes, accommodating users who prefer larger or smaller text. Apps supporting Dynamic Type deliver a consistent reading experience across the interface. Additionally, the "Taptic Engine" provides haptic feedback, offering tactile cues for notifications and alerts. Users can customize accessibility shortcuts and add specific accessibility features to the Control Center for quick access. These comprehensive low-vision accessibility features make the Galaxy Watch highly accessible.


Apple Watch 8 Setting Up and Pairing


Setting up an Apple Watch is relatively simple, especially for anyone who has had some experience already using an iPhone and VoiceOver. Begin by powering on the Apple Watch by holding down the side button—below the Digital Crown. Of course, the first thing any VoiceOver user will want to do is enable VoiceOver on their Apple Watch to get things started. To do this, simply triple-click the Digital Crown.

The next step is pairing the watch with an iPhone. This can be accomplished in one of two ways: automatic pairing, which involves pointing the iPhone camera at the watch face, and manual, which involves selecting the Apple Watch and entering a pairing code on the iPhone. The automatic method is simple enough, even as a blind person, but having a manual option available is reassuring.

After the two devices are successfully paired, there is a brief period of data synchronization after which, everything’s all set.


Settings and Accessibility


As with Apple’s other hardware offerings, the Apple Watch comes brimming with settings and options for customization. Therefore, one approach is simply to spend some time just using the watch; then decide how it could work better, if only it would… (Fill in the blank.) Then, as you browse through setting options, you have something more specific to look for.

Many of the settings will look familiar to iPhone and iPad users. The VoiceOver settings will also look familiar. And of course, it being a watch, you’ll find galleries of watch faces to choose from and countless ways to personalize each.

One niche area smartwatches try to excel in is for health and fitness. The Apple Watch can be a pedometer, heart monitor, and a fitness coach, reminding you to get up and be active. It can even detect and time how long you take washing your hands! And keep in mind, you haven’t even visited the App Store yet.


Use of the Watch


Once again, since we’re in the Apple ecosystem here, users of iPhones and iPads will find navigating the watch interface fairly intuitive and familiar. Gestures are comparable to navigating Apple’s other mobile offerings. The Apple Watch sports a Digital Crown which offers an alternative method for scrolling through apps. Pressing the Digital Crown is a convenient way of moving back to the Home Screen. Swiping down with two fingers opens the Notification Center; swiping up opens the Control Center. Both of these behave much like their counterparts on iPhones and iPads. Flicking and double-tapping work just like they do on other iOS devices. Triple-tap with two fingers to enable Digital Crown navigation where turning the crown allows you to scroll through apps on the Home Screen.


Notifications


This feature might be one of the key reasons people use to justify the purchase of a smartwatch. Rather than reach into their pocket or handbag to find their phone (if it is even on your person), why not just glance down at your wrist to see who just texted, what that Tweet was, read the news headline that just popped up, or see who’s calling. In many respects, the Apple Watch is sort of a remote extension of the iPhone. And, for a blind person, a close equivalent can be achieved by having VoiceOver read out these notifications. This too is configurable; you may want to just know you received a text rather than having VoiceOver read the text unless you tap the watch face.


Health Features


As noted above, the Apple Watch comes with quite a few health-related apps included with watchOS. These include a heart rate monitor, blood oxygen monitor, ECG, Cycle Tracking, Medications, Mindfulness, Sleep, and Workout. These apps work in conjunction with the Health app running on the paired iPhone. While a comprehensive evaluation of the health-related features and apps of the Apple Watch could fill its own article, rest assured that overall, they work very well with VoiceOver, and the information they collect is accessible to blind users. What’s a little harder to speak to is the accuracy of the information. As it is worn on the wrist, there might be some differences in step-counting between the watch and the iPhone itself, carried different ways, i.e., in a pocket, in your hand, or in a handbag.


Braille Support


During my testing, I used the Apple Watch with a Mantis Braille display. Pairing the display works just like it does with VoiceOver on an iPad or iPhone. Since it’s still VoiceOver doing all the work, the support is comparable to that which you get from other Apple products. While perhaps using the watch paired with a smaller display like the Chameleon might be a more functional setup, the Mantis worked well enough. Certainly, for a deafblind user, having this additional support would be essential, and certainly, the support is as good as that which you get from Apple’s other mobile devices.


Low-Vision Features of the Apple Watch


The Apple Watch offers a range of low-vision accessibility features to enhance the user experience. Users can enable the Zoom feature to magnify screen content for improved readability. Display Accommodations allow customization of contrast, brightness, and color filters to enhance visibility. "Dynamic Type" provides a choice of font sizes, catering to individual preferences. Apps that support Dynamic Type deliver a consistent reading experience. The "Taptic Engine" provides haptic feedback for notifications and alerts. Customizable accessibility shortcuts and the ability to add specific accessibility features to the Control Center enable quick access to necessary features. These extensive low-vision accessibility features make the Apple Watch highly inclusive.


The Google Pixel Watch


The Pixel Watch, Google's response to the Apple Watch and Samsung Galaxy Watch, is designed specifically for Android devices. It's the newest of the three, having been released in October 2022. However, it may face limitations due to a smaller accessibility community. The setup process begins with TalkBack, Android's native screen reader, ensuring accessibility from the start. Most setup steps occur within the Watch app on your Android phone, simplifying navigation for new users. However, some accessibility settings are only accessible on the watch itself, which may be slightly inconvenient.


Using the Pixel Watch


Navigation on the Pixel Watch relies on touch gestures and physical buttons. You can choose between "touch to wake" and "tilt to wake" for activating the device. Swiping down opens Quick Settings, similar to those found on smartphones. Swiping up reveals Notifications, while swiping right to left cycles through "Tiles," quick-access apps. Physical buttons offer an alternative means of interaction. However, simulating swipe gestures using buttons would enhance accessibility. Notably, there can be lag when using the touchscreen, particularly when the watch is out of range from the paired phone.


The Accessibility of the Pixel Watch


The Pixel Watch offers an accessible experience for blind or low-vision users, though it may not be as polished as on smartphones. TalkBack relies heavily on swiping gestures for navigation and interaction, leading to occasional conflicts with the "Explore by Touch" feature. Typing on the small on-screen keyboard can be challenging, though voice input and Google Assistant provide convenient alternatives. The watch supports screen magnification through the "Magnifier" feature, which may be challenging to use due to navigation difficulties. Font size customization and text-to-speech rate adjustments are available, as are Real-Time Text (RTT) and vibration customization.


Notifications


Notification handling is user-customizable, allowing you to choose which apps can notify you and how they behave. Notifications are not disruptive to the user experience and can wake up the device when necessary.


Applications


The Pixel Watch offers a growing selection of apps, including health and fitness tools, music streaming apps like Spotify and Amazon Music, and unique features like remote camera control through the Google Camera app. Users can search for Pixel Watch-compatible apps in the Google Play Store.


