THE Braille Forum Vol. XXXI February 1993 No. 7 Published By The American Council of the Blind PROMOTING INDEPENDENCE AND EFFECTIVE PARTICIPATION IN SOCIETY LeRoy F. Saunders, President Oral O. Miller, J.D., National Representative Nolan Crabb, Editor Nicole Willson, Editorial Assistant National Office: 1155 15th St., N.W. Suite 720 Washington, DC 20005 (202) 467-5081 Fax: (202) 467-5085 THE BRAILLE FORUM is available in braille, large type, half-speed four-track cassette tape and MS-DOS computer disk. Subscription requests, address changes, and items intended for publication should be sent to: Nolan Crabb, THE BRAILLE FORUM, 1155 15th St., N.W., Suite 720, Washington, DC 20005. Those much-needed and appreciated cash contributions, which are tax deductible, may be sent to Brian Charlson, Treasurer, 1155 15th St., N.W., Suite 720, Washington, DC 20005. You may wish to remember a relative or friend by sharing in the continuing work of the American Council of the Blind. The ACB National Office has available printed cards to acknowledge to loved ones contributions made in memory of deceased persons. Anyone wishing to remember the American Council of the Blind in his/her Last Will and Testament may do so by including a special paragraph for that purpose. If your wishes are complex, you may contact the ACB National Office. For the latest in legislative and governmental news, call the "Washington Connection" toll-free at (800) 424-8666, 6 p.m. to midnight eastern time Monday through Friday. Washington, D.C., residents only Tel. 296-3552. Copyright 1993 American Council of the Blind TABLE OF CONTENTS President's Message News Briefs From The ACB National Office Your Input Is Needed For Access Board Guidelines Braille: Bridging The Gap Between Literacy And Illiteracy Thirty Years Ago In "The Braille Forum" Minnesota State Licensing Agency Beats Federal Department Of Veteran's Affairs In Federal Court Get Ready For Your Visit To The City By The Bay She Envisioned A City That All Could Cherish Legal Access: Somebody Asked Me, So ... He Works Hard So Others Can Play Hard How To Be A Successful Blind Bowler He's Making Braille That's Just Right For The Ears Here And There High Tech Swap Shop PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE by LeRoy F. Saunders By now I'm sure most of you are as glad as I am that the holiday season is over and it's time to get back into the routine and start our new year. I did this by making a trip to Washington, D.C. to meet with our office staff as well as to have a budget committee meeting about the 1993 ACB budget. This budget was approved, with some modifications, by the board of directors in early February. I was very pleased to see that the money for some things that ACB has needed to do for quite some time was there this year. Unfortunately, even though ACB has long supported all the high-tech items for use by blind people, we have been a little behind in acquiring these for our own staff. This year, I hope to get our office as well as our convention fully computerized, and have the appropriate equipment for visually impaired people to use. We started this last year in our Washington office and have done fairly well; by the time 1993 ends, we will truly be in the high-tech age. ACB will be sponsoring a summit meeting on accreditation sometime during the fall of 1993. The purpose of this meeting is to establish a type of accreditation for services to blind people that will evaluate these services based on the performance and achievements of the people served, rather than evaluation of the services based on the programs used. I know this is different from what we have been accustomed to, but it is time that blind people have a method of determining the success rate of people who are trained by a certain organization or program. This becomes even more important since we are developing a system within the rehab programs where people can receive a voucher and determine where they would prefer to receive services. Without having some way of thoroughly evaluating services, people would have difficulty in choosing the best service available. I have asked Dr. Frank Dickey of Lexington, Kentucky to serve as chairperson for this summit. By the time you read this article, I hope to have in place a committee to work with Dr. Dickey to select the people to be in this program. I will update you on our progress in future articles in the "Braille Forum." This article is being written just prior to the inauguration of our new president. All of us at ACB are waiting anxiously to find out about the new people on the Washington scene who we will be working with in the coming four years. I am sure it will take a few months for things to settle down in Washington, but you can be assured that we will be involved in working with the newcomers as soon as possible. Our legislative seminar, held again this year in conjunction with the Affiliated Leadership League of and for the Blind of America, will certainly be an important one. This will be one of our first opportunities to have people from around the country visit their new legislators in Washington. Also, by then we will probably know who some of the appointees are. Our state affiliate members might be helpful in going with us to visit new legislators from their states. Our new president has laid out an agenda that will keep him and many other people working hard this year. Hopefully, he will be able to convince Congress to accept some of his ideas and to get some badly-needed new programs started for us. One thing in particular that I'm sure all of us are concerned about is a national health care system. As somewhere in the neighborhood of 40 million people are not insured for their healthcare in this country, I hope this will be a high priority item for both Congress and our president. The stimulation of our economy is another area of great concern. There are signs at this time that the economy is beginning to improve. Hopefully this will continue, but more importantly, maybe Congress and our new president can provide some help in this area. Unfortunately, this is going to cost money. Our deficit, which is in the region of $4 trillion dollars, is going to be a major problem. I am sure that many of our congressional people also have agendas of their own. Therefore, I expect it will be a very interesting year with all the new people and all the challenges that face everyone. I hope that all of you have started making plans to attend our national convention in San Francisco this year. San Francisco has many interests for many people. However, I also hope that we can provide an excellent program and facility that will encourage you to come and take part in this convention. Our last convention in California was in Los Angeles and this seemed to draw a great deal of people. In fact, to the best of my knowledge, this was the largest convention that ACB has ever conducted. I expect the airlines will have some cheaper rates within a few weeks of this article, and that might be an excellent time for our members to purchase tickets for the upcoming convention. With all the problems the airlines seem to be having, I don't think the fares will stay down after spring hits and people really start traveling again. I look forward to seeing our presidents at our President's meeting, and meeting with our Board of Directors in February. The people who attend these meetings will have an opportunity to visit the hotel of our next convention prior to convention time. CAPTION: ACB President LeRoy F. Saunders NEWS BRIEFS FROM THE ACB NATIONAL OFFICE by Oral O. Miller, National Representative Once upon a time, it was believed by many that governmental and advocacy activities came to a halt in Washington after Congress went home, but, if that was ever the case, it is not the case now. Besides, reading, often for the first time, statutes that were adopted by Congress during its last hours in session, it has been necessary to take part in the transition process with the incoming administration, and to take part in the continuing regulatory process. For example, and as reported by the Washington Connection, in recent weeks ACB staff members have been very busy responding to, among other things, Department of Transportation and Access Board proposed regulations that would, if adopted, delay or possibly cancel the installation of tactile edges along subway platforms and other confusing or dangerous areas. For many weeks in late 1992, the Washington Connection encouraged callers to send several braille messages to President-elect Clinton by way of the ACB National Office as a means of underscoring the importance of braille, braille literacy, the inclusion of braille in teacher training programs, and so forth. The letters were to be presented to the new administration and in fact were presented to Bobby Simpson, the disability constituency coordinator of the Clinton-Gore transition team, at a press conference held at the Capitol in early January. (See "Braille: Bridging the Gap Between Literacy and Illiteracy", this issue.) I will not mince any words at this point: The response to the request was extremely disappointing! The preparation of a braille letter consisting of only five or six sentences would not have been a difficult task, and a large number of such letters would have been very impressive. Whenever blind consumers forgo such opportunities to be heard in such a simple manner, they default on their responsibility to speak for themselves and other consumers, and they give credibility to the often- repeated but mistaken allegation that most blind people do not care about braille and that, therefore, no effort should be made to teach it or to make braille materials available. If this sentence is read as an expression of disappointment, you are reading me correctly! Although the braille literacy press conference was worthwhile and successful, it could have been much more successful! No, the regulations that have been issued so far, and even the regulations that are now being proposed to implement the Americans with Disabilities Act, do not solve or even discuss all the difficulties encountered by disabled people. The President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities has, as a means of addressing some of these concerns, sponsored disability employment summit conferences in recent months to bring together experts to discuss such matters as insurance, work disincentives, collective bargaining and communicating the content of the ADA throughout the economy. It was my pleasure and that of ACB Director of Governmental Affairs Paul Schroeder to attend the most recent of these summit conferences, held on Capitol Hill, to hear progress reports by the various working groups, which are made up of consumers, government officials, representatives of private industry, and representatives of labor unions. Continuing commendations to Recording for the Blind for paying meaningful attention to the input from its National Consumers Advisory Council, of which I am a member! At the Council meeting held recently at RFB headquarters in Princeton, NJ, the Council was asked to respond to a number of very practical questions, including the practices of RFB as it serves more and more consumers who are not blind or visually impaired. At this time, RFB serves more learning disabled students than visually impaired people. A very moving moment for me personally took place recently when I was presented the Distinguished Service Award from the President of the United States. As I said after receiving the award, any success which I have achieved as an advocate for blind and visually impaired people or other disabled people would not have been possible without the assistance of many other people including a hard working and efficient staff. Although we are looking forward to working closely with the Clinton-Gore