[stylist] A New Member

Sun Dec 28 01:50:38 UTC 2008

We have blind rehab counselors in Minnesota.  We provide them with 
drivers, as needed, a reasonable accommodation.  They are only in the 
field part of the time, so providing the drivers isn't a big deal.

There have been blind counselors for a long time, and if New York has 
none, something is really wrong.

Dave

At 06:40 PM 12/27/2008, you wrote:
>Every counsellor I've had with the commission for the blind has been 
>sighted.  They are required to drive to their clients.  Obviously 
>blind people cannot fill these roles.  However, in teaching blind 
>people to use adaptive equipment blind individuals do this in 
>facilities for the blind.  I work with other handicaps, mostly 
>mental disabilities, but have never worked with a blind person in 
>rehabilitation.  Yes, we have a blind governor in New York State but 
>he doesn't use adaptive equipment,, walk with a white cane or read 
>braille.  I just keep forging ahead with my own thing.  Judith
>----- Original Message ----- From: "John Lee Clark" <johnlee at clarktouch.com>
>To: "'NFBnet Writer's Division Mailing List'" <stylist at nfbnet.org>
>Sent: Saturday, December 27, 2008 6:58 PM
>Subject: Re: [stylist] A New Member
>
>
>>Judith:
>>
>>Deafness is an invisible to most.  Deaf people can spot a deaf person a mile
>>away with the way their eyes move, but most hearing people don't know
>>anything until they'[re spoken to but don't respond, or if they see them
>>signing.
>>
>>Blindness is more visible, certainly.
>>
>>But more accepted?  Maybe as objects of sexual desire, but other than that,
>>there's this difference in language.  Blind people speak the same language
>>with the mainstream.  For this reason, I think blind people have greater
>>potential for employment.  However, blind unemployment is far higher than
>>deaf unemployment.
>>
>>I think blind people are in higher positions, but deaf people have more
>>jobs, just not as many in very high positions.  There are several
>>"industries" suited especially for deaf people.  One is the ASL teaching
>>industry.  As the second most popular foreign language and the fastest
>>growing, there are more than twenty thousand ASL teachers in the country.
>>This industry includes performers for ASL videos, writers of ASL textbooks,
>>tutors, etc.  Then there is the relay services industry.  Text relay,
>>CapTel, and most popular, video relay.  This is a multi-billion dollar
>>industry and employs many deaf people in administration, training, and
>>marketing.  A third source of employment is working for the states, for
>>departments of human services and commissions and social work and also
>>teaching in the state schools for the deaf.  You understand, most services
>>provided to the deaf are provided by deaf people, too.  Not many hearing
>>people are capable or qualified to teach deaf children, give counseling,
>>train, whatever.
>>
>>But outside of these areas and other smaller businesses geared toward the
>>deaf, they don't have much headway.  We don't have a deaf judge or a deaf
>>governor, but you've got blind people in those positions.
>>
>>I may be wrong but low blind employment may have to do with the fact blind
>>people are not required for meeting the needs of or providing services to
>>the blind.  Maybe you've got a good source of employment in vocational
>>rehabilitation, but to me, it seems there are way too many sighted teachers,
>>trainers, counselors, and technicians that work with blind people.  And is
>>the fact that blindness is a great deal with SSDI a factor for the high
>>unemployment?  Deaf people can only earn up to eight hundred dollars per
>>month if they want to keep their SSDI, whereas blind people can earn up to
>>twice that.  So it is more in the interest for the deaf to seek full time
>>jobs and less in the interest for the blind to do the same.
>>
>>What do you think?
>>
>>John
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>-----Original Message-----
>>From: stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
>>Behalf Of Judith Bron
>>Sent: Saturday, December 27, 2008 5:16 PM
>>To: NFBnet Writer's Division Mailing List
>>Subject: Re: [stylist] A New Member
>>
>>Could it be that deafness is more acceptable than blindness is that deaf
>>people don't look different?  In many cases the blind person's eyes look
>>different from the sighted person's eyes.  Judith
>>----- Original Message ----- From: "Donna Hill" <penatwork at epix.net>
>>To: "NFBnet Writer's Division Mailing List" <stylist at nfbnet.org>
>>Sent: Friday, December 26, 2008 6:45 PM
>>Subject: Re: [stylist] A New Member
>>
>>
>>>John,
>>>I understand your perspective and I am writing a novel with a blind
>>>character, but having grown up trying to be sighted and being taught to be
>>
>>>sighted, I have information from that world as well and have written some