Conclusion


Smartwatches provide a great way to stay connected with all your notifications, health features, GPS apps, and more without having to pull out your smartphone. The accessibility of these devices is impressive and can be operated by blind or low-vision users. Whether you are an Apple or Android user, there is an accessible smartwatch for you!

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[PHOTO CAPTION: Peggy Chong]


Believe It or Not


by Peggy Chong

>From the Editor: Peggy Chong provides an interesting service to those of us who are blind and those interested in learning about the blind. Too often we think we have no history or that the history we do have comes from very extraordinary people whose accomplishments can’t hope to be matched by most of us living in the present and trying to carve out a future. Here, Peggy describes a woman who was given a life, took charge of it, and truly made it the life she wanted.

Greetings. Here is a woman I find fascinating.

On February 29, 1936, Robert Ripley’s Believe It or Not had as a guest on his New York City radio program over NBC’s WJZ, a concert pianist. Why? What was so special about a concert pianist?

She was deaf and blind!

Helen May Martin (1893-1947) began her career as a performer in 1922 in her hometown of Olathe, Kansas. Deaf and blind from early childhood, she liked to push the keys on the family piano and feel the vibrations of others playing while she placed her hands on the piano frame. Her parents, John and Helen Jane Martin, never told their child that she couldn't, or that she was limited in any way.

Mr. Martin was a traveling salesman for a plow company. He also loved to play the family piano and sing while holding Helen May on his lap. Her mother was a piano teacher. When young cousins came to live with the Martin family, Mrs. Martin taught them to play the piano.

Helen May and her mother played many games together to make learning fun. When her cousins practiced their piano lessons, she leaned against the piano and felt the vibrations and wanted to learn this game too. Her mother taught her several simple pieces of music. She taught first the right-hand part, then the left hand. When Helen May accomplished each part, they put them together. To demonstrate to her the difference between the notes, Mrs. Martin used navy beans. Four beans made a whole note, two beans were a half note, and one bean meant a quarter note. Thus began her understanding of rhythm.

Helen May was able to feel the music she played by placing the ball of her foot against the bottom of their upright piano. Over time, she recognized the beauty of each musical piece with its highs, lows, fast, slow, loud, and soft vibrations. When a new piece was introduced, she wanted to know its story to understand the mood of the music. The stories helped her understand the reasons for playing heavier at one point or softer at another.

Helen May’s mother taught her to keep house, cook, and sew. With the patience of her mother, she took on each task, repeating it over and over until she got each part down. Helen May took first prize in a local bread-making contest. When her mother opened her store and spent hours sewing dresses for her clients, Helen May did the housework, sweeping floors, cooking meals, washing, and ironing.

Through the ten eyes at the end of her fingers, she became an accomplished tatter, an ancient form of making lace. A lady on the streets showed Helen May her tatted hat. She examined every stitch.

“I want to do that,” Helen May signed to her mother.

Mrs. Martin bought the threads and gave Helen May a tatting shuttle. It took months for her to satisfactorily make even stitches, loops, and chains. Over the years, she made table runners, a flag, hats, and bookmarks.

The Martins had their own form of communication. Different touches indicated if company was in the room, it was time to eat, time to end a task, or pay attention to directions to walk. Later, the entire family learned to sign American Sign Language rapidly into Helen May’s hand.

No school would take a deafblind child in Nebraska, Missouri, or Kansas when she turned school age. With little support, her mother was her primary teacher. While still young, Helen May learned to read and write in New York Point (NYP), a reading system for the blind much like Braille. Her mother reached out everywhere for information and assistance. Mrs. Martin signed up her daughter for every magazine for the blind she could find to encourage her to be a better reader. The only library for the blind in Kansas, located at the school for the blind, served only the students at the school. Mrs. Martin found a way to sign Helen May up as a patron of libraries for the blind in California and Ohio to receive reading material through the mail on a regular basis.

Because there was no uniform reading code for the blind in the United States at the time, Helen May learned to read in several different raised formats along with NYP such as Braille, raised print, raised music, and Moon Type. Each library had its own preferred reading methods for the blind. Magazines were written in the format the blind editor read.

Her mother taught her to type and encouraged Helen May to write a diary. Some of her diaries still existed ten years after her death, but no trace of them is found today. She wrote news articles and prose for several magazines for the blind and sighted.

In 1912, Helen May wrote to the school for the deaf in Olathe, Kansas, asking again to be admitted as a student. Neither the Kansas schools for the blind or deaf accepted deafblind students, having no specialized teachers nor programs for the deafblind. At age eighteen, she received special permission to attend the Kansas School for the Deaf, older than the typical age at which most students were admitted.

The family moved from Greeley, Kansas, to Olathe. Teachers came to the Martins’ home from the deaf school campus for one hour a day. She learned finger spelling along with the rest of the academic subjects offered. She graduated from the program in five years, though most deaf students took seven or more years to finish. Helen May never had a grade below an A.

Before long, she was notating all her music pieces in NYP for her own use. Over twenty years, she transcribed more than six thousand pieces of music.

When Helen May was twenty and her little sister Gertrude only six, John Martin died, leaving Mrs. Martin to support her children. She opened a millinery store, selling sewing supplies and making dresses for customers.

In the spring of 1922, Helen May gave her first professional concert in Olathe. Her goal was to make this her career and become self-supporting for her and her mother. Newspapers from several states ran the story of the deafblind pianist. Lions Clubs from across the country were so impressed with her story that they asked her to come to their local communities to speak and to perform. For the next twenty-five years, the Martins traveled across the US, performing on radio programs, in concert halls, churches, and schools.

No matter where she performed, many doubted that Helen May was deafblind. Consequently, many professionals, leaders, and famous people came to her performances asking to meet her. Mrs. Martin, as her manager, sent out their story ahead of each new performance. Editors of local papers thought the story was a hoax and did not print anything in advance of their initial performance outside of an advertisement from the theater or sponsor. They too sent a trusted source to the concert to confirm if Helen May was for real.

In 1935, Robert Ripley, syndicated cartoonist and radio show host, heard of the fantastic story of a deafblind pianist. He too sent out feelers to determine if Helen May was for real. After meeting her, he booked her for a fourteen-week tour at his Ripley’s Believe It or Not Odditorium in New York City in 1936. She appeared on his New York City radio program, also syndicated, bringing Helen May’s talent to the nation.

Helen May loved to “listen” to the radio. The president of a radio company invented and made a radio receiver especially for her. It was much like the family radio but had an attachment— a thin disc of Bakelite (a synthetic plastic) about a foot across, and this was attached to the ordinary radio. It magnified the incoming sounds thrown against the disc, causing it to vibrate. She placed her fingers and thumb flat against the disc to “hear” the vibrations. Her sense of touch was so keenly developed that she could tell if it was a man or a woman singing or speaking. She recognized many of the pieces she learned and deciphered what kind of instruments were playing.

She never stopped learning. Few magazines for the blind were available anywhere. She read almost every one of them. One music publication for the blind was out of France and written in French. Helen May taught herself to read French. The articles and books she read took her to places and described the world in a way her family could not.

