[stylist] Comments about the request by the sighted writer

Sun Jan 29 13:21:49 UTC 2012

Very good points Donna. I think you handled it quite tactfully and informative.

Brad

On 1/28/2012  09:19 PM Donna Hill said...
>Hi Friends,
>
>I have written to Rachel Peterson after reading her letter to David. I
>thought some of you might like to read my comments. Perhaps, you will take
>acception to some of what I have said, or you will have something else to
>add. At any rate, it's pretty long, but it's under my name.
>
>Donna
>
>
>
>Hi Rachel,
>
>
>
>My name is Donna W. Hill, and I am a blind writer of articles and fiction. I
>am 62, and I am currently writing about blindness issues, chocolate and
>knitting for the online magazine Suite 101. I am also preparing to publish
>my first novel "The Heart of Applebutter Hill," which features a blind teen.
>I read your letter to David Andrews on the NFB's Writers' Division e-mail
>list. I also visited your blog and read several entries.
>
>
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>
>Initially, I would just like to toss out some thoughts. I don't know how
>informed you are about the realities for blind people nowadays, so forgive
>me if you are already familiar with the following stats. 70% of blind
>Americans of working age are unemployed. This is not for lack of skills. Tim
>Cordes graduated from medical school in 2010, and he was not the first blind
>man to do so. Blind people work successfully in fields like engineering,
>law, mechanics and in a host of professions that most people generally
>believe to be off-limits without sight.
>
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>Despite studies showing that Braille literacy is a major factor in the
>likelihood that a blind person will complete an advanced degree, obtain
>full-time employment and earn over $50,000 a year, only 10% of the nation's
>blind kids are taught to read it. This is down from around 50% in the '60s.
>In fact, technology has blown the lid off what is available in Braille and
>made it possible for college students to carry their textbooks in a device
>not much bigger than a calculator.
>
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>Myths persist in the sighted world -- even among teachers of the visually
>impaired -- that Braille is unnecessary, a relic of a bygone era. Children
>with limited vision are forced to read large print, even when doing so means
>that they will suffer from headaches and eye strain, have no time for
>extracurriculars and recreation, and fail to keep up with their peers
>academically and socially. Falling behind is expected.
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>Audio books are given to those who can no longer see large print, but audio
>learning has been shown to result in a poor understanding of language,
>spelling and sentence structure, and it results in substandard thinking and
>writing. Parents would be justifiably outraged if their sighted child came
>home with the news that they didn't have to learn to read and were getting
>all of their books in an audio format, but this happens to blind kids every
>day. Braille and blindness itself are seen as failures.
>
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>I have interviewed mothers who fought the system on this. Even when the
>child was diagnosed as legally blind and the prognosis was for total
>blindness by early adulthood, Braille and other nonvisual skills were not
>taught.
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>The dichotomy between the successes of some blind people and the overall
>condition for blind Americans is largely due to social prejudice. Laws
>governing discrimination against people on the basis of disability are not
>written to the standards set for discrimination against other groups. I am
>currently doing a series of articles on web and digital accessibility based
>on a new academic study published in the First Monday Journal (U. of IL,
>Chicago) in November. The study, written by three Maryland professors who
>are sighted, contends that the laws are creating a permanent underclass and
>fostering a "separate but not equal" online environment in which 80% of the
>internet is not fully accessible. The technology to make software, websites
>and digital products accessible has been around for over a decade, but
>manufacturers are not required to use it.
>
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>Blind people, who used to be able to use their laundry machines, stoves,
>entertainment systems, thermostats and other household and office equipment
>independently are now finding their independence eroded because the new
>touch-screen technology is inaccessible to them. Apple's iPhone, which has a
>built in screen reader and can be used independently right out of the box,
>proves that this problem need not exist.
>
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>My first article on this issue is an interview with a legally blind senior
>information management specialist with the federal government. I will
>include links to the study and my article below.
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>I think you should also be aware that many blind people in the movement for
>equality are more than a little hesitant about sighted writers who portray
>blind characters. The Nobel Prize winning author Jose Saramago in his book
>"Blindness" presents newly blinded adults literally as not being able to
>wipe themselves. Meirelles, the director of the movie based on this book,
>when confronted with the opposition to his characterization of blind people
>by the NFB,
>
>
>
>Dismisses us saying, ".this organization don't really work for blind people.
>It's more like a PR organization." I'll put the link to his comments below
>my name.
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>In fact, we run 3 training centers and the only research and training center
>operated by blind people. Many nasty comments about blind people appear on
>the internet, yet few blind people respond, because the online comment forms
>either don't work with our screen readers or the form requires the solving
>of a graphic security Captcha -- something screen readers can't access.
>
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>Additionally, the blind characters who have made it into the mainstream