administration, it was recently my distinct pleasure to attend and take part in an impressive tribute to President George Bush in recognition of the work which he and his administration did in behalf of disabled people. The lunch and related ceremonies which were attended by hundreds of political figures and leaders of the disability community, took place at the elegant Capitol Hilton Hotel in downtown Washington, and were sponsored by the American Disability Channel, Justin and Yoshiko Dart, Osborne Day, the Dole Foundation, Johnson and Johnson, Evan Kemp, National Organization on Disability, and the Paralyzed Veterans of America. The printed tribute to him said: "We are here to pay tribute to President George Bush. During his tenure as vice president and as president of the United States, he has given unprecedented support to the rights and empowerment of America's 43 million citizens with disabilities. He listened to and counseled with disability rights leaders, personally and through senior staff. He appointed more people with disabilities to key positions in his administration than any previous president. He cooperated with the disability community and a bipartisan coalition in Congress in the writing, passage, and implementation of the world's first comprehensive civil rights law for people with disabilities--the Americans with Disabilities Act." Some of the political figures who were present at the ceremony, other than President Bush himself, included Sen. Robert Dole, R-Kan., former congressman Tony Coelho, former attorney general Richard Thornburgh, Dr. I. King Jordan of Gallaudet University, Undersecretary of Housing and Urban Development Gordon Mansfield and Rep. Norman Mineta, D-Calif. One of the high points of the ceremony was the presentation to President Bush of the first George Bush Medal for the Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities. I was honored to be one of the dozen or so disabled consumers who were invited to share the dais with the President as he received the medal and greeted the crowd. And now to answer a trivia question which many people have asked--although President Bush is left-handed, he shakes hands firmly with his right hand. I regret to report the departure from the National Office staff of Veronica Braun, who has been a loyal member of the staff for the past three years. Veronica plans to enter graduate school in the near future to pursue her interest in Middle Eastern Studies. We will all miss Veronica and we wish her well. YOUR INPUT IS NEEDED FOR ACCESS BOARD GUIDELINES by Paul W. Schroeder Director of Governmental Affairs The Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board, the Access Board, created the Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines for Buildings and Facilities to establish accessibility standards for public accommodations (private business and service facilities). When the Department of Justice published its title II regulations in July, 1991, it gave state and local governments the option of following ADAAG or the Uniform Federal Accessibility Standards with the intention of adopting ADAAG once the regulations were amended. On December 21, 1992, the Access Board issued proposed accessibility guidelines to cover State and local government buildings and facilities. Individuals are urged to provide input to the Board on these guidelines. The proposed guidelines are available in accessible format (braille, large print, tape, computer disc) by contacting the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board, 1331 F Street, NW, Suite 1000, Washington, DC 20004-1111, (202) 272-5434. To assist individuals in providing input, the Access Board included in its proposal a number of questions on issues of interest to people with disabilities. Below are selected questions and passages from the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (Federal Register, December 21, 1992) which are of particular interest to individuals who are blind or visually impaired. BUILDING SIGNAGE NPRM Question 9: The Department of Justice title II regulations require State and local governments to ensure that persons with visual impairments can obtain information about the existence and location of accessible service, activities, and facilities. Should the ADAAG guidelines include provisions for tactile or audible directories, audible signs or other way finding devices for State and local government buildings in order to provide for the needs of persons with visual impairments? Should these requirements be restricted to specific State and local government building types? The Board seeks information about technologies that are currently available which would provide persons with visual impairments information about services, activities and facilities of State and local government buildings. Information is also sought about the cost, availability and reliability of such technologies. When creating the ADAAG, the Board included signage requirements for tactile letters; however, it did not include a technical provision for incised, or engraved, letters. The engraving industry representatives have questioned the advisability of restricting tactile signs to raised letters and believe that incised letters can be designed so as to be readable by persons with vision impairments. NPRM Question 10: The board is interested in consumers' experiences with both raised and incised letters on tactile signs. Specifically, is one type generally more readable than the other? Comments regarding individual preferences are welcome. If available, supporting data including research on success rates (readability) and factors influencing success is also requested. NPRM Question 11: If incised tactile signs are permitted, what minimum specifications for depth of lettering, stroke width, height of characters and typeface is recommended for such signs? Are incised and indented lettering interchangeable or are they distinct from one another? Commenters are asked to provide supporting data or research, where possible. NPRM Question 13: The Department of Justice has issued a technical assistance letter stating that the only signs subject to the tactile sign requirements of ADAAG are restrooms, room numbers, and exit signs. (ACB objected to this narrow interpretation in Resolution 92-05) The Board is considering including an additional requirement for tactile signs which provide information about the function or use of room or space in State and local government facilities, such as: "Courtroom,", "Classroom," "Accounting Department." Should State and local government facilities be required to provide tactile signs when such signs provide information about the function or use of a room or space? If so, which informational signs should be included in this provision? VOTING BOOTHS NPRM Question 19: The Board recognizes that, in most cases, voting booths and equipment are portable in nature and therefore may not come under the jurisdiction of these guidelines. However, to the extent that a State or local government building which houses a polling booth or equipment is considered new construction or an alteration, that facility is covered by the accessibility requirements of ADAAG. The Board is seeking information regarding new and existing technologies which would facilitate the independent use of voting equipment and booths by persons with disabilities. The Board is particularly interested in technologies that would meet the needs of persons with visual impairments, reach range limitation, and limitations in manipulating or operating controls in voting booths. Commenters should bear in mind that those technologies recommended must maintain the confidentiality of the voting process. JURY ACCOMODATIONS NPRM Question 36: Concern has been raised regarding the potential conflict between technology used in the jury deliberation room and the right to a jury trial which requires that jury deliberations are kept confidential. Attorneys, clients, and jurors need to be confident that their communications will not be heard by other persons at the time of the communication or later. The Board seeks comment on how issues of confidentiality and privacy can be addressed while providing accessibility for persons with vision and hearing impairments. DWELLING UNITS NPRM Question 62: Title II of the ADA covers all State and local government programs, services, and newly constructed facilities, including residential housing. The Board is considering including specific requirements for persons with visual impairments as part of its final guidelines, such as: lighting fixtures which can accommodate 150 watt bulbs for tenants with residual vision; the mounting of cooktop controls on the front and side of ranges; tactile markings for controls; and colors for baseboards, doors, doorframes, and windows that contrast with the color of the walls and floors. The Board seeks comment on what provisions, if any, are appropriate and should be included in this section. In particular, information is sought on what provisions, if any, are necessary in residential housing to accommodate persons with low vision as well as those who are blind. STREET IDENTIFICATION AND PEDESTRIAN SIGNAGE Pedestrian informational and directional signage and street identification signs are required to meet the minimum requirements for character proportion, character height and finish and contrast; however, the Board has not proposed a requirement for tactile or braille signage at this time because emerging technologies suggest there may be more effective methods of identification. The Board is seeking information on sign size, location, and standardization with respect to pedestrians with vision impairments. NPRM Question 67: If raised and brailled signage is provided, what pedestrian signs should be covered, and how can issues such as sign size, location, and standardization be addressed? Is the absence of street name information a significant barrier to persons with visual impairments? Should applications vary according to location, such as urban, suburban, and rural areas? NPRM Question 68: The Board seeks comment on how to provide orientation information contained in pedestrian signage accessible to persons with vision impairments. An audible system may provide access for persons who cannot read because of other disabilities, such as learning disabilities and mental retardation, but would be inaccessible to those who are both deaf and blind. Are there technologies that could accommodate all users? Should applications vary according to location, such as urban, suburban, and rural areas? Where possible, commenters should include cost information. PROTRUDING OBJECTS (PUBLIC SIDEWALKS) The Accessiblility Guidelines for Buidlings and Facilities published in the Federal Register on July 26, 1991 states: "Potential hazardous objects are noticed only if they fall within the detection range of canes. Visually impaired people walking toward an object can detect an overhang if its lowest surface is not highter than 27 inches. When walking alongside protruding objects, they cannot detect overhangs. Since proper cane and service animal techniques keep people away from the edge of a path or from walls, a slight overhang of no more than 4 in. is not hazardous." NPRM Question 69: Comments received during the initial rule making indicated that the 27-inch maximum requirement is insufficient for cane detection under many circumstances and may constitute a particular hazard along sidewalks. Is the maximum 27-inch height for protruding objects along sidewalks sufficient to provide adequate warning to individuals who use canes and those who do not use canes? If adequate warning is not given, what changes should be made to these provisions and what research supports such changes? Should all protrusions between 0 and 80 inches be prohibited? Should post-mounted objects