She took music classes at universities in Chicago and Cincinnati, receiving a bachelor’s degree in music. In the 1930s, she learned to play the harp. When a Wichita banker learned Helen May was learning the harp, he purchased one for her and had it sent to her home.

>From an early age, her family wanted Helen May to know only the good in the world. Her mother took every opportunity to let her “see” through touching everything in the home, around the yard, and every new place they went. Mrs. Martin described in great detail, the color, sounds, workings, and purpose of each item. She knew every plant in the yard, be it shrub, tree, flower, or vegetable.

Her mother described how color affected feelings. Dark clouds could mean sadness. While on vacation, Mrs. Martin was excited to see for her first time the Northern Lights. Helen May asked what it looked like and wrote about it later in her diary, describing the movement of the lights as being like a veil in the wind. Yet, she had never seen any of it; she understood its meaning, flow, and emotions.

This is an amazing story, so like the rest of the world at the time, we are challenged to “believe it or not.”

Peggy Chong is a 2023 Jacob Bolotin Award Winner. To schedule The Blind History Lady for a presentation for your business, church, or community group, email theblindhistorylady at gmail.com <mailto:theblindhistorylady at gmail.com> . Purchase a copy of my book, Don Mahoney: Television Star at its new low price. Go to Don Mahoney: Television Star: Chong, Peggy: 9781098082956: Amazon.com: Books, and please check out my other works at https://www.smashwords.com/books/byseries/24325.

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We Need Your Help


Attending my first National Convention in Orlando, Florida, I was overwhelmed by not only the resources, mentorship, and national community of students, but the love that filled every corner of the organization. The National Federation of the Blind gave me the world. - Trisha

Blind children, students, and adults are making powerful strides in education and leadership every day across the United States, but we need to continue helping students like Trisha. For more than eighty years, the National Federation of the Blind has worked to transform the dreams of hundreds of thousands of blind people into reality. With support from individuals like you, we can continue to provide powerful programs and critical resources now and for decades to come. We hope you will plan to be a part of our enduring movement by including the National Federation of the Blind in your charitable giving and in your estate planning. It is easier than you think.

With your help, the NFB will continue to:

*	Give blind children the gift of literacy through Braille.
*	Mentor young people like Trisha.
*	Promote independent travel by providing free, long white canes to blind people in need.
*	Develop dynamic educational projects and programs to show blind youth that science and math careers are within their reach.
*	Deliver hundreds of accessible newspapers and magazines to provide blind people the essential information necessary to be actively involved in their communities.
*	Offer aids and appliances that help seniors losing vision maintain their independence.

Below are just a few of the many tax-deductible ways you can show your support of the National Federation of the Blind.


LYFT Round Up


By visiting the menu, choosing donate, and selecting the National Federation of the Blind, you commit to giving to the National Federation of the Blind with each ride.


Vehicle Donation Program


We accept donated vehicles, including cars, trucks, boats, motorcycles, or recreational vehicles. Just call 855-659-9314 toll-free, and a representative can make arrangements to pick up your donation. We can also answer any questions you have.


General Donation


General donations help support the ongoing programs of the NFB and the work to help blind people live the lives they want. You can call 410-659-9314, extension 2430, to give by phone. Give online with a credit card or through the mail with check or money order. Visit our online contribution page at: https://nfb.org/donate.


Pre-Authorized Contributions


Through the Pre-Authorized Contribution (PAC) program, supporters sustain the efforts of the National Federation of the Blind by making recurring monthly donations by direct withdrawal of funds from a checking account or a charge to a credit card. To enroll, call 877-NFB-2PAC, or fill out our PAC Donation Form https://www.nfb.org/pac.


Plan to Leave a Legacy


The National Federation of the Blind legacy society, our Dream Makers Circle, honors and recognizes the generosity and imagination of members and special friends who have chosen to leave a legacy through a will or other planned giving option. You can join the Dream Makers Circle in a myriad of ways.


Percentage or Fixed Sum of Assets


You can specify that a percentage or a fixed sum of your assets or property goes to the National Federation of the Blind in your will, trust, pension, IRA, life insurance policy, brokerage account, or other accounts.


Payable on Death (POD) Account


You can name the National Federation of the Blind as the beneficiary on a Payable on Death (POD) account through your bank. You can turn any checking or savings account into a POD account. This is one of the simplest ways to leave a legacy. The account is totally in your control during your lifetime and you can change the beneficiary or percentage at any time with ease.


Will or Trust


If you do decide to create or revise your will, consider the National Federation of the Blind as a partial beneficiary.

Visit our Planned Giving webpage (https://www.nfb.org/get-involved/ways-give/planned-giving) or call 410-659-9314, extension 2422, for more information.

In 2023 our supporters helped the NFB:

*	Send 401 Braille Santa and Winter Celebration letters to blind children, encouraging excitement for Braille literacy.
*	Distribute over six thousand canes to blind people across the United States, empowering them to travel safely and independently throughout their communities.
*	Deliver more than five hundred newspapers and magazines to more than 130,000 subscribers with print disabilities free of charge.
*	Give over seven hundred Braille-writing slates and styluses free of charge to blind users.
*	Mentor 321 blind youth during our Braille Enrichment for Literacy and Learning® Academy.
*	Award thirty scholarships each in the amount of $8,000 to blind students.

Just imagine what we will do in 2024, and, with your help, what can be accomplished for years to come. Together with love, hope, determination, and your support, we will continue to transform dreams into reality.

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[PHOTO CAPTION: Marc Maurer]


Blind Courtesy


by Marc Maurer

>From the Editor: At the 2024 Maryland State Convention, former state presidents of the affiliate were asked to offer reflections for the convention. Here are the ones that Past President Maurer offered. They remind me very much of the comments we have made about "The Day After Civil Rights” and what the end goal of all the fighting we do for equal treatment in our society is and where we hope to be at the end of the day.

Sometimes simple changes make profound differences. This thought came to mind recently when I was asked to make a presentation about the National Federation of the Blind to a state convention. I wondered what I could say that had not already been covered multiple times by dozens of others. It occurred to me that the National Federation of the Blind creates opportunity for blind people (at least in part) by teaching courtesy.

The way I look at it, courtesy consists of giving to somebody else something that you would like to have yourself—and then feeling good about it. Often the thing you give is your time. Sometimes it is a product, but often it is your skill or your concern. Everybody would recognize that if there are two cookies and three people, it is courteous to let others have them. However, courtesy also occurs when there is time to do only one thing, and the person offering courtesy agrees to let it be what somebody else wants to do.

Courtesy is at least as much a habit of mind as it is a skill. One of the ways that we create advantages for our own members is by teaching this habit of mind.

