[nfbwatlk] Bioptic Telescope

Tue Jun 10 21:17:04 UTC 2014

On Jun 10, 2014, at 10:33 AM, Becky Frankeberger via nfbwatlk <nfbwatlk at nfbnet.org> wrote:

> Oh well hmm, wonder how to say this politely, soft smile, do you have
> statistics that back up your statement that people using bioptics" because
> they are never safe drivers"
> 
> Didn't think so as I have never seen such statistics. Plus the pool of
> drivers is pretty low. I drove with a guy using bioptics. He was a wonderful
> safe driver. Drove with a lady with triple vision, and sat in her specialist
> eye doctor's office. She was a very safe driver. It was wild though. She had
> great distance vision, as confirmed by her doctor, but couldn't see close
> without magnification. So she drove up to her University to teach her class
> and harnessed up her guide dog to walk in the building. She never drove at
> night, never drove in ify weather conditions. After her stroke which caused
> the triple vision she wanted to go through the drivers test again. She
> passed first try. I drove with her for years.  
> I knew a man with RP who drove fine during the day, but as soon as he got in
> a building pulled out his long white cane, Federationist you know. He never
> drove at night nor in tunnels. 
> 
> My point is there are a lot of eye conditions. I think whether someone
> should be driving is up to the state that issued the license. I do also
> think eye doctors should be enpowered to contact the licensing place that
> person A needs a driver's test again, because of x or y.
> 
> My husband was involved with person's with albinism, he even spoke at the
> ANN convention. You are oh so right. Many of those people deny they are
> blind and need alternative techniques. That is why you are there a
> missionary type to tell them the truth. I am blind and here is how I do my
> work. Here is how your child will fit in, with the techniques that keep him
> independent, thus proud of himself. 
> 
> Warmly,
> Becky and guide dog Jake
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nfbwatlk [mailto:nfbwatlk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Denise
> Mackenstadt via nfbwatlk
> Sent: Tuesday, June 10, 2014 9:55 AM
> To: Mike Freeman; NFB of Washington Talk Mailing List
> Subject: Re: [nfbwatlk] Bioptic Telescope
> 
> Piobtic driving has been around for a long time.  It is promoted by some
> rehab people.  NOAH the organization for albinism talks alot about its use
> with low vision people.  My understand it is a device that is attached to
> the glasses that the driver will use to see where they are driving.  I
> personally think it is just a way to deny the inefficient vision that low
> vision people have.  Parents with children with albinism are given all kinds
> of ideas of how to enhance what is probably poor vision that they have.  I
> know the UW has a special program to teach disabled including blind people
> how to drive.  I personally think it is a dumb idea because they are never
> safe drivers.  I would never ride with them as a passenger.
> 
> Denise Mackenstadt
> dmackenstadt at comcast.net
> 
> 
> 
> On Jun 9, 2014, at 11:21 AM, Mike Freeman via nfbwatlk <nfbwatlk at nfbnet.org>
> wrote:
> 
>> Amen. If our intrinsic worth is based upon whether we can drive 
>> safely, we, the public, are in a bad way. (grin)
>> 
>> Mike Freeman
>> 
>> 
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: nfbwatlk [mailto:nfbwatlk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Don 
>> Mitchell via nfbwatlk
>> Sent: Sunday, June 08, 2014 9:10 PM
>> To: goldbeckjm at comcast.net; 'NFB of Washington Talk Mailing List'
>> Subject: Re: [nfbwatlk] Bioptic Telescope
>> 
>> I don't have e any problem with the article except for the statement 
>> that if he did not have the technology he might be" I wouldn't be a 
>> productive member of society. I could potentially just be a forgotten 
>> soul." Certainly anything might be, but there are always alternatives 
>> and we each have the opportunity to discover and use alternatives that 
>> avoid making us forgotten members of society.
>> 
>> 
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: nfbwatlk [mailto:nfbwatlk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Julie 
>> Goldbeck via nfbwatlk
>> Sent: Sunday, June 08, 2014 7:12 PM
>> To: NFBWA; County, Clark
>> Subject: [nfbwatlk] Bioptic Telescope
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> Has anyone heard of this technology?  Please read the article before 
>> you comment.  Thanks.
>> 
>> This story aired on NPR's Weekend Edition Saturday June 7, 2014
>> 