continue to be permitted to overhang their mountings up to 12 inches, instead of the 4-inch limitation applied to wall-mounted objects? AUDIBLE TRAFFIC SIGNALS NPRM Question 74: The Board is interested in appropriate scoping and technical requirements for auditory or vibrotactile crossing signals and the experience of jurisdictions that have used such signals. Should there be differences between requirements for noisy urban streets and quiet residential neighborhoods? Should applications vary according to location, such as in urban, suburban, and rural areas, or by levels of pedestrian use? What technology is currently available or under development for such applications? What are the advantages, disadvantages, costs and user preferences of each system? MARKED CROSSINGS (CROSSWALKS) NPRM Question 75: Marked crossings legally establish a crosswalk and therefore function as traffic control devices. An appendix note recommends marked crossings at State and local government buildings and facilities, transportation facilities, places of public accommodation, at irregular intersections, and at mid-block crossings. Should the Board recommend locating marked crossings in areas other than those listed in the appendix, such as at traffic signals? Are there areas where marked crossings should be required? DETECTABLE WARNINGS The section addressing Detectable Warnings has been reserved. The Board plans to conduct additional research on detectable warnings and will be issuing a separate notice of proposed rulemaking to suspend certain ADAAG provisions for detectable warnings until January 26, 1995. The Board will consider public comments on that notice, as well as the results of the additional research, before proposing specific requirements for detectable warnings at curb ramps along a circulation route in the public right-of-way. Note: Initial findings from current research show that a high proportion of blind and visually impaired cane users inadvertantly step into streets, indicating that blind pedestrians, even those trained in the use of the white cane, experience problems with curb ramps and uncurbed intersections. PUBLIC COMMENTS AND HEARINGS To ensure that the interests of individuals who are blind or visually impaired are represented in these guidelines, the Access Board is requesting public comments on these questions. Please send your comments to the Office of the General Counsel at the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board by March 22, 1993. If possible, please reference specific questions or subjects in your response. The Access Board is also holding public hearings to enable individuals to briefly present their views to the members of the Board. If you are interested in making a presentation to the Access Board, public hearings have been scheduled for the following dates and cities: February 22, 1993-Charlotte, N.C. and Denver, Colo.; March 2, 1993-St. Louis, Miss.; March 9, 1993-Washington, DC; March 15, 1993-San Francisco. For more information, please contact the Access Board or the ACB National Office. BRAILLE: BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN LITERACY AND ILLITERACY by Nicole E. Willson Although the vast majority of employed blind people in the United States read and depend on braille, braille teaching is declining in schools and many blind and visually impaired students never learn to use it, thus jeopardizing their chances of successful employment in an already highly-competitive job market. Those were among the points discussed at a press conference commemorating Braille Literacy Week. The conference, which was hosted by the American Foundation for the Blind, occurred on January 7 at the U.S. Capitol. The speakers, including Carl Augusto, president and executive director of AFB, Senator Paul Simon, D-Ill., author of the Braille Literacy Amendment, Oral O. Miller, national representative of ACB, and Bobby Simpson, the disability constituency coordinator of the Clinton-Gore Transition Team, all stressed the necessity of promoting the teaching of braille in schools if blind people are to be competitive in society. After introducing the speakers and recognizing a few of the guests, Augusto explained why braille literacy is still a necessity in spite of the wide availability of computers, voice synthesizers and other technological aids. "(In order to) achieve equality of opportunity, I know of nothing more essential than literacy, the ability to read and write independently. One can't learn to spell just by learning to listen to words ... and if you can't spell, you can't effectively use a typewriter, a computer, and other basic literacy tools of this day and age. As a blind person myself, I couldn't function effectively in my job or in everyday life without braille." However, Augusto said, there is a serious shortage of people qualified to teach braille. Furthermore, although the mainstreaming of blind children into regular classrooms is in many ways beneficial, these children are increasingly being taught by teachers who are not competent braille instructors. Therefore, braille, the primary literacy tool for the blind, is being taught either poorly or not at all to blind and visually impaired children. To help combat this problem, Senator Simon proposed an amendment to the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Simon Amendment, which authorizes support for states and public and nonprofit agencies and organizations, including institutions of higher education, to pay all or part of the cost of training in the use of braille for personnel providing vocational rehabilitation services or educational services to youth and adults who are blind. "The AFB and the blindness community will be seeking an appropriation of $10 million for this activity this coming year," Augusto said. Augusto then introduced Senator Simon, who listed several statistics which underscored the importance of braille literacy. "Only 16 of our 50 states have any training for teachers of braille. The unemployment rate among the blind is 70%. Among (the blind) who are employed, 91% can read braille. 64% of the unemployed adults who are blind do not know braille. Approximately 88% of students with serious visual impairments graduating today are braille illiterate ... Clearly, we're not doing what we should to utilize this great human resource." Simon then went on to pay tribute to the American Council of the Blind for calling the Rehabilitation Act amendment to his attention. He also paid tribute to his grandmother, who was a volunteer braille transcriber, and to Erika Musser, a Chicago woman who had to learn braille herself in order to teach it to her blind daughter Heidi, who is now a student at Northern Illinois University. He concluded by expressing regret that there was not more press at the conference, stating that, "Some of the most important humanitarian causes get very little attention, and you're helping to bring attention to something where there's a desperate need." The next speaker was Oral Miller, who began by stating, "Mankind abandoned the oral tradition thousands of years ago with the development of writing. Many people innocently and perhaps naively put blind and visually impaired people back into that era by failing to recognize the importance of the ability to read and write braille ... Just think of how difficult, if not impossible, it would be to keep a checkbook, keep an address list, or write a paper, or prepare a position paper at school ... or, in a work situation, using only memory or at best a tape recorder as a storage vehicle." Miller reiterated the assertions of Augusto and Simon that braille is a necessity to blind and visually impaired people if they are to make the most of employment opportunities. Miller commended Simon for his work in including the Simon amendment in the Rehabilitation reauthorization. He also commended Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., and Rep. Cass Ballenger, R-N.C., for their sponsorship of the Braille Literacy Week Resolution. "The American Council of the Blind and the Braille Revival League think that you also would really find it unacceptable, and would feel very strongly, if you were told that schools were no longer going to teach children to read, or to use paper and pencil," Miller concluded. Augusto and Miller then presented a bag of letters written in braille to Bobby Simpson. The letters congratulated President Clinton on his victory, welcomed him to Washington, and stressed how important braille is to blind people across the country. Unfortunately, few ACB members responded to repeated requests for these letters. Miller read a letter from Joseph Perry, the president of the Pennsylvania Council of the Blind. "I just wanted you to know how important the use of braille is to me," Perry wrote to Clinton. "It has been the bridge between me and the rest of the world for over 58 years. I trust that you will do all you can to make certain that all of our severely visually impaired children, who cannot read even large print fluently, will receive instruction in braille. Thank you." Simpson thanked Augusto and Miller for their presentation. "I can really think of no more appropriate way to recognize Braille Literacy Week than welcoming the next President of the United States with hundreds of braille letters from all across the nation." He stressed President Clinton's commitment to education for people with disabilities to facilitate their participation in mainstream society. "Braille ... means the difference between being literate or illiterate ... (Clinton is committed to) the importance of literacy to all Americans so that they can truly be equal participants in the rebuilding of America." THIRTY YEARS AGO IN "THE BRAILLE FORUM" As early as 1963, ACB was involved in the issue of braille literacy. In the January, 1963 issue of "The Braille Forum," "Hyde Park Corner" featured a debate over the best methods of teaching braille. Could braille be taught to blind children in the same way that print was taught to sighted children? Was it appropriate to use the same textbooks for blind and sighted children? Earl Scharry offered the contrasting opinions of two writers and let the reader decide. Why Johnny Can't Read Braille (No author given) The other day the mother of a second-grade youngster in a school for the blind commented to us that she was very much concerned over the fact that her son seemed to be simply unable to master braille reading. She said, "Maybe Johnny is dumb, but I never thought he was that dumb." We know Johnny quite well, and he is far from dumb. She then went on to express the opinion that it's a mistake to try to teach children braille contractions in the beginning before they have mastered the alphabet. We were interested, because we have long suspected that there is something radically wrong with the methods--and particularly with the textbooks--used for teaching braille. We are aware that in broaching this subject we are trespassing in a domain that has been preempted by the professionals. Yet, we feel that the professionals often become bogged down in the morass of their own specialized concepts and are loath to depart from their own traditional methods. In addition, professionals in a given field are all too prone to apply their concepts in an area where they are fundamentally inapplicable, and there is nothing quite so inept as an "expert" floundering in alien waters. In this instance, principles which may be valid in teaching sighted children to read print have been uncritically applied in the teaching of braille. We submit that the two processes are entirely different and require radically different methods. What has happened is that the more enthusiastic advocates of the integration of blind children into the public schools have converted the movement into an almost neurotic denial of the very existence