Our society sometimes believes that blind people have nothing to give. It is not that blind people are a nullity; our lives demand that we have interaction with others. However, the position that we occupy is frequently thought to be that of taking what other people have to give—we are the objects of charity. Our neediness can be supplied from other sources if the people we meet feel inclined to grant us the products, services, or time that we might need. However, this is not an interaction that ordinarily creates friendship. Relationships that develop friendship and beyond require that those who are in them recognize and cherish the value that the other party in the relationship has. Those who possess the opinion that blind people have nothing to give do not often recognize the value that is present in the lives of the blind. However, when we practice courtesy, we give something to somebody else. This courtesy demands that those who get it must confront the reality of value in the lives of those who give.

Of the types of commentary that exist with respect to the blind, it seems to me that two of them have major effect upon the notion that blind people are courteous. First, if blind people have nothing to give, how can they be courteous? They have nothing to be courteous with. In fact, why think about it at all? People who can't be courteous can be written off.

Then, in certain segments of social life blind people are told repeatedly that they are entitled. What is it that they are entitled to get? The list can be extensive. My own presentations have often contained detailed descriptions of what I believe blind people are entitled to get. However, being entitled occurs only in a certain context. Those who want to receive must be willing to give.

To become aware of a proper understanding of the position of blind people in our culture, it is necessary for blind people to know how to give something to others. Sometimes those receiving courtesy from blind people are unaware that they would like to have it. Have you held a door open for sighted people when you were entering a building? Has it been difficult to have your courtesy accepted? If blind people calmly acquiesce in the thought that they may receive courtesy but not give it, this entrenches in cultural practice the inferior position of the blind and prevents equality and independence. To change this, we must offer courtesy.

The habit of many blind people to accept from others what they are willing to give without thinking about the requirement that courtesy be returned creates a barrier to the kind of independence that can only be created by mutual understanding.

When considering what people receive for the services they provide, it is evident that they get paid most of the time for what they give to somebody else. Actors provide entertainment; football players do the same by smashing into each other with incredible force. The CEOs of major corporations produce products that people want and create wealth for the investors. If blind people are going to get paid, they must provide something that others want. Courtesy is the beginning of this process, and the habit of courtesy creates the kind of independence that we can use to make our future bright with promise.

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Recap of the USM Digital Accessibility Transformational Seminar, October 2023


by Nancy O’Neill

>From the Editor: We have long understood that one problem causing things to be less accessible than they should be is that accessibility isn’t taught in the institutions that train those who build hardware and software. How to get this instruction into the curriculum working with the blind has been an ongoing goal. Here is an indicator of our progress.

Nancy O’Neill is the acting director at the William E. Kirwan Center for Academic Innovation, University System of Maryland. Here is what she says:

Several years ago, the University System of Maryland’s Kirwan Center for Academic Innovation began conversations with the National Federation of the Blind about how we might partner together to support mutual interests and goals around digital accessibility. Specifically, we were interested in how we might support the twelve public universities across the system in doing the work of intentionally designing, adapting, and vetting digital technologies and materials to ensure that they are usable by all people, including people with disabilities. Additionally, we wanted to explore how USM might serve as a model for how institutions in state systems of higher education can work together in support of this cause.

The reasons for doing so are clear. We’d be hard-pressed to identify a course or a program at any of our institutions that is not technology-enhanced in some way. As such, digital accessibility means equitable access to educational opportunity.

In fall 2022, the USM Kirwan Center and NFB hosted a digital accessibility convening for campus teams from across the USM. Teams consisted of individuals who support faculty in digital accessibility—instructional designers and technologists, teaching and learning center directors and staff, librarians, and accessibility and disability support services specialists. Sessions addressed supports for faculty to evaluate and create curricular materials, facilitating culture change, and laws/legal obligations and standards. Teams had time to reflect on the day’s learnings and to plan their next steps. NFB graciously hosted the event, and staff served as core members of the planning team.

This past October, the Kirwan Center and NFB teamed up again to bring campus teams together at NFB headquarters to further their own learning and development as they help support faculty in digital accessibility. The 2023 event was designed to be highly experiential, where participants had the opportunity to move through a series of immersive activities—cane travel, the use of Braille, and the use of access technology—designed to recalibrate participant expectations related to the abilities of individuals who are blind or low-vision and expose them to tools that promote independence and inclusion. Key to this portion of the program, NFB colleagues facilitated opportunities for participants to discuss their perceptions, assumptions, fears, and insights. This approach recognized that many of us may have questions, limited information, unexamined assumptions, or fears of doing or saying the wrong thing when it comes to engaging the topics of digital accessibility and disability more broadly. The time spent in immersive activities helped participants recognize they were not alone in their learning journeys toward greater awareness, understanding, and empathy around the need for materials and technologies to be accessible from the very start.

After the conclusion of the immersive experiences, the second half of the seminar focused on answering the question, “Now what?” by engaging teams in sessions featuring tools and strategies to build toward greater digital accessibility in courses and programs. That segment highlighted examples of what two USM institutions—University of Maryland, College Park, and Towson University—are doing to build an “accessibility first” culture, where accessibility is a leading, not trailing, consideration. That segment also highlighted the work of a wonderful non-profit organization called Teach Access that is engaging industry partners and institutions across the country to build curricular resources supporting the teaching of access—conceiving of digital access as a 21st century skill for our graduates.

I would like to thank Anil Lewis, Kennedy Zimnik, Karl Belanger, Nikki Jackson, and Bre Brown from NFB for their contributions to our collective learning. I would also like to thank Tammy Helm and everybody on the NFB logistics staff as well as Will Schwatka for providing a clean and welcoming space and the technology for the event. Additionally, I would like to thank our campus and guest presenters, Ana Palla and Jonathan Lazar of the University of Maryland, College Park; Teresa Valais and Brian Williams of Towson University; and Kate Sonka and Rolando Méndez-Fernández of Teach Access.

As we move into the new year, the Kirwan Center will be taking stock of our approach to capacity building of campus teams of faculty supporters to understand what “next level” support and development might include. We’ll also be taking steps to engage other university systems in these discussions about the unique role State Systems can play in advancing this work. We are fortunate to have NFB as a partner in our digital accessibility efforts and look forward to the collaborative discussions and experiences to come. In the meantime, I’ll leave you with a quote from one of our 2023 participants, which sums up nicely our aims for this work:

“I think experiences like these help me realize that there are so many ways to move through the world, and if the world is accessible, we can all move freely.”

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[PHOTO CAPTION: Maurice Peret]


Revolution


by Maurice Peret

>From the Editor: Maurice never sends me anything that is dull. As he notes in this article, my task is often to figure out whether what he has to say should appear in the pages of the Braille Monitor, a magazine dedicated primarily to issues of blindness, or whether it should appear in a magazine that openly discusses the pros and cons of economic systems and where capitalism is not so revered that one dare not say anything negative about it. You can imagine that with a title like “Revolution,” I thought that I might soon be writing to Maurice saying thank you but no thank you. I decided differently, and I hope you concur with my decision.