>literature are stereotypes. Blind women are portrayed as vulnerable and need
>protecting, though they may have almost super-human powers. If you'll think
>about it, you'll realize that blind women, unlike women from other
>minorities, are not present in the mainstream. When I do presentations for
>sighted groups, I often ask them to name some famous blind people. They
>think of Stevey Wonder, Ray Charles and the former NY governor David
>Paterson. I then ask about blind women. They can only recall Helen Keller.
>Ms. Keller, as you may know, died over 50 years ago. No minority has been
>welcomed into the mainstream without the help of prominent women from that
>minority.
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>There are few blind authors whose fiction is published by mainstream
>publishers. Deborah Kent (now Debbie Kent Stein) who has written many books
>for young adults, has a book called "Belonging." If you haven't read it, I
>suggest you do so. It was written several decades ago, but the truths it
>addresses have not changed much. Debbie is now the editor of Future
>Reflections, the magazine of the National Organization of Parents of Blind
>Children.
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>I know several blind authors who report that agents and publishers claim
>that their blind characters are unrealistic. We are not deemed capable of
>telling our own stories.
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>As far as your specific questions about life for blind women in the 40s, I
>am a bit young to have direct knowledge about that. I was part of the
>initial wave of integrating blind kids into the public schools in the early
>'50s. I did, however, have a couple older blind women in my life who told me
>about those days, and I interviewed Doc Watson, the acclaimed flat-picking
>guitarist from North Carolina. Doc went to school in the '30s and '40s. The
>interview was conducted in the mid '70s. He attended the NC school for the
>blind. At some point, he begged his father not to send him back, saying that
>they treated the students worse than animals. He overheard his father tell
>his mother that, if half of what he had told him was true, he would not
>allow him to return. In fact, Doc did not return to the school for the
>blind. Doc has always been willing to share details and has a kind and
>forgiving heart, but he could not speak about the specifics, and I saw a
>hurt and anger in him that I've never seen even after his son died.
>
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>My dear friend Marion, whom I knew when she was in her 50s in the '70s, told
>me stories about life at the Overbrook School for the Blind in Pennsylvania.
>Marion had some vision in one eye. She said that the staff used the
>"partials" like slaves, making them "watch out" for the totally blind kids.
>She loved kids and was heartbroken by how many blind children were dropped
>off at the school at the age of two or three by parents who would never see
>them again or even contact the school to see how they were. The kids slept
>in dormitories and had very little personal space or private time. The
>message was that blind people should stick to themselves and "know their
>place," which was not with the sighted world. Some went home for holidays
>and summer vacation, but many weren't ready for or accepted by the real
>world. Some sadistic staff members used to scar the kids by saying that
>demons were around every corner. Children were also impacted by the beliefs
>of their parents about the reason the child was blind. I've heard many
>people say that their parents believed God had sent them a blind child to
>punish them.
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>Those who were exceptionally intelligent went to college. I knew a woman
>named Dr. May Davido in this age group who had a doctorate in math. She
>taught at Overbrook. The brightest blind kids were encouraged even in the
>'60s to pursue careers within the blindness system rather than attempting to
>enter the mainstream job market. Very few broke out of this. If you have
>seen the movie "Children of a Lesser God," it contains many truths about
>society's feelings toward deaf people that resonate with me as a blind
>person.
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>May used to talk about her days as a student in a residential school for the
>blind. She said that every night, her house mother would come to check on
>the girls in her dorm to make sure they were all lying on their backs with
>their hands folded over their stomachs. For some reason, that image always
>stuck with me. May always traveled with a sighted companion rather than
>using a cane or guide dog.
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>Blind people like Marion and Doc learned Braille and used white canes,
>though I don't know at what age or how much practice they had traveling
>around away from the schools. Despite the conditions in the residential
>schools, many people found lifelong friends there and felt that the
>education was superior to what mainstreamed blind kids receive today.
>
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>To sum up my answer to many of the questions you raise, blind people are
>first and foremost people. Blindness itself is not the same for each person.
>Some are totally blind; others have enough vision to see print; some have
>severe field restrictions while others have no central vision. Some see only
>a tiny bit of light; others have vision that changes depending on the amount
>of light they have available or whether the light is changing, as happens
>when clouds pass over the sun. I knew a man who was blinded in a welding
>accident and continually saw a blinding brightness; another was blinded in a
>fall and saw only a red glow. Some are born blind; some are legally blind,
>but their vision is stable, while others have degenerative conditions that
>worsen over time. Some diagnoses are absolute while others have uncertain
>prognoses.
>
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>Some will learn better than others. Some will pour themselves into  learning
>what they need to survive, while others will have little interest in
>learning. Some of us are type As, while others are type Bs. Some will have
>fiery personalities and find it hard to maintain the methodical approach to