>>>fiction with non blind characters, simply to avoid having the story be
>>>about blindness, when the real point is more complicated as well as
>>>universal.
>>>
>>>I also can't help wondering, especially reading this particular post,
>>>about the difference between the blind and deaf communities.  If the blind
>>
>>>community were as large, independent and self-integrated as the deaf
>>>community and if blindness were as socially acceptable as deafness --
>>>i.e., Marly Maitlin is a superstar and the only blind woman anyone knows
>>>is Helen Keller who died over fifty years ago, well, perhaps there would
>>>be a market for blindness-related literature.
>>>Donna
>>>
>>>--
>>>For my bio & to hear clips from The Last Straw:
>>>http://cdbaby.com/cd/donnahill
>>>
>>>Apple I-Tunes
>>>
>>>phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?playListId=259244374
>>>
>>>Performing Arts Division of the National Federation of the Blind
>>>www.padnfb.org
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>John Lee Clark wrote:
>>>>Shelley:
>>>>
>>>>Aside from my six-year run as publisher of my own publishing operation, I
>>>>have been involved in the publishing world for twelve years.  I've worked
>>>>with many, many writers, about half of them hearing sighted and the other
>>>>deaf sighted with a few deafblind.  While the quality of the writing
>>>>always
>>>>plays a role in whether or not something gets published, the deaf
>>>>writers'
>>>>writing from the deaf perspective is always, always an advantage.
>>>>
>>>>No, I don't mean one needs to make a conscious effort to write "about"
>>>>being
>>>>deaf, in the didactic sense.  Just write about life--love, crime, family,
>>>>whatever--but through deaf eyes, drawing from the deaf writer's own
>>>>observations and sensations.  Ha Jin, the well-known writer, made the
>>>>point
>>>>in his latest book that there are too many writers who write about stuff
>>>>they learned in a secondhand fashion, and readers can pick it up, even
>>>>though they may not be conscious.  The writer's describing his or her own
>>>>genuine observations and experiences for the purpose of describing things
>>
>>>>is
>>>>very important and lends the work with an aura of, a vibe exuding
>>>>authenticity.
>>>>
>>>>So that's one benefit of writing exactly what you know.  Another boon to
>>>>any
>>>>writer is any type of outsiderhood.  If you look back on the annals of
>>>>literature, those who are "different" from the establishment population
>>>>but
>>>>don't write from that different perspective don't get published often, or
>>
>>>>if
>>>>they do, their work wears off quickly and they are forgotten.  Take the
>>>>example of Thomas Caldwell, who was deaf, but wrote as if he wasn't. Who
>>>>knows him now?  Or take Richard Wright, a wonderful and groundbreaking
>>>>African American writer.  All of his books are still in print, except
>>>>one,
>>>>and that was the only book he wrote about only white people.
>>>>
>>>>You understand, there are tens of thousands sighted people writing and
>>>>trying to get published.  So I cannot imagine any use in adding more of
>>>>the
>>>>same types of material to that pot.  There are only a limited number of
>>>>genres and plots, and they all have been done over and over again.  But
>>>>if
>>>>you're blind, and you're privileged to have different sensations and a
>>>>different touch in your observations, that's quite a blessing and will
>>>>help
>>>>your work stand out amidst the awful racket of the same old, same old
>>>>that
>>>>editors endure reading through week after week.
>>>>
>>>>Now, my deaf writer friends, they all have found their most important and
>>>>rewarding publishing credits through their deaf material.  Many of them,
>>>>before they started workring with me, wrote only mainstream stuff,
>>>>thinking
>>>>they would have a better chance.  Not so.  Take Raymond Luczak: He has
>>>>written over forty plays, but only twelve with deaf characters. Thirteen
>>
>>>>of
>>>>his plays have been produced.  All twelve deaf plays and one not make up
>>>>the
>>>>thirteen, leaving the rest of his "hearing" plays still collecting dust.
>>>>He
>>>>has written four novels, only one with deaf characters.  No surprise: The
>>>>three mainstream works remain unpublished and the deaf one won a
>>>>prestigious
>>>>fellowship and also a national first-novel contest and will be coming out
>>>>soon.  Raymond's "hearing" stuff is good and worthy of publication, but
>>>>the
>>>>problem is that there are so many equally good stuff these days, because
>>>>there are so many well-trained writers from all those MFA programs.
>>>>Those
>>>>who get published are the ones with unique voices, original twists, or
>>>>those
>>>>who bring to the reader authentic tastes of different worlds.
>>>>
>>>>I once got a story from a good deaf writer.  It was about the Titanic. A
>>>>couple gets separated at the end, the woman rowed away while the man