I’ve been thinking about the subject of this article for a long time. Without wishing to preempt my friend and Braille Monitor Editor, Gary Wunder, who usually provides a thoughtful introductory word or two, I recently underwent a career transition and radical relocation. My wife, Lou Ann Blake, and I moved from Baltimore, Maryland, to Honolulu, Hawaii, in February 2024 so that I could accept a position as Orientation & Mobility Therapist III with Ho’opono Services for the Blind, New Visions Program. Notwithstanding the problematic title, this was an incredible opportunity for me to return to my element, teaching independent cane travel to blind and low vision students attending a Structured Discovery adjustment to blindness program. For those familiar with the core classes in such a program, in addition to cane travel, they include Braille and technology, personal home management, industrial arts, and what we here on Oahu like to call the Business of Blindness (BOB) class which addresses the emotional, intellectual, attitudinal, and philosophical implications associated with blindness.

On the same day that we recognized Dean Georgiev, immediate past Ho’opono New Visions program supervisor, now retired, for his many years of dedicated service to Hawaii’s blind and low vision consumers, I conducted my inaugural BOB class on the topic of revolution. Yes, you read that correctly—revolution. I can just hear Gary groan as he once again has to determine whether or not and how my topic is relevant to Braille Monitor readers or related to blindness. Indulging his and your patience, I make my case.

With background theme music from Tracy Chapman singing “Talkin’ ‘Bout Revolution,” students and staff began by defining what we mean by revolution, explored its historic and social heritage, and yes, we brought the subject home to what it means in our program and in our individual lives.

Merriam-Webster provides several definitions for revolution, but these are the two that I selected:

*	An activity or movement designed to effect fundamental changes in the socioeconomic situation.
*	A fundamental change in the way of thinking about or visualizing something: a change of paradigm.

It was noted that while the term revolution has arguably been overused and perhaps even trivialized, history shows us that we are generationally all inheritors of a revolutionary past and legacy. An understanding of history helps define who we are and where we come from. I observe that Hawaii is rich in a wide diversity of nationalities, languages, cultures, and culinary traditions. People seem to enjoy talking about their familial and community backgrounds. In our Business of Blindness class, we talked about the revolutionary heritage that led to the incorporation of Hawaii as the fiftieth state.

The Hawaiian democratic revolution of 1954 was preceded by multiple labor strike actions by sugar plantation workers. The overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy, with no small hand played by US federal agencies, established the Republican Party as the purveyor of an oligarchic imposed semi feudal agricultural working conditions for impoverished workers on the island. Alliances between the minority Democratic Party with quiet support of the Communist Party of Hawaii vied for support of labor, resulting in the Democratic Party winning a majority in the legislature, and ultimately leading to statehood in 1959.

https://encyclopedia.densho.org/Revolution_of_1954/

In the event that you are curious, the Hawaiian translation of revolution includes hoʻokahuli aupuni or kipi.

[The editorial staff of the Monitor was indeed curious, and here is what we found:

The Hawaiian phrase "hoʻokahuli aupuni" or "kipi" refers to an overthrow of the government or a rebellion. In the context of Hawaiian history, such terms are often associated with significant political and social upheavals. "Hoʻokahuli" means to overturn or upset, and "aupuni" refers to government or kingdom. "Kipi," on the other hand, directly translates to rebellion or revolt. These terms are deeply rooted in the historical context of Hawaii, particularly relating to events such as the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom in 1893, which led to significant changes in the island's political, social, and economic landscape.

Now back to Maurice.]

We also took note of our American revolutionary heritage, from the one in 1776 that liberated colonial peoples from the rule of King George of the United Kingdom, the attempted British pushback in 1812, the second revolution which eliminated the system of chattel slavery, and the revolutionary movement that ended Apartheid-style legal, racial, Jim Crow segregation in the United States.

Other revolutions were mentioned such as the industrial and digital revolutions that completely transformed how we live, think, and learn.

The very presence of students and staff in this discussion, along with the celebration of Georgiev’s and others’ professional legacy, was the direct result of a kind of revolution in the blindness field. The history of the organized blind people’s movement represented a paradigm shift in how adjustment to blindness training is provided in the United States and how blindness and disability, itself, is perceived in society. Ho’opono Services for the Blind was transformed from a more traditional medical model and vision-centered approach into a consumer-based, Structured Discovery certified model of rehabilitation.

Finally, we discussed the revolutionary epiphany that often occurs in our individual lives, especially during training, when the universe of possibilities opens before us as we perform tasks and projects we could otherwise not have imagined. We shared stories about how adopting this revolutionary perspective on blindness confronts societal attitudes that are on the whole inaccurate, insufficient, and even sometimes harmful to the equality, opportunities, and security of blind and low-vision people.

Our personal home management instructor, Kyle Laconsay, for example, recounted how she had to win the confidence of her fellows to become the elected president of her local Lions Club. Kyle explained that, while she was well-known among the local Lions, participating in many of its activities, when it came to her serving in this leadership role, doubt seemed to cloud her prospects to pursue this important opportunity. Suffice it to say that she was successful in convincing the club to elect and even reelect her to the executive position. It is the nature of society to advance and evolve, and change is often turbulent and traumatic.

The blind people’s movement in the United States has established the gold standard for the provision of adjustment to blindness training, raising expectations, and smashing through arcane access barriers in all areas of engagement. With much more work to be done, the students who come through these training programs stand to transform not only their own lives but to become stakeholders, revolutionaries if you will, in uprooting what the greater society believes about us. Why shy away from the concept or characterization of a revolutionary? To borrow a time-honored lyric by the late, great jazz poet, Gil Scott-Heron: “While the revolution will not be televised, it may well be livestreamed.”

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[PHOTO CAPTION: Adrienne Asch]


Reinterpreting and Expanding "The Right to Live in the World”


by Adrienne Asch

>From the Editor: As a result of the resolution we discussed last year about assisted suicide, I have been asked to reprint the presentation given by Dr. Adrienne Asch. We lost our dear friend to cancer, but we are blessed that her words of wisdom are still available to us. It is also my intention to gather as much meaningful information as I can about existing state laws and the way they may treat blindness in advising patients about end-of-life decisions. Anyone who wishes to help me in this endeavor will have my undying gratitude. Here is the way the article by Adrienne was introduced.

>From the Editor: Dr. Adrienne Asch is the director of the Center for Ethics at Yeshiva University and the Edward and Robin Milstein Professor of Bioethics. These are her titles and the positions she holds, but much more demands to be said about her. She has been a member of the National Federation of the Blind since the early 70s, and she has lived our message and spread it to audiences who can be reached only by someone with her accomplishments and credentials. We strive for integration and seek to take our message to places where it is seldom heard and to places where it can be discussed with those who don’t agree with it. Adrienne has tirelessly done this, and the result is that Federation ideas and beliefs are topics for discussion throughout the world.

But her role goes far beyond being a spokesman for our cause because her journey into ethical discussions also gives her a message to bring to us. This is what she did in her convention presentation on the afternoon of July 4, 2013. Here is what she said:

It is a tremendous honor, privilege, and responsibility to be here with you today, following a stirring description of all that the NFB has worked for over this past year. I know that every year I have been distressed by the problems our members face and moved by the struggles NFB takes on every day to change what it means to be blind that I wind up making my way to the back of the room to the PAC and SUN tables to increase my pledges. This year will be no exception, and I'll understand if some of you are doing that now and not necessarily paying undivided attention to what I'm going to be talking about today.