of any difference between the blind child and the sighted child. The blind child must use the very same textbooks that are used by his sighted peers, even though they may be pathetically inadequate for the blind child's learning needs. The print book may be (and usually is) enriched by many pictures which engage the sighted child's interest and make the words meaningful. The blind child must use the selfsame book, even though the words are dull and meaningless without the pictures. It may be feasible to teach the sighted child to recognize a word at a glance, but the blind child must read a character at a time. Yet, if the print book introduces words like "and," "the," "will," "with," "can," "above," etc., on the first few pages, the blind child must learn their contracted forms before he has learned the letters which comprise them. It would seem that what is needed is a reading program especially designed for braille pupils which would introduce them to the complexities of braille in a systematic and orderly manner, progressing from the simple to the more difficult material--in braille. We believe that it would be a relatively easy matter for some agency to apply for an OVR grant to study this problem and to devise a set of reading textbooks especially designed for the teaching of braille to the blind child. We can only wonder why, in heaven's name, it hasn't been done! Johnny Is Learning Braille by Arthur Lown, Ed. D. 1. In the more progressive classrooms, the methods for teaching braille are indeed based in part on research findings with sighted children. One such finding is that a child learns to read, not at a given age level, but when he is physically and mentally ready to read. It is possible for a child to learn to read before the first grade; he usually learns during the first grade, often in a later grade, and occasionally never. The day will come, hopefully, when the readiness factor will be as much accepted as variation in readiness for walking and talking now are. 2. A second contribution of research for sighted children has increased reading speed in braille. In the 1930's the "look-and-say" method of recognizing most words as wholes was substituted for the practice of examining individual letters of each word. Whereas we first-grade students in the thirties spelled our way through one or two Beacon readers, now it is not uncommon for a beginning reader to cover 25 books during the first year. If a blind child can be taught that "w" means "will," it obviously slows his speed to have him read the word in its uncontracted form. He can be taught later how to spell "will" if indeed he does not discover the spelling from reading the word "hill," which cannot be contracted ... Furthermore, to teach a child in the first grade the letters "for" and later to teach that a single symbol means the same word wastes time for child and teacher. Krebs points out that the purpose of contractions in braille is to speed reading as much as to save space. Even so, the braille reader is still outdistanced by the print reader. 3. Perhaps as a reaction against teaching blind beginners to "Look, look," two staff members at Perkins wrote primers which appeal to non-visual experiences such as the smell of breakfast and the fun of dressing. In schools for the blind only, this material may be appropriate by itself, but where blind children are taught with the sighted, it should be used as enrichment. Careful modifications of the standard primers allow the blind student to enjoy the same material as his classmates ... The desire of the blind child to read the same material as his classmates is sufficient incentive. Better methods can be developed through additional research spurred on by public interest. We must continue to learn from the research for sighted children, but we also look to such institutions as George Peabody College for Teachers for continuing specific research in the teaching of braille. MINNESOTA STATE LICENSING AGENCY BEATS FEDERAL DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS' AFFAIRS IN FEDERAL COURT by Charles Hodge As "Braille Forum" readers may remember, in the summer of 1991, an arbitration panel convened by the U.S. Department of Education under the provisions of the Randolph-Sheppard Act had handed down a decision ruling that the Department of Veterans' Affairs was subject to the priority provisions of the Randolph-Sheppard Act, but also holding that the Department of Veterans' Affairs could condition the continued operation of a vending location at its St. Cloud, Minn., medical facility on the payment by the state licensing agency and its licensed blind vendor, Dennis Groshel, of a 17% commission on gross sales to the Veterans' Canteen Service, a division within the Department of Veterans Affairs. (See "Vendors Win and Lose in Minnesota," September/October 1991.) With the encouragement and support of the American Council of the Blind, the state licensing agency, the Minnesota Department of Jobs and Training, and its licensed blind vendor, Dennis Groshel, filed complaints in the United States District Court for Minnesota requesting judicial review of those aspects of the arbitration panel which were adverse to their interests, particularly the holding that the Department of Veterans' Affairs could extract the payment of a 17% commission on gross sales from the licensing agency and its licensed blind vendor. After briefing and argument before the District Court, on October 13, 1992, District Judge Harry H. MacLaughlin handed down his 33-page opinion on the case. To begin with, the court reaffirmed the basic holding of the arbitration panel that the priority provisions favoring the blind in the Randolph-Sheppard Act do apply to the Department of Veterans Affairs and to its Veterans' Canteen Service. In so holding, the court squarely rejected the arguments of the Veterans' Affairs Department that the priority provision of the Randolph-Sheppard Act inherently conflicts with the later enacted provisions of the Veterans' Canteen Service Act and therefore should not be applied to the vending locations under the control of the Veterans Canteen Service. In rejecting such contentions, the court pointed out that the provisions could be read harmoniously together to carry out the salutary purposes underlying both statutory schemes. The court also relied on the fact that Congress on at least two occasions after the passage of the Veterans' Canteen Service Act had passed major amendments to the Randolph- Sheppard Act, and that while clearly being aware of the establishment of the Veterans' Canteen Service, Congress on neither occasion had exempted the Veterans' Canteen service from the basic priority provisions of the Randolph-Sheppard Act. With respect to the commission payment issue, the court ruled in favor of the Minnesota state licensing agency and its licensed blind vendor, Dennis Groshel. It agreed with their arguments that the payment of commissions is only required by the Act and the Department of Education's Randolph-Sheppard Act regulations in the case of the award of a cafeteria contract. The plaintiffs went on to successfully argue that since the vending location at the St. Cloud medical facility was being operated under a permit and was not a cafeteria, no commission could be required as a condition for continued operation of the vending location. The court agrees with this interpretation of the Act, its amendments, and the implementing regulations. Thus, the state licensing agency and licensed vendor, Dennis Groshel, were granted a complete victory on all contested legal issues by the District Court. As you might imagine, however, the federal defendants--particularly the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and the Director of the Veterans' Canteen Service--are not being magnanimous about their legal defeat. In December, the federal defendants filed notices of appeal in the District Court and with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. So, Braille Forum readers should stay tuned for further developments in this Randolph-Sheppard legal saga. While we might have hoped that the defendants would graciously accept the legal judgment of the federal trial court, these government officials regrettably adhere to their faulty interpretation of the Randolph-Sheppard Act and persist in violating the priority provisions of that act. I hope that in the next episode of this saga to appear in these pages, I will be able to report that once and for all the Minnesota state licensing agency and its licensed blind vendors have secured a total victory on these legal issues in the Federal Court of Appeals, and that the defendants have once and for all decided to comply with the correct and proper interpretation of the Randolph-Sheppard Act. GET READY FOR YOUR VISIT TO THE CITY BY THE BAY by John A. Horst, Convention Coordinator If you are tired of the cold temperatures as you read this in February, think about San Francisco with its balmy breezes and warm sunshine in July. The 32nd Annual Convention of the American Council of the Blind offers you a unique opportunity to visit this fabulous part of our country at minimal travel cost. In addition, you will experience all the privileges and benefits of a bigger and better ACB convention. San Francisco has an international reputation. The gold rush in 1849, the Panama- Pacific Exposition of 1915, the ship-building and military activity during World War II, and the International Conference to establish the United Nations in 1945 brought people of many lands to the city. Since those significant events, the San Francisco bay area has developed into a grand commercial and cultural center. In 1993, we anticipate a very large attendance at the ACB convention. California and San Francisco have much appeal. As a result, I want to encourage you to make your reservations early. Due to city fire safety regulations, exhibits will not take place in the garage of the Airport Marriott Hotel as originally planned. Instead, they will be located on the first floor level of the Airport Weston, our other convention hotel. In some ways, the Weston is a better hotel than the Marriott. We highly recommend this fine hotel for individuals manning exhibit booths and for attendees who have a major interest in exhibits. The Weston is a short two blocks from the Marriott. There is a paved walk along the bay with no street crossings until you reach the Weston, where there is a traffic light, and where we expect to have audible traffic signals. A shuttle will also operate between the two hotels. Convention dates are July 3 to 10, 1993. Room rates at both hotels are $45 per night for single and double occupancy and $55 for triple and quad. Reservations can be made now by calling the Marriott at (415) 692-9100 or the Weston at (415) 692- 3500. We apologize for the incorrect listing of the Marriott's telephone number in the December issue of "The Braille Forum." Once again, we would like to encourage all members and friends of ACB to use International Tours of Muskogee, Okla., as your travel agency in making all travel plans. ACB has renewed its agreement with this travel agency and its assistance with Delta Airlines. International Tours of Muskogee has a new toll-free telephone number that works throughout the United States, including Oklahoma. Call (800) 259-9299. The International Tours' former toll-free number is still in effect, but will be canceled after several months. International Tours of Muskogee provides excellent service at the lowest rates plus information on the best time to purchase your tickets at the lowest fares. Your use of this travel agency and Delta Airlines reduces the cost of travel to ACB for convention planners and staff and provides income to ACB through a profit- sharing plan. Many convention attendees will want to visit downtown San Francisco. As a