>>>>sinks
>>>>with the ship.  It was wonderfully researched and detailed.  The writing
>>>>was
>>>>smooth and luminous.  In all the fundamental areas, it was a superb
>>>>story.
>>>>But it was never picked up, and the deaf writer could not understand why
>>>>not, since it was one of her very best efforts.  The reason, of course,
>>>>is
>>>>that the Titanic as the backdrop for a love story has been done to death.
>>>>It was already worn threadbare even before that movie with Leo and Kate.
>>>>But what if the couple was deaf?  They wake up because of the great
>>>>commotion outside their room sending vibrations to them.  They ask each
>>>>other what's going on.  Outside their room, they see people running.
>>>>They
>>>>try to get someone to write to them on a notepad, but they're all
>>>>panicked.
>>>>So they have to investigate, and gradually, from all the visual
>>>>information,
>>>>they begin to understand.  A sailor tries to put the deaf woman in line
>>>>for
>>>>getting on a lifeboat, but she doesn't want to be separated from her
>>>>husband.  All sorts of misunderstandings, issues, correctives, etc.
>>>>occur.
>>>>And at the end, a twist on the classic separation thing: The deaf woman
>>>>decides to sink with her husband, so strong is their bond with each other
>>
>>>>as
>>>>they come from a small community and the deaf woman cannot imagine
>>>>venturing
>>>>out on her own amidst all those hearing strangers.
>>>>Now, isn't that a much better story?  A blind couple on the Titanic would
>>>>likewise be much better than the mainstream version and would definitely
>>>>stand out!
>>>>
>>>>Incidentally, some of the hearing writers I've worked with but who have
>>>>connectins to the Deaf world, they also have found greater success in
>>>>publishing their work relating to the Deaf world as opposed to their more
>>>>mainstream fare.  Take Morgan Grayce Willow, an ASL interpreter.  Her
>>>>biggest book credit is her work on interpreting.  Her most prestigious
>>>>magazine credit is for her essay "Double Language," about her experiences
>>
>>>>as
>>>>an interpreter.  She has published other stuff, but with much more
>>>>difficulty and less compensation.  Or take Pia Taavila, a wonderful poet
>>>>and
>>>>professor of English, who is the daughter of deaf parents, or a CODA as
>>>>we
>>>>call people like her--Children of Deaf Adults.  She has written both
>>>>mainstream stuff and stuff having to do with her upbringing in a Deaf
>>>>home
>>>>and her continued link with the Deaf community.  You guessed it again:
>>>>Her
>>>>Deaf-related poems are more readily published and get higher praise.
>>>>
>>>>It is not that they can't get published without the deaf material.  They
>>>>can
>>>>and have.  But it is against greater, much greater odds that they do.
>>>>Here
>>>>and there, they are able to be heard, able to be distinguished from the
>>>>rest
>>>>clamoring for the same editor's attention.  And it's not that writing
>>>>from a
>>>>different perspective will automatically get you published.  The writing
>>>>still has to be good.  But it is a huge advantage in arresting the
>>>>editor's
>>>>attention, curiosity, and interest.
>>>>
>>>>I don't know how the deaf writers could possibly try to write mainstream
>>>>stuff, or how you could avoid writing as a blind writer, but I never
>>>>could,
>>>>never wanted to.  It feels fake and contrived to me.  It would take too
>>>>much
>>>>effort to pretend, to write about auditory things I never heard, to write
>>>>visual descriptions of what I have never seen.  I am of the opinion that
>>>>"'catering" to the mainstream audience is self-defeating, because there
>>>>are
>>>>many writers that produce mainstream stuff and it's not like they're
>>>>"catering" but they're genuine because they ARE mainstream.  I have
>>>>always
>>>>written straight from who and what I am.  And I am not complaining about
>>>>my
>>>>inability to write mainstream stuff because I've been published in POETRY
>>>>magazine twice, while there are thousands of poets who can only dream
>>>>about
>>>>ever getting there; I've been published in McSWEENEY'S, America's most
>>>>hip
>>>>literary journal; I've won all those awards; my work has been broadcast
>>>>on
>>>>radio, including on the "Poem of the Day" program on Martha Stewart; I'm
>>>>being interviewed by someone from The New Yorker right now; I've been a
>>>>featured poet at an international cultural arts festival, flown there
>>>>first-class and with all expenses paid . . .   so I guess I must be doing
>>>>something right.
>>>>
>>>>No, that was not to brag at all.  That was purely to make my point, to
>>>>make
>>>>my case for writing from a different angle, and to encourage you and
>>>>others
>>>>to try doing that.  Hey, it can't hurt to try, can it?
>>>>
>>>>John
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
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