When our founding president wrote his justly famous article "The Right to Live in the World," he was talking about the right to move about in the world, the right to be employed in that world, the right to have an ordinary place in the common life of the community and nation.

But what I'm talking about today is yet one more arena in which individuals within our organization and our organization as a whole may become more involved. As medical science learns about how to extend life after injury and illness or learns how to detect someone's future amount of illness or disability, we will confront ever more moments when assumptions about what blindness means for a person's future, for her or his "quality of life" will be used to decide whether that person should continue to "live in the world."

In the past forty years a host of questions have emerged for individuals, families, medical professionals, and the larger society. Here are some examples: parents of premature infants must decide whether or not their infants should enroll in a study to determine the appropriate level of oxygen the infant should receive to try preventing blindness caused by retinopathy of prematurity. How should the researchers describe the consequences of blindness or vision loss to these parents? Or, imagine that you, sometime later in your life, having been blind for many years, acquire some other set of disabling conditions as the result of a car accident or a stroke. Should you continue to receive life-sustaining treatment, or should blindness, when combined with the new disabilities, justify having family or doctors provide less treatment or different treatment than would be provided to a person with sight who sustained the same new illness or injury?

Suppose a person who has been deaf his whole life learns that he will become blind within the next few years. He decides to go to Oregon, Washington, or Montana—where it is legal for physicians to aid a person in dying—with the request that physicians give him medications that will end his life so that he doesn't have to live for years as a person who is both deaf and blind.

To take just two more situations that people already face: prospective parents, eagerly anticipating the birth of their first child, learn through genetic testing that the child-to-be is very likely to have an inherited condition called retinitis pigmentosa. Should the parents continue the pregnancy, knowing their future child will probably be blind, or should they decide to end the pregnancy? What information will help them make a good decision?

As I said, these are questions that have come up over the past several decades. President Maurer discussed some of them during his 2003 banquet speech. Just this past April Gary Wunder wrote an editorial in the Braille Monitor suggesting that this might become a new arena for NFB discussion and action.

It was during the early 1980s that I first discovered these bioethical questions. I had been investigating discrimination cases for the New York State Division for Human Rights for ten years. I had been a member of the NFB for fourteen years when I went to my first bioethics meeting at the Bar Association of the City of New York. The topic being discussed was whether parents and doctors should be allowed to withhold life-saving treatment from a baby born with spina bifida or Down syndrome. The treatment would lessen, but not cure, the disabilities; without the treatment the baby would probably die. There were four experts speaking: two urging that the baby receive treatment over parental objection; two supporting the right of parents to make what was a life-and-death decision for their newborn child. During the question-and-answer session, I stood up and said something very close to these words: "These talks have been very thoughtful and careful. But none of the speakers here is either a person with a disability or a person who is the family member of someone with a disability. The perspective of people with firsthand knowledge of disability is absent from this conversation. It shouldn't be." I didn't have firsthand knowledge of Down syndrome or spina bifida, but I did have firsthand knowledge of one disability, blindness; and I did have years of political, professional, and NFB experience that insisted that the voices of those affected by decisions had to be present when such decisions are made.

Now I have to say that these few sentences, sentences that sound pretty obvious and commonsensical to us, made a frighteningly big impression on many of the people in the room. The next thing I knew, someone came over to me and said: “How do I get in touch with you? I need to invite you to a conference." One of the speakers urged me to contact the Hastings Center, the premiere bioethics think-tank in the country at that time, to join their project on decision-making for "imperiled" newborns. I did join the project and go to the conference. Soon I was going to more and more bioethics conferences. At those conferences I was listening to people who considered themselves "experts" say things like: "If you're paralyzed and can't run through the woods, it's worse for you and others than if you can run through the woods." "It is a tragedy to have a disease like muscular dystrophy.”

My question: "Have you ever met or spoken to anyone who has muscular dystrophy?"

"No, but I know that it has to be terrible."

"You consider yourself a scholar," I said. "You believe in making arguments with evidence. Where are you getting your evidence about muscular dystrophy?"

A few years later Dan Brock, a philosopher who writes about bioethical issues and whose ideas Dr. Maurer discussed in his 2003 banquet address, wrote the following:

The controversy concerns genetic diseases that result in serious disabilities but that still leave the persons who have them with valuable lives well worth living (Brock, 2005, 70-71).... My concern is with the middle category of genetic diseases and disabilities that most people would consider serious, but neither devastating nor minor. As examples of serious disabilities, I shall use blindness and serious mental impairment or retardation, though recognizing that some would judge blindness to be sufficiently minor to not warrant reproductive testing (71).... For example, if a person has been blind from birth, she may never fully understand the experiences she is missing from not being sighted. Nevertheless, there will be valuable human activities requiring sight that will not be possible for her, or that will be more difficult and less successful without sight, such as visual experiences and the pleasures of work or recreational activities requiring sight, and the potential loss or limitation of those activities in her life may be reason enough to attempt to prevent her disability when that is possible (72).

Now here's an interesting thing about the field of bioethics. The first philosophers, lawyers, doctors, and clergy who got involved in bioethics wanted to foster the rights of patients going through the medical system and dealing with the often-patronizing attitudes of doctors. Very similar to our views in the NFB, bioethicists espouse views like "patient choice" and "self-determination" and "autonomy." They argue that no medical procedures should be done without receiving "informed consent" from a patient. So here's a little story about the collision of NFB philosophy and bioethics when it comes to informed consent. In 1993 I was attending a bioethics conference known as Bioethics Summer Camp. At this four-day conference 120 bioethicists got together for discussions of emerging issues; leisurely meals; drinks by the pool; conversation; hiking; and, in this instance, whitewater rafting. About eighty of us signed up to go whitewater rafting. Now I want you to picture this scene: eighty men and women between the ages of mid-thirties to seventies. Philosophy professors aren't known for their athletic prowess. Most of us had never done whitewater rafting; most of us were both curious and a little nervous about what awaited us. How rough were the rapids? What were the chances of falling out of the raft? Would the raft topple everyone? Riding over to the rafting, we all read and signed the informed consent, assuring the rafting company that we knew rafting had its dangers, that we knew we might sustain injury in an accident, that we knew water was wet, and rafts might capsize. I read and signed the same informed consent as all my bioethics colleagues, and all of us carefully read over and criticized every word in and all the words out of the informed consent document. We discussed how we, as experts, would rewrite it. And then we got to the rafts and the professionals from the company who were going in every raft with the six aging professors. A doctor--a psychiatrist--took it upon himself to speak to the person leading our raft to call attention to the fact that I was blind, a fact that should have been obvious from the presence of my cane. "You can't paddle the raft," he said to me. “You have to sit in the middle.” I ignored these admonitions as much as I could, doing some paddling, but all I got for it was the displeasure of my colleagues, who accused me of going in the raft to prove a point, not because I was interested in having a new experience.