>> A Small Device Helps Severely Nearsighted Drivers Hit the Road
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> SCOTT SIMON, HOST: 
>> 
>> This is WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News. I'm Scott Simon. In nearly 
>> every state now, visually impaired people can drive with the help of 
>> what are called bioptic telescopes. Now these are tiny devices that 
>> drivers wear in addition to their glasses. At the University of 
>> Alabama Birmingham, there is a special training program where drivers are
> learning to use the telescopes.
>> And that's where Dan Carson - member station WBHM - met one young man 
>> who's leading a fuller life because of this technology.
>> 
>> DAN CARSEN, BYLINE: Twenty-four-year-old Dustin Jones merges a small 
>> white SUV onto the interstate. He's clean cut and wears a light blue polo
> shirt.
>> There's a three inch black box attached to the frame of his metal 
>> rimmed glasses.
>> 
>> DUSTIN JONES: Unless you've been without it, you don't understand how 
>> crucial it is.
>> 
>> CARSEN: Jones has a genetic condition that reduces long-distance 
>> vision, so he couldn't drive safely without this little device called 
>> a bioptic telescope.
>> 
>> JONES: Life without the ability to drive is exponentially harder. It's 
>> just very difficult to do anything at all.
>> 
>> CARSEN: Everything was harder growing up in a rural area with limited 
>> public transportation. His mom has the same condition.
>> 
>> JONES: We relied a lot on family or friends just for simple things 
>> like groceries.
>> 
>> CARSEN: Six years ago, Jones entered a University of Alabama at 
>> Birmingham program that trains people to drive with bioptic 
>> telescopes. His teacher was Jennifer Elgin.
>> 
>> JENNIFER ELGIN: You're fitted for the bioptic, and then you go through 
>> some training just for general mobility - so walking around, using it 
>> as a passenger in a car. Once we feel pretty good about the passenger 
>> part, then we move on to driving.
>> 
>> CARSEN: A year later, Jones was trained and certified so he could take 
>> Alabama driver's test. He passed on the first try. He started 
>> commuting by car to an IT job and eventually landed his current 
>> higher-paying IT job at a children's hospital. Jones says without his
> bioptic telescope...
>> 
>> JONES: I wouldn't be a productive member of society. I could 
>> potentially just be a forgotten soul.
>> 
>> CARSEN: It's also easier to pick up a girl for a date. He's a little 
>> shy on that subject, but Jennifer Elgin jokes about something else 
>> some new drivers notice when they start driving with these telescopes.
>> 
>> ELGIN: A lot of times with new drivers, especially young men, we'll be 
>> stopped at a stop sign and I'll watch them and they'll be looking at 
>> the girls walking across the crosswalk. And I'll look over and I'll 
>> say, I know what you're doing.
>> 
>> CARSEN: But this doesn't come cheap. Bioptic telescopes can cost more 
>> than
>> $2,000 depending on the model. State rehab programs sometimes pay for 
>> them, insurance generally won't. Jones' grandmother paid for his.
>> 
>> As he drives, every few seconds, Jones subtly dips his head and 
>> glances through the eye hole of the scope. His bioptic magnifies 
>> objects like signs and traffic lights four times.
>> 
>> At the University of Alabama at Birmingham, in addition to training 
>> drivers, specialists have done some of the first road-test studies on 
>> people with bioptic telescopes. UAB's Cynthia Owsley coauthored a 
>> recent study of 23 bioptic users, showing the vast majority drove safely.
>> 
>> CYNTHIA OWSLEY: As the evidence comes out on the research side, more 
>> and more jurisdictions are willing to entertain the possibility of 
>> bioptic driving.
>> 
>> CARSEN: And that would give even more people opportunities like the 
>> ones given to Dustin Jones, who still sees driving as a privilege.
>> 
>> JONES: I didn't feel entitled to drive, having not driven my entire 
>> life. I felt that the opportunity itself was gift enough.
>> 
>> CARSEN: According to one estimate, about 10,000 visually impaired 
>> people in the U.S. now drive with bioptic telescopes, and the number 
>> is growing as more people learn about the technology. Until cars drive 
>> themselves, these tiny telescopes will be out there helping people do 
>> what many take for granted.
>> 
>> For NPR News, I'm Dan Carsen in Birmingham. 
>> 
>> SIMON: And you can see what a bioptic telescope looks like on our 
>> Facebook page, NPR WEEKEND EDITION 
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