result, transportation by motor coach will be available--once in the morning and once in the afternoon--with return trips made five or six hours later. A narrated tour for Saturday, July 3 and repeated on Sunday, July 4 will also be available. This tour will make several stops. However, if you wish to tour Chinatown, ride the cable cars, spend time at Pier 39, or visit other places downtown, you should plan to use the motor coach. Volunteers for these downtown trips will only be provided as available. You are encouraged to secure your own assistance if needed for the downtown visit. Watch "The Braille Forum" for more details. The overnight pre-convention tour for Friday and Saturday, July 2 and 3, will be to Reno, Nev. and Virginia City, Nev. At this writing, we are looking forward to the February meetings of the ACB board, some special-interest groups and committees, and the Affiliate Presidents meetings. Assistant Convention Coordinator Patricia Beattie and I want to express our appreciation to those who planned meetings for getting information to us promptly regarding these February meetings. It is now time to be planning your program, special meals or other functions for the July convention. Please do this early so that there will be no delay in working with the hotels, in completing the pre-convention packet for early mailing, and in providing a finished convention program in print, braille, and cassette. The 32nd convention of the American Council of the Blind will be exciting. The California Council of the Blind will be grand hosts. The convention program will be one of the best, and the San Francisco area has much to offer. Make your plans now to attend. SHE ENVISIONED A CITY THAT ALL COULD CHERISH It's safe to say that the founders of the United States dreamed of establishing a democracy. In the process, they built a capital city that has become an historical showcase for millions of visitors. But for visitors who are blind or partially sighted, many aspects of a trip to Washington have been out of reach--that is, until ACB Member Laurinda S. Steele dreamed of a capital city which everyone could see and cherish. Her dream of a Washington that could be examined up close by blind and partially sighted visitors is today a reality. In Washington's National Building Museum, a permanent three-dimensional exhibit has been created that accurately portrays some of Washington's most famous landmarks. A native of the Washington area, Steele lost her sight as a teen-ager. She says she never forgot the visual aspects of Washington. That combined with a natural enjoyment of hospitality and a love of miniature figures to create a dream of an exhibit that would clearly translate Washington's visual beauty into a tactile experience that blind and sighted people alike could relish. "Originally," she recalls, "I wanted it to be a traveling exhibit that goes out. A sighted child can look at a textbook cover or even the back of a penny and get a sense of either the Capitol or the Lincoln Memorial. Those images are very much a part of our visual world. I didn't know of anything that had been done on a tactile basis for presenting that kind of information and beauty to those of us without use of our sight." Steele presented her idea of a tactile exhibit to the community advisory board of the American Foundation for the Blind. "I received nothing but support," she says. The advisory board had been looking for a community project it could undertake, and the National Building Museum was coincidentally looking for a similar undertaking. Museum staff members wanted their exhibit to be accessible to blind visitors, and they were anxious to work with representatives from the American Foundation for the Blind. Steele says her project was titled Capital Sights Not Always Seen. "It was almost providential that the timing was so good. There's a tremendous amount of groundwork that had to be done for something like this." Capital Sights Not Always Seen had its beginnings in 1985. Steele says the project received funding from the National Endowment for the Arts in the form of a grant that required matching funds. The AFB advisory board set to work finding donors. One of the largest was Julie Chien, the wife of the former representative of the Republic of China on Taiwan. Additional funding came from the wife of a Washington-area businessman and others. "The prioritization and development of the project came from a wonderful group of consumers," Steele recalls. "Many people who were active in other types of interest groups came to the consumer advisory meeting and gave us guidance." She said advisory board members included Janiece Petersen, president of Friends In Art of ACB, Billie Jean Hill, currently the chair of ACB's board of publications, and many others. She says the advisory group decided on such things as the size of the models used and which monuments would be depicted in the display. Advisory committee members sought to ensure that contrasts and lighting would be appropriate for visually impaired visitors. "We had to educate not only the artists who built the models, but the museum people who were helping set up the exhibit," she recalls. Steele says designers had to strike a balance between adequate labels on structures and not interfering with the actual displays. "Add to that the fact that this is an exhibit for everyone," Steele says. "The reach range for a child is very different from that of adults. If we have things too low then it becomes a problem for some adults." "We tested a lot of ideas along the way," agrees Exhibit Curator Melissa McCloud. "Originally, we thought of making the models of sandstone, but we determined that the plexiglass was much more pleasant to touch." Steele says once decisions were made as to what would be included in the exhibit and where the items would be placed, additional thought had to be given as to the kind of material that would be used in the exhibit. "What we wanted to do was present as much information as possible without too much detail," she explains. "In order to do that, we had to get materials that lend themselves well to fine line and that are able to pick up the types of detail in the scale we were using." Finding the right kind of materials wasn't easy. She says the exhibit had to be made of materials which could stand some heavy-handed examination and endure cleaning, repair, and even replacement. "Within the first few weeks of the exhibit, we found that things were snatched. This exhibit was meant for adults as well as children, and sometimes they just can't resist." She says one piece was replaced four times during the first few weeks of the exhibit. "The plexiglass was about the best we could do in terms of its durability, flexibility, and its ability to take shape." "I was enthused about this project the first time I heard about it," recalls ACB Board Member Patricia M. Beattie, who worked for AFB at the time the project was proposed. Beattie is widely recognized, both by museum officials and by blind and visually impaired people who participated in the project in its early days, as a key player in the project's success. "A lot of questions had to be resolved, but none of us ever asked, 'Is this important?' I've heard nothing but positive reactions from those who have visited the exhibit." The strong, consistent support Laurinda Steele received from the community has buoyed her throughout the process. "We would often ask how we were going to do something, but no one ever asked why we should or shouldn't do it. The support from the blind consumers, AFB, and the museum was phenomenal. I truly hope that this is not the end. I certainly don't consider the door closed; I certainly don't have any dream except that this will be a prototype--that what we've learned can be shared with other individuals, organizations, and communities." She says she's working with representatives from Washington's National Cathedral to "get this beautiful building developed into a hands-on model." Steele recommends that others who want to create similar exhibits in their community seek organizational backing. She says even college fraternities and art groups can help implement a similar exhibit. Once an organization is found, she says input from the visually impaired community is vital. Reactions from blind and partially sighted visitors have been rewarding as well. Some expressed surprise at the shape of some of the landmarks, and others said they wanted more. "I broke out in tears when I touched the Capitol," Steele recalls, "because I had forgotten so many of the details and the beauty of the building." LEGAL ACCESS: SOMEBODY ASKED ME, SO ... by Charles D. Goldman, Esq. (Reprinted with permission from "Horizons," February 1993.) I confess to being a lifelong, devoted reader of columnists of all stripes and in all parts of newspapers. As a youth, one of my favorites was Jimmy Cannon in the New York Post (in its pre-tabloid era), who would periodically challenge readers with a column of one liners, "Nobody Asked Me But ... " In that spirit, and with apologies to the late Mr. Cannon, since the editors tell me to fill this space, here goes. President Clinton will be measured by a Republican, not a Democratic, standard: It will be what he does, not what he says. Youthful Bill Clinton, like many of us, had a seminal experience when he encountered President John F. Kennedy. What the country has not figured out yet is that another one of Bill Clinton's role models is a Republican: Ronald Reagan. All this proves is that presidents can learn from people who when combined make a genuine Odd Couple. Clinton, whose politics are far more decent and humane than Reagan's ever were, is shrewd enough to learn from any astute political professional--even if he was from the other party. Clinton is smart enough to know that Reagan was at the peak of power in his earliest years. Despite the relatively slow pace starting, watch Mr. Clinton move swiftly this spring. It's a variation on the theme of what is coming to be known as Clinton Time. Bill Clinton time is like the pitcher who takes forever to wind up but then delivers a 100-mile-per-hour fastball for a strike. President Clinton will use Executive Orders more than anyone expects, proving the pen in the right (left, in his case) hand can be the mightiest of swords. Mr. Clinton can tell the Democratic Congress to do for him on the budget what the Republicans did (with some Democratic votes to help) for Reagan. Congress will do it or be goners. To get rid of the unproductive bureaucrats, all the new administration has to do is ban all travel except for litigation, natural disasters, or national emergencies. Put the bureaucrats on the bus if they must travel. This administration knows the importance of bus travel. Let the bureaucrats attend conferences, if they must, by closed circuit television to make their presentations. But let the necessary schmoozing take place in Washington-- where the contact with lobbyists can be tracked. President Clinton is not inaugurating a new administration. He's inaugurating a new four year campaign--for the return of decency in government, civil rights, and reduction of the deficit. The community of persons with disabilities must learn that Clinton views disability issues on a civil rights plane equal to that of other protected groups. It's a different approach--as in commonality of interest, not necessarily special interest. President Clinton will be like an Energizer battery. He'll keep on running, and running, and running. It would not surprise me to see Clinton in the Race for the Cure this June, the 20,000 person extravaganza to raise money for breast cancer research. More likely, it will be Vice President Gore at that annual happening on the Mall. Besides, he's actually a better runner than Clinton, just as his predecessor, Vice President Quayle, who ran in