The next year we had another whitewater rafting session, and a colleague rushed over to me upon seeing me arrive to say: "Adrienne, you can't go in the raft! Alta fell in yesterday."

My reply: "Are you telling everyone else not to go in the raft?"

So much for autonomy, self-determination, informed consent, and the acceptability of taking risks! In all too much of the bioethics establishment, they know better than we do about how bad our lives are and how much we don't understand the ordinary hazards of life—whether it's cooking on a stove, crossing the street, or riding in a raft.

So we have a lot of work to do, and here's some of what I think NFB members, who are experts in what it means to live as a blind person, can do to educate the world of bioethics about blindness. There are medical schools throughout the country, one in nearly every state. NFB members could reach out to medical schools to offer to speak with medical students, residents, and doctors—not just in ophthalmology but in any field—about what it means and doesn't mean to be blind. Every hospital has some kind of ethics committee, where difficult cases get discussed. These ethics committees need community members, people who are not medical professionals but people who bring dedication and commitment to getting the views of the public into ethical deliberations. People who are blind or who have other disabilities have often been excluded from these deliberations; they have not been considered part of "the public." But of course, we are, and our voice needs to be heard. Similarly, a great array of genetic conditions can now be detected in embryos and fetuses. When people who are thinking of becoming parents learn that a potential child might have a genetic condition that would result in blindness, these people deserve to get information, not only about the medical facts of retinitis pigmentosa, Leber's congenital amaurosis, retinoblastoma, or some other condition. They need to know how children, adults, and their families live their lives on a daily basis. What are the resources available to children and their families? Can parents expect that their potentially blind child will have a life that will include school, friends, love, work, and life as a parent? For just the same reasons that the Federation works hard with the NOPBC, the Federation and NOPBC need to work so that genetic counselors and doctors can give prospective parents of blind children the opportunity to learn from experts in blindness what might be in store for them and their children.

Let me conclude by challenging us with some questions that are just starting to get bioethical discussion. These are questions that could provide us with plenty of opportunity for reflection and conversation.

Resource allocation in an emergency is a big topic in bioethics these days. Different states, professional societies, and the federal government are trying to decide who will get ventilators in a serious flu pandemic when there are not enough ventilators for everyone. Various allocation schemes have been discussed: only people above or below a certain age will get them, knowing that the very young and the very old might die without them; only people with dependents will get them, so that children will not lose parents, aging parents will not lose children who are caring for them, people will not lose their spouses; only people with a certain estimated quality of life before and after the ventilator use will get them; and people whose quality of life is considered lower for some reason will not get them. Again, that might be blind people, because blindness is considered a deterrent to a life of quality. Conversely, blind people, as those "worse off" should get ventilators first because they deserve compensation. Do we want to get priority for ventilators by claiming we've been "worse off" all the rest of our lives? Is that a price we want to pay for the privilege of staying alive?

As people who believe it is respectable to be blind, legitimate to be blind, we may believe that blindness should not disqualify people from the right to live in the world. But suppose genes could be modified before birth or visual implants could be given after birth or during a life to preserve or restore sight? Is blindness a characteristic that is incidental or central to anyone's self-definition? How should we help parents contemplating sight-restoration techniques for their children or people contemplating sight-restoration for themselves?

I don't know how we as individuals or we as an organization will choose to answer these questions. I do know that, just as we've worked to change laws and practices in education, rehabilitation, technology, employment, and child custody, we must take our place in the bioethics debates now and in the future. Although some of these questions may challenge us deeply to think about what it means to be blind, we are up to that task. Reread Dr. tenBroek's historic article with these questions in mind. Go back to Dr. Maurer's 2003 banquet speech; reread Gary Wunder's editorial in the April 2013 Braille Monitor. They can guide us as we go into this new intellectual and practical territory. And, as someone who's been doing this work for about thirty years, often feeling as though I'm alone on the barricades, I'd like your company. Thank you.


Reference


Brock, D. W. (2003). "Preventing Genetically Transmitted Disability While Respecting Persons with Disability." in Quality of Life and Human Difference, edited by David Wasserman, Jerome Bickenbach, and Robert Wachbroit. (New York: Cambridge University Press), 67-100.

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[PHOTO CAPTION: LaShawna Fant]


Governor Morehead School: An Interview with Director Melvin Diggs


by LaShawna Fant

>From the Editor: LaShawna has been introducing us to important people in the education of the blind. Our hope is this will build and enhance relationships we have and that they will also come to know more about us. Here is her latest interview:

LaShawna Fant: I am excited to conduct this interview with you! Please introduce yourself to the readers of this publication.

Melvin Diggs: My name is Melvin Diggs, Jr. I am the proud school director of the Governor Morehead School for the Blind in Raleigh, NC. I have been the school director for the past two years.

LF: What information is good for us to know about Governor Morehead School?

MD: Governor Morehead School (GMS) is the flagship school in North Carolina that serves the special needs of visually impaired students in a unique residential setting. The innovativeness of the Governor Morehead School extends back to its roots. When the school was established in 1845, it was the eighth school for the blind in the United States. Equally impressive is that North Carolina was the first state to serve the African-American blind and deaf population, beginning just four years after the Civil War. The school moved to its current location on Ashe Avenue in Raleigh in 1923 and was renamed in 1964 in honor of former Governor John Motley Morehead. African-American students attended school at the Garner Road campus until an exchange of students began in 1967, with full integration achieved in 1977. The school provides services to children from five to twenty-one years of age.

LF: Wow! The Tarheel State has been educating blind students for a long time. What are some of your goals for Governor Morehead School?

MD: As director, I have three main goals interwoven into our school's new strategic plan.

Enhance and improve our visually impaired students’ overall academic progress by engaging them in rigorous classroom instruction with a focus on literacy/Braille literacy and personalized learning opportunities for our students;

Improve post-secondary outcomes for students with visual impairments so they are better prepared for success in the workforce and higher institutions of learning; and,

Provide unique learning opportunities for visually impaired students that can rarely be duplicated or supported in larger school settings.

LF: That's great! Mr. Diggs, what is your educational background?

MD: I am a proud graduate of Elon University and North Carolina Central University. North Carolina Central University prepared me for my career in special education and working with students with disabilities. I also gained further certification for school administration at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

LF: Since you have served in education for several years, what have been some of your jobs?

MD: My previous career experiences include special education teacher, assistant principal, special education program specialist, consultant for special education policy for the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, and executive director of special education and academically/intellectually gifted programs for a local school district.

LF: Mr. Diggs, What inspires you and drives your passion for serving?

MD: We provide these opportunities through the school's vision: NICE – Nurture, Innovate, Challenge, Empower. As a teacher, seeing a student's eyes light up when they have learned something new inspired me to learn more about special education. As a literacy coach, seeing their smile when they knew they successfully delivered the lesson motivated me to learn about being a school administrator. As a school administrator, jointly developing a plan for implementation and seeing it come to fruition sustains me.