>mobility necessary to avoid running into things. Some are shy and would wait
>to be told where things were in a new environment, while others would set
>off and explore on their own. Some will not want to accept the truth that
>they are and will remain blind, and this will limit their ability to learn
>the nonvisual skills they need. Some will be broken by the lack of
>acceptance. Some will experience massive amounts of bullying in the sighted
>world and it will impact their entire lives.
>
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>In short, your character is whoever you think she is, and she will bring her
>basic personality, her intelligence level, her emotional adjustment and her
>secret dreams into her experience as a blind person. As with any other
>writing project, your job is to know who your character is and then make her
>actions conform to that vision.
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>I hope you find this information useful, and feel free to contact me, if you
>want more feedback.
>
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>
>Blessings,
>
>
>
>Donna
>
>
>
>The study is:
>
>
>
>Retrofitting accessibility: The legal inequality of after-the-fact online
>access for persons with disabilities in the United States by Brian Wentz,
>Paul T. Jaeger, and Jonathan Lazar, published in the November 2011 issue of
>the First Monday Journal, U of Il, Chicago.
>
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>http://www.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/3666/3077
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>My first accessibility article is:
>
>
>
>U.S. Federal Government Already Limits Web Access | Suite101.com
>
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>Jan. 19, 2012
>
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>Is internet access a civil right? Apparently not for all Americans. A
>federal worker explains how the U.S. is ensuring a "separate but not equal"
>policy.
>
>
>
>http://donna-w-hill.suite101.com/us-federal-government-already-limits-web-ac
>cess-a401448
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>A few articles on Braille literacy, blind kids and their parents
>
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>  Braille Literacy: For the Love of Reading, A Mother's Struggle with
>America's Special Education System
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>May 25, 2009
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>http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/103762
>
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>If you were a modern American educator would you expect a legally blind
>child to rely upon his remaining vision to use power tools or go snow
>tubing? How slow would a child have to read print for you to consider
>teaching him Braille? How bent over would he have to be, before it occurred
>to you that he might benefit from a white cane? Now that Carrie Gilmer's son
>is headed off to college, she can talk about their ten-year ordeal. As
>President of the Minnesota chapter of the National Organization of Parents
>of Blind Children, she knows that her experiences are unfortunately all too
>common. From her initial reactions to learning that her son was legally
>blind to the mistakes she hopes other parents won't make, she is candid
>about the fight she has just been through. Carrie's story is a must read for
>anyone with a friend or loved one dealing with poor vision.
>
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>Braille Literacy: Lessons from a Right-Handed World
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>May 18, 2009
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>http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/102885
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>Anna Walker is a legally blind eight-year-old second-grader who is fully
>mainstreamed in her public school. She has finished at the top of her grade
>level for two years in a row in a national Braille reading contest. In
>Pennsylvania, where the Walkers live, advanced certification for Braille
>instructors is not required as it is in some states. This means that many
>low vision children are expected to accept a substandard education. But
>Pennsylvania has Anna's Mom, a lawyer and president of the Pennsylvania
>chapter of the National Organization of Parents of Blind Children, who
>volunteers to help parents of blind and low vision children obtain the
>education their children deserve. Carlton Ann Cook Walker shares valuable
>insights into the special education system and the often overlooked issues
>facing students with severe visual limitations who are not totally blind.
>
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>Nebraska's Braille Law Tabled Despite Taxpayer Benefits
>
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>July 24, 2010
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>http://blind-students.suite101.com/article.cfm/nebraskas-braille-law-tabled-
>despite-taxpayer-benefits
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>Braille Literacy: Insights from a Michigan Home School
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>June 10, 2009
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>http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/105637
>
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>Michigan psychologist and Christian homeschool Mom Beth Brown shares her
>views on Braille. She has a wealth of experience which highlight the
>advantages of teaching Braille to students with visual impairments. She has
>witnessed first hand the increased independence experienced by Braille
>readers, as well as the struggles, limitations and dependence encountered by
>people who are trained to rely on faulty vision. Her recommendations are a
>must read for families who have a child with low vision. Other families will
>enjoy a look at the Brown's thriving home school.
>
>
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>Link to the comments by director of the movie Blindness, Mireles:
>
>http://www.indielondon.co.uk/Film-Review/blindness-fernando-meirelles-interv
>iew
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Brad Dunsé

"The naive believes everything, But the sensible 
man considers his steps." --Proverbs

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