that race, was a better runner than his boss. Gore will also be measured by a Republican standard: the Quayle factor. His "Q" will be higher, but then again he apparently starts from a higher threshold, as in "IQ." "IQ" raises another issue, the intelligence of the Clinton appointees. Has anyone noticed just how smart the members of the Cabinet are? There are some truly bright people. When you have had twelve years to grow a varsity (as the Democrats did), it's not surprising that exceptionally capable people are available. Smarts brings up another two subjects, two very smart cookies (not chocolate chips): the first two ladies, Ms. Clinton and Ms. Gore. Look for them to be more than ribbon cutters. Expect them to have unofficial but very substantive roles on issues related to children and disability (including mental health, emotional disability and AIDS.) Their smarts merit them up-front roles--without the need for any astrologers, either. (The Reagan lessons go just so far, Nancy.) Mr. Clinton won't need a break his first year. There will be plenty accomplished-- Family Leave Act, fetal tissue research, a tax bill (including the targeted jobs tax credit), motor voter, and a slew of other measures, several of which his predecessor blocked (often because of the issue of abortion.) Don't kid yourself and believe the new administration needs the disability community (or any other one group) this first year. It's the other way around: Get on board now or be left at the post in the next three (or seven) years. Clinton is moving us from croissants and cappuccino to coffee at McDonald's. The simpler life is what we need to be able to take the realistic but hard medicine the new administration must serve. Change, while necessary, is never easy. CAPTION: President Bill Clinton HE WORKS HARD SO OTHERS CAN PLAY HARD by Nolan Crabb In 1987, Richard DeSteno's reader made a decision to quit reading for him after having worked for him for five years. That decision was the first step down a road that would ultimately make DeSteno a widely-recognized leader in the creation of computer games for blind users. The Short Hills, N.J., resident says he quickly realized that if he didn't have immediate access to a reader, he would need access to a computer. "I got into computers a lot later than other people," says DeSteno, an attorney for the federal government in New York City. "My first word processor was, in retrospect, pretty primitive. But at the time, it seemed like the greatest thing I'd ever seen." DeSteno credits the American Blind Lawyers Association, an affiliate of the American Council of the Blind, with introducing him to many of the capabilities of access technology. His knowledge of computers began to snowball. "As I began to learn about computers," he says, "I began hearing about something called the BASIC programming language." That newly-gained knowledge combined with DeSteno's long- time love of the card game Blackjack to germinate an idea. He says he began getting books on playing Blackjack, and he concluded he wanted to learn to play better, but didn't want to risk his own money in actual play. "I decided the only way I'd really learn the game is if I got a Blackjack computer game that worked with speech." DeSteno's search for a satisfactory Blackjack game proved fruitless. "I figured the only thing to do was to write one," he recalls. Since he knew no one who could write a Blackjack game for him, he decided to learn BASIC in earnest. A phone call to Recording for the Blind in Princeton, N.J., resulted in a pleasant surprise. "I had been out of touch with RFB for a number of years," he recalls. "I'd used them in high school and college, but not since. I was surprised at the long list of BASIC programming books available." DeSteno says he quickly learned that writing computer games is far from fun and games. "It was pretty tough teaching myself BASIC from cassettes," he says. "I started out slowly at first. These books are textbooks designed for students, so they included lessons and things. It was in many ways a kind of ambivalent experience. I always enjoyed the challenge of creating something, but there were times when I felt like beating my head against the wall." He says sometime between six months and a year after he began learning BASIC, he completed his first version of Blackjack which worked with speech. He also wrote a slot machine simulation game and a flash poker game. People began urging DeSteno to market his games, but he was uncertain as to the viability of such a project. "I announced the availability of the first game and started getting orders. I was shocked when the orders started coming in. My great fear was that people would say, 'This is terrible! How could you sell this?' Their reaction was just the opposite. I got notes and phone calls from people who told me they loved the games and asked me to do more." DeSteno found he enjoyed the game-creation business enough to do more of it. "I wanted something totally different for the second game," he explains. "I decided to do some kind of space adventure game. That's how "Destination Mars" was born." By this time, DeSteno had become dissatisfied with the BASIC programming language and had been hearing about more sophisticated languages called Pascal and C. "I gave it some thought and decided to learn C," he recalls. "So it was back to Recording for the Blind for more books." While the C language offered more flexibility to DeSteno as the programmer, he quickly learned that it offered more headaches as well. "At first, I was just mystified. I couldn't understand all those brackets and semicolons I had to use. I went through stages where I said 'I'll master C because I can do so much more with it;' then I'd change my mind and say, 'I'll just stick to BASIC.'" He says the creation of "Destination Mars" "took hours and hours of my free time." But he eventually mastered the C language. In fact, he mastered it enough to create more than 100 pages of single-spaced computer codes that make up "Destination Mars." By now, DeSteno was hooked on the challenge of creating games. His next project, he concluded, had to be different from anything he had done before. "Run For President," now in its third version, was his most recent creation. "It was my goal to fill the game with as much humor and satire as I could," he reflects. "Although I have to say if you look at the last presidential campaign, you quickly conclude that it was far stranger than anything I put in the game." His love of Blackjack continues and is reflected in "Atlantic City Blackjack," a game he created after receiving the official rules from Atlantic City's gaming commission. Now he's working on a new game. The new game, tentatively called "Sounds Like" is a word game with a twist. The computer gives the player clues to words which the player then types in. After the player has figured out three or four such words, he realizes the words sound like the name of a famous person, place, famous phrase or title. "Coming up with those clues, words, and titles is difficult--harder even than the programming in some respects. Not only do I have to come up with the clues and words, I have to do it in such a way that it makes sense with the various speech synthesizers out there," he explains. "This game, which I hope to have completed by April, will require some new programming techniques, so it's back to RFB and the books." While DeSteno is well known by blind computer users for his games, he says he's going to keep his day job. "It's the challenge of creating something new and different that keeps me going," he explains. "I get a lot of feedback from people who buy the games. Their encouragement is what makes this a success for me. The money buys a few CD's now and then. This takes a lot of time, and I do have other hobbies and interests, but I enjoy it." DeSteno has received orders from Germany, Japan, and Australia. "The most popular game seems to be "Destination Mars," he explains, "because of its sound effects, I think." You might assume the world of practicing law for the federal government and world of computer games are completely and eternally separate. But DeSteno says that's not so. "As I've gotten more involved in programming," he explains, "I've developed an increased interest in file management and utility programs. As a result of my game programming, I've learned to better organize the hard (disk) drive on my computer. My knowledge of computers is still growing. I've recently purchased an Arkenstone reading system. So while the two worlds seem very different, they really do tend to compliment one another." He currently offers "Casino," (three gambling games in one package), "Destination Mars Version 2.0," "Run for President Version 3.0," and "Atlantic City Blackjack." All games cost $20 each. A set of four games may be ordered for $70. Games may be ordered from Ann Morris Enterprises, 890 Fams Ct., East Meadow, NY 11554. (516) 292-9232. Games may also be ordered directly from DeSteno by writing to 20 Meadowbrook Rd., Short Hills, NJ 07078. Please specify which disk size you want when ordering. Games are available for IBM and compatible machines running either IBM DOS or MS-DOS. Games are available in either 3.5-inch or 5.25-inch diskettes. An information cassette describing the games is also available. HOW TO BE A SUCCESSFUL BLIND BOWLER by William Lewis (Editor's Note: Here's hoping this brings a smile to your face during the February doldrums.) Dear Mr. Overstreet: In your letter, you expressed regret that there are so few visually impaired individuals in your community to form a bowling league, and that you did not know how to play. Maybe I can help. While there are still many blind bowling leagues across the country, as the years pass it is true the number of new people available to keep leagues active has diminished. With my system, you only need enough players to create one team. Then, you join a regular sighted league. Your team will do okay if you remember the rules. The first problem as a blind bowler is selecting your ball off the rack, a simple operation at first glance. But when there are at least nine other balls on that rack, the task can become formidable. They are round and seem to weigh about the same. Each one has three finger holes. Since most of us blind bowlers cannot see the color or identifying writing on the ball, we must find original ways to distinguish it from the others. For this purpose, a piece of chewing gum placed in the thumb hole of the ball should do. Remember the flavor of the gum, though, so you do not confuse it with gum possibly found in other balls. Now, it's time to make your approach and delivery. In my game, no clumsy guide rails are needed. Just stand parallel to the ball rack wall with your foot flat against the rack. If the ball rack is on your left, take a big step to the right. If the rack is on the right, take a big step to the left. This operation must not be confused or you could trip and sprain your darned neck. Now you should be standing just off-center of the dot in the middle of the alley, and should be facing the pins. Take three or four steps forward, depending on the size of your shoes, and on the last step slide to a stop. The bowling arm swings forward and you release the ball. At this moment, the ball must agree to release you. If the thumb hole is too snug, or the chewing gum was chewed too long, you and the ball may make a strike. If that should happen, we all hope you are wearing old clothes. The ball return racks are very dirty. Nevertheless, the score counts. Always aim the first ball at the strike zone, the New York one-three pins side, or Brooklyn one-two pins side. If after throwing the first ball at the strike zone some pins still remain standing, and there is a great likelihood there will be, learn how to pick up the remaining pins for your spare. To pick up the five pin, stand near the center dot and aim straight down the alley. Throwing the bowling ball, shoes or bottles usually does the trick. The seven pin may be picked up by standing to the right side of the alley and throwing the ball at a slight angle, but execute with care or the ball may cross too many alleys. If it does, and any pins are knocked down, the score will count. The ten pin can be removed by standing on the left side of the alley and throwing across toward the right corner. Although it's a tough shot, you may be lucky and find the ten pin standing in the gutter to begin with. To pick up the five-seven and five-ten splits, throw the ball in any direction. Chances are you will hit something. If you throw directly at the five-ten or five-seven pins, you will most likely miss everything anyway. Now you're ready to play. In these days of equal rights, I do not wish equal rights. I will use the S. and L. Congressional method. I demand a double standard. The following rules will help any good blind bowler to win a game or so, or his money should be refunded. 1. The sighted bowlers must use an elliptical (football-shaped) bowling ball. 2. All sighted bowlers must keep their eyes on their free arm as they make their approach, to prevent that flinging arm from accidentally hitting some spectator. 3. Any sighted bowler making three strikes in a row is "out" and must leave the game. 4. Any sighted bowler accidentally stepping across the foul line will be considered blind and his score moved over to the blind bowler's side of the score sheet. 5. If after playing one full game you do not find your score considerably improved, don't get nervous; be prepared. Ease out your billfold. Slip the scorekeeper a five dollar bill. Hand him an eraser, and--although I really do hate to suggest such underhanded things-- CHEAT. Dear Mr. Lewis: After reading your recent letter I decided to go out and see how well your suggestions work. The other night, a blind friend and I went to our favorite bowling alley and challenged two sighted fellows to a bowling duel. When I told them the rules we would play by, they just chuckled. Everything was going good until the third frame, when one of them stepped across the foul line. I told them the rule about the sighted bowler stepping across the foul line being considered blind, and his score going over to our side of the score sheet. Wow! He got very angry. Then, three frames later, when he was trying to make his third strike in a row, I reminded him to keep his eyes on his free arm at all times during the approach and release of the ball. He did. He apparently watched it intently as he swung around and landed it on my jaw, then poured the thumbhole of my ball full of Elmer's glue, stuck my thumb in it, and threw me and the ball down the alley, knocking down everything but the seven pin. While he waited for me to come back up the ball return chute to try for his spare, I took the opportunity to sneak out the back way, head home by the most direct route, and hunt-and-peck you this letter with my left hand to tell you that your rules are just plain lousy. Yours truly, John Overstreet. HE'S MAKING BRAILLE THAT'S JUST RIGHT FOR THE EARS by Nolan Crabb Kim Christiansen wanted to give his wife something special for her birthday. At that time, making jewelry was merely a hobby. He'd given her unique creations in the past, but this time, it had to be special. Those were his thoughts that day nearly three years ago as he drove home on a Los Angeles freeway. That's when the idea hit him. "Why not create an earring with a braille message?" His wife, who is fully sighted, would certainly find that unique enough. Christiansen had three weeks to create his first pair of braille earrings. What began as a simple idea conceived on a California road has become a thriving business in New Hampshire, Christiansen's new home. "I visited the Braille Institute," he explains, "and they showed me what 'I love you' would look like in braille. That's what I wanted on the earrings. I did that first pair of earrings in jumbo braille because I liked the look. Today, I use regular sized braille." He says the earrings were a big hit with his wife and everyone who saw them. "They were just amazed," he recalls. "They had never seen anything like that before." Although he is fully sighted and had little knowledge of braille prior to his earring- making venture, Christiansen has become a strong supporter of braille. "If you think about it," he says, "braille is beautiful. It has its own special shape and unique design." He says he wanted to produce jewelry that included positive upbeat messages. Many of his braille earring messages contain one word such as "serenity" or "harmony." He has also designed earrings shaped like a cross with the word "love" horizontally and the word "God" vertically. He says he has nine shapes he's currently producing, "and I want to develop more men's items like key chains." Christiansen is branching out in other ways as well. He produces personalized items for individuals or groups. "I'll be doing bracelets with braille names on them and lapel pins," he says. Christiansen calls his jewelry-making hobby turned business "a dream come true. It's the first time I've ever done anything that received such universal acceptance," he says. "People really enjoy receiving these pieces." When he began making braille earrings, Christiansen made each one by hand. He has since designed equipment that allows him to more quickly produce the items he sells. The earrings are made of sterling silver. Some pieces are plated with 18 karat gold. The braille dots are punched into the earring from the bottom up--a concept similar to that used by a Perkins Brailler. Each earring takes between 20 and 30 minutes to manufacture from beginning to end. Coming up with a simple braille message is another matter. "When I found a word I wanted to use," he says, "I'd consult a chart I received from the Braille Institute. Sometimes I have a shape in mind and have to think of a word, and sometimes I'll have a word in mind and try to come up with a shape that fits that word. When it comes to some of the things I've done, the grade 2 braille works nicely." Christiansen plans to introduce new products this spring, and he wants to make sure that his braille earrings succeed in as broad a market as possible. "We're planning to be in the Atlanta gift show in January," he says. "That will be our first introduction to the general marketplace." Groups interested in selling personalized lapel pins and other types of jewelry as a fund-raising activity are encouraged to contact Christiansen. Those interested in obtaining a brochure which describes Christiansen's products may contact him at Braille Sterling, P.O. Box 583, Hannover, NH 03755. Tel. (603) 643-1344. All sterling silver pieces cost $35; gold-plated pieces cost $45. HERE AND THERE by Elizabeth M. Lennon The announcement of new products and services in this column should not be considered an endorsement of those products and services by the American Council of the Blind, its staff or elected officials. Products and services are listed free of charge for the benefit of our readers. "The Braille Forum" cannot be responsible for the reliability of products or services mentioned. RECENT DEATHS Elizabeth O'Toole, former president of the American Council of the Blind of New York, died December 18, 1992. A lifelong Albany resident, she was a 1953 graduate of the Albany College of Pharmacy, and was a pharmacist for nine years at St. Peter's Hospital. She was appointed by Gov. Mario M. Cuomo to serve as a member of the Access to Transportation Committee for the CDTA to implement the Americans with Disabilities Act. O'Toole also served on many other committees, including Radio Information Service for the Print Disabled, the American Association of University Women, the Albany Symphony Orchestra Vanguard, the Ladies Charity and the Legislative Forum of New York. She is survived by three sons, a sister, and two grandchildren. Contributions may be made to the American Council of the Blind, c/o Brian Charlson, treasurer, 1155 15th St. NW, Suite 720, Washington, D.C., 20005. NABT MEMBERSHIP DRIVE The National Association of Blind Teachers announces its 1993 membership drive. The organization is open to any blind person involved in education at the elementary, secondary, or post-secondary level. Annual dues are $15.00. A $10.00 student membership is available to any student planning to go into education. Associate membership, which is also $10.00 annually, is a nonvoting membership for the general public, libraries, and institutions. Contact Gene Weathers, 203 N. Vine St., Fayette, MO 65248, (816) 248-2590. If interested, please respond by March 1. NEW BOOKLET AVAILABLE A booklet designed to inform disabled air travelers of their rights and help them plan trips has been published by the U.S. Department of Transportation. "New Horizons for the Air Traveler with a Disability" describes how the Air Carriers Access Act of 1986 has made air travel easier for persons with disabilities. It also outlines changes resulting from the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. The booklet describes special services passengers can expect, such as assistance in boarding, and moving around in the aircraft. Individual print copies are available free of charge from the Consumer Information Center, Department 608-Y, Pueblo, CO 81009. An audiocassette version is available from the Department of Transportation's Office of Regulatory Affairs, P-10, Room 9222, 400 7th St. SW, Washington, DC 20590. NEWS ON THE FLY Cathay Pacific is a pioneer in offering braille newspapers to blind air travelers, acccording to the September 1992 edition of "The Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness." Supplied by the Hong Kong society for the Blind, the newspaper is the special weekly edition of "The Braille Post" which contains highlights from "The South China Morning Post." To receive a complimentary copy of the braille newspaper for in- flight reading, passengers should contact Cathay Pacific three working days before their flight. LARGE BUTTON REMOTE A large print remote control panel for low vision users is now available for $120, according to the October, 1992 edition of "Newsreel." The device can be held comfortably in the palm of the user's hand or placced over the armmmm of a sofa or TV chair. For more information, contact Jesana, Ltd, P. O. Box 17, Irvington, NY 10533. BRAILLE SLATE Engineers at Oak Ridge, TN, have come up with the concept of a Direct Braille Slate. It utilizes a hollow stylus and a set of pins to form raised dots. The characters are written from left to right and the user can review what has been written without removing the paper from the slate. Martin Marietta Energy Systems is handling patent negotiations. For more information on the system, contact Larry F. Hawks, Martin Marietta Energy Sustems Inc., Oak Ridge National Laboratories, Applied Technology Division, P.O. Box 7294, Oak Ridge, TN 37831-7294. AFB CATALOG The 1992-93 American Foundation for the Blind product catalog is now available at no cost, according to the October 1992 edition of "The Matilda Ziegler Magazine for the Blind." The catalog features more than thirty new items and is published in print, braille, computer diskette, and half-speed tone-indexed cassettes. To order, call (800) 829-0500, or write AFB Products Center, 100 Enterprise Place, P.O. Box 7044, Dover, DE 19903-7044. BOOK ON BRAILLE The Braille Revival League of California offers a 22-page booklet entitled "Braille: The Key to Literacy and Independence," according to "AER REport," October 1992. This booklet, also available on cassette, is designed primarily for sighted people and visually impaired individuals who have not realized the value of reading and writing Braille. This $4.00 publication may be ordered by contacting the California Council of the Blind, 8700 Reseda Blvd., Northridge, CA 91324. LICENSE PLATE FRAME Let the world know that you're proud of your knowledge of braille. The Joint Action Committee of Organizations of/and Serving the Visually Impaired of California will send to you a license plate frame for your car which states, "Driver Reads Braille!" The reaction of fellow drivers alone is worth the price, according to the October 1992 edition of "The Blind Californian." To order, send $12.00 for one frame (includes shipping and handling) to JAC Fund-Raising Chairman, 3527 Gondar Ave., Long Beach, CA 90808. RECORDED LIBRARY Books Aloud is a free circulating library of more than 5,050 titles on regular speed cassette. For a catalog and application, write to Books Aloud, Inc., 180 W. San Carlos, San Jose, CA 95113. HAM RADIO MAGAZINE "The Rain Journal" is a bi-monthly 90-minute cassette magazine containing interviews and commentaries by and about amateur radio enthusiasts, according to the September/October 1992 issue of "Talking Book Topics." The magazine, produced by a blind amateur radio enthusiast, is narrated by various Chicago-area amateur radio operators. For a sample copy, send $2.00 and a self-addressed free matter mailer or self-addressed envelope with postage for two ounces to Radio Amateur Information Network, P. O. Box 2565, Des IL 60017-2565. Subscription information is available at the same address. ADA INFO ON TAPE "The Americans with Disabilities Act Covers Children who are Blind or Visually Impaired, Too," is a 90-minute audiocassette available from the American Foundation for the Blind. The tape includes the complete contents of a teleconference between the AFB Governmental Relations Staff and members of the Legislative Committe of the National Association of Parents of the Visually Impaired. The teleconference outlined the basic provisions of the ADA as related to Title I, Employment and Title II, Public Accomodation. To order, send $12.95 to the American Foundation for the Blind, 15 W. 16th St., New York, NY 10011. DISABILITY ENVELOPES Those who don't want to buy Elvis stamps now have an alternative in the form of pre-stamped envelopes honoring people with disabilities. Currently issued by the U.S. Post Office, the envelope depicts a woman in a wheelchair moving toward the message "For a Stronger America, Count Us In." Below the graphic this statement appears: "43 Million People with Disabilities." To obtain envelopes, contact your local post office. For an additional fee, the post office will issue personalized versions with an individual or organization's name and address. LOW VISION READING AID Monocular, Ocu-Aid II, is a low vision reading aid useful for people with Macular Degeneration. A press release from the company indicates that the device has a focus of three feet to infinity. It is designed to expand the user's vision field to read one- column wide newspapers and magazines. The device costs $155, and the company offers a 10-day trial examination. Contact Ocu-Aid Enterprises, 1444 Cherokee Ave., Columbus, GA 31906. Tel. (706) 323-6286. RESOURCE BOOKS Tri Visual Services now offers two new books, "A Resource Guide to Computer Access For Visually Impaired people, 9th edition, June 1992," and "Rivercity Collection," a cookbook with recipes for entres, salads, vebetables, and desserts. The computer access directory is available in braille or large print and costs $15. When ordering, be sure to specify which edition you want. The guide has information about 141 companies which provide products or services to blind computer users, according to a press release. The "Rivercity Collection" is available in braille only and costs $10. The press release says Tri Visual Services accepts checks, money orders, and purchase orders. Make checks payable to Tri Visual Services, and write to P.O. Box 221310, Sacramento, CA 95822-8310. SCHOOL REUNION The California School for the Blind, a statewide affiliate of the California Council of the Blind, will host a CSB reunion next summer in conjunction with the national ACB convention in San Francisco. Any prior students or staff who wish to receive additional information should send their names and addresses to CSB Reunion, c/o Tri Visual Services, P.O. Box 221310, Sacramento, CA 95822-8310. Please note which years you attended the school or taught as a faculty member. AMMETER APPOINTED Sue Ammeter, president of the Washington Council of the Blind and a member of the board of directors of the American Council of the Blind, has been appointed as chair of the Governor's Committee on Disability Issues and Employment. According to a letter from Governor Booth Gardner, Ammeter will chair the committee through December 31 of this year. Prior to her appointment, Ammeter had served on the committee for the past eight years. She has chaired the Civil and Legal Rights Subcommittee during that period. For the past five years, she has served as vice-chair of the committee. LARGE PRINT COOKBOOK "I Can Cook" is a cookbook assembled by the Chicago affiliate of the RP Foundation. The book is perfect for the novice as well as the experienced cook. Arranged in a three-ring binder and set in large type, the recipes are presented in an easy to follow manner. To order, send $19.95 plus $2.50 shipping and handling to RP FOundation, Chicago affiliate, 1011 S. Waiola La Grange, IL 60625. SIGNS OF THE TIMES Advanced Corporation is introducting Braille-Tac Sign Systems. These tactile and braille signs are designed to comply with the regulations set forth in the ADA. For a catalogue of available signs or for the answers to any questions, contact Braille Tac Advance Stamp Works, Inc., 3271 E. York Ave., St. Paul, MN 55101. BRAILLE FACT SHEETS Fact sheets that provide consumer information about tests that can detect cancer of the breast and cervix are available in braille, regular print and on tape. For more information, call the Cancer Information Center, (800) 422-6237. BRAILLE COMPETENCY Staff at the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped are developing a national literary braille competency test at the requeset of organizations of and for the blind according to the Fall 1992 edition of "The National Braille Assocation Bulletin." The test will be specifically designed to examine the reading and writing skills and knowledge of the braille code of people hwo teach braille, blind children and adults. An editorial committee composed of twelve people with knowledge of braille instruction and teacher training will assist in evaluating the test. Peer review of the test is planned as well. Candidates will make application for the test to the Braille Development Section, National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, 1291 Taylor St. NW, Washington, DC 20542. For more information, call Claudell Stocker, (202) 707- 9302. WORKSHOP NEWS Two shops operating under contracts from National Industries for the Blind have recently embarked upon new and unique areas of production, according to "Opportunity," Fall 1992. When employees of the United States Forest Service get hurt on the job, they'll use emergency medical kits assembled and pre-wrapped by blind workers at the St. Louis Lighthouse for the Blind. Each kit is equipped with necessities like gauze pads, antiseptic, iodine, aspirin, scissors, tape, and an instruction manual. According to Edward Lancer, president of the Lighthouse, blind workers will spsend approximately 5,500 hours producting 60,000 kits in the first contract year. At Winston-Salem, NC., totally blind workers make prescription eyeglasses. They shape lenses to fit any configuration of frames, add bifocals and coatings to guard against ultraviolet light, and make them scratchproof. An 800 number is available to clients who call in prescriptions, which are entered into a computer by sighted employees who bring frames and bar-coded prescriptions which programs the manufacturing equipment to function automatically for the blind operator. But first the blind employee must tape the lens, attach a handle which will attach to the machine, and fit the lens into a chuck clamp for the grinding operation. When the operation is complete, a frosty surface remains and the lens is placed into another machine for polishing. Lenses are checked by an optician for accuracy. YOUTH EXCHANGE Mobility International USA seeks blind or visually impaired people aged 16 to 25 to serve as exchange delegates in two outbound youth exchanges, according to a press release. MIUSA also accepts non-disabled applicants. Twenty-two delegates will travel to the former Soviet Union, 11 will visit Bulgaria. Partial scholarships are available. The focus of these exchanges will be global, environmental, and disability issues. For more information, send a letter which includes your name, address, and which program you're interested in. Contact Mobility International USA, P.O. Box 3551, Eugene, OR 97403. (503) 343-1284 voice and text telephone. Interviews will continue until all openings are filled. KENTUCKIAN APPOINTED Kentucky Governor Brereton Jones recently appointed Jeane Grow the volunteer executive director of the Blue Grass Council of the Blind to a three-year term on the advisory council of the Kentucky Department of the Blind. The Blue Grass Council is an affiliate of the American Council of the Blind. CONTRIBUTIONS PUBLISHED Drs. Paul and Susan Ponchilia, active members of the Kalamazoo Council of the Blind (Michigan) were contributors to the lead article in the November issue of "National Geographic" magazine, titled "The Sense of Sight." The Ponchilias are members of the faculty of the Department of Blind Rehabilitation at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo. HIGH TECH SWAP SHOP FOR SALE: VersaBraille II+, covered under service agreement until May, 1993, with Softbit and Duxbury software, utilities diskette, carrying case and accessories, $2500; DocuRead Three Reading System with 14-inch flatbed scanner, also compatible with Arkenstone Reader, $1700; brand new Braille 'n' Speak 640 with one-year service agreement, $1200; and "How to get the Most out of Compuserve", a nine-volume step- by-step guide to using Compuserve Information Service, $50. All prices are negotiable. Contact Kathy Lamb, P.O. Box 924,, Hermitage, TN 37076-0924, or call (615) 373-0104 weekdays or (615) 885-7086 evenings and weekends. FOR SALE: Braille 'n Speak 640, latest revision 6/26/92. Includes spellcheck disk, Braille 'n Speak table and adapter, braille and tape manuals and carrying case. $1,050. Contact Denise Avant, 5300 N. Sheridan Rd., #401, Chicago, IL 60640. Call (312) 878- 9518 between 7 and 10 p.m. weeknights. FOR SALE: Hewlett Packard ScanJet with Calera recognition card and software. Daughter card has four megabytes of built-in memory. Scans up to 300 dots per inch, and changes scanned text into ASCII or other popular word processor formats. Works with computers which are 100 percent IBM Compatible. $2,000, price negotiable. Also, TeleSensory Versapoint 40 braille embosser. Uses continuous feed paper. Will do braille graphics, wide and narrow paper, capable of six languages, and has self-testing capabilities. It is also capable of sideways printing. Two units are available, both are four years old. $2,000 per unit plus shipping. Contact Kathy Buckley, 8 White Ave., Apartment 2, Chestnut Hill, MA 02167. (617) 731-0179. ACB OFFICERS PRESIDENT LEROY SAUNDERS 2118 N.W. 21st ST. OKLAHOMA CITY, OK 73107 FIRST VICE PRESIDENT PAUL EDWARDS 170 N.E. 123rd STREET NORTH MIAMI, FL 33161 SECOND VICE PRESIDENT CHARLES HODGE 1131 S. FOREST DRIVE ARLINGTON, VA 22204 SECRETARY PATRICIA PRICE 5707 BROCKTON DRIVE #302 INDIANAPOLIS, IN 46220 TREASURER BRIAN CHARLSON 57 GRANDVIEW AVENUE WATERTOWN, MA 02172 CONTRIBUTING EDITOR ELIZABETH M. LENNON