LF: Mentorship can be highly beneficial. Who have been some of your mentors, and how important have these connections been for you?

MD: I was fortunate to have one of the best special education teachers in North Carolina as a mentor. Helen Cagle Crumbley took me under her wing and helped me quickly value the role a special education teacher plays in all students' lives. She was a phenomenal teacher and colleague. I was blessed early in my career to come in contact with Dr. Norman Webb, who is known for research and implementation of the Webb Depth-of-Knowledge (DOK) framework. This affected me greatly as it supported my understanding of curriculum and how to support lessons or intervention more appropriately for my students in class, whether in an inclusive setting or the special education classroom. Even though his work is more aligned with testing and assessment, the role of a special education teacher and a visual impairment teacher is to support the student's learning by understanding curriculum requirements and accessibility needs with various learning modalities, training, and having a knowledge of your student's strengths.

LF: To find balance, what are things you enjoy doing?

MD: When I have moments to relax, I enjoy coastal saltwater fishing and spending time with my family, as well as serving the Lord and my church family at Full Gospel of Christ Ministries Church.

LF: I enjoy fishing also. Do you have any final words?

MD: Finally, I want to give a special word of gratitude to the following people and organizations. I want to thank the students and staff at Governor Morehead School for allowing me to be their school director. I want to thank Emily Coleman, Superintendent at Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired, as she has been the ultimate thought partner for academics, curriculum, and policy concerning Schools for the Blind. I also have to thank the numerous external organizations such as the Governor Morehead Alumni, Governor Morehead Foundation, and local Lions Clubs. Your support makes the difference in our students' experiences, activities, and lasting memories regarding the school and life.

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Medical devices with screens aren’t accessible to the blind. Congress has chance to change that


by Lizzy Lawrence

Reprinted from STAT with permission from Boston Globe Media.

Katie Keim was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 1967 when she was eight, well before the era of insulin pumps or even reliable home testing. The condition started eating away at her vision twenty years later. By the time she was 36, her sight was completely gone.

Keim had lived an independent life as a child despite her illness. Her summers were spent exploring oceans with her family, not at diabetic summer camps. Blindness, though, changed every aspect of her life—including her ability to manage her diabetes. Her first insulin pump had tactile buttons, but all the pumps that came to replace it had digital screens.

“Blind people cannot independently and safely manage our lives through the technology that’s available in home medical devices,” Keim said.

Digital home devices are in a regulatory gray area when it comes to accessibility standards. No agency requires manufacturers to incorporate features for blind folks. Keim and other advocates from the National Federation of the Blind have lobbied lawmakers for years to fix this. Now, federal lawmakers have introduced a bill that would require the Food and Drug Administration to develop rules mandating device makers build accessible products.

Insulin pumps and glucose monitors are a critical focus, as diabetes is one of the leading causes of blindness in the United States. But the bill would also direct the FDA to cover devices like CPAP machines or heart monitors.

The bill is not currently a priority for lawmakers even in the health care realm, with Congress focusing on the timelier issues of drug pricing and shortages. Still, the measure has more promise than most by being bipartisan, introduced by Sens. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) and Mike Braun (R-Ind.) on the Senate’s health committee. The bill was introduced in 2023 by Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) in the House.

“I’m hopeful that as we see bills that have a focus on health care come forward, I hope even this spring that we might be able to fold this one into it,” Hassan told STAT.

Hassan called the bill “common sense” and said she was in the process of educating fellow lawmakers on the issue. Schakowsky, whose bill has languished in a Republican-led house with just four Republican cosponsors, hopes to win more lawmakers over as well.

“This is not a political issue,” Schakowsky said. “There are people who have sight problems who are Republicans, Democrats, Independents. If we can do something about this, we should. I’m looking forward to getting their help in getting more Republican cosponsors.”

Braun’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

For advocates in the blind community, elevating the issue to the point of a bipartisan bill is a win.

“We always try to work on a non-partisan basis, and we feel that this is a basic issue of safety and health for blind people,” said Chris Danielsen, spokesperson for the National Federation of the Blind.

Danielsen said the NFB has raised their concerns to the Food and Drug Administration before, but the agency decided not to act. The FDA told STAT it does generally comment on specific bills.

The inaccessibility of home digital devices forces blind people to rely on older technologies or on caretakers to operate newer devices for them. Keim had to switch to a flat-screen Tandem pump four years ago, which luckily still has a tactile button for administering insulin doses. But she’s not able to independently change the cartridge, make dosing adjustments, or take advantage of continuous insulin delivery based on her glucose levels.

There are countless features Keim isn’t able to use on her own. She loves to exercise outdoors, living in Honolulu near the famed Diamond Head crater. A friend has to put her pump in “exercise mode” for her. Traveling solo to a conference, she had to ask the hotel clerk to change her pump’s date and time zone—a critical change for her dosing schedule.

Some companies have been receptive to working with the NFB, Keim said. But she’s grown accustomed to companies claiming there’s little demand for accessible insulin pumps. Keim pointed out that many blind users may not complain because they have spouses or other loved ones to help with doses, but would gladly buy devices that give them more autonomy.

“My spouse is blind, and he’s afraid of needles,” Keim said. “He’s no help. And I’ve done this my whole life since I was eight years old. Why should I not continue to manage and care for myself?”

Accessible device features, like audio prompts or tactile buttons, would help people starting to lose their vision as well. Folks with waning vision may fatally misread prompts or data on their flat screen devices.

“It’s not just that the situation is inconvenient for blind people and low-vision people,” Danielsen said. “It is actually very dangerous.”

Keim is hopeful that an FDA rule on accessibility will broaden her device horizons and improve her life. She would be able to switch to the waterproof Omnipod insulin pump and spend more time in Oahu’s beautiful oceans; an experience that, by thrilling her remaining senses, is almost therapeutic.

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A Brief Recap of the National Association of Blind Students Mid-Winter Seminar


by Lauren Altman

>From the Editor: Lauren Altman is the president of the National Association of Blind Students. She writes with this helpful update:

During the 2024 NABS Winter Seminar, the spotlight was on student resiliency. Leaders were vulnerable in speaking about instances of discrimination and inaccessibility that tried to prevent them from fulfilling their goals and how they worked to overcome them. During a variety of speeches and panels, we learned about tips for sharing your authentic story, heard about some of the many resources and opportunities coming up in spring and summer 2024, and learned from prominent leaders including President Riccobono, Justin Young and Pam Allen. The end of the seminar was a bittersweet moment when Gene Kim mentioned that he was stepping down from his role as secretary of NABS. We wish Gene the best of luck with his future endeavors and thank him tremendously for the work that he has put into the student division.

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NFB Pledge

I pledge to participate actively in the efforts of the National Federation of the Blind to achieve equality, opportunity, and security for the blind; to support the policies and programs of the Federation; and to abide